Fender Silver Face Twin Restoration - Part 3

Previous episodes:
Part 1: • Fender Silver Face Twi...
Part 2: • Fender Silver Face Twi...
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/ @bradsguitargarage
Webpage: www.bradsguitargarage.com.au
Facebook: bradsguitargarage
Instagram: / bradsguitargarage
Equipment:
Soldering:
Pace MBT station w/SX100 & PS-90 handpieces
Hakko 474 w/815 handpiece
Hakko 936 w/907 handpiece
Hakko FX-888D w/FX-8801 handpiece
Quick 861DW hot air station
BOFA fume extraction unit
Loctite Multicore solder (C511 / 362)
Test Equipment:
Fluke 11, 175, 177 & 179 handheld DMM's
Tektronix 2236 analog oscilloscope
Rigol DS-1054z digital oscilloscope
BK Precision 4017A sweep / function generator
BWD 160a function generator
HP 6236B triple output DC power supply
Kyoritsu 3132A insulation / continuity tester
Video equipment:
Overhead cam: Panasonic HC-V785 w/Audio Technica AT9946CM mic
Handheld cam: Panasonic DC-G85 w/Olympus M.Zuiko Pro 12-40mm f/2.8
On location cam: Panasonic DC-GH5s w/Panasonic-Leica 9mm f/1.7 & 12-60mm f/2.8
Capture card(s): Magewell HDMI USB, ATEN UC3020-AT, ATEN UC3021
Headset Mic: Audio Technica BP892xcW-TH
Lapel Mic: Rode Go
Editing: Adobe Premiere Elements
Hand Tools:
Wiha, Felo, Stanley screwdrivers
CK & Engineer cutters / pliers
RS Pro wire strippers
Sidchrome & Gear Wrench spanners, sockets & shifters
Veritas planes & chisels
Materials / Consumables:
JJ's / TAD electron valves
Elixir / Ernie Ball / D'Addario / Rotosound strings
Electrolube & DeoxIT cleaners, lubricants & chemicals.

[@PsionicAudio]

Respect for showing your screen ground goof.

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

As always, thanks for watching, mate! I know you're a busy man and it means a lot.

[@tjminasi1442]

For sure

[@Mark70609]

Agreed, keeping it honest. We all make mistakes.

[@MrStevehunter33]

Love The Fifth Element reference. It sounds great; classic Fender. The owner's going to have a large bill to pay, but worth it. This amp will probably outlive them now.

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

One of the best movies I've ever seen. I watch it every 6 months or so.

[@MrStevehunter33]

@@BradsGuitarGarage That explains your resemblance to Zorg

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

@@MrStevehunter33 Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg, thank you very much. I could be dead broke and if I had 1/10th of Gary Oldman's ability, I'd be happy.

[@mnemonik61]

@@BradsGuitarGarage Not to revive a dead thread but I was recently in hospital, and the CATV system was doing movie marathons all weekend - but ALSO they ran The 5th Element like a dozen times... I watched it like six times. I think It'll be a classic forever, but what do I know? I'm just a meat popsicle... 😁

[@chriskilgore930]

I worked for a power company in the USA and we had the green slime problem with a lot of substation PVC insulated control wiring that was installed in the late 1960's and early 1970's. We had it lab tested and much of it did come back as PCB contaminated.

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

Right, good to know, mate. Thanks for letting us know. That's where my carbon filter on the BOFA extractor is crucial in the closed environment of my workshop. Would you happen to have any links to evidence for my reading and a possible warning video in the future?

[@Stratman6257]

Excellent job sir. The new wiring looks awesome. Keep up the great work and keep protecting your name. Most customers will always appreciate the attention to detail. Cheers from the states 😊

[@geezberry8889]

my man you are creative. you could be cast in game of thrones

[@colinaiken]

I like that you found the problem. Great work!

