| Author |
Topic: Old Standel Amp |
Francis Chamberlain
From:
Franklin, KY, USA (deceased)
|
Posted 26 Aug 2002 5:27 pm |
|
| I just got myself an old Standel amp. I have been reading some positive stuff about the Standel. On the front of the amp it reads "Standel" and "Studio 24". It has a 15" JBL, D130F speaker. It has lots of power. It has one big problem. The reverb is very sensitive. It would have to be played on a cement floor in order for the reverb not to rattle. |
|
|
 |
Ken Fox
From:
Nashville GA USA
|
Posted 26 Aug 2002 6:35 pm
|
|
If it in the bottom of the amp and not in a bag you can help it a lot. You can get a reverb bag from several places on the net for as little as $8.00. Angela amp, Smart Parts, Antique Electronics Supply to name a few. Tape or attach some how a piece of rigid cardboard to the bottom of the tank, put it in the bag and screw the bag down to the bottom of the chassis.
http://www.angela.com/ http://partssmart.com/ http://www.tubesandmore.com/
|
|
|
|
Francis Chamberlain
From:
Franklin, KY, USA (deceased)
|
Posted 26 Aug 2002 7:22 pm
|
|
Thanks Ken for your reply regarding the old
Standel amp. In regards to the reverb tank, It is mounted on the bottom side of the chassis. The reverb is uncovered. I might see what I can find out from one of the places that you have recomended. |
|
|
|
Ken Fox
From:
Nashville GA USA
|
Posted 26 Aug 2002 7:33 pm
|
|
Reverb tanks are manufactured for a particular mounting plane (vertical, horizontal, springs up or down). There is a 7 digit code on the tank. The last letter tells you the mounting config:
A= horizontal, open side up
B= horizontal, open side down
C= vertical wall, long axis horizontal, connectors up
D= vertical wall, long axis horizontal, connectors down
E= vertical wall. long axis vertical. input up
F= vertical wall, long axis vertical, output up
Check your tank and be sure it is mounted in the correct manner. |
|
|
|
Jerry Roller
From:
Van Buren, Arkansas USA
|
Posted 26 Aug 2002 8:15 pm
|
|
Ken, that is great info to have. I printed it off for future reference. Thanks,
Jerry |
|
|
|
chas smith R.I.P.
From:
Encino, CA, USA
|
Posted 26 Aug 2002 9:24 pm
|
|
| The D-130F is a Fender speaker, given the 'friction' between Bob Crooks and Leo Fender, I doubt that it was the original and it probably sounds better than what was in there. |
|
|
|
Ken Fox
From:
Nashville GA USA
|
|
|
|
Mark Herrick
From:
Bakersfield, CA
|
|
|
|
Gene Jones
From:
Oklahoma City, OK USA, (deceased)
|
Posted 27 Aug 2002 1:46 pm
|
|
Francis...Standels are just an amp. I used them before they added a reverb, and they were great for what I needed at the time.....but then I needed reverb...so I had to add a "Echoplex"...and used it until the mfg's caught up...and then I bought the first one with a reverb....I still have the JBL from my last Standel in a speaker in my music room and it sounds great.
But, I really believe that the current amps being mfg have everything a steel guitarist needs without reverting to the obsolete technology (tubes and maintenance) of the past.
I understand the "call and nostalgia" of the past, especially for those who missed that era, and I appreciate their pursuit of the "sound", if that is what they seek...I am for them...but for me, give me the latest technology!
"FLAMES"?
www.genejones.com |
|
|
|
Ken Fox
From:
Nashville GA USA
|
Posted 27 Aug 2002 2:09 pm
|
|
I restore and repair amps. I have had about every kind of amp, preamp/processor, modeling amps us country pickers use in my shop or possession. Those tubes still sound the best to me. I do however enjoy pushing my old Fender amps with a Profex or Tubefex. What a great combo that is! For a loud live gig it's hard to beat the new transistor stuff for sure!
The new Nashville 1000 comes a lot closer to the warm tone I prefer. We all have our ears and opinions, though! For the average musician who is not technically inclined, a tube amp can be a maintenance nightmare for sure. You got to weight out the pros and cons, I guess. |
|
|
|
Gene Jones
From:
Oklahoma City, OK USA, (deceased)
|
Posted 27 Aug 2002 3:01 pm
|
|
Ken......  |
|
|
|
Gary Walker
From:
Morro Bay, CA
|
Posted 28 Aug 2002 7:40 pm
|
|
| I too had a Standel Imperial XV that I got from Irby Mandrell and before I sold it, I exchanged and kept the JBL 130 at 16 ohms and it's still in my garage also. |
|
|
|
Mike Black
From:
New Mexico, USA
|
Posted 29 Aug 2002 10:42 am
|
|
Gene, I gotta disagree, I'll put a 1959 Tweed Fender Twin and Stringmaster up against anything built now. For that matter I'll put any 59 Fender amp, Deluxe size or bigger, up against anything made today. Theres a reason, other then the nostalgia/collector one that Bassmans are so desireable. The best tone combo I ever owned was a post war tailpiece Ricky bakelite through a 58 Bassman. When ever I thought about selling the amp I'd plug the Ricky into it to change my mind! And I'm not even getting to the stuff with onboard reverb, or bigger tube amps made by other companies,like Standel.
You probably knew Gene Crownover well, I'm guessing? His tone on the Liberty Wills/Duncan reuniuon stuff is my idea of steel guitar tone heaven. That is my favorite steel tone in any decade by any player!
All that said Tone is in the ears of the beholder. One mans meat is another mans tofu!
