1956 Silvertone 1333 | Vintage Amp Restoration | Fazio Electric

Watch me refurbish the circuit in a late 50's Silvertone 1333 tube amp.
This is the last video shot in my first Los Angeles workshop (shot Sep 2021). My hiatus is due to moving, traveling, and looking for a new spot. Thank you all for sticking around!
If any Chicagoland folks would like their amp serviced, I will be here through the month of December 2021. Shoot me an email, and be sure to mention you're in Illinois.
EMAIL: [e-mail]
INSTAGRAM: @fazioelectric

[@vinodtatti]

I am 68,electronics engineer with 42+ years of experience. I see the patience you have and appreciate the logical analysis you do to troubleshoot the amp. Very well done. Congrats.

[@julesl6910]

Except for one thing, she replaced the power cord with plastic cables on the interior. If you notice, the original power lines were cloth covered to prevent power source melting and causing a short. That's a rookie mistake!

[@ZPDU]

Great movie. It's nice to hear a woman's voice on the technical channel and nice colored nails instead of hairy paws. Best wishes

[@user-rh7nn1qm3o]

From 1986 to 1996, I worked as a radio mechanic, after 1996 I work in the energy sector, but last year, when I saw this beautiful lady on KZbin, I had a desire to do radio mechanics in addition to. Thank you kind beauty, you inspired me to do my favorite thing again, good luck to you.

[@Mansin]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PLAYING RUMBLE!!! I was sitting like "imagine if she played that".

[@sheevthewireless110]

The filter capacitor grounded on transformer casing... golden 🤣

[@jonathantrauner5731]

Hi Colleen , Thank you again for the work you have done on this amp ! All your effort has resulted in my Dads's old Silvertone being one of the most requested amps in my studio backline . Your work is beyond fantastic ! I have used other Tube Gurus in the past and your work ethic and attention to detail set you above the rest . For the record I am using the amp most often with a Fender bassman cab loaded with NOS Muscle Magnets . These are old production Eminence speakers that really bring out the Silvertone sound . Thank you again for your hard work and devotion . Best , Jonny T

[@dustydean56]

I loved the Link Wray ! Great job, I could watch you all day !

[@kenny6920]

People like you single handedly keep the used amp market alive and keep these cool old machines going generationally gotta love it

[@Eric_01]

Those are some badass fingernails! 👍

[@BillMcGirr]

Hot rod. Nice touch.👍🥃

[@AlanW]

I can't believe there aren't more comments about them, they are so cool!

[@TheDrunkenScoundrel]

That amp sounds like a David Lynch film.

[@Mr.Scary5150]

Best coment ever

[@albertlionais]

Idle Moments. Came for the repair video, staying for the tunes.

[@christiancarassai9540]

A good reparation/restoration of a tube amplifier, a calm female voice while soldering with fire nails, is a kind of art. Very good video👍

[@jwsmsmith]

One of the most enjoyable episodes for sure... especially for us old timers who remember dreaming of owning this amp, while paging through the Sears catalogue in our youth!

[@UncleDunk]

I’m with you brother…

[@MichaelRushMusic]

I spent half an hour learning about amp repair and then was treated to your renditions of Grant Green and Link Wray!? Fabulous! Love your work!

[@user-qm7nw7vd5s]

Amazing what 12 watts could do back in the 1950s. Reflowing the solder in EVERY contact in a 100% point-to-point wiring layout is the definition of a lo or of love!I had the Silvertone 1485, which today has a cult following.

[@JamesBricker-lq3nu]

I would like to take this opportunity to compliment you and your mentor for doing such a great job. Its refreshing to hear a younger person speak and explain why circuitry is being configured the correct way. I'm a professional electronic technician and I can quickly differentiate between someone that knows their stuff and someone that is just repeating the words they were taught. Please keep up the good work and making great videos. You are unique and should be very successful in what you do as you have what it takes to really understand what needs to be done.

[@DougMen1]

I love all your videos, and the little history about that time in the US is a very cool touch. Please keep 'em coming! 😊🤙🙏👏🎸🎼🎵🎶🔊

[@steveg219]

Thanks, your explanations and camera shots really help understand the process clearly. The amp sounded great when done!

