Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Brow on March 28, 2007, 06:42:01 PM
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Hey guys.
A local shop of mine has a Early 70s (73' or 74 he thinks) Carlsbro (a UK company for those who don't know) '50 Top' amplifier head (handwired clone of a Plexi from what I can tell) for sale at £350. The amp has recently been fully serviced and re-valved.
The amp is a single channel amp with 2 EL3s, 2 inputs (bright and normal I think), Bass, Middle, Treble and Volume controls.
I tried the amp with my BKP Mule loaded Gibson Les Paul and the amp sounded warm, Fat and seems that it would suit my Classic Rock come Indie Rock sound well :)
There's a Re-issue of this amp (also handwired) currently on Ebay with a starting price of £200.
I know I'm interested in 1 of these amps, but I'm having trouble deciding which would be a 'better' purchase. At £350 the vintage amp is a little overpriced for what they currently sell for, while the re-issued amps were original sold for over £600, so neither would be a bad buy.
In my position, which would you do and why?
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Did they replace the capacitors with the service? I used to be a Carlsbro dealer in the 70's and the amps were pretty good, though more often used for bass. Find a Selmer T&B if you want an older bargain amp.
No idea on the reissue, does it use all the same components? If it does it sounds like a better deal.
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Personally I'd go for the shop one, you've always then got somewhere to take it back to, you've tried it & liked it...peace of mind is worth £150 to me
£200 difference & I'd have the same problem though :P
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I'd buy the old one - offer them £300 and I'll be surprised if they say no (be prepared to walk if they twist and say no).
The old Carlsbro Top50s have Partridge transformers as far as I can remember - you want to make sure it has these!!!
They are ok amps but I'd get a Selmer T&B off ebay myself - much nicer amp (very close to a Marshall Bluesbreaker in tone but punchier in the bass end and a more 'open' tone).
The Carlsbro isn't a Marshall clone, it's got a completely different circuit using a Baxendall tonestack (popular in hi-fi systems)
:twisted:
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If you like the sound of the one you tried, I'd buy that. The new one might be a dog.
But then I'm slightly biased towards early 70s valve amps ;)
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Thanks for your opinions guys :)
The guy in the shop said it'd recently been fully serviced 'with a few bits replaced that were getting worn out', so he could very well mean Capacitors etc.
I'm thinking about using the Ebay auction as leverage and trying to get the price down on the Vintage amp. A sale is better than none at all eh? :lol:
I'd only heard it mentioned that it was some sort of a Marshall clone, I actually know next to nothing about the insides of amps myself! :roll:
I just had a look on Ebay for Selmer amps and the only 1 I could find was $3000?! How much do the Selmer T&Bs usually go for?
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http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SELMER-TREBLE-N-BASS-MKIII-50WATT-GUITAR-AMPLIFIER_W0QQitemZ330103455582QQcategoryZ10171QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SELMER-TREBLENBASS-50R-SV-AMPLIFIER_W0QQitemZ120102523835QQcategoryZ10171QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
either of the above would be fine for classic rock and indie - stick a pedal in the front and you've got hard rock.
I'll admit that they're not the prettiest amps, but they sound GREAT.
:twisted:
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http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SELMER-TREBLE-N-BASS-MKIII-50WATT-GUITAR-AMPLIFIER_W0QQitemZ330103455582QQcategoryZ10171QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SELMER-TREBLENBASS-50R-SV-AMPLIFIER_W0QQitemZ120102523835QQcategoryZ10171QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
either of the above would be fine for classic rock and indie - stick a pedal in the front and you've got hard rock.
I'll admit that they're not the prettiest amps, but they sound GREAT.
:twisted:
Thanks for the links :)
That top 1 looks great :)
1 thing: the top amp you linked to says it has 3 silicone rectifiers whereas another auction for the same amp says it has a GZ34 (I think) valve rectifier. Which in your opinion is 'correct'?
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I got the vintage Carlsbro today :)
I'm using it at a gig tonight, so I'll post back tomorrow with my findings :)
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Excellent - let us know how it goes!
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http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SELMER-TREBLE-N-BASS-MKIII-50WATT-GUITAR-AMPLIFIER_W0QQitemZ330103455582QQcategoryZ10171QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SELMER-TREBLENBASS-50R-SV-AMPLIFIER_W0QQitemZ120102523835QQcategoryZ10171QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
either of the above would be fine for classic rock and indie - stick a pedal in the front and you've got hard rock.
