'61 Ampeg Rocket | Amp Restoration

[@RomeoG39]

Colleen, I love all your videos. This one was special because we got to meet the owner and hear stories about him and his amp. You do great work, too.

[@williambock1821]

The ritualistic feeling of getting the big iron out. The antique ones work fantastic. The simplicity is almost sacred.

[@christopherweise438]

I love that you show us all these rare amps that we don't normally see. That's awesome. Thanks Colleen.

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

Nice to have a video back to your roots. Always enjoy a good repair video.

[@fuzzyloomchannel]

ASMR and amp repair. Awesome!

[@keithlambell1970]

Really cool to hear the life story of the amp as well as seeing it fixed up.

[@davidwilliams3274]

Fascinating to see the innards of vintage gear. Your skill, knowledge and enthusiasm for the classic amps is truly inspirational.

[@markbernier8947]

Cool old Ampeg !! -- sometimes the beat-up "Road Warrior" amps were the best sounding ones, so they got used the most -- and they became "beat-up" through the years --- And the pristine "Closet Queens" look like new but aren't the best sounding examples of an amp model

[@sdjgfashjasbfasd]

I have a 63 Jet. Ampegs of this era were built solid and sound great. And you gotta love those clutch head screws.

[@FuzzEater]

I love the way these sound

[@Andy-ql9wh]

Hi Happy Holidays, Cool Amp. Love Your Vids. Peace, Love

[@wallpapermusique]

Merry Xmas Colleen!!

[@weschilton]

Wow, that amp has definitely seen things, man!

[@patrickkauffman]

A fire or window toss can't stop a NYC made Ampeg. Man, I want to hear some of Maurice's music , he knows whats up! Tony's mech is so solid!! PGR!!

[@davejones6130]

MERRY CHRISTMAS, Colleen ! 🎄🎅From your faithful Canadian fan boy supporter in Vancouver Canada 🇨🇦

[@arumrunner]

Nice rebuild, gave it the love it deserves and cool stories to boot. I've got a '60 Rocket in great shape, all orig. One day it'll get some of the love treatment as well. Be well

[@michaelnc4450]

Great post! Thanks! 😎👍

[@analogkid4557]

You are so awesome. I have been watching you for several years, and I am a drummer!

[@SteveMoto622]

So awesome ❤

[@bobbyohanesian4228]

Merry Christmas Coleen!!!!

[@Strumbum01]

Excellent vid! Thank you!

[@chokkan7]

A good blast of compressed air to rid the insides of the chassis of dust is always a good first step. ;) I have a '68 Bassman head that was non-functional when I got it for a song; upon opening the chassis, I could see immediately that it had been afire internally. The PT was shot, as was the bias supply; I've had it on the shelf for years because it didn't seem cost-effective to repair...maybe if prices keep going up, I'll re-think that...

[@jighead81]

That was so awesome, thank you for sharing :}}}}

[@mikemorrisonmusic]

Welcome back!!

[@d3w4yn3]

Great explanation of your processes, this is really educational and getting to see these vintage amps is a treat!

[@phildem414]

Well worth restauring❤

[@rockitlikeawolf]

beautiful amp. awesome work!

[@thedevilinthecircuit1414]

Nice job bringing that beauty up to modern standards, Colleen. i've got a '61 Reverberocket and it's a *peach* of a noisemaker. Merry Christmas!

[@CapstoneTider]

Your patience makes things look easier than they actually are.

[@johnjames1813]

Great stuff!!!

[@Jefferson_Primera]

Thank you, Interesting video of amplifiers, wonderful channel.

[@paulsto6516]

Good show.

[@martinreid1740]

Thanks that was a great repair/restoration, nice to see the big iron out for that earth. Amp sounds great. A happy and peaceful Christmas to you.

[@george-st-george]

Thanks for another great video and Happy Holidays !!!!

[@jeffreylarson8533]

well done- Love your videos. Wish you were around Cocoa Beach, FL so you could service my 1967 Ampeg V4

[@zeekfitzroy4986]

Awesome! Love the owner, stories and hearing him play it after your overhaul. 5 STARS!

[@BasicDrumming]

Great video.

[@borowland5744]

Im learning, and I have a question concerning the output and power transformers. If one or even both are ever replaced in a vintage amp, does that make it non-original? Or lessen the worth? I know folks like to, at least get the original speakers, even if new ones are added.

