JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum Barn Find Amps!

I ran into an old arrowhead hunting friend i hadn't seen in a while,long story short,i told him i was into the music thing now and he asked if i wanted some guitar amps.His brother in law died about a year ago and his sister put them in the barn.He said they were free,so this is what i came home with.A Gibson Scout GA RVT,An Acoustic 117,a Univox 65 and a Peavey Backstage 30.The univox and Peavey worked but the other two has chewed wires from the rats in the barn.All of them need some heavy duty cleaning.Hopefully after i fix the wiring on the other two,they will work or won't take much to get them rockin' again.She didn't want anything for them but i threw her a twenty anyway.

Photos, or it didn't really happen.

Mmmm. That Gibson should be really cool. If he has a 1959 Les Paul I would throw him a $20.

hey Dak & Colin,this is true!I just finished putting new plug in cords on the two the rats chewed,plugged them in and VOILA!!!Cleaned them up.Only major thing cosmetic is 3 of the speaker screens are missing and the guy had screwed 1/4 inch cloth wire on the front.I'll cover that with some cool burlap probably.Gibson sounds really cool but i did see a small hole in the speaker Colin.That Acoustic sure sounds nice and warm.Man i wish i could play guitar!i'll take some pics tonite,i gotta go cook supper before the old lady gets home now though.Mike

hey Dak & Colin,i got pics of the amp at the photography forum.

Sorta makes ya feel like those two guys who ride around the country in that van junkin' for treasure. I know you have to be pleased with these music making gems. Funny how things work out sometime... and it restores you faith in your fellow man. I'm sure happy for you. Like DAK, I'd sure like to see photos when you are ready to show them off.

All the best,

Dave

they're at the photography forum Dave!

I am, like Colin, drooling.
If the boxes are still solid your task is pretty simple, good cleanup and tlc. The dings & Etc on the Tolex can be repaired. There's a kit available, AMPATCH, that's supposed to be very good and there are a number of vinyl repair kits on the market as well. Most will have some way to match the grain/pattern of the Tolex.
I would change all power cords to three prong for safety's sake.

There can be noticeable changes to the output tone of the amp if the screen/grill material is not specific to audio pass through. Something to think about.

In any case, great find.

i didn't know that about the grill/screens Dak,i was gonna cover that ugly wire with some burlap or thin cloth.They've been turned on for about 5 hours now and played through off and on today,nothing strange happened and all four rock.Should i open the back where the tubes are and clean that out or leave it alone?Mike

Michael, it won't hurt anything to open them up and blow out all the crap that's accumulated over the years. While you're in there, if you can see them, use a good light and inspect the capacitors. If there's any bulging or leakage they will need to be replace. If you can't see them the circuit assembly will need to be loosened up enough, or even removed completely to get a gander at them. Also, look around for a schematic or at least, a tube layout that shows the tube numbers.

Good stuff!
Just a heads up:
There's enough power in some amps, (filter caps) to knock you on your LeBlanc-a-donk so careful's the word!
-Mike


http://www.thegearpage.net/board/archive/index.php/t-1114900.html[i][/i]

hey 9ne,yeah,i learned that a few years back messing with old juke boxes.I think i'll let them be,i'm looking for buyers now,i don't play guitar and it seems such a waste to keep them instead of someone enjoying them.I know they're a couple classics in the bunch but oh well.Mike

Thanks, Michael:

I looked the photo up on the photography forum. You did well. My envy runneth over!

Best regards,

Dave

yeah Dave,two friends spent about 2 1/2 hours over here playing on them.They sounded awesome,each had it's own sound.I'll prob keep the Acoustic 117 and sell the others.Give somebody a sweet deal since i got one.Mike

the Gibson lasted 30 minutes on craigslist,it's rockin' in New Orleans now!He was a happy buyer.