Time to re-cap.

64Firebird

64Firebird

New member
I took my old Fender amp in yesterday for a checkup and after almost 40 years the caps have started to leak. If I don't do something about it soon, he said they'll start to blow. This is a Little sad because my amp is virgin. Although I can't complain, caps normally go out after about 20 years.

I was thinking that some of you guys might like to see a few pic inside of the amp before any of the work is done. Whatta ya think? Pics inside an all stock 1964 Blond Fender Bassman?
 
Electrolytic capacitors start degrading in about ten years and often fail outright that soon.

Any amp over fifteen years old that hasn't been recapped is on borrowed time.

In that multicaps are not generally used any more, you'll have to replace any of these with individual capacitors. If you're trying to keep the original look, you may be able to find an imported multicap of the same values for a good deal more money and somewhat lower quality. JJ is making multicaps of some description.

It's a tough call on a vintage amp in otherwise pristine condition, but if you want to use it you don't really have any choice in the matter. An amp with new capacitors is still better than one with a blown, irreplacable transformer or other very expensive damage.

The upside is that after replacing old caps with new ones, you will probably notice a much "punchier," tighter sound and you won't have to worry about catastrophic failure of a filter cap, which can be very...uh...exciting.
 
64Firebird said:
Nobody's interested?

Okay.
Click to expand...

If you've got 'em, post 'em! What the hell.....

Probably a lot of people on the board that have never seen the inside of one, let alone one that's survived that long unmolested.

I would dig it!:cool:
 
When you post please include a few of the entire amp as she looks so we can have a drool and a session of "Jeez if only I had hung onto.........."
I'll drift off a few years back real quick.
Clive
 
Alright then Here are the pics.

!964 Blond Fender Bassman 2X12. This amp is all factory except the tubes, the speakers and the power cord.
 

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And this pic is of the bottom. I've removed the metal cover over the big filter caps. These are the one's that are leaking.
 

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bongolation said:
It's a tough call on a vintage amp in otherwise pristine condition, but if you want to use it you don't really have any choice in the matter. An amp with new capacitors is still better than one with a blown, irreplacable transformer or other very expensive damage.

The upside is that after replacing old caps with new ones, you will probably notice a much "punchier," tighter sound and you won't have to worry about catastrophic failure of a filter cap, which can be very...uh...exciting.
Click to expand...

My amp tech tells me that re-capping will not hurt the resale value of the amp at all. It was the same when I replaced the power cord. That was a safety issue and I still have the old one anyway.

It was funny when I brought the amp in for a check up. I think the guy became a little flush. As he pulled the chassis out of the box, he said "oh yeah, this is virgin."
 
Cool!

They had some just like that, as well as some brown Tolex models, at the local music store back in the late '70's. I remember thinking how cool it would be to have one. Much cooler than the 10 watt Silvertone I had at the time.

Looks pretty clean for being as old as me!:D

Thanks for sharing, bro.:)
 
Thanks M.Brane. I've tried to take care of it. But, you can see on the far left of the first pic that I had a cat living with me for a little while.
 
A cat did that? Wow. I've had cats all my life, but never one that would dig into Tolex!:eek:

That would have become an outside-only cat real quick!

The cat I have now is pretty cool. She doesn't dig on my gear, or chew cables. She does whine a lot though.:rolleyes:
 
Thanks for posting the pics of that bassman, 64Firebird! It makes me remember going to dances in Junior High and seeing a band with a wildman bass player that had the same sort of blond Bassman amp...he'd turn the cab on it's edge, and kneel in front of his Bassman getting feedback!

All old Fenders have to be recapped eventually.
 
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