[@macguy3049]

Whats better than watching a good tech go through a classic amp? Watching one with badass nails do it👍

[@montygore]

Hi young lady. I am a 66 year old tech working on rf equipment all my life. I would like to say that your work is very clean. Thanks for the fun videos.

[@gillamb8669]

Sounds sweeeeet. Now it’s ready for another 60+ years. Great work. Hopefully I’ll find the courage to repair one of my amps. some day. Thanks 🤘👍

[@matthewf1979]

I’m very happy to see you back to KZbin. I *LOVE* the little history intro!

[@chupitolepame5357]

The final test made my smile :) It's awesome to see such a piece of vintage tech working fine again

[@srvrace5807]

Glad to see you back at it. I look forward to seeing the new shop and more great projects!

[@hearpalhere]

It sounds amazing! I always loved the tremolo on these old Silvertone amps. Awesome job on the restore, it's really cool that you were able to fix everything for the owner like this. What a great family heirloom.

[@joe6096]

No better way to test a tremello circuit than Rumble! Awesome job on this amp!

[@ChocolatePuppies]

Omg that tone!!! So beautiful. Loved the video great job, I look forward to the next one.

[@pennykattack5789]

So cool! Fond memories of a time I miss so much. Thank you for sharing this moment.

[@NonalignedVideos]

thanks for bringing this one back to life. I've never seen a point-to-point with this many components!

[@mrdali67]

It's not that bad really. I don't even find it tedious. Was more concerned about her ruining the purdy nails :p ... I only have basic electronics knowledge, and I love these old school point-to-point solders and tube design as they are so simple to figure out as long as you know what the tubes does. It's rarely difficult to diagnose noise problems, as you basically just need to replace caps, resolder all joints and have an inventory of the right tubes which is propably the most difficult to have. More modern amp designs often require much more knowledge of all kind of circuits to diagnose

[@yonitznkc]

Colleen is a thoughtful reflective natural teacher. Thank-you, Colleen, for this very helpful video and for response to my email. 👍🏼 #RockOn P.S. -love yer nails!

[@JackT_Music_on_Vinyl]

This is a great video! I love these older, low wattage tube amps. Hope all goes well with resettling into new digs. Thank you for sharing!

[@voldbydk]

Great to see you back Colleen .. Good job on that sweet old amp & awesome Tone ..Thanks for sharing & stay safe !

[@GORF_EMPIRE]

What's amazing besides your obvious skill is the fact that even with You Tube compressing the heck out of the audio, the warmth of that amp comes through like a thick, fuzzy blanket on a cold day. It just sounds gorgeous! Excellent work! You provide such a rare and needed service to classic audio lovers everywhere!

[@mcgama88]

Watched the post 1 Dec in the morning hours, and was reminded of family jams at the season. In part as some of that performance happened on very similar amps. Absolutely a first rate repair and where I would bet the owner will be very pleased to get back that trem depth. hoping you found that new workshop, As a note from my workbench, it so happened I so liked the repair to the *valve jr I simply placed the new parts to storage. It has a sizzle and crunch at about 3/4 from Fender to Jr. to cabinet I cannot bear to change. Thank you for the assist to source them and where I bid you, fair winds. "fair season". M.

[@burmesecolourneedles4680]

Fantastic job. And what a finish - Link would surely have loved this amp after your tender and expert ministrations!

[@DarrellW_UK]

Great restoration of a fine old amp! Just loved the way you and it bashed out the rumble at the end; magic!!!

[@marpenman]

Nice old amp! I hope the owner can get it into some version of its original cabinet so it can be played out again. Good job rearranging the fuse and switch. In the end the amp performed well, but here are some suggestions: The safety ground (green earth wire) should be attached using a dedicated bolt, as requirement for new equipment. Transformer bolts can loosen over time. The safety ground lead should be left long enough so that it will be the last thing to break free if the power cable is pulled out of the chassis. The best place to ground the first filter (reservoir cap) is at the same point where the power transformer’s high-voltage center tap (or the bridge rectifier) is grounded. That minimizes the chance of 120Hz buzz getting into the audio by keeping the return from high-current charging pulses off the chassis. Stabilizing large electrolytics by attaching them to the chassis with silicone is a good idea to prevent lead breakage, but they should be located away from heat sources to maximize service life. The power transformer, output tubes, and output tube cathode resistors are things to keep them away from.

