# found an old tube amp !



## lenbone (May 12, 2006)

When i was at the local garbage dump dropping off some dead trees i spotted an old suitcase 'Well thats what i thought it was" and this "suitcase" turned out to be an old NEWCOMB recordplayer -amp! It has el-84'2 under the hood,1,6AN8 1,5Y3GT 1,12AX7 AND 16AV6 it also has a separate "15 speaker.This old girl really wails !! Anybody got any info on these things ?


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

...i had a very similar experience a few years ago, heading out to work one morning on garbage day, i spied what looked like one of those old, two-tone grey and white record players from back in the fifties, with a bunch of other garbage in front of a neighbour's house. as i got closer, i began to realize it was an amplifier, which turned out to be a small supro. a friend who works at erickson/coast music in montreal restored it for $100 (i made sure that he didn't fix the torn grill cloth). it must have been quite a job, because to me it looked like the innards were pretty much destroyed by rust, age etc.

i still have it, of course, and it sounds wonderful, and has a lush tremolo.

-dh


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## SinCron (Mar 2, 2006)

I love every second wednesday .


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## lenbone (May 12, 2006)

*every second wed.*

Why is that the day you go to the dump? lol.


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## Wild Bill (May 3, 2006)

*Great score!*



lenbone said:


> When i was at the local garbage dump dropping off some dead trees i spotted an old suitcase 'Well thats what i thought it was" and this "suitcase" turned out to be an old NEWCOMB recordplayer -amp! It has el-84'2 under the hood,1,6AN8 1,5Y3GT 1,12AX7 AND 16AV6 it also has a separate "15 speaker.This old girl really wails !! Anybody got any info on these things ?


LB, you have the basis for a great little guitar amp here!

Good luck finding any info on it. It's just not the sort of thing that anyone would have in their library. If you want a schematic you can google for a Canadian firm called justradios that sells schematics cheap!

'Course, why would you get a schematic when you have to pretty well change everything for guitar anyway? You can simply adapt a guitar jack to the input but that would be a shame. Hifi circuits are very, very different from guitar amp circuits. Somebody running an amp with the very same tube lineup but designed for a guitar would make your amp sound very, very lame... 

I'd pick out an old Traynor or Gibson schematic with a similar EL-84 output as a start. Now comes the big question - how much electronic experience do you have? Particularly with tube circuits?

You may be handy in other fields but there are a LOT of basics to cover before you can even get started! If you're handy with car engines how would you like to tell someone how to change all his pistons through message posts on a forum bbs? You would constantly be starting over to explain the basics.

If you intend to stick with tube amps as a hobby I'd suggest you check out sites like Ampage or the AX84 group. The first is probably the absolute best site for newbies and veterans to share tube amp info and to help each other. The AX84 group is dedicated to building amps (with a pair of EL84s!) that are low powered rip snortin' Marshall sounding monsters! 

If you have some experience with tube amp wiring by all means keep talking and I'll be glad to help.


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## lenbone (May 12, 2006)

*tube amp*

Hi Wildbill ! This amp does have a schematic in the cabinet,,One guy told me not to poke around in there unless i like getting ZAPPED !! Anyway,,this thing was built in Hollywood California,of all places! It's a model TR-1640-M,And i can't find any info on the net.I did find a few Newcombs on E-bay, but they didn't even look close to this one. It's got an awsome tube sound to it but is somewhat on the bassy side,so when i play around with it i use my Boss OD-20 multi distortion pedal and she ROCKS! Anyone have any ideas how to get a little more jam out of this thing?- Lenny P.S. It's a NEWCOMB Brand and does have 1/4 inch guitar input.


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## Wild Bill (May 3, 2006)

*It's always somthing...(Gilda Radner)*



lenbone said:


> Hi Wildbill ! This amp does have a schematic in the cabinet,,One guy told me not to poke around in there unless i like getting ZAPPED !! Anyway,,this thing was built in Hollywood California,of all places! It's a model TR-1640-M,And i can't find any info on the net.I did find a few Newcombs on E-bay, but they didn't even look close to this one. It's got an awsome tube sound to it but is somewhat on the bassy side,so when i play around with it i use my Boss OD-20 multi distortion pedal and she ROCKS! Anyone have any ideas how to get a little more jam out of this thing?- Lenny P.S. It's a NEWCOMB Brand and does have 1/4 inch guitar input.


Len, I've been dealing with tube gear over 40 years and I've never heard of a Newcomb anything! It just doesn't sound like a popular brand. There were hundreds if not thousands of bit players in that industry. Today we remember the biggies like RCA but all the little fish are in a different kettle, if you'll pardon the metaphor.

You've got a unit made by a little manufacturer during a time when there were thousands of others just like him. That's the sad truth. If it were me I know enough to dive in without a schematic but geography is a problem. Besides, then I'd have to charge you!

The amp sounds bassy because the tone control circuitry is one of those things that's designed to play back a record and is totally wrong for guitar. If you indeed have the schematic perhaps you can scan it and post it here or email it to me. Even with the schematic it will be very tedious to try to help you make changes with messages in a forum.

There's no way around it, LB. You're either gonna have to go on a learning curve yourself or find somebody local to do it for you. If you find somebody who can do a good job for free for Pete's sake don't do anything to p*ss him off! EVERYONE could use a pal like that!


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## lenbone (May 12, 2006)

*tube amp*

Thanks WB there is a guy here in town that said if I have a schematic he could probably "soup it up a bit". It looks very simple inside(all hand wired etc.) so I guess I'll let him have a go at it one of these days,he says he's dying to see it ! And i did see a few Newcomb products on E-BAY but nothing really close to this model.--Lennybone.


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## lenbone (May 12, 2006)

*tube amp*

Wildbill, in a nutshell can you explain what is involved in converting this thing to a suitable guitar rig ie; some more gain , some overdrive etc.I don't know if this helps or not but iv'e seen alot of tube amp innards and this one looks really simple.-lennybone


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## Wild Bill (May 3, 2006)

*In a nutshell?*



lenbone said:


> Wildbill, in a nutshell can you explain what is involved in converting this thing to a suitable guitar rig ie; some more gain , some overdrive etc.I don't know if this helps or not but iv'e seen alot of tube amp innards and this one looks really simple.-lennybone


Sorry Lenbone, in a nutshell I don't think I can. As I said in my previous posts, you need to understand the schematic and have a knowledge of guitar amp circuits to know what changes to make. If I tell you to change the plate load resistors in the preamp to a higher value does that make sense to you? I can't tell you what value 'cuz I have no idea what's already in your amp?

How can I suggest even simple mods to your amp's circuit when I've never seen the circuit? I'm not psychic! 

If you've got a knowledgeable friend in town you might as well let him have a go at it.


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## lenbone (May 12, 2006)

*amp*

I was just wondering what type of parts are ussually put in (or removed)from the amp ?Does that make any sense ?All I know is that a tube amp holds alot of voltage,,is that stored in the cap? I would like to learn a bit more.-Lennybone.P.S. I do know that a resistor controls the amount of voltage flow,,Right,or no?


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