I'll admit that they're not the prettiest amps, but they sound GREAT.
:twisted:
Thanks for the links :)
That top 1 looks great :)
1 thing: the top amp you linked to says it has 3 silicone rectifiers whereas another auction for the same amp says it has a GZ34 (I think) valve rectifier. Which in your opinion is 'correct'?
some of the earlier T&B head had GZ34 rectifier valves (the mkII ones and maybe some of the very early mkIII heads).
the black front ones I've seen have all had silicon diode rectifiers - two for the actual DC rectification on the HT winding and another for the bias supply.
:twisted:
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Hey guys.
I used the Carlsbro at my gig last night along with my new Award Session 1x12 cab with a Celestion Classic Lead 80 speaker and it sounded great (imo at least :lol: )
It sounded very clean and clear with a bell like tone to single notes, and it also seems to handle pedals well, which is good for me :)
The gig was recorded, so I may be able to post clips at some point :)
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Excellent - good stuff!
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http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SELMER-TREBLE-N-BASS-MKIII-50WATT-GUITAR-AMPLIFIER_W0QQitemZ330103455582QQcategoryZ10171QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
GAS! Do you think it'll work well with distortion pedals? Silicon rectifier must makes it tighter right?
That thing with an AB box and 2 line of effects sounds like the perfect setup for me :twisted:
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GAS! Do you think it'll work well with distortion pedals? Silicon rectifier must makes it tighter right?
That thing with an AB box and 2 line of effects sounds like the perfect setup for me :twisted:
Well Dave Gilmour used them in his early Floyd days (Syd Barrett had been using them previously) so they should definately cope well with Germanium fuzzes, univibes and wah
Rob...
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I was more thinking of a modern style distortion, like a moded MT-2 (Keeley or Humphrey). If it gots a good clean on either of the 2 channels it'll be good I think. HAAAAA I have too many things to buy :cry:
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I was more thinking of a modern style distortion, like a moded MT-2 (Keeley or Humphrey). If it gots a good clean on either of the 2 channels it'll be good I think. HAAAAA I have too many things to buy :cry:
HTH could probably give you an answer on that as he has owned them, where as I have only tried them out on a couple of occasions.
I'd buy one myself cept it's too feckibng big for my needs
Rob...
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I was more thinking of a modern style distortion, like a moded MT-2 (Keeley or Humphrey). If it gots a good clean on either of the 2 channels it'll be good I think. HAAAAA I have too many things to buy :cry:
I like the Selmer T&B amps alot, wouldn't be the first amp I'd think of to get a 'heavy' sound with a metal zone pedal. Can't see any reason why it wouldn't sound good though, the clean tone is excellent and the amp starts to get crunchy at around 1/2 volume.
That one you linked to says it has four ECC83s - these are more like the early mkI crocskin head (afaik) and have less clean headroom though they DO sound beutiful and crunchy in a vintage way.
I'd personally get one of the ugly aluminium ones for what you describe. make sure it's got the original transformers though. bear in mind that an amp of that age WILL need new filter caps and most likely new valves to sound 100%. Make sure it's been serviced in the past ten years.
A cap job and new valves is likely to cost £100-150 by the time you figure in parts and labour.
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Hey guys.
I used the amp tonight at a gig and about 1/2 way through the set, the amp started ticking!
Does anyone know what's causing this and how I can get it fixed?
When I bought the amp he said it'd been re-valved and serviced, so maybe it's just a loose ground wire or something?
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take it back to the shop.
can't think what you mean by a ticking sound - maybe you should phone the police for a controlled explosion :roll: :lol:
:twisted:
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take it back to the shop.
can't think what you mean by a ticking sound - maybe you should phone the police for a controlled explosion :roll: :lol:
:twisted:
I plan on taking it back to the shop :( , just wondered if anyone knew what it might be?
It sound like a loud clock ticking (and no it wasn't my wrist watch, I checked that 1st! :lol:)
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Hey guys.
I used the amp tonight at a gig and about 1/2 way through the set, the amp started ticking!
mobile phone interferences?
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mobile phone interferences?
I don't think it was this to be honest.
I've heard Mobile Phone interference alot at practise (the drummers girlfriend keeps him on a very short lead :roll:), and it didn't really sound the same to me.
I hear the 'ticking' for a few seconds at Saturday nights gig, but it went after a few seconds, whereas at last nights gig it lasted for the last 3 songs of the set.
I'll phone the guy at the shop later and take it back to him to sort out :)