[@oscardelatorre]

so happy to see younger people that are into the old gear and repairing it..

[@g.k.dickenson9259]

I had an early 60's Silvertone. The first amp I was ever inside of. I did simple ground repair & pot-replacement. Great amp!

[@topgun4229]

that remember me when I started learning electronics in 1973...tubes,relays, no printed circuits,hand soldering....its fun to see a nice girl with your knowledge ! , dont give up ! the world need more persons like you !

[@timka880057]

I feel for you; the tremolo oscillator caps, ugh! I had to replace them in my Silvertone 1472 Amp... good thing I had a schematic lol. I love your video! You're the best!! 👌

[@axelsblues]

Love how you put it into the historic perspective too. Old old amp.

[@stuoxen]

Excellent!! ... And I'm always chuffed to hear a wee bit o' Link Wray in the mix.

[@JohnSmith-of4vh]

A blast from the past. Delightful easy going video too.

[@robertwheeler4068]

Super restoration repair!👍 Really dig the Link Wray "RUMBLE" bit at the end! Vintage vibes for a vintage amp!😎

[@Blues-man.]

Very neat work, I use to be an old tube jockey, your work is very impressive, great too see a young lady carrying on an old tradition ! Enjoyed the video.

[@sjlBoise54]

Gotta love any amp that uses a 6SJ7. Thanks, Colleen, for the instructive and informative series of videos on heritage amp restoration. Your videos have helped me make a vintage '54 Champ Amp into a safe, cool-running and quiet tone meister.

[@DonKelleyMusic]

amp sounds amazing, and this is my first exposure to your videos, and I really enjoyed your clear and extremely easy to understand yet obviously very knowledgeable walk through. Also whoever is playing the guitar has excellent taste that fits the amp and style and tone.

[@jimmyjoe1871]

I’m a shade tree amp builder / player. Love your systematic method of bringing these old amps back to there former glory. It’s easier to build one, then fix one sometimes. Kudos!

[@shayeasy]

labor of love indeed, you practically rebuilt that whole amp. very impressive and great playing to demonstrate the fruits of your hard work.

[@UncleDunk]

What an amazing video, you brought this amp back to her former beautiful tone. You followed through with tedious soldering, but in the end she sang like when she came off the assembly line. Well done, a very enjoyable journey, thanks…

[@TK-fk4po]

As soon as I saw you repairing the tremolo I said to myself this amp is made to play the rumble. You did not fail to oblige!

[@Eric_01]

That is crazy how quiet that amp eventually got. Excellent video! I don't know why, but it's almost therapeutic watching you solder, you're so solid. That entire room would smell like burned insulation if I was attempting any of those tight reaches. I think you could solder around corners if you so desired.

[@gingercat777]

My Silverton 1482 is in a new cabinet, and I constantly leave it on as it's so quiet.

[@alexdeleon7135]

It's good to see you back. These episodes were sorely missed. I too am not surprised the cabinet deteriorated. They were made of particle board and Masonite. Have you been experiencing the ever-shrinking availability of tubes? Everyone I have spoken to have commented on how scarce they are. Your nails are BOMB! I hope more work comes your way. This channel is very interesting in the presentation of the material. Nevertheless stay safe from this modern-day plague.

[@thedevilinthecircuit1414]

Superhero-level work. Your methods and attention to detail are top notch. Cheers and keep 'em running!

[@zubregub]

Thank you for your videos. It is very inspiring to do tube amplifiers yourself.

[@jasonlamoureux7578]

Fantastic old chassis, and a job well done! Always a good idea to remove the tubes from their sockets when soldering the pins! Thanks for sharing!

[@mauricespencer1798]

Better yet, put a dead tube in while soldering the pins. Otherwise solder can drip down into the empty pin socket, and removing it is a nightmare. Thanks for the vids!

