# Vintage-pepco/pine amp.



## RIFF WRATH

just got one from kirk1701 through this site. whoever posted to kirk's "buy & sell" thread....please post pics again, and any useful info on the amp. the one I just got...seconds ago...says model 201, has 3 input jacks, vol and tone. 8" speaker (can't see a name, possibly a jenson?) am at work...supposed to be working...LOL...and will have to wait 'til later to poke at it.
cheers,
RIFF

ps: and wild bill..if you see this thread....I'll be talking at you shortly.
RIFF


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## fraser

sorry man, dont know a lot about the amp myself, but yup mine is the same, a model 201. 8" jensen special design speaker. got it in a pawn shop in the early 90s- funny, it had the purchase reciept in the back, bought in toronto 1964- yet the little card with the tube layout etc was gone, only about an inch of it remained. i added a three prong cord and used it on and off for years. perhaps if you plan to restore it i will get started on mine too- we can compare notes.









i also have this regal model 300, made in canada, inside is identical, only the cabinet is different and it has a 8" marsland







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## RIFF WRATH

Fraser: looks identical to your 210.messing around making the pine 201 into a head rather than working on the original cabinet. perhaps later with a little work the old cab may just be used for a speaker? Didn't bother even trying to plug it in....
i ,carefully, removed the guts from the cab. I think I'm missing about 2 of everything...LOL......no schematics in this one either, just the staple and light colour where it used to be....haven't been able to find anything on line yet.....this has got to be the simplist amp made....I sure hope it puts out some volume......have you tried yours yet?
cheers
RIFF


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## greco

Cool thread..please keep us posted.

Any chance of some internal chassis pics ? (for the electronics enthusiasts among us)

Thanks

Dave


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## RIFF WRATH

greco
I responded earlier, must have not hit send...
I'm not set up for pictures, perhaps Fraser will be kind enough to shoot some.
Really not much inside...appear to be missing PT and only a few tubes. very simple looking and neatly laid out. very small OT. I cut off the speaker, and when I have mounted in the new cab as a "head" then I think I will send to an expert. 
thanks for your interest
RIFF


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## fraser

yup ill take some inside pics - give me a little while tho.

riff- yes i used mine a fair bit- only puts out about 4 watts, not very loud, but a perfect volume for me. has a really warm, fat sound- starts to distort at about 11 oclock. pretty typical small old tube amp tone.
i bet if you build a head out of it and run it into a larger speaker itll sound great. there is very little on the web on these- ive done an exhaustive search.
ive seen references to it, and a few harmony central reviews of other models, but thats about it.
mine has a 12ax7, a 50l6 and a 35z5.
i believe i saw some old harmony amp schematics on the net that used the same tubes and similar components.


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## fraser

ok heres some pics


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## fraser




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## greco

Thanks so much for all the pics (and so quickly). Very much appreciated. 

I'm at work now, so I'll spend more time looking at them later.

Certainly lots of extra real estate in the chassis !!


Dave


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## RIFF WRATH

Thanks Fraser. looks identical inside.
cheers
RIFF


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## gpower

It was a very popular little amp made by Pine Eectronics of Montreal in the late 60's and early 70's. They were manufactured under a number of names (Pine, Paul, Regal, Arcsound, Northland etc.). Thay also came in various configurations from 1x8 combo to upright 2x12 combo or as a head only. The same amp was also available with tremelo.

If the speaker is original it should be a Marsland.


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## fraser

> It was a very popular little amp made by Pine Eectronics of Montreal in the late 60's and early 70's. They were manufactured under a number of names (Pine, Paul, Regal, Arcsound, Northland etc.). Thay also came in various configurations from 1x8 combo to upright 2x12 combo or as a head only. The same amp was also available with tremelo.
> 
> If the speaker is original it should be a Marsland.


well mine was purchased in 64- and i think the speaker type is dependent on the date of build- the earliest had the jensen, later ones had the marsland, as is the case with my regal, built in 66.
i could be wrong of course- but i have been hunting for info on this for over 15 years. also- when i bought it it was in almost pristine condition, i spoke with the original purchaser by phone, as i also purchased a 65 ampeg reverbojet in mint cond. at the same time. he stated that it was original.


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## pck.

i seem to have this amp, different cabinet, "trendy" label.
i know it is wired incorrectly right now,
would it be possible to get a schematic?

thanks
philip


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## traynor_garnet

Do these amps run a 50C5 power tube by any chance?

TG


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## RIFF WRATH

forgot about this thread........the old pine is now a "custom" which is chrome lettering procured from a chrysler newport custom.........it is in a small old walnut short wave radio cab with stainless perforated steel front and back........it was checked over and upgraded by my favourite amp guru Wild Bill..........and Greco, if you are following this thread, you played through it last Sept at the jam....through an old Vintage Gold 1X12.......if I am not mistaken......this is very similar to an old Champ wiring diagram.........for a small fee contact Just Radios (dot com or dot ca?) and they will provide schematics if they have them.........they are Canadian, from Scarborough Ont.......very fast canada post delivery
good luck, I love the sound of this amp......very old school, bluesy but simple
cheers
Gerry


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## greco

RIFF WRATH said:


> Greco, if you are following this thread, you played through it last Sept at the jam....through an old Vintage Gold 1X12.......if I am not mistaken......very old school, bluesy but simple Gerry


Hi Gerry...Yes, I remember the amp very well. A very cool amp indeed ....I really like the wooden cabinet you used for it :food-smiley-004:


Cheers

Dave


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## LowWatt

fraser said:


>


Had that exact one. Gave it to the other guitarist in my band. Hummed more than most, but it had an awesome tone. Trashy in the best way when cranked and hit with a good boost.


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## traynor_garnet

traynor_garnet said:


> Do these amps run a 50C5 power tube by any chance?
> 
> TG


Anyone?

