1954 Fender Princeton 5C2 amp. Lovely warm jazzy sound.

Here's an interesting amp. A 1954 5C2 Wide Panel tweed Fender Princeton.

This was an internet purchase what was serviced by the previous owner. I didn't take any before pictures but, the amp worked fine but the work was comically sloppy. I get a lot of work cleaning up poor jobs.

The other bits: this is a really great amp. It was loaded with a cheap Electro Harmonix 4 ohm speaker and a cheap Triode Electronics output transformer. Not bad stuff, but to my ears, it was rather flat and uninteresting. It was also loaded with Sprague Orange Drop 715 caps. No, no, no. Filter caps were decent quality but sloppily installed.

So I loaded it with Mojo Dijon caps, a 60's 8 ohm Jensen C8R (I effing love these speakers!) and a Mercury Magnetics '55 8 ohm tweed Princeton transformer.

C8R: Brown is Beautiful!!!

I come across these speakers on EBay all the time. Best lil' secret though I suppose if I get more readers everyone will want one. Not useful for Champs, these are 8 ohms. But for my GA-5 and old Magnatone Varsity, it's a match made in heaven. They were often used in organs as midrange drivers so they are usually in great shape. People played polka and church music through these babies, not blues and rock n roll!

Yes I know it's not an alnico speaker. I do love a good alnico but as someone who plays out live on tiny amps, I like the way these project and hold together. I like the clarity I get. Try one! Couldn't hurt!!!


Better interior though not final:

I replaced the original 250k 2 watt load resistors which were noisy with new carbon composition 2 watters. Also replaced the cathode bias resistor and power resistors, typically they drift far out over time and these were no exception.

This particular amp has one transitional feature. They were loaded with a 6SC7 tube, then a 6SL7. In this amp the socket had an adapter to put in a 9 pin miniature socket so it could be loaded with the more modern 12AX7. This was factory. And not unusual is the tube chart simply has the 6SL7 tube crossed out with a ball point pen and 12AX7 written in. Leo Fender liked to use whatever parts he had left over till they were gone. Very much in line with his practical sensibilities.

I took out the "meh" output transformer and loaded it with a classy Mercury Magnetics FTPO-55-8. From my research on these amps, they were 8 ohms. Better to not be lazy and use your off the shelf 4 ohm Champ transformer if you are going to get this right. Just my opinion. More expensive, yes, but totally worth it. The amp came to life after installing this and the Jensen speaker. Big, warm and round. I fell in love with it right away. With a Les Paul or a big Jazz Box it's heaven.

The Mercury transformer is bigger than what was in there, and I suspect the original may have been mounted to the speaker. But the good thing, there are some factory 'mystery' holes in the chassis that mounted diagonally the transformer mounted perfectly.

These are quite different than the more sought after late 50's 5F2 model. This one is a 5C2.

The preamp arrangement is radically different than a 5F2 or 5E2. Between the first and second stage in the preamp you have a 250k resistor connected to a 75k resistor that is going to ground. It's a bit like having a potentiometer in that spot and it's set to 1/4 volume. Just for fun I tried opening this up to see if I could get more gain. The amp simply became unstable and started motorboating. BUMP BUMP BUMP BUMP.......  I put the resistors back the way they were. Looking at the schematic this may work with an additional stage to the power supply, this sound typically happens when you have a bad filter cap or too little filtering. Could go to all that trouble or...simply accept this is the way this amp is and what it is is not a later one. Why not have an amp that plays cleaner? It has such a beautiful tone. For my style, it's perfect and I kind of want to build one just for me.

You can see the evolution in this amp going from the old 6SJ7 circuit, which has little gain, to the later rock n roll nasty later 50's 12AX7 version. It sits right in the middle of that evolution. The tone is more relaxed than a later version, but has a bit more punch than the earlier version. Right now the owner claims it's his favorite. I can see having one and feeling the same way. Great little rare gem!

JB

Gibson GA-5 Les Paul Jr amp. My 2nd favorite small amp! And about "too big to care!"

This arrived in the mail today. An early 60's Gibson GA-5 Skylark. I love these amps. It's to me, a Champ killer. The Fender stuff is built much better but some of the late 50's to early 60's Gibson amps just have such a great thing going on.

Typical 3 tube 5 watt design: Single 12AX7, 6V6, and 5Y3 rectifier. This one came loaded with a nice RCA 6V6 and 5Y3 and a great nasty sounding GE 12AX7. It was also 100% original. I changed the electrolytic caps and installed a grounded power cable for safety.

I've bought a few of these as fixer uppers and flip them like a burger. They are easy for me to sell cause they are just that good. A bit wider and more open sounding than a tweed Champ and much less dough. I may keep this one, my last one I was bummed about selling.

Now, in the pictures. Notice how filthy this amp looks. Fresh from the barn. When I turned it on it crackled and popped, the pot was filthy. Not sellable in my opinion. I would have bought it at the asking price, no problem but that's cause I can fix it good and proper. If I was just a guy who didn't have those skills I would have turned away. I bought this from the worlds largest guitar store online. Won't mention the name but you know who I am talking about. I did a stint with said company and was baffled by their treatment of vintage gear, good vintage gear like this. No effort made to clean or improve. I suppose somewhere corporate sees that extra effort hurts that bottom line. I like to make money. I like to make as much as I can. It doesn't take much effort to clean something up. People like it when they don't need to worry and don't have to do anything except negotiate a price and be done with it.

But that's the nature of some big ass companies. Too big to care. It's okay to get big, but never give up the caring part! There's money to be made there and more importantly, there are people make happy.

And here's the schematic for you tech heads. Ultra simple signal path. LESS IS MORE!

So what do I like about these over a Tweed Champ? Well, first, I ain't gonna lie. The price! Tweed Champs to me are simply overpriced. No fun for me. Second? I just got back from playing this at my practice space for 2 hours. These amps tend to not fuzz out as much. The notes articulate better for me. Pick soft and you get a lovely clean sound, punch it and it sings, nasty distortion but....clear. I can hear all of the notes in each chord. It really sounds like a cranked Marshall in that respect.

This particular amp has the original .022 famous Bumble Bee Sprague capacitors. Yeah, they are leaking. Can tell by the fact that the volume pot scratches slightly from top to bottom. A little DC on that, and also by the way the notes decay. I may change them and sell those to a rabid Les Paul fanatic. But for now I don't care to change anything else. There is something I like about the slight trashiness.

So what is the difference between a GA-5 Les Paul Jr. amp and a GA-5 Skylark? Electrically, there is no difference. Same great Jensen 8" speaker too. The cabinet is slightly different and the Skylark says "Skylark" on it. The Les Paul Jr amp is a bit earlier, the Skylark was made in the early 60's.

Here's a Skylark I sold 2 years ago:

And the earlier Les Paul Jr amp:

If these amps were mint you would see that dapper Gibson logo on the front. The Skylark had it on the grill cloth, the Les Paul Jr amp has that lip across the top of the cabinet where the logo went.


 If you are considering one of those sad GA-5 Reissues, don't bother. You may find one of these for about the same money and these are simply better amps. And if you find a dead one cheap, they are so simple it won't cost much to get it going again. Even the higher priced ones are worth it as a tool. Nothing beats one of these in the studio. Pure, simple, direct and awesome sound.


JB