[@w13rdguy]

What a heroic effort! Not only showing all the skill and dexterity, but also all the editing that went in to this. Totally worth saving, that is one honey of a tone. Cheers!☘

[@edwardheins2930]

just found your channel and im stoked what a treasure much like yourself never apologize for a messy bench its the hallmark of a genius !

[@jimbob4456]

That was really enjoyable to watch. Thanks for the upload.

[@johngeorgiou5736]

Forty years of experience in repairing and building audio and radio equipment allow me to rate you with AAA. Excellent work!

[@bankyWI]

Cool stuff, thanks for the video! Shout-out to the camera person and editing in this video. Very good work!!

[@electrickal1]

Nice video, I cringed when I saw how the mains was done originally, but loved how you sorted the hot through the fuse and then to the switch, much safer. You solder exactly the way I do, heat the subject with a hot iron and flood the joint with solder, then get the heat away, very skilled and a joy to watch.

[@MrSilver708]

This channel is amazing....I just discovered it. Well done and love the explanations while doing the repair. Thank you 😊

[@Desiludido79]

Que raridade é ver uma mulher técnica em eletrônica! Voçê é um diamante!! 👏👏👏👏👏

[@butchellington]

Idle Moments by Grant Green was a surprise treat! One of my favourite songs and albums of his. I love the care, attention and historical perspective you’ve packed into this video. Your nails look awesome btw.

[@slamcrank]

and Link Wray's "Rumble" sounded fantastic too!

[@leslieday1830]

Love your videos great to see a tech that knows her craft and enjoys working some vintage equipment all best Les.

[@flamencoprof]

I am impressed by this skilled, knowledgeable and fearless work. Mostly done physically exactly the way I like to do things, except I'd take twice as long trying to preserve things that functionally don't matter. A pleasure to watch, and a pleasure to hear the narration as well.

[@evanshier8893]

Link Wray was a great choice for this amp. Nice job.

[@hestheMaster]

Saw that main filter capacitor and said to myself, never do that! You demonstrated exactly as to why , it is a very poor connection to ground. Grounding lugs are best. What a beast of a recap job. Very tight quarters and time consuming. This amp never sounded so good now and with a working tremolo to boot. Great job Colleen!

[@gorak9000]

My only thought is if those green caps had failed in the tremolo circuit, I'd think the rest of them would be suspect too. I probably would've replaced the rest of the green ones as well

[@gorak9000]

@ROSE STONE Looking at the schematic (the cap values), and the form factor of both the original green ones that came out, and the replacement yellow ones that went back in, I think those must be film caps. Ceramic caps are either flat discs, or just little resin covered blobs. Film caps have the same form factor as an electrolytic (round cylinder of film wrapped into a roll), but there's no wet electrolyte in them. My guess is the originals are probably failing at the lead-to-film connection and just go completely open circuit. Watching closer, the green caps in the tremolo circuit are different than the other green caps elsewhere that she didn't replace. The labeling on them is different, so maybe the other caps really are ok. I wasn't watching that closely the first time to notice the differences.

[@expired56k]

@@gorak9000 Yeah, my thoughts exactly particularly given the amp age. Definitely should have replaced that lone wax cap! TBH it should have been fully recapped but great job fixing the amp and especially changing the non polarized line cord!

[@gorak9000]

@@expired56k I think with these vintage amps, there's some desire to keep the original caps in the audio path as long as they're still doing their job - blocking DC bias between the gain stages. Something about "character" and whatnot... :) I mean that's the whole reason to use tube amps these days to begin with - for the "warmth" and "character" (aka distortion). Not all distortion is bad or undesired.

[@expired56k]

@@gorak9000 I mean yeah, it might be okay depending on where that cap is but wax caps are absolutely notorious for being bad, if it's completely bad is stops being a cap and could damage the amp or let AC through. Given than no cap was ESR tested, it might not be best idea to just assume it is good by just using the amp. It would be nearly impossible to have a good wax cap from well of year 70 years ago which also saw a lot of usage like OP has mentioned. I doubt anyone could really hear this warm cap in a guitar amp, but I definitely know what you mean! ;)

[@tracyblair3064]

RUMBLE! Excellent demo choice. The refurbed amp sounds great!

