This was a fun one. 1956 (or so) Voice of Music 8 watt amplifier. I like that it's just called "8 Watt Amplifier". No fancy school names, nothing clever to shift more units of these babies!
Complaint was it's dead! Lights on but nobody home. That's a good thing. Always easier to fix a dead amp than one with annoying intermittent problems. In this case all those beautiful Mica Mold capacitors were just plain dead. I also replaced the filter caps and added a cap to the 300 ohm cathode resistor on the 6v6 output tubes. This helps low end response while also helping tame some hum away. So it ain't on the schematic. Who cares? Let's improve it!
Super cool slide out chassis:
10" Jensen Alnico 5 speaker! Worth the price of admission.
Some shots of the not 'mil spec' bowl o' spaghetti design:
Mica Mold Capacitors! I'd love to hear a fresh set, never have. They're almost always leaky. One read a whopping 114 vdc on the potentiometer side!
But either way, they sure are pretty. I replaced them with a set of Mojo Dijon for the preamp, and Sprague 225P polyester Orange Drop caps for the phase inverter. An amp like this can benefit from that setup, very clear and warm, but not mushy.
Shot of the filter cap. I upgraded the 470ohm 3 watt resistor with a 500 ohm 5 watt. Also used 2 watters for the 10k power resistors. I like to never see an amp again once it leaves so why not?
Cap dated 47th week of 1956!
Schematic included! I love that. No guesswork if something is burnt.
I love the speaker connectors.
How does it sound? Perfect for what I like. It's not your Neil Young rage box, it's subtle and sweet. Very open and clear sounding. This was never intended for guitar, it's a PA amp. It's the kind of thing I'd use in my living room while someone is playing a big Gibson J45 or Martin D-18. It gets only slightly louder than one of those at full strum. Perfect accompaniment amp.
Single 5Y3, pair of 6V6 tubes driven by a 12AX7 and a 12AY7. Same tube compliment as a Tweed Deluxe but completely different sound due to a completely different circuit. So if you like something fresh and unusual, seek one out! This is a lovely amp to look at as well as play. And I like nice looking things in my living room.
-J
Complaint was it's dead! Lights on but nobody home. That's a good thing. Always easier to fix a dead amp than one with annoying intermittent problems. In this case all those beautiful Mica Mold capacitors were just plain dead. I also replaced the filter caps and added a cap to the 300 ohm cathode resistor on the 6v6 output tubes. This helps low end response while also helping tame some hum away. So it ain't on the schematic. Who cares? Let's improve it!
Super cool slide out chassis:
10" Jensen Alnico 5 speaker! Worth the price of admission.
Some shots of the not 'mil spec' bowl o' spaghetti design:
Mica Mold Capacitors! I'd love to hear a fresh set, never have. They're almost always leaky. One read a whopping 114 vdc on the potentiometer side!
But either way, they sure are pretty. I replaced them with a set of Mojo Dijon for the preamp, and Sprague 225P polyester Orange Drop caps for the phase inverter. An amp like this can benefit from that setup, very clear and warm, but not mushy.
Shot of the filter cap. I upgraded the 470ohm 3 watt resistor with a 500 ohm 5 watt. Also used 2 watters for the 10k power resistors. I like to never see an amp again once it leaves so why not?
Cap dated 47th week of 1956!
Schematic included! I love that. No guesswork if something is burnt.
I love the speaker connectors.
How does it sound? Perfect for what I like. It's not your Neil Young rage box, it's subtle and sweet. Very open and clear sounding. This was never intended for guitar, it's a PA amp. It's the kind of thing I'd use in my living room while someone is playing a big Gibson J45 or Martin D-18. It gets only slightly louder than one of those at full strum. Perfect accompaniment amp.
Single 5Y3, pair of 6V6 tubes driven by a 12AX7 and a 12AY7. Same tube compliment as a Tweed Deluxe but completely different sound due to a completely different circuit. So if you like something fresh and unusual, seek one out! This is a lovely amp to look at as well as play. And I like nice looking things in my living room.
-J
