The Horror | Marshall Super Bass Pt 1

[@theguitaramptech]

I recently had a commenter say he would never bring an amp to me because I showed my coffee to the camera while it was over the amp on the bench. I am so grateful. I would never want a customer where that is his yardstick in preference to quality work. Great work as always, Lyle.

[@jhjanko1]

Hey Lyle. I used to be one of those that objected to what thought might be an overly meticulous approach to justify overcharging. I admit I’m wrong now. You’re upholding a honorable tradition of pride in workmanship. In so doing you demonstrate that top quality work takes no more time, and often less time, than a hack job. This has changed my attitude and approach to this hobby of mine and using many of the tips, techniques and methods you’ve kindly explained during your video presentations, my attitude is changed. The work I do under controlled, benchtop circumstances will be to the best of my ability. Both technical as well as visual appeal. Thanks for the great content. Be the Professor Kingsfield of the amp tech world.

[@tedmich]

8:55 He's the Lyle-rax: he speaks for the amps!

[@illi-the-wolf]

I am so thankful for techs like you calling a spade a spade, and making sure folks know what good work can and should look like. You set a great example for anyone who might wanna do this stuff, or for amp owners who haven't a clue. Thanks for doing what you do, Lyle! ^_^

[@lordgraga]

Thanks for the shout out. I was super happy that I could suggest a suitable part. BTW, you've definitely raised the quality of my soldering work. You've also shown where I should absolutely not be doing it myself, which is equally useful.

[@dontuckerjr]

Lyle, I believe you inspire us to all do work worth appreciating. That can apply to anyone’s chosen profession. Thank you. 👍

[@JoshRoberts-fo5gq]

Uncle Doug is ....... well they broke the mold the shaped that man

[@GhostfaceGriller-hd7jw]

I love the amount of proper information given from this channel. I really appreciate this. Shout out to Brad's channel to.

[@GhostfaceGriller-hd7jw]

PROPER

[@jkhord]

4 speaker outputs, attached power cord, 6550s, and a polarity switch means it was made for the American market. The headshell style was used from 66-75 for SuperLead/Bass amps. The tolex is "elephant hide" rather than levant... which was not used on Marshall amps until 1976. So it's definitely been recovered.

[@joecole8658]

Great video. You and Rick Rubin sound alike. Very insightful stuff. Thank you.

[@jacobbockover1628]

Ive seen old white marshalls my dad had a 200 watt marshell magor that was always white in the late 70s

[@martinreid1740]

From what I've seen, you and Brad are working to the very highest standards, and afterwords these amps are better than when they left the original manufacturers.

[@28mmRPG]

Brad is a cool guy, he even took the time to help me with one of my amps through email. (when I had my music channel)

[@GhostfaceGriller-hd7jw]

Brad is a stand up dude just like my guy here!

[@storysofar7426]

Who is Brad?

[@28mmRPG]

@@storysofar7426A youtuber that fixes amps. The Guitologist? (Spelling)

[@goodun2974]

​@@storysofar7426, Brad's Guitar Garage in Australia, he posts amp and guitar repair videos on KZbin, as well as the occasional pub crawl or trail walk.....

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

Looking forward to digging into my '74 SB. One of these years, one of these years...

[@terrydemol5354]

Nicely done vid. WRT old impedance selectors: Mojotone sell the TAD one for less $ and a 4/8/16 labeled adapter plate. For even less $ Mouser sell a plastic part that is rated at 12A but obviously physically not as robust. (Mouser 611-H20307RR05Q ). These old 'loosey goosey' impedance selectors must have killed a few amps...... hopefully the mains selectors didn't kill any users.

[@psychic_records]

As someone who dabbles in amp stuff, I'm personally grateful when you point out flaws and mistakes.,. That way I know what not to do. There needs to be a higher benchmark for amp techs.. Even if it was done with good intentions, Lazy and shitty work on high voltage amps, especially super rare old high voltage amps is just irresponsible. There's a lot of bad info and bad techs out there, so I appreciate the transparency and honesty.✌

[@LeonTodd]

08:20 saaaavage! Can't wait to hear this once you've sorted it out.

[@l6srob990]

thanks for showing us these great amps and you are not proping yourself up garbage work is garbage work

[@johnstitt2615]

Just tuned in to your channel. Excited to see this beauty cleaned up and wired to a sturdy standard. A good and mean standard. Lol

[@tonyz4292]

Cool to see a bass spec! Been wanting to check one out!

[@AndyK.23]

Can't wait to see part 2! Cool James Bond watch band too!

