Magnatone Custom 260 amp, need some info...

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pikingrin

pikingrin

what is this?
I just traded a guitar I never play to my uncle for an '80s squier strat and an old amp. I traded a takamine parlor acoustic/electric for the guitar and the amp... :D :D

That may have been a preemptive joyous outburst, but I would like to see if anyone has any info about this amp... It's a Magnatone Custom 260 hi-fi amplifier which, to the best of my research, puts it dated between the late '50s and early '60s. It's a 2x12 combo which appears to have 2 seperate preamp channels, one through a 12AX7 and the other through an ECC83. (I don't know my tubes at all, so these may be the same thing.) It has a tube vibrato channel and some large power tubes that have no markings on them to distinguish what they are except the brand name (tung-sol).

Before I turn this thing on I would like to give you guys some kind of background. According to my uncle, it hasn't been powered up for at least 2 years. I have cleaned the cobwebs out of the back of it, but have not (and will not myself) pull it open to look at the wiring to make sure it is still intact. Are there any special precautions I should take before I turn this thing on?

Also, any additional info you guys have on this (if any) is GREATLY appreciated. I almost feel like I just won the lottery here... :D
 
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pikingrin said:
I just traded a guitar I never play to my uncle for an '80s squier strat and an old amp. I traded a takamine parlor acoustic/electric for the guitar and the amp... :D :D

That may have been a preemptive joyous outburst, but I would like to see if anyone has any info about this amp... It's a Magnatone Custom 260 hi-fi amplifier which, to the best of my research, puts it dated between the late '50s and early '60s. It's a 2x12 combo which appears to have 2 seperate preamp channels, one through a 12AX7 and the other through an ECC83. (I don't know my tubes at all, so these may be the same thing.) It has a tube vibrato channel and some large power tubes that have no markings on them to distinguish what they are except the brand name (tung-sol).

Before I turn this thing on I would like to give you guys some kind of background. According to my uncle, it hasn't been powered up for at least 2 years. I have cleaned the cobwebs out of the back of it, but have not (and will not myself) pull it open to look at the wiring to make sure it is still intact. Are there any special precautions I should take before I turn this thing on?

Also, any additional info you guys have on this (if any) is GREATLY appreciated. I almost feel like I just won the lottery here... :D
Click to expand...

I'm sure everyone will tell you to get a variac and slowly power it up to line voltage-it should keep the capacitors from smoking I've been told*!~


*disclaimer--they may have been maniacs!
 
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Boy, this one's a tough call. It's a 50's era amp so unless it's been rebuilt at some point the electrolytic capacitors are old. To compound matters, it's been sitting and off for two years. I'd be most worried about the caps having been dried up.

Two options come to mind. First, if it's a keeper, I'd take it to a shop and have the caps and tubes replaced. The caps are the bigger concern IMHO but hey, while you're at it, a fresh set of tubes couldn't hurt either.

Option 2, power it up, let it warm up for a very long time (1/2 hour or so) and keep a close eye on it. The problem with this option is that if the caps have dried up, if they "go short" or don't hold up under load, the surges could cause more damage to other components.

I'm no expert in this area but I do have a tech background. Old/vintage electronics need to be treated carefully when being brought back from a long hibernatiton.
 
You need to reform the electrolytic capacitors. Here are some links on how to do this.
http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/funwithtubes/Restore_cap.html
http://www.vcomp.co.uk/tech_tips/reform_caps/reform_caps.htm
http://www.vmars.org.uk/capacitor_reforming.htm

There are also other things to check out:
http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_audiofaqb.html#AUDIOFAQB_009
http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_audiofaqb.html#AUDIOFAQB_010

Unless you have a rudimentary electronics bench and the knowledge to use same, all this is probably out of your ballpark. It is also a time consuming pain in the ass.

I have to admit that what I do, unless the equipment is really vintage and of great value (which would cover nothing that I have worked on) is this:

First, inspect it inside and clean it (as you have done). edit - oops, I guess you haven't.

Take the tubes out and put them back in, one by one - this will somewhat clean the contacts and make sure the tubes are well seated.

Inspect all the components (resistors and capacitors mainly) - if any seem to be burned or have leaked goo, it needs to be removed, tested and replaced if defective.

If all looks OK, I plug it in, and flip the power switch on and then off as fast as I can. If nothing smokes or explodes, I do the same again, but maybe leave it on for a second or so. If it's still OK, I let it sit for a few minutes or more, then flip it on for a second again.

I may repeat this several times, depending on my patience. If it's still OK, I turn it on for 5 or 10 seconds, then off, then let it sit for a few hours or overnight. Next time I may leave it on for a minute or so, then off for a few minutes. If its a go up to here, I'll turn it on and leave it on.

It's best to do this with the chassis out of the case, so you can see visually if anything is leaking or changing color. :)

This is just my hokey method for reforming the caps - it's not tested or proven - use at your own risk.
 
Oh, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, once you have powered it up, DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING INSIDE. Even though it's turned back off, the capacitors (if good, of course :)) can hold several hundred volts of charge for hours or days afterwards, and have to be properly discharged before they can be safely handled.
 
Thanks for all of the responses so far you guys... Seems like a trip to a shop is definitely in order, I don't have the patience for all of that crap. It's definitely a keeper though, through further research, it's from somwhere between 1957-58, it's "vintage" so it's automatically cool in my book, and it has sentimental value since it's from a member of my closer family.

I also found out that this was intended for use by bass, organ, or accordian(??), not necessarily guitars. But, Robert Cray has one so I'm going to fix her up and see what happens. ;)
 
rectifier tube?

Okay - quick disclaimer here... I know nothing about tubes and/or their operational characteristics. I know they glow and I know they sound a whole helluva lot better than the solid state crap I have played for the last 10 years... :o

I just got off the phone with a buddy of mine who builds and repairs tube amps and he said to put it on standby and turn it on for a second, turn it off and let it sit, and turn it back on again after about 10 minutes just to make sure nothing is smoking. I was checking the tubes in the back which seem to all be alight except one. It may be the tube rectifier, which according to the website on this amp, is one half of a 12ax7 tube. Do the rectifier tubes glow as well?

EDIT: Addition to post here... Like a kid who just got a new friggin' bike... :D
After leaving it off, I turned it back on in standby for a while. No smoke or other odd smells coming out of it, so I says to myself "what the hell". Plugged in the ES-135 and discovered a new meaning of clean. This thing has probably one of the best clean sounds I have ever heard (in my rather limited experience). Everything from really jangly/sparkly to mellow and bassy. And the vibrato!!! Whew!!!! Beautiful is the only way to describe it. I have to get it looked at soon, but I can't wait to get it back so I can run an overdrive into it and see how she fares.
 
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I've got a Magnatone 260 also. It's a great sounding old amp. It's like the one pictured.

I pulled it out of a dumpster, along with some other little treasures around twelve years ago. It sounds great with a guitar, but it's definatly a full range amp. Plug a keyboard into it, and you'll see what I mean. The one in the link is Robert Crays. Lonnie Mack, and Scotty Moore used them also.
 
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I have a Magnatone Titano 60 1x12. She's heading to the shop for new tubes and caps. Sounded great when it worked.
 
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