[@goodun2974]

Unfortunately, yes, replacement transformers do mean the amp isn't original and generally lower the resale value of the amp. However, if one has and keeps the original transformers, regardless of whether they're good or they're blown, and includes them when they sell the amplifier, that helps keep the resale value up, to some extent, as long as the transformer swap was done cleanly without drilling new holes or chopping wires short, and is easily reversible. Blown transformers can of course be rewound and re-installed; reasons for changing transformers that might not actually be blown could range from needing 240 Vt operation for using it overseas or on international tours, or perhaps you need a range of output impedance taps to use with a different speaker setup; or you want larger transformers for more headroom and power, and so on.

[@borowland5744]

@goodun2974 Thank you. I'm looking at buying my first vintage amp, and 1965 Pro Reverb from a music store in Tupelo. I know the caps and tube's were replaced last month by the owner of the shop. It's his personal amp and I have know him for years. Everything seems to be original and it sounds very nice. It's $3000. It is on Reverb for $3500, but I buy a lot from the store. I think it may be a good deal.

[@klepetar]

8:00 OMG..i was thinking the same thing.. clean that amp up.. i once had a late 70's JMP that i cleaned wiht a toothbrush.. thing looked like new...

[@goodun2974]

The dirtiest amp I ever worked on was the chassis of a tweed 4 x10 Bassman that had been gigged heavily in Mexico and everything inside of it was caked with baked on red clay dust. I spent hours picking it out with a flat blade screwdriver, a popsicle stick, a dental pick and finally a toothbrush.

[@DeadorRed]

Sweet little segs😊🎸

[@paultraynorbsc627]

Best wishes Colleen

[@GreggBennett-j3p]

I have a Reverberocket 2, but have been looking for an original Rocket or Reverberocket with those 6V6’s. The originals break up much earlier than the 2’s do. The 2’s have gorgeous creamy, clean tones. One of each is ideal, imo.

[@pilotsamolotu8957]

To co robisz jest piękne.

[@bluesoverlord]

Ah, yes, one of Ken Fischer’s favorite amps was the reverb rocket. One of his Trainwreck creations was a Rocket, that is lower gain than the Express based on the AC30. I built one, including the cabinet and even wood burned a rose and some heather on the face plate. I then stamped it on the chassis, named after my wife, Heather Rose. Continued the “serial number” of girls names that Ken used. Best sounding head I own.

[@JEmilioJNava]

Diggin' the blister tube packing ... maybe not secure but looks nice.

[@Splattle101]

Cool old amp, and a cool story. I expected to see more of the molded Astrons to go, given at least one of them looked like it'd split.

[@goodun2974]

My one minor concern is, it's probably better (for less experienced techs and DIY'ers) to install the power-cord bushing/clamp *after* soldering the filter-cap ground and earth ground wire, because lingering too long on the chassis with the soldering iron might tend to melt the plastic of the bushing. This might be more likely with use an *underpowered*, low wattage soldering iron because you can't heat the chassis quickly and get In-and-out as fast as you could if the iron was more powerful.

[@renokid64]

Hi Colleen, love your videos! Quick question, I do some soldering on guitars and non-amp lamps and stuff. When do you break out the big soldering iron, and when do you use the smaller one? Just curious. thanks!

[@gregbear123]

I love your videos, Colleen. Have you seen Anthony Fantanos' video on Distrokid?

[@allisonholmesmusic97]

Nice to see another repair video. I have a question that hopefully someone can answer… why is it called the “death cap”.

[@KeritechElectronics]

"You call that a soldering iron?" [Colleen draws her huge tool, 250W or the like] "THIS... is a soldering iron." Nice job on that amp. I'm firmly in favor of recapping - no argument about "vintage tone", "mojo" etc. is gonna convince me to leave potentially leaky caps that will throw the bias off and kill the tubes.

[@tomk1tl39]

As always 👍👍 . . .

[@TeslaTales59]

Nice work! Do you have a big box of all the parts you remove?

[@goodun2974]

I'm sure she gives all the old parts back to the customer who owns the amp. Standard operating procedure for good techs....

[@richardpierce7819]

I wish I had my 71 Ampeg V- 4 back that was stolen a few yrs back. .