[@larspeterandreassen237]

The tolex is not correct for this amp. This style of tolex is called "elephant grain" and was introduced in 1976. The toggle switches for on/off, standby and ground is 1975 or earlier. In 1976 the amps got the square switches that are still used today.

[@PsionicAudio]

Thanks. I knew the comments would be fruitful. I know the amp is early ‘70s. Will get pot/iron codes soon.

[@larspeterandreassen237]

@@PsionicAudio The letter following the serial number will tell you the year. A is 1969, B is 1970, c is 1971 and so on.

[@strumminronin]

Just spit balling... But could this be a Frankenstein where the chassis and cab are "reconstituted" together? A parts-Marshall? Not accusing that it is one, just asking if that is a possibility in itself.

[@larspeterandreassen237]

@@strumminronin It could be a Frankenstein, made up from an early amp and a later cab. But I have never seen a Marshall with this style of tolex, that didn´t have plastic corners on the cabinet, and white piping. That dosen´t mean that it dosen´t exist, but I doubt it. My best guess is that it has been re-tolexed.

[@mickfaragher7897]

"I know this bloke down the pub. He can fix your amp for less than 50 quid."

[@JeffMcErlain]

Love the vids as always my friend!

[@robbobtheplucker3082]

I appreciate your truthfulness!!! If people can't handle that then the need not apply. I only wish you were a little closer to Baltimore. The supposed go to electronics repair shop here couldn't even fix my Klipsch subwoofer properly as I asked. Keep on showing how it should be done. Maybe, just maybe some might realize what the real value of a good job done is and may also want to be the professional that you are!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@JoshRoberts-fo5gq]

Loving the vibes

[@Luke_735]

Really cool channel! I enjoy warching your videos while working out or on the train to work. Relaxing. :) I'm sure you get this a lot, but I figured I'd ask: I'm looking to build my first amp. I have experience soldering, have built pedal kits in the past. I'm looking at the Mojotone 5F1 and 5E3 kits, and the Mod 102+, but leaning more toward the Mojotone. -- Do you have any thoughts on these or another recommended starting point for a beginner? Thanks in advance. Again, great channel!

[@johnmcantrell]

Lyle, nice Hamilton Field Khaki!

[@rich5244]

Great video, and uber cool Goldfinger Nato strap!

[@mattjohnson6916]

Yikes! "Bless your heart" is right.... That's tack-solder city. 😬 Also, honesty does not equal meanness! Your comments at the end about standards are SPOT on.

[@nonemlinus]

Your critique, on this video and past videos I’ve watched over this last year, seem fair to me Lyle. I’m 54, and an engineer. Peace.

[@dalepiwek]

Its not OCD man its QCQ. Quest for quality 😂 you're the man Mr. Caldwell 🤘

[@TheStimpy60]

Stop amp abuse ! That is some of the worst we've seen here in a while Lyle, good luck. I look forward to seeing it all corrected and cleaned up- Thank you

[@jezmez68]

I gave away my 1985 Squier bridge pickup when I was 17, and I have regrets about that, but even as a kid, I always took care of my gear. I just don't understand how people aren't more careful with their gear.

[@roknrone]

What you do is simply amazing 😮

[@Winterfell1066]

When it comes to an amps future, you can restore it without being burdened by what has come before.

[@mikewithers299]

Lyle I can attest to your high standards as well as Uncle Doug. I'm not an amp tech per se, but I have loved electronics since an early age. I've rebuilt and repaired several vintage solid state power amps, and guitar amps. I learned the hard way without internet how to correctly solder and unsolder components and bring these amps back to life. Most of these amps just had burned out transistors, resisters, or old electrolytics. I'm now faced with a dilemma as I picked up an old solid state Marshall (2098) that has suffered under the hands of a piss poor tech who heated the components so much it lifted the traces right off the board. Now all those transistors are tack soldered to any wires still connected. What a mess! Now I need to find a way to put traces back on the board to reconnect half a dozen transistors.

[@K707OR30]

I want an original 1959 so bad but I’m always worried this or worse is what I’ll end up paying north of 3 or 4k for or whatever. I always remember that video series with the Marshall you worked on that had every single trace burnt out and “reflowed” and I’d die if one of those is what I ended up buying somehow.

[@zapphoddbubbahbrox5681]

man, someone put a 12 pack of bud into that resistor network mod.. and ya go and undo it. lol the outtro, but dude. what did it sound like when ya got it?