TG


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## LowWatt

traynor_garnet said:


> Anyone?
> 
> TG



IIRC mine did also a 6C4 and a 35W4 or something like that.


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## traynor_garnet

LowWatt said:


> IIRC mine did also a 6C4 and a 35W4 or something like that.


That's what I thought/feared. I hope you guys realize these things are pretty dangerous; they are nick named "Widow Maker" amps!

You should really be running them through an isolation transformer.

TG


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## RIFF WRATH

everything will be OK..........just don't play it out in the rain or in the bathtub.......


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## traynor_garnet

RIFF WRATH said:


> everything will be OK..........just don't play it out in the rain or in the bathtub.......


Or outside, or while standing on concrete, or while touching ANY other electronics . . . 

Also, pray that the one cap doesn't go because if it does you will have full voltage on your strings! (and you thought barre chords can hurt!). These things simply don't safety anymore.

I've mentioned this before. I have a pro grade isolation transformer sitting here that I am not using. I'll consider just about any trade for it. I didn't start this line of questioning to move gear, I brought it up because of legit safety concerns. 

TG


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## LowWatt

traynor_garnet said:


> Or outside, or while standing on concrete, or while touching ANY other electronics . . .
> 
> Also, pray that the one cap doesn't go because if it does you will have full voltage on your strings! (and you thought barre chords can hurt!). These things simply don't safety anymore.
> 
> I've mentioned this before. I have a pro grade isolation transformer sitting here that I am not using. I'll consider just about any trade for it. I didn't start this line of questioning to move gear, I brought it up because of legit safety concerns.
> 
> TG


Definitely understand your logic, but my old Pine amp is long gone. One of you other guys should step up and and take that offer. Good for peace of mind.


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## traynor_garnet

LowWatt said:


> Definitely understand your logic, but my old Pine amp is long gone. One of you other guys should step up and and take that offer. Good for peace of mind.


Thanks for understanding my intent. I was afraid I would come off as a spammer or look like I had set people up for a hard sell. These are great little amps that are fun to play; I just want to make sure it stays fun 

TG


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## Greg Ellis

RIFF WRATH said:


> the old pine is now a "custom" which is chrome lettering procured from a chrysler newport custom.........it is in a small old walnut short wave radio cab with stainless perforated steel front and back........it was checked over and upgraded by my favourite amp guru Wild Bill


What did Wild Bill have to say about the safety concerns?

Surely he brought that up when he was modding the amp, no?


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## RIFF WRATH

first off Wild Bill did not so much "mod" the amp, but rather do caps and such that are a normal maintenance and/or preventative issue with (old) tube amps.the only real mod that Bill performed was to install a grounded plug wire and to install a jack that cuts out the tiny internal speaker (load) when a cord is installed for an external speaker.....we did discuss safety issues and I decided that I was not overly concerned for three reasons.....one being cost...two being I wanted the amp to be as "original" as possible internally.....and three being the literally millions of electrical appliances made , say, from the 40's on up into the 70's that were used by your grandparents / parents /yourselves....not quite an urban legend type thing but.........the unit is not used in the damp, nowhere near water, on carpet if on concrete, it has limited use as I (pretend to) play bass........the only others who use it are guests.............lol...it is part of my "collection" of old tube amps.....I have 3 so far...with another coming when Bill has the time.......


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## greco

*".......the only others who use it are guests....."*

I actually felt better after I played through it...maybe a little electrotherapy for free (j/k)

Cheers

Dave


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## pck.

RIFF WRATH said:


> .......if I am not mistaken......this is very similar to an old Champ wiring diagram.........for a small fee contact Just Radios (dot com or dot ca?) and they will provide schematics if they have them.........they are Canadian, from Scarborough Ont.......very fast canada post delivery
> good luck, I love the sound of this amp......very old school, bluesy but simple
> cheers
> Gerry


thanks. the wiring is almost identical to an old garnet schematic student amp
except that the tone control centre connector is wired directly to the chassis
via a blob of solder instead of (like the garnet)
to the other side of the filter cap via a bypassed resistor.
so is this blob of solder correct?
(the champ schematics i have have power transformers.)
the chassis (i recall) is at 75/45 volts depending on plug-in polarity.
anything could be wrong but this tone control doesn't make sense to me.
thus i've hoped to find a specific shematic or photos also of back of
the controls part of the chassis.

philip


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## fraser

in a post ages back, dont recall what thread, i recall wild bill downplaying a lot of these safety concerns. and his logic makes a lot of sense. by the time i read his post id already purchased iso trannies, and installed one in my regal amp. my pine amp has one too, i havent wired it up, as i dont even have tubes in it, and my interest shifted away from amps for now lol. i still like em tho.
dont see this pic in this particular thread, so ill add it for interest- another of my pepcos-







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## mcgriff420

fraser said:


> in a post ages back, dont recall what thread, i recall wild bill downplaying a lot of these safety concerns. and his logic makes a lot of sense. by the time i read his post id already purchased iso trannies, and installed one in my regal amp. my pine amp has one too, i havent wired it up, as i dont even have tubes in it, and my interest shifted away from amps for now lol. i still like em tho.
> dont see this pic in this particular thread, so ill add it for interest- another of my pepcos-
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> [/IMG]


Cool! I have a Riviera head but single channel. I sent it to Shad over at Quinn Amps to sweeten it up, it's ok, nothing I would gig with and the chassis has got to be the thinnest peice of tin I've ever seen. 

Plus side -it came with some nice RCA6v6's and some decent pre's. I can't wait to try those 6V6's in the Lil Rock I just picked up from "Traynor Garnet"


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## copperhead

what are these things worth i have an old arc amp almost exactly like the one in the first photo


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