[@edwardhannigan6324]

Hey Brad..Just a work of art & a beautiful sound..You the man..! Ed..uk..😄

[@peeemm2032]

As always a great video.. I might have been the somebody who said that the wiring goo might contain PCBs.... I got this from watching a vid on Fran Blanche's channel where she was servicing, (from memory) a silver face Bandmaster and replaced the power cable, which was oozing goo and turning the copper green.... She's usually well informed about these things, so I took notice... A quick search came up with a paper from the University of Idaho which said it was used in "cable insulation" (whatever that may mean) among other things, and a reference from the Oz Dept of Climate Change, Energy etc. (DCCEW), that said it was used in a range of electrical equipment, paint, and also as a "plasticiser", so who knows? Given that it was used in just about everything until about 1979, and is very persistent, it's probably still all around us - and worrying about everything will kill you too! Heck, asbestos is still used in garden mulch in good old Oz.... Your mileage may vary, ss they say in the goid old US of A, but I'd personally use gloves, or at least wash my hands before I ate my lunchtime wrap if I was touching oozing wiring in anything pre 1979.... Cheers, love your work 😊

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

Generally I'd defer to whatever Fran says as she knows more (a LOT more!) than I on most subjects!

[@peeemm2032]

@@BradsGuitarGarage indeed.....ditto!

[@GetTheLedOut8585]

Periwinkle blue fish paperundahthelamp - it's fer me ma! That's a GREAT sounding Twin. Great job man!

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

HAHA! I love that movie! Thanks for watching, mate!

[@khillsy4489]

Complete and thorough work. It's maddening when obvious problems are ignored because it's not on the order sheet. Just do your job. 👍👍👍👍

[@plantpotpeople]

Great work and playing as always.

[@frankiechan9651]

Always a good day when something comes back better than when it left the factory. It looks and sounds amazing.

[@tedmich]

Great and thorough vid as usual Brad! The special FX are an added bonus!

[@alvagoldbook2]

Holy moly, that’s a full rebuild! Looking and sounding fantastic now!

[@lukefarrugia973]

fantastic work Brad - thanks for sharing this, owner should be very happy with the outcome

[@Andy_Yates]

Doesn't sound like much work. BS that's a ton of work and it sounds epic now👍

[@Da_Porkchop_Xpress]

well done, Brad!

[@martinreid1740]

I really enjoyed this, great work as usual and to a very high standard, the owner is very lucky to have such a good technician. My last Fender was a Quad reverb back in the late seventies with the pull boost on the master volume which I never used. Thank God it had castors because it was really heavy. Anyway it never let me down gigging for years. Happy memories.

[@petertimp5416]

Thanks. Haven’t seen black film Cap’s before?……oh, did you say they’re blue?

[@sonicduderanch]

Yesterday I started loosing my mind about a new reverb tank not putting out any sound........Then I turned on the standby. :) As you said, Human!

[@Mark70609]

Yeah, the old story to err is human and divine to forgive. Not to mention the other adage, he who hasn’t made a mistake has learnt nothing.

[@MichaelSmith-rn1qw]

I guess I've been lucky. I have Fender amps dating from 1968 to 1980 and none of them have developed that green corrosion problem on the wires. Like you said in the video, it must have been a bad batch of wire they received, and was used in various amps, without regard to amp model. Nice job on the complete rebuild!

[@RaxFx]

Beautiful work - both you and owner should be proud.

[@SirLoinMagroin]

The whole series on this amp was insightful. I believe an Angel gets their wings whenever a classic tube amp is resurrected. God works in mysterious ways, after all.

[@ericluttinger6546]

That, to me, was a ton of work. Looks freakin' great. Great videos man, I really enjoyed them.

[@jeffhamk]

Love your work. Will definitely go to you if I ever need a repair. Thanks for your honesty.

[@scottwilcox6313]

Nice work. I'm sure you already know. Is the camera the same because it looks crystal clear. Sounded crazy good.

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

Same camera. It gives back what I put in, effort wise.

[@jeanemmanuelkrieger6001]

these amps have an insane amount of bass, perfect clean platform , mine has a nice reverb but not as deep and drippy as this one, I wonder why?

[@abijag100]

Bass thru the Normal ch sounds great !!

[@garryparker337]

Bloody marvelous is all I can say. Great sound check as well 🧐

[@malliz1]

Geeze mate not only are you human but your honest as well ❤

[@Lu_Woods]

Us artistic, creative, curious types are lucky to have artistic, creative ,tech types like you to keep things rockin' ; )

[@roryloftin6493]

Lots of nice guit box groove thanks from Oklahoma USA

[@rustymohican8280]

Perfection!!!

