Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: maverickf1jockey on December 29, 2008, 08:16:37 PM
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I went down to a music shop today and bought myself an old sound city L120 (in need of a new handle), which was listed at £250.
After asking whether a discount was possible I was informed that the shop could let it go for £210
I then managed to wrangle myself a free patch lead to bridge the inputs.
I also bought myself a patch lead (which was a nice one with proper Neutrik jacks) listed at £16.99.
Taking a glance at this the shopworker incorrectly identified it at £5 (by then I think he wanted me out probably) making a total saving of over £50.
I still need to finish clearing it out (it is a bit dusty in there) but to my surprise as I peered inside I found a sizeable family of old mullards nesting in the cabinet (which was made out of solid wood rather strangely) what do I do to set them on their way :lol:
I will try to post some pictures later.
I think I can easily put out more volume than most amps on the forum now, about on par with the original marshall plexis (it has a very similar panel too with volumes for each channel but no master)
I can't wait to give it a short blast though my 4X12" with my HT-Dual.
As you can probably tell I'm a bit chuffed my end.
Now I just need to repay the cash I borrowed from my dad to pay for all this.
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Ah, nice find!!
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I didn't think that you could find stuff like that anymore... Thought EBay had put an end to it.
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I think I can easily put out more volume than most amps on the forum now, about on par with the original marshall plexis (it has a very similar panel too with volumes for each channel but no master)
Is that a challenge :twisted:
I bet that sounds sweet though, and a great price. You could probably sell the mullards and have it for half price
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Ah you bar-steward! I've been wanting a Sound City for ages, but the prices (on eBay) seem to be going up for them... when they rarely appear there now! Good find :)
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Sound city aren't fashionable to my knowledge (at least round my way).
You can't give them away a lot of the time.
The same goes for W.E.M./Watkins I think.
The recent trend for multiple channel high-gain amps has put an end to the popularity of many vintage amp brands as people are looking to get as much as they can out of a small box.
This is all the better for someone who is looking for a simple amp with the least to go wrong as possible.
These are things you can only find in small shops.
I know the bloke who owns the shop and he knew exactly what it was but couldn't sell it for shite; people were too put off by the transformer hum (which stays at a constant volume so isn't a problem at all for live shows), the plastic knobs and the rusty grilling and so didn't give it much of a chance. I think he'll be pleased to see it sell rather than sit unused on top of an ENGL Fireball head.
I think that I would be very foolish to try and move it to overdrive given that a marshall plexi will blast out our ears before breaking up and that this has a higher wattage rating (not that that would make a huge impact) and is cleaner at high volume anyway (Take the sound of The Who during the '70s coming from the backline live at Wembley Stadium as this was essentially the amp they would use).
I am quite tempted to make use of the slave outputs and have six cabinets running at once (somewhat of a pipe dream).
Should I feel the need there is a headphone socket too.
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I think I can easily put out more volume than most amps on the forum now, about on par with the original marshall plexis (it has a very similar panel too with volumes for each channel but no master)
Ahem. You will not 'easily put out more volume' than this, my moddified Laney Klipp. It outputs 120w clean, and it's estimated around 200w when fully cranked :o :D
(http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r267/junkacct/03022008032.jpg)
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I think I can easily put out more volume than most amps on the forum now, about on par with the original marshall plexis (it has a very similar panel too with volumes for each channel but no master)
Ahem. You will not 'easily put out more volume' than this, my moddified Laney Klipp. It outputs 120w clean, and it's estimated around 200w when fully cranked :o :D
(http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r267/junkacct/03022008032.jpg)
That's fighting talk.
I sense an "amp-off" on the horizon...
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http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sound-City-30C-Valve-amplifier-footswitch-as-new_W0QQitemZ320327304824QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_MusicalInstr_Amplifiers_RL?hash=item320327304824&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72:1298|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318 (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sound-City-30C-Valve-amplifier-footswitch-as-new_W0QQitemZ320327304824QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_MusicalInstr_Amplifiers_RL?hash=item320327304824&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72:1298|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318)
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That's a similar rating to mine (I can't say it's the same due to them being different manufacturers and so some discrepancy in the measurement method is guaranteed) :wink: .
One testimonial on the amp claims that his clocked 118db (that's almost one per wattRMS).
We'll probably do best to call l this one a dead heat.
EDIT: @MrBump; I assume that's for Oli?
I also neglected to mention it was a mark four custom build (as reads the legend under the neon power lamp).
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You two aren't thinking about speaker efficiency ;)
Will wins!
