1966 Goldentone Bassmaster - Part One: Assessment

[@stevencochrane115]

That metod (2 valve socket connected by a bolt, with components mounted in beteen) was known as "capstan construction . Very popular in the 50's and 60's, it was used as a space saving design.

[@Splattle101]

I really like these old Goldentones. They're not easy to find these days. The only one I've seen in decades was a huge bass amp combo.

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

I'll be grabbing one if I find it in the right condition.

[@kbkman7742]

Love old goldies. Have a 63 reverb twin with the same output section, and a little student model with a single 6gw8. That book is really useful although there are some errors on a couple of diagrams. That speaker jack you said was replaced would have had a two pin plastic connector. They also never had fuses

[@goodun2974]

The stacked tube-socket arrangement is like a crude version of a Vector tube-socket "turret" with a cylindrical terminal strip mounted to the socket. Very usefull devices; look 'em up. I've got a bunch, but they're a bit pricey as NOS these days....

[@retread1083]

11:05 You said tube. We're wearing you down! lol

[@DetroitWrecker666]

That book is VERY cool! Thanks! This is great!

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

I'll be getting myself a copy and posting the link once I find a source. An absolutely fascinating book, a lot of Australian history in the book.

[@DetroitWrecker666]

@@BradsGuitarGarage Thanks!

[@75YBA]

Unbelievable.❤

[@goodun2974]

The only "modern" American-made musical instrument amps I've ever seen with tubes that used top-cap plate connectors are the earliest version of the Ampeg SVT bass amp with six 6146B transmitting tubes. Never seen an instrument amp before with TV "sweep tubes" ---- such as the 6DQ6A here ---- for output, although I'd heard tell you Aussies built some such beasties. Our 'Murican eejits can't be trusted around tubes with exposed high-voltage anode connections on top (although some commercial paging amps such as Bogen occasionally used sweep tubes; and early guitar amps and mixers often used pentode preamp tubes with *grid* caps, such as the 6SJ7). PS, IIRC, the 6DQ6 is a beam power tube, a tetrode with beam-forming (or focusing) plates, it's not a pentode (no suppressor grid). Same applies to 6V6, 6L6, 6550, KT88 etc, all tetrodes, and so you can't put a triode-pentode switch on them; it'd be a triode-tetrode switch! If the amp in question used EL34 or EL84, those are true pentodes, but American manufacturers rarely made true pentodes because they didn't like paying patent fees to Philips. And now, I have flexed my pedantic muscle-ry sufficiently for the next week or two....my suppressor grid tries to keep it in check but occasionally a charge builds up sufficiently that a burst of electrons get through!

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

Haha, that's why we love you, mate! But you got my gist. There's no way to access the plates directly without tapping into the cap connection, in this case I made some adapters out of paper clips, which the anode caps held firmly in place, in order to measure the plate voltages w/respect to the center tap. You can see such hoo-haa on my Facebook and Instagram pages.

[@goodun2974]

@@BradsGuitarGarage , I've got all sorts of homemade tube adaptors, socket interruptors, and special multimeter probes, for testing and measurement, and tube substitution.

[@75YBA]

Holy Frak.

[@richardleerodgers5303]

Very cool

[@jonnybeck6723]

Output tubes straight out of an old TV

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

Yep, they made it with whatever they could get their hands on.

[@goodun2974]

@@BradsGuitarGarage , early ultralinear and/or Williamson-type hifi amps were often built with war-surplus transmitting tubes such as the 807, or the 6BG6 sweep tube, basically a 6L6 variant with top-cap anode. Any tube made in large quantities for TV use would be easily obtainable and affordable for other purposes due to economies of scale.

[@retread1083]

No pokies in the pubs? That's disappointing. I enjoy watching a wet t-shirt contest, every now and again.

[@goodun2974]

"No pokey's in the pubs, yet"..... huh?

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

Poker machines. Melbourne CBD (in the state of Victoria) outlawed them. And it's nightlife thrived as a result. NSW state (where I am) is run by a thinly veiled gambling lobby group, and the nightlife has become non-existent outside of the casino centers, thanks to a corrupt state government for many years.

[@goodun2974]

@@BradsGuitarGarage , I would think that wandering around after dark outside of well-lit city centers and meeting up with some of your nocturnal "nightlife" in the Outback, perhaps even in the suburbs, would be the biggest gamble you could take with your life in Australia!

[@goodun2974]

Re: "They still made idiots back then". They still make idiots nowadays too. Idiots are the longest-production-run manufactured product on the planet. The factory runs continuously, never runs out of raw material, and never shuts down for maintenance or upgrades! 🤣

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

Oh, I'm well aware that they make idiots today, just some people tend to look on the past with rose coloured glasses.

[@goodun2974]

@@BradsGuitarGarage , or Rose-Morris colored glasses, as the (road) case may be.... (or "head case", perhaps ---- peeps have been telling me what a head case I am for my entire life!). That's a very pretty amp, by the way, I like the look of the faceplate. I did notice that the soldering to the filter cap cans looks pretty crummy and I wonder if the old ones were drilled out and new one's riveted in place?.

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

One was English and one Japanese, my be is that the 47/47uf Japanese one was changed at some point and the 110/80uf one was original.

[@rogerpennel1798]

The R&D costs on new idiots are pretty low.

[@goodun2974]

@@rogerpennel1798 , The mistakes that the new idiots make can turn out to be pretty costly down the road!

[@theoloutlaw]

Australia used to make Valves? LOL Next you'll be telling me we used to make cars too lol

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

It's okay, we still make beer.

[@theoloutlaw]

@@BradsGuitarGarage And quite well too :)