[@carcarjinks1430]

do you save discarded copper for recycling? we get good money for it where i live, but appliance cords don't fetch much

[@МаркинОлегАвтономныеисточникип]

Нормально провела ремонт, ЭЛЕКТРОЛИТЫ поменяла, нужно поставить предохранитель на высоковольтную часть , часто выгорает из за этого , что нет защиты

[@1Firebird]

I want to replace the capacitors in my 1964 Supro S6422TR and was wondering if you could tell me what the equivalent to a mallory 35mf 50vdc axial cap would be and if it's ok to use radial caps if you can't find axial (like the originals)?

[@goodun2974]

Radial caps are fine if you can't find axials in the correct mfd value. 35 mfd is non-standard nowadays and so might use 22, 33, or even 47 mfd. Panasonic, Nichicon, Chemicon, MOD, F&T, Vishay, are all good. You are more likely to find them rated for 63V than for 50V, and that's just fine. It sounds like these are for the cathode bypass capacitors for preamp and output tubes.....

[@1Firebird]

@@goodun2974 what about the 20 10 10 mf 450 vdc, thanks

[@ericwilson2585]

Hey Colleen, how are you doing? I've got a question; how do you feel about using a "Y" capacitor (think it's called) in place of the death cap?

[@goodun2974]

If you add a grounded power cord as you're supposed to for safety, the "Y" capacitor is unnecessary. If you used 2 of them, one from neutral to ground and the other from hot to ground, then you might get a little bit of filtering against noise spikes riding in on the power line, but it's not really necessary.

[@ericwilson2585]

OK thank you. But maybe I should have included this into my first question; my house is so old that it doesn't have any ground circuits going to any of the outlets, I have to use those little grey ground prong eliminator things everywhere. Lol😆 So yeah, the "2" Y caps sounds like a good idea then.

[@goodun2974]

@@ericwilson2585 , well, the Y cap, or a pair of them, will allow the amp to have a pseudo earth ground that will keep RF noise to acceptable levels (noise gets shunted through the cap to the power cord neutral wire, which is presumably esrth-grounded at the fusebox), BUT: Frank chassie is ingrounded and your guitar strings are connected to it which means that if the emplifier develops an internal fault you could have high voltage on your guitar strings and touching a grounded object could zap you badly and maybe electrocute you. At the very least, using a power outlet strip with a GFCI built in would be a good idea for your personal safety. Or, have an electrician wire up a dedicated grounded outlet for you.

[@smithcustomguitarco]

monster iron stealing the show

[@fordsrestorations970]

I would have loaned a Stratocaster to a pretty serious lady friend musician but come to find out on her tour something happened and all the guitars were knocked over and the headstock broke off of one , I'm glad that she did not borrow my guitar .

[@zdenkokovac2896]

🤗💖💫✨️✨️

[@fordsrestorations970]

PS Colleen I think you're alright . Have you ever got the chance to work on a World War II B-17 radio ?

[@AICD1999]

So why not screw that ground into the amp chassis instead of soldering it? Without the death cap that would seem to be the best for longevity.

[@alexdenton6586]

A musician’s final thoughts should be of Ohio

[@КоттМайский]

Старая техника очень ремонтнопригодна

[@jamesrobertson9597]

Solder the ground wire directly to the chassis? Well you better have a bigass f'in soldering - ok I see you've got one.

[@Mr_Gray_Sky]

You're peppy in this video.

[@иванепифан-к8ж]

2:32 Dear child! Use tweezers instead of pliers! )))). You can insulate it with heat shrink tubing. It's more convenient than pliers!

[@robertburrows6612]

Warning. DO NOT SOLDER A GROUND WIRE TO A CHASSIS UNLESS A EQUIPMENT IS FITTED WITH A MAINS TRANSFORMER, THE TRANSFORMER WILL PROVIDE SAFE ISOLATION

[@rafaelallenblock]

Great content but I cringe seeing diagonal cutters used instead of proper wire strippers.

[@goodun2974]

I've been working with electronics for over 50 years and I sometimes strip wire that way as well unless it's fragile,light gauge wire, or insulated with Teflon or similar that is difficult to strip. Anyone who's been stripping wire for decades knows from feel, followed up by a quick glance, if you've nicked or otherwise damaged the wire from the process of stripping it. Refurbishing an old amp and making it confirm reasonably well to modern electrical code isn't the same as building to mil-spec.

[@rafaelallenblock]

@@goodun2974 Not mil spec but potentially damaging vintage wire, which is tender as it is, by hacking at it with a butter knife instead of the proper tools just seems a needless oversight in QC.