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Topic: Ken Fox- Genius - 1964 Rickenbacker restoration |
Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 19 Nov 2021 1:44 am |
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Short story- Years back, like maybe '67, I played thru a Rickenbacker B16 Supersonic, right, most of us never saw one or even heard of this amp. But I had one. Its sort of a Super Reverb with 4 x 10's . It is said that Fender built the boards for these amps. Looking at it its not a surprise, its Leo's format. The amp is a 2x6L6 with tremolo, no reverb. Looking at the circuit its text book 40 or 45 watts. Well anyway, I blew the OT way back then then sold the amp and from there acquired a Super reverb then a Twin Reverb. But, I never forgot that B 16 Supersonic, in my mind it had something the Super Reverb didn't have. Looking at the history of these amps blowing the OT was very common, it was most certainly underrated.
I had a friend the next town over ( Fairfield Ct.) that had one and I always liked it. Lo and behold he tells me he has TWO, and sells me one. Thats how I acquired mine. I've never actually seen another.
Fast forward to maybe 6 or 7 years ago. I acquired an early B16 version with no speakers. The amp functioned but needed restoration and a proper 2 OHM OT, the OT in the amp was an 8 ohm / 50 watt rated Hammond, it was the wrong OT. Over time as the amp was sitting idle, I decided to finally seek the right OT. Ken had a Fender 2 Ohm OT for sale here on the forum and I bought it from him. That was probably 2 years ago ! The amp still sat idle. I was not in the mood to restore the amp even though I had all the parts I needed.
Two weeks ago , 11/7 , I attended the Steel Guitar show in SC, so did Ken. I contacted Ken earlier and asked if he wanted to restore the amp for me, he obviously said yes. I brought the amp chassis and parts with me to the Steel show, met Ken for the first time and gave him the amp to restore. And yeah, the 2 OHM OT that I got from Ken was now going BACK to Ken ! 
Two weeks later, like yesterday, 11/18, Fed Ex arrives with the amp fully restored and completed by Ken. I plugged it in, knowing I only had an 8 ohm load to check it , and its glorious ! I only ran it for about 5 or 10 min. Ken told me that the circuit is actually Fender TWEED era which pre dates the Blackface era. He would know.
I have ordered new Silver Tolex and will bring the cabinet back to "new restored life" , it needs it. I have 4x Eminence P10 R's and also a new Quad Speaker harness. When I purchased this amp many years back it didn't have a badge, lo and behold I still had the badge from the one I owned in the 60's ! Go figure. Why I had removed it and still had it? who knows, but it was in my amp parts box along with multiple other amp items . The badge is on the amp now. A piece of the original amp lives on ! Heck for all I know this may actually be the amp I owned way back, it did come from somewhere up around the New York / Ct area which is where I am from. There are not many of these amps around so who knows ! And it had no Badge ! These amps were only made for a very short period in the early to mid 60's .
The amp came with 3 of the 5 original knobs, I replaced them with Ampeg Portaflex style knobs, if I can locate originals I'll put them on, but they are impossible to find. The original handle is also missing, its 13" long as opposed to a Fender style handle which is approx. 9 or 10 inches.
Ok, Ken, he's a master, if you have an amp in trouble, he's the guy to reach out to. A perfectionist and totally reliable. Ken stayed in touch with me during the restoration , sending me photo's. I expected the restoration would take two months or so , it took two weeks !
Oh yeah, he's a great guy to talk and hang with. IF he lived closer I would visit with him often but thats not the case.
Contact Ken directly .
PS You can see the Joe Namath book in the photo's, its a great read on Joes journey as a QB ! LOL
_________________
Emmons L-II , Fender Telecasters, B-Benders , Eastman Mandolin ,
Pro Tools 12 on WIN 7 !
jobless- but not homeless- now retired 9 years
CURRENT MUSIC TRACKS AT > https://tprior2241.wixsite.com/website
Last edited by Tony Prior on 23 Nov 2021 8:30 am; edited 3 times in total |
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Larry Dering
From:
Missouri, USA
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Posted 19 Nov 2021 5:03 am
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| Tony, what an intriguing and cool story on this obscure piece of history. Hands down Ken is the best. You scored a major great piece of gear with all the mojo of its storied life. Bringing these old relics back to life is wonderful. |
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Bobby Burns
From:
Tennessee, USA
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Posted 19 Nov 2021 8:57 am
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| Ken did an amazing job bringing a couple of dead Standels back to life for me. I thought he retired a few years ago? |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Ken Fox
From:
Nashville GA USA
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Posted 20 Nov 2021 7:11 am Retirement
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Thanks for the kind words from everyone
I did retire from having a 7 day a week job in the shop a while back. Stayed inactive for quite a few years
Now I just take on a select few amp repairs. Most local friends with old vintage tube amps
I still avoid newer amps as much as possible. Still doing a few Intense Mods on Peavey amps.
Mostly just helping out when I can and trying not to get too much on my plate
Thanks again to all of you |
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Jerry Overstreet
From:
Louisville Ky
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Posted 20 Nov 2021 7:34 am
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Besides great amp teching, he also takes care of folks' Peavey 'Fex issues with batteryless mods, upgrades & mod kits for amps, answering questions, giving advice etc., besides his tube reverb units.
He went through an old Silvertone 1482 amp for me years ago when he was still doing repairs in house. Fixed up this great little amp so's I can rely on it for many years to come.
A valuable asset and good friend to our community and fellow steel picker. We're lucky to have him here. Thanks Ken. |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 21 Nov 2021 8:21 am
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I have decided to keep the amp cabinet as is, in the scheme of things, compared to other examples from the era, this one is in pretty good shape. I installed the chassis and the 4x new Eminence P10R's, fired it up and ---- Its glorious !
_________________
Emmons L-II , Fender Telecasters, B-Benders , Eastman Mandolin ,
Pro Tools 12 on WIN 7 !
jobless- but not homeless- now retired 9 years
CURRENT MUSIC TRACKS AT > https://tprior2241.wixsite.com/website |
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Uh NO , it was made in Santa Barbara Ca. Thats why it is understood that LEO made many circuit boards for them.