[@okayestguitar66]

I love the practicality you put into the repairs you do. It never made sense to me to value originality over function in a 60 or so year old amp. It's amazing to me that drifted resistors and dried out caps make an amp more valuable than a properly functioning one. Thanks for sharing this.

[@kevinschmitt2310]

Did you go to school for electronics or learn by doing it like I did? The more I watch the more your attention to details just shines. You have learned some great techniques and it shows. Anyone sends you something to work on, It'd coming back better than when it was originally built.

[@id3m589]

Nice nails for amp tech Coleen - mine are always frayed and broken. If you want to be thorough, you would want to replace .5 200VDC wax wad cap as well. There's excellent video on Mister Carlson's lab channel why paper caps go bad with time. Aslo, check that these old Tropical caps don't leak DC through - if tremolo caps went bad, coupling might be on the way. Best of luck.

[@trevorhaddox6884]

Yeah, paper caps are ticking time bombs of trouble. If the rest go bad the amp will start burning up tubes.

[@jerrystephenson1172]

I love watching yr. work. You seem so confident & smooth + the nails!!

[@jackp8583]

All these repairs of classic amps are informative and, well, beautiful to watch. 👍 Would love seeing some DIY stuff also!

[@reddragon3733]

So Clear, Clean & Crisp! Classic Vintage Amp sounds! Love your videos. The Flame art on your nails look like they belong on a 56 Chevy! Also Classic & Classy! I learned so much! Thank You.

[@actionboy3221]

That’s is a rad amp and rad video! Also, I really dig the nails 😉

[@LucienSoulon-ly2wd]

I dig the history lesson. I do this with my band when we add new cover tunes...helps us understand the original vibe of the tune when it came out. Love the rebuild too! Thanks!

[@hernancoronel]

Relentless quality workmanship! Thank you for sharing!

[@goodun2974]

Aluminum chassis means it was built by Danelectro (early Silvertones with steel chassis were built by Valco). Watch out for riveted chassis grounds that have often oxidized or worked loose over the years. The green Sangamo caps are almost always leaky (electrically).

[@cheezhead6007]

Sangamo caps are good enough for that thing

[@87mini]

I have the same amp and all of my coupling caps were leaky. I just recapped the whole thing. Replaced the old carbon resistors in the front end to quiet that down as well. I've found several old Valcos use pretty cheap resistors that hiss and pop when warm.

[@brianmccowan1949]

@@cheezhead6007 What does that mean?! I have rebuilt some Danos and Silvertone Danos and find that good 'un is right. The Sangamo caps do not hold up well. Not only do they leak DC but they also drift way off spec. I just finished a Dano/Silvertone and had to replace every cap in the amp. Now sounds great - Sangamos were not "good enough."

[@KeritechElectronics]

Heeeeeey, long time, no see :). I love your channel - amp/pedal/synth girls of the world, unite! Lovely amp on the outside, but it could surely use some redesign when it comes to ground connections. Depending on the chassis layout, I choose bus or star grounding. For the latter I use a thick copper wire (e.g. 4mm²) grounded close to the input jack, going all the way to the power supply. The wire between the rectifier bridge (or secondary C.T.) and the filter cap is "dirty", should be reasonably heavy and nothing else can connect to it. I always use some kind of strain relief if going for a hardwired power cord; heatshrink for soldered connections on fuse ockets and switches, and whenever a wire goes out of the transformer and I need to splice it, I use a terminal strip or a DPDT power switch. I really love that you know your thing and talk about amps and repairs with competence and confidence. Uncle Doug (and probably Mr Carlson too, as I see his school of fuse-before-switch) has taught you well. And you have nice nails :) I sometimes do repairs and build stuff with painted nails, but it's kinda tricky...

[@jreseckerful]

Do wop doobie do wop. Nice soldering. You brought an old one back to life. Too cool

[@franciscorompana2985]

Hi from Portugal. Thanks for showing your work. Have a nice day.