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Fair point but with a cabinet set as a constant value there isn't a lot in it.
Besides, mine is ULTRA LOUD!!! as is written on the pricing ticket :lol:
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What transformers have you got in the Sound City? Mine's got soem big old Partridges, and I'm assuming yours has too?
You need to get some pics up :)
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*looks at the 1,200 watts to his left*
I win.
:D
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I will get some pictures but I need to clean it first.
I might take a couple of pictures of the inside too whilst I'm there.
If I'm correct Partridges would have yellow paint, is that correct?
The transformers have a yellow paint on them but it is transparent and coming off, possibly the same person who managed to wipe the print off of some of the valves wiped some of the paint off.
I shall do you some pictures.
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You need to get some pics up :)
+1.000.000.000 :D
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very nice! pics please :D
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Looking at the transformers whilst cleaning it out I can confirm that they are partridges.
I will endeavour to post pictures tomorrow.
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(http://i551.photobucket.com/albums/ii474/SoundCitySlicker/SoundCity001.jpg)
This is the beast.
(http://i551.photobucket.com/albums/ii474/SoundCitySlicker/SoundCity002.jpg)
And this is what she looks like naked.
(http://i551.photobucket.com/albums/ii474/SoundCitySlicker/SoundCity004.jpg)
(http://i551.photobucket.com/albums/ii474/SoundCitySlicker/SoundCity005.jpg)
Here are the partridges.
(http://i551.photobucket.com/albums/ii474/SoundCitySlicker/SoundCity006.jpg)
And finally here are the mullards.
I have to apologize for the cameraphone pictures as they are really bleary due to the lack of light quality in my home.
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Nice one!
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I'm hoping to play it though my Hayden cab when the neighbours are out and my mum isn't trying to sleep (she works nights).
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That is a bit selfish of your Mum-after all, she must know you have a new amp and that you want to try it out.
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:lol:
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Those L120s are quite noisy as you've found out - the OT can be rotated 90-degrees to cure much of this. Also, the tone controls are active rather than passive and in this particular circuit generate lots of extra hiss - there was lots of L120 modding going on a few years back on the old Ampage forum.
At the end of the day I found that modding mine to L100 specs (the one that Hendrix was pictured using) gave a far superior tone somewhere between a Hiwatt DR103 and a Marshall SLP.
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As far as I found whilst testing it in the shop the transformers made a constant sound at a constant volume and that was the only noise I heard from it apart from the presence control, which I can live without quite happily.
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I had a play with it through the Hayden today and apart from the trannie hum makes no noise of its own no matter how loud you play through it (Cranking the volume of both channels, the EQ controls and the presence knob to 8; them being incorrectly scaled at 0 to 9 and the pots only really allowing for values going up to 8 on the scale. Perhaps I should call that number infinity just like Nigel From Spinal Tap...), which is unlike any other amp I have ever tried, even despite me playing next to a working CRT television.
With my Blackstar cranked in front it is an absolute gain beast, with definition aplenty.
This is going to be my workhorse setup for some time I think.
I just need to get myself a new handle for it (the one that was on there and broken was a retrofit leather jobbie (Probably very comfortable).
So a new handle and some drilled 2Ps, as they are ironically cheaper than penny washers, are going in its place along with some nuts to reinforce the woodscrews that previously held the handle brackets in place.
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the SC L120 is a beast of a clean amp and (like all the SC amps with active tone controls) reactive very well to pedals - I used a SC 50+ head with a Fuzz Factory and the tone was br00tal.
it really is worth adding a choke to the amp and doing a couple of simple mods to lower the hum (DC-referenced heaters is worth doing).
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nice amp
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sweet, nice pics :)
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it really is worth adding a choke to the amp and doing a couple of simple mods to lower the hum (DC-referenced heaters is worth doing).
I honestly can't see it posing that much of a problem. It isn't at a level that would make any real impact as far as I can tell.
It could also be that these modifications have already been done prior to my purchase.
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I like Sound City - I have a 40W valve 2x12" and on purpose got a low wattage so that I can get a cranked sound, and for big venues it gets miced anyway.... do people with big wattage not find it hard to get a good sound when it's turned quite low (assuming you would have to for most gigs...?)
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If it's a decent amp, it sounds good at low or high volume :) I have master volumes for flexibility.
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If it's a decent amp, it sounds good at low or high volume :) I have master volumes for flexibility.
nice :) I guess I just like my amp sounding like it can only just cope with my guitar! :P Maybe if I had the cash to genuinly be interested in buying and testing a good high watt amp I'd change my opinion...