[@sgt.grinch3299]

Thanks Lyle

[@russellhltn1396]

Some people's standard: "It works, it ships".

[@strumminronin]

I had a run in with a custom pickup builder who sent me a custom ordered, hand built humbucker with a broken bobbin, and the ribbon tape around the bobbins is self-adhesive bandage. I gave him a chance to fix it whilst offering to order a second one to make them a set. He brushed off the issue over the busted bobbin. I know he guarantees his stuff because I have some second hand stuff that's been built by him, and that set has a COA type thing as guarantee. I got none of that. So there, some don't even care about repeat business.

[@SanDiegoHarry1]

excellent vid, as usual. As a bassist, I've never played used a Marshall superbass - are they used more often for bass or guitar (like the old Fender Bassman)?

[@zachariahwade8482]

Back in the day they were commonly used by Bassists like Jack Bruce(Cream) and Andy Fraser(Free) But were also used by guitarists like Kossoff(Free) and Malcom from ACDC.

[@SanDiegoHarry1]

@@zachariahwade8482 back in THAT day, there were only a few folks building bass amps - and most of them were re-jiggered guitar amps.... But I was thinking about how great a guitar amp the old Bassman is and if the mojo might apply here - I guess it does!

[@ditchgator1]

Have a feeling that after you work your magic Lyle... This amp is gonna sound better than my Xotic SL pedal...!!!😉😁👍

[@28mmRPG]

KZbin... you get a lot of underachievers voicing their opinions on how mean people are for having standards... I get a ton of those types of comments, they make me laugh at the pages they type in the comments. Just think of it like its feeding the algorithm. Keep rockin PA!

[@mistermac56]

I totally agree with you. Shitty work is shitty work.

[@fasteddie4145]

appears to be late 1973 early 1974

[@PsionicAudio]

I agree but want to get a pot or transformer date code.

[@curtisprice9806]

73 my bet....I have three 74's and one 73, which looks like this (blue Daly caps) all have dates on paper on chassis still

[@SirLoinMagroin]

I thought all the wannabe modder techie's amps from hell were shipped down under to Brad to fix. At least it's in capable hands now.

[@faultlessguitarsandamps1116]

Well said !!!

[@JoshRoberts-fo5gq]

Imagine a circuit board that says.....Excalibur 😳

[@RobertD-y42]

Amp techs should do things correctly and be critical of things done incorrectly. I worked for years with some very picky Engineers where if something was off by even .005" they would make you redo it. I never took it personally. It was just part of the job. Another part of the job was advising the Engineers when they made poor choices for parts or made mistakes in their designs.

[@vox1962]

Your attention to detail is seriously uncommon in the amp tech world, and most importantly, you approach these amps as a musical instrument with an ear to what sounds good and visions of each amps potential, this is equally uncommon. There are far too many techs who know electronics but not music, nor are they respectful to these amps histories

[@alexwoolridge94aw]

Bad work absolutely needs to be called out.

[@swaffy101]

I wonder how many times it was the current owner that jacked these amps up and you proceed to fillet them and they pay you for it? Hahahaha

[@unclemeat8422]

In a world where someone decides not to do an Airwolf remake…

[@jamescaldwell982]

I want to live in a world that bad things don't happen to amps

[@stevevender1154]

You’re the Lorax for amps. 😂

[@FrankDux-rq7go]

Amplifiers of all lands unite!!! You deserve to be repaired properly by a knowledgeable, courteous tech. Mesa Boogies excluded.

[@patrickwilliams2530]

Well whatever this amp was modded for, it seems that there was someone chasing the Van halen tone. Those 6ca7 and some of the things that were done look like it. I just hope that you will never come across a Jose modded amp and bring it back to stock. That would be a big mistake haha. Jose Arredondo was evh first amp tech since 72 and he modded Ed’s main plexi according to many sources. Some of the Jose mods look as awful as those mods 😂 and it’s worth 10k-30k per amp. So if one day you see an arrco sticker on the back don’t bring the amp back to stock but tell the owner he won at the amp lottery 😂.

[@PsionicAudio]

I know two guys who’ve worked on The 68. It’s almost completely stock except for a very few changes. ;) Jose might have been in it, but it was removed. I hope I never have to leave crappy work in place because “it’s valuable crappy work.”

[@patrickwilliams2530]

@@PsionicAudio anyways thank you because you are one of the best professionals on KZbin and I thank you because you teach many of us a lot of good habits and good practices. Your knowledge is amazing ! I learnt many good lessons and things by watching your videos and your narration is amazing ! Keep it going.