[@jesuscostantino2925]

Dang, I’m blown away by how far this restoration goes.

[@larrychung3190]

Great work as always. I noticed that the two cathode bypass caps that you replaced were actually different values in the amp than were indicated on the schematic. (10uF vs 25uF) Props on going with what was in the amp, imho. Thanks for sharing and great touch on the demos.

[@ylelevier]

Did you catch the El Pato shrink wrap container. She knows what’s up.

[@Oilzilla]

Beginning at 28:50, your rendition of Link Ray's "Rumble" reminds me why Cali is the coolest state in the Union. Thank you for sharing your amazing expertise!

[@daleburrell6273]

HECK- you couldn't PAY me to live in California OR New York!!!

[@steinebox18l]

Good job, for me, it's always a pleasure to watch a Professional work. Thanks for all these videos. Cheers

[@xCaLLMeGHeTTo]

This is such great unintentional ASMR. Your voice paired with the sounds of snipping and placing down tools is just fantastic. Educational too! Thank you for this. The amp sounded great at the end.

[@leftovernoise]

Check out twoodfrd. He's a Canadian luthier and he also has an incredibly calming voice

[@hoagietime1]

Wrist watch revival is another jem, I don't care about watches but I've watched hours of that guy take apart watches and put them back together

[@lostreb]

It is an absolute pleasure watching you work. You always leave me in awe of how effortless you make it appear when I know that's far from reality. On a separate note, if you re-order T-Shirts, please let us know? I'm sure I'm not the only one that would like to purchase one!! Please keep up the great work and the Great Videos!!!

[@FazioElectric]

Thank you! I have a feeling that’s in the cards for the future :)

[@TheMwjustice]

@@FazioElectric Also waiting for the next batch of shirts! Great video as always,

[@allisonholmesmusic97]

@@FazioElectric I’d buy a t-shirt too

[@juana1483]

@@FazioElectric I just joined today and would love to see you assemble a tube amp from the start.

[@MrFixiit]

What a wonderful dramaless restore of an old classic amp was very entertaining and the rumble rendidtion at the end was a bonus.

[@maynardmadsen8712]

Love learning from your videos! Digging the flamed nails too.

[@rotaxtwin]

That's a nice size amp, the turret boards seem to make for easier service work than busy point to point.

[@87mini]

These were built cheaply and by the thousands. Valco, Magna, Danelectro, and dozens of other little amp makers in LA cranked these low-powered amps out with point to point from the 40's through the 60's, affordable to lots of entry players. Hi-fi amps of the day used turret boards and all the fancy stuff, but the steel and electric guitar was seen as a "craze", so getting the product out was the most important thing.

[@rotaxtwin]

@@87mini I searched up a schematic for the 1333 and found one courtesy of Sears.

[@daddyspooge1]

This is the first of your videos that I have seen and this is so interesting! I am intimidated by the pile of spaghetti in the back but super impressed with your knowledge of the circuits and confidence in fixing it. I haven't seen the rest of your videos, but have you built a simple amp from scratch to explain the circuit and what all the parts do? That would be interesting to me. Subscribed!

[@bossasupremo9494]

I basically concur with this entire premise.

[@dkaloupis75]

Well done madam. Congratulations and we are all thankful for any videos here

[@JohnDoesItAll]

I love how you appreciate small details and classic design from a bygone era. I love old classic stuff as well.

[@davejones6130]

Oh, one more suggestion for reliability: I would avoid mounting filter caps on the power transformer ( I see you glued one to the xmfr case ) reason being that heat from the xmfr will migrate into the cap thru the glue and prematurely dry out the cap over time.

[@uncled39]

School boy error

[@zuke-ci4vd]

Great job on the refurbish! Will you make a cabinet for it? Wes Montgomery, always a good choice. You quite possibly have the best looking fingernails in the Amp Repair category on KZbin. 🎸😎👍💖

[@FIVE_DOLLAR-DAVE]

Winner. 👑 💣

[@rumbatimba]

Girl, that was the best half hour of my life spent looking at your work.

[@rcwyhk]

This video is clear an explanatory of the process of restoration. Well done!