[@zulufrog]

Brad, I don't remember where it was you mentioned PCBs are superior than other ways of wiring (PTP/turret). Would you mind expanding on that thought?

[@Olivil]

Ah yes, a new video from my favorite enthusiast of the Fluke 170 series multimeters.

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

They're great!

[@swaffy101]

I think it’s awesome you own your mistakes. Very funny and amazing work. Subscribed!

[@jjiacobucci]

Very quiet. Congrats

[@bllyfen8]

Man would love to hear this one in person, I bet it's intense! Admirable work bud.

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

It's very punchy however the master volume is very effective at getting nice breakup at moderate or even bedroom levels. Post-PI MV's can be great, but don't disregard pre-PI MV's. Executed well, they can be fantastic.

[@goodun2974]

It occurs to me that the "member" star is the same green color as an old-fashioned "magic eye" type tube,, but those tubes never producrd a star pattern, which is a shame. An eye-tube star that expands and contracts would be pretty cool!

[@kenr86]

Bloody good job. Massive props to you

[@joemcgraw5529]

Beautiful work Brad ,anyone that has issues with it is just jealous !!!

[@BenState]

Lol@ intro! But in all seriousness, really really pretty work mate. One of your comments reminded me of high school days when we used to connect up amps in chains like muppets!!!

[@Skman22]

Beautiful work fella.

[@Nobody92421]

Thanks for posting

[@kyledriscollmusic]

such an iconic bass amp

[@Kmiommi]

Well done. Great show

[@Mark70609]

You used teflon coated wire for the heater wire? That makes life easier. I understand you wanted to keep the amp similar to a stock AB763 circuit, I was wondering what was your motivation for using two 100uF caps on the B+ instead of the old mod (Mesa Boogie and the Blackface Twin) of using 220uF caps. The idea behind it is that amp sounds tighter at volume. Though there would be less hum due to more filtering. You did mention which ceramic caps you liked using in the tone controls, though I can’t remember what you said, could I trouble you to tell me? I suppose that leads into another question regarding using silver mica caps in lieu of the ceramic caps. What’s your take on that?

[@TheStephensjoshua]

Nice, clean work.

[@victorbeebe8372]

Good job Brad!

[@johnwilliamson467]

Spot on on the cause for the green death ! Very poor wire . Home wiring solid core romex in USA has little of that problem . Stranded wire looks like about all of the problem . Home wiring tend to darken a much less of a problem than green.

[@michaelfiolka4943]

Hey Brad, that is some clean wiring! I am currently sourcing parts for my SF twin, and I am struggling to find a replacement for the shielded wire (the one thats causing the green goo spill). Could you tell me what kind you used? Would be my salvation!

[@Bolandcustoms]

He has finally lost his mind haha clones hahaha

[@watkinscopicat]

incredible job! 👏 looks amazing

[@murrayguitarpickups9545]

Love your work Brad

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

I really like what you did with that 100R

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

Yes, the same trick works on cathode biased amps even more effectively. It gives you the elevation you so crave!

[@ScottyBrockway]

Nice one Brad.

[@markprentice7785]

Could the missing ground on the screen have had any effect on the trem ticking? Probably a stupid question

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

Yes, that would have been a factor. But once corrected, there was still a tiny bit left only when the reverb was maxxed out, which the cap sorted out.

[@colinaiken]

Thanks!

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

WHOA! Thanks buddy! That will go toward my ramen tonight when I walk around Sydney filming the Vivid 2024 event!

[@IainThacker]

"They're artistic, curious, creative people" is a really polite was of saying "idiots"! I say this as a musician (well, a bass-player, musician-adjacent), most musicians are dumb as dirt when it come to tech stuff.

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

I admire their approach and the curiosity. However one of the two main reasons I started this channel is so they can make informed decisions in their artistic quests!

[@Splattle101]

"So in summary, it doesn't sound like that much," quoth he, after rebuilding the fucking thing. 🤣

[@bambule5268]

Your twin is more handsome than you. That twin reverb sounds so good! Great work!

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

Ahh, but the one on the right said "I didn't ask to be cloned" which could be taken as him being the original, so technically the one on the right could be the real me!