And yes I have not 1 but 2 excellent tube amp techs on "Speed Dial"
BTW Tulsa musician Ron Chandler told me once Gene used 2 Tweed Twins on those recordings! [This message was edited by Mike Black on 29 August 2002 at 11:44 AM.] |
|
|
|
Gene Jones
From:
Oklahoma City, OK USA, (deceased)
|
Posted 29 Aug 2002 2:45 pm
|
|
I hear you Mike, and please don't interpret my comments as badmouthing Fender amps...I owned, loved and played them for several years and they had a tone to kill for as you say. I just reached a stage of life where I just want to throw my amp in the van and go to work and know it's gona work when I get there. I seem to be compromising more as I grow older.
But I've seen my Fenders take a lickin' and keep on tickin' at times...example: going to a New Years Eve job with my Fender amp tied on top of a station wagon, and then the horror of hearing a loud noise as it came off at 65mph and bounced along the pavement until it was caught and stopped by a barbed wire fence! Unbelievably, after twisting some wires back together and peeling off some of the loose tweed, that sucker fired up and I played the job with it.
Another Fender amp didn't survive a baseman accidently spilling a glass of beer into the top of it though...you can imagine what it did to the wireing and tubes..especially that "hot" 6L6! ...But then I doubt that a solid state would fare any better.
Thanks for the reply and the conversation Mike. Keep on swinging!
Respectfully,
Gene |
|
|
|
Jim Bob Sedgwick
From:
Clinton, Missouri USA
|
Posted 29 Aug 2002 5:01 pm
|
|
| Gene, If you are into surfing sounds, just pour a cup of coffe into your Peavey amp. Works great until the smoke starts! |
|
|
|
Mike Black
From:
New Mexico, USA
|
Posted 29 Aug 2002 8:18 pm
|
|
Gene,I know you weren't down on Fender. Didn't you have a Pro when you were with the Rogers? It was a given that you had at least 1 in your career. Even though they are a big pain in the neck I prefer a tube amp. The biggest problem is finding suitable replcement parts. Was I right about Crownover?
Francis, One method I use for attaching Reverb pans to a cardboard base is a plastic wire tie, like a garbage bag tie, or a small zip tie. Punch a hole where you need it with an awl or some other murderous weapon and tie it down. Good cardboard will also hold a small screw.
There's also a procedure for shiming the reverb springs with a piece of reed. It tightens up the springs. I've never done it, I don't do sonic repairs on amps, but I read about it in Gerald Webers Desk Top Reference book. Maybe Ken has tried that one?
Ken, is there any chance of some wierd occillation going on that could be feeding through the reverb leads? How would you tell? Would sheilding them maybe cure the problem?
[This message was edited by Mike Black on 29 August 2002 at 09:30 PM.] |
|
|
|
Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
|
Posted 30 Aug 2002 12:13 am
|
|
| Sounds like one of the transducer support springs may be broken. (These are the tiny springs that hold the workings in place.) If you're at all mechanically inclined, you can fix this problem. It doesn't hurt to open the thing up and take a look inside. Sometimes, you can just turn the tank over, or change the way it's mounted, and solve the problem! If not, just get a replacement from Antique Electronics...they're about $20. [This message was edited by Donny Hinson on 30 August 2002 at 01:14 AM.] |
|
|
|
Gene Jones
From:
Oklahoma City, OK USA, (deceased)
|
Posted 30 Aug 2002 4:04 am
|
|
Mike, I didn't own a Fender amp while with the Rogers Twins, but I may have used one of theirs. My big leap while with them was from a double-neck National to a 1949 Fender Custom Triple that the twins bought for me when I started working with them. (I still have that guitar) My first Fender amp was a christmas present from my wife in about 1957 when I was working with Bill Mack.
I agree.."Living Legend & Together Again" are my favorite Wills albums. The three-part harmony work that Crownover did with the sax & clarinet was dead-on perfect. After I left the Diamondairs, Crownover worked with them for awhile after the Playboys disbanded but I never met him as I was always working somewhere else when he was in town.
Appreciate you Mike...enjoyed visiting with you,
Gene www.genejones.com |
|
|
|
Ken Fox
From:
Nashville GA USA
|
Posted 30 Aug 2002 4:30 am
|
|
| Mike, I've never tried to tighten the springs. I did however run into one I have never seen before recently. A reverb pan in a Music man had no continuity from spring end to spring end with the ohm meter! Each spring is actually 2 spings joined by a mechanical crimp connector. The connector was oxodized! Of course I tried to add a little solder, no luck! The springs are steel and won't solder. I sprayed pot cleaner and recrimped the connectors and it worked fine! The other reverb problem I have fixed and seen 3 others lately is the howling reverb caused by the 25mfd cathode bypass cap at the reverb recovery tube. Perhaps before these go total bad they could cause this increased tendancy towards feedback! After they go bad, it will blow yours ears out when you turn up to about 3 on the reverb. The one I fixed generated a perfect sine wave at ear splitting levels. I would tend to think that before it got to that point, the reverb would have been showing signs of being very sensitive, feeding back with a little stage movement, etc. Just a thought. |
|
|
|
Lee Jeffriess
From:
Vallejo California
|
Posted 2 Sep 2002 9:07 pm
|
|
Francis
If you ever need work on your Standel i would like to recomend Tim maag in Fullerton
CA.
He pretty much has worked on all the models, and some of the in between stuff.
I know theres some great techs out there but
Tim has the inside track on this stuff.
Ask Chas smith, who also has had Tim work on his Standel collection.
I was lucky enough several years ago to be
loaned by RC Allen, the Merle Travis 25L15
Tim cloned that amp perfectly.
Also the new Standel farms out work to him.
HEs a sharp guy and has good mods for some
of the models.
Lee |
|
|
|