[@BillySoundFarm]

HELP! ...I have come to believe that I love AC15 sounds more than AC30 sounds... but the new AC15's are based on the AC30 circuit... ...so what would I buy if I wanted an amp that sounded like an old AC15? Is anyone making a real AC15 equivalent? (PS: this rabbit hole I'm on is your fault with your best amps under 500/1000 videos and then your AC15C1 videos)

[@troyrahnedir]

AMPS RIGHTS!!!! ✊

[@goodun2974]

As bad as the previous work done to this amp was, it pales in comparison to the Electroplex Rocket 35 video posted recently by Martyn in the UK on his Vintage Guitar Amp Repair And Online Guitar Teacher channel. The build quality is horrendously bad, and this is a boutique amp that sold for a lot of money a dozen years ago. Lyle compares amp repair to peeling back the layers of an onion; the Electroplex is an onion the size of a bowling ball! Horrible soldering, wiring that resembles an explosion at the spaghetti factory, multiple funky grounds to a heavily painted chassis, tube sockets not gripping the tubes, a dangling, uninsulated internal fuse nearly touching both chassis *and* output tube sockets ...... he's got the amp about 80% of the way to working correctly and it sounds fantastic but still has some noise and edge-of-oscillation issues that might be addressed in a Part 2 video.

[@6AM_YT]

If you're too lazy to pull the board to properly replace components, find another line of work. Sadly, I'd bet they're going to cut corners in that job, too.

[@curtisprice9806]

Probably done by an owner with little solder practice, but technical information...! Who says it has to be a paid repair?

[@roncarter2188]

Some people are good techs and some are shade tree techs....I dont want shade!

[@truescotsman4103]

"Some not so great". Not referring to "the guitologist" are you?

[@JoshRoberts-fo5gq]

There can be only 1

[@jackbyrd4921]

Dont cut the green wire and everything will be fine

[@liquefactionist]

Be the amp Lorax.

[@JoshRoberts-fo5gq]

Fuckin sweet man 😎

[@dimbulb5549]

"In a world ..." -- Dude, I LOLd, as the kids say ... well, actually, they probably don't say that anymore, they've probably moved on to something else by now ...

[@MojoMedicineMan]

👍

[@IamtheFerryMan]

The balls on the person who did that to this amp....

[@IainThacker]

There's nothing "mean" about calling out poor work and workmanship!

[@treasurecoastreefer]

I agree that was some shitty work, and this comes from someone that doesn't know crap, about repairing vintage amps.

[@lNllClK]

Wait, you're not uncle Doug?

[@johnnyx9892]

Uncle Doug is the Gold Standard.

[@BenState]

@@johnnyx9892 i disagree

[@aquilarossa5191]

You're so mean 🤣

[@xsonicassassinx]

are you critical? yes. is it wildly entertaining? also yes. is it NECESSARY? also yes, for safety reasons. you nearly met your maker over someone putting the wrong tube in a reverb driver. the more people who know the standards for function and safety, the longer these amps and the people who use them survive. this channel is free education on safety. proper grounding, power cables, death caps, all things that need to be talked about more. i used to work on arcades. you're only blasé about the danger of an exposed CRT coil ONCE. either because you didn't survive it or because your hand didn't stop tingling for a couple days and you'll never forget it. i am the latter. i'm a year into pedal building and i get asked at least once a month if i will look at someone's amp. the answer is a resounding NO every time. i don't have the training and i'm not going to learn to fly at mains voltage.

[@goodun2974]

To paraphrase an old saying: "there are old vacuum tube amp technicians, and there are bold vacuum tube amp technicians, but there are no old bold vacuum tube amp technicians". ( I forage for wild mushrooms and this is a saying that is applied to mushroom pickers).

[@xsonicassassinx]

@@goodun2974 a much more absurd version was, I believe Chris Pontius from Jackass, “there’s no such thing as a pretty good alligator wrestler”

[@toddjanney]

Alright ! I'm no # 1 ! ;)

[@TheEdgeOfChairs]

Almost every time I open a guitar that someone else has worked on, I'm just as "mean". It's amazing how disgusting the work people have paid for previously is, globs of solder everywhere, electric tape, stupid decisions about parts, cold solder joints, weird springs that don't belong, it just goes on and on. The whole time I fix and clean up the mess, I'm shitting on the previous person that created that mess. I know the next person that opens that guitar will see beautiful shiny solder joints with just the right amount needed, clean wiring, shrink tube in the right places, etc. I just can't believe so many people make money on such garbage work.