[@bambule5268]

@BradsGuitarGarage still believe his beard looks better!

[@colbyjack7074]

@bradguitargarage I'm guessing you use that cleaning bucket to milk the cows in the morning... right mate?

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

I use it to make amp-knob soup.

[@Mark70609]

Am I correct to assume that you replaced the 68K grid leak/bias resistors with 220K resistors?

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

You are correct.

[@Mark70609]

@@BradsGuitarGarage thanks again for your reply. I appreciate your help.

[@markspurgin8225]

Lol 😆 🤣 😂 the production bravo 👏 👍

[@paultaylor2968]

Legends both of you .😅😊

[@thatampguy]

The nuclear option

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

Maybe a tactical one.

[@Cpt_Adama]

LMFAO 🤣🤣 Love your clone.

[@cactus-mcjacktus]

Howdy! Haven’t caught up on this adventure yet but thought i’d drop my comment here. Obviously adding the master (amongst the other changes that happened to these amps in the 70’s) went against the whole “clean with massive headroom” thing that Leo Fender loved, but what do you think of the silver panel amps (in comparison to say, a black panel that everyone kinda knows), especially the master volume ones? I’m curious.

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

I think they're great. Many people "black face" the PI etc. You can avoid that by just changing the input coupling cap to scale along with the PI tail component values on later SF twins. But then the problems laid out in this video series still remain. I suggest you watch them all if you haven't already to know what they entail.

[@cactus-mcjacktus]

@@BradsGuitarGarage I definitely plan on it, and thank you for replying!

[@SPIKESBIKES50]

👍👍👍

[@davidlovellbass4761]

Did you switch to a bass in the last bit of the playing demo?

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

I certainly did.

[@larrychung3190]

Thanks for sharing this - I'd be curious to know approximately how much time you ended up dedicating to this restoration/rebuild?

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

It was about 10 hours of work, maybe double / triple that thanks to doing the video.

[@larrychung3190]

@@BradsGuitarGarage many thanks - btw - props for posting the "missing link" on the filter cap. it's always reassuring knowing that it's not just me doing the duffing! Cheers and g'day. (:

[@jevinedric5390]

What brand & type of chassis iron do you use?

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

It's a Hakko 100W thing, but I'm not going to recommend it as there are better ones out there. Any 80-100W iron from Hakko or Weller would be perfect.

[@jevinedric5390]

@@BradsGuitarGarage Thanks Brad! Love your work 😁

[@zulufrog]

How much would the old transformer wires affect an amp that has been almost completely re-wired?

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

Not sure what you mean. What in particular are you referring to? Lead-dress or something?

[@zulufrog]

@@BradsGuitarGarage Just the wires coming off the transformer, the cloth covering looked older and more “worn”(?), and I was wondering if that could affect the amp in some way.

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

As long as the insulation is still in good condition it shouldn't have any impact at all.

[@zulufrog]

@@BradsGuitarGarage It was just one of those "I'm not a tech" type of questions. I am a big fan of your work.

[@TKsGuitarandAmpRepair]

you say flyback event, I say the previous hack shorted a plate to heater with their uninsulated meter probe tip. Know a guy who did that once. ONCE.

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

I doubt that would leave arc damage across the hum balance pot and valve socket. Think hard about the failure mode and it's electrical conditions.

[@TKsGuitarandAmpRepair]

@@BradsGuitarGarage I'll take your word for it - have yet to witness a flyback myself. The reason I suggested it was the one time I saw a shorted heater-plate, it arced freely between the pins after the probe was removed, until the heater balance resistors exploded about half a second after. Wanted to blame the tech and not the musician :)

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

Ohhh, ouch! Right there is one of the reasons why we use heater balance resistors rather that a centre tap. Imagine the carnage!

[@colbyjack7074]

@brad Your twin bother is a bit better lookin' than you mate. How does he do with the ladies?

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

That's not hard! He's rubbish with the ladies while I lock him in the storeroom. When he gets out, he's unstoppable.

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

🤣

[@petertimp5416]

Thanks. Haven’t seen black film Cap’s before?……oh, did you say they’re blue?

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

Yes, it could be the exposure of the shot, but they are a dark navy blue.