NAD! '69-'70 Superstar Combo.....

gilded

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Actually, it's a Superstar Combo! Would some Moderator change the Title line for me???


One very heavy amp, when I opened up the back panel, it had an early '70s Electro Voice SRO 15 speaker inside it! 26lbs! They call the speaker the 'coffee can' model.

Nice RCA black-plate 6L6GC power tubes, a Telefunken dual triode tube for the phase inverter, and 4 Japanese Realistic 12ax7 preamp tubes. Oh, and a 6gw8 for the reverb unit. A lot like the '69 Thunderstar Combo I used to own.

Found a schematic. Having a friend go through the amp. No foot switch, but a Fender switch will work.

What kind of voltage should I be seeing on the plates? Where should I bias the 6L6s?

Harry/gilded
 
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gilded

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You lucked out with the EV speakers. The basic stock ones are pretty poor sounding.
M

I hope so. It's pretty stupendous, though I did hear a small amount of noise when I played the A note on the low E string that I need to rule out as a speaker issue. I'm gonna take it to a speaker shop and have it checked out. I have a couple of other 15" speaks, but I don't think I can conceive of this amp with any other speaker right now.

A friend played a really strong-sounding Ibanez string-thru hum-bucker guitar with it and the combination of that speaker and that guitar was remarkable.

Sorry I don't have any pics. Thank you, Photobucket.
 

jp

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Congrats, Harry! Looking forward to pics. Those are the best-looking Guild amps, I think, with the two-color grill cloth and lots of shiny chrome :C)
 

gilded

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Thanks, JP. Glad you liked it. It's pretty clean for a player, but it's so heavy with the 25lb speaker that someone added folding handles on each side, so there are a lot of extra holes for a 'true collector'. Sounds great, though.

I don't know what to tell you about pics. I'm walking away from Photobucket and I can't get a imgur account going for some reason.
I guess I'll have to email pics to somebody and see if they want to post them.

I should have it back in a couple of weeks.
 

matsickma

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Hey Gilded...by any chance does your amp have the script Guild chrome emblem, like used on early Thunder amps, on the upper right side, when looking at the amp from the front?
The reason I am asking is because their is s old Guild advertisment with the a picture of the amp with a Starfire that has one of those script logos on the fron of the amp but I have never actually seen one on an amp for sale.

I have considered adding on to the front of an amp.

M
 

gilded

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matsickma, no, it does not have the logo.

I'm trying to remember if my '69 Thunderstar 1x12 combo had the logo. I don't know that it did. I will check with the guy I gave it to and see if it has one. Give me a few days......

Do you have a logo for the 'addition'?
 

matsickma

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Hey G, those Guild logo's are as hard to come by as "hens teeth"! Not prepared to relinquish my stock but I will keep you in mind if I have a change of heart.

I do remember those "coffee can" SRO. Great speakers. At the time I would normally prefer JBL D or K 130's but eventually I found the Altec Lansing 15's to be the sound I preferred.
M
 

gilded

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I agree with you Walter. SRO speaks are something else.

matsickma, I don't need a logo. I was seeing if you needed a logo. Good to know you have a stock of them, though.
 

matsickma

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EV made some killer speakers over the years. They had a 12 inch with a 4" voice coil that could handle a lot of power. If I recall correctly Mesa Boogie combo's would have a single EV 12 and handle 100 W rms. Twenty years ago that was quite a feat. Maybe it still is respectable.
M
 

mavuser

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EV made some killer speakers over the years. They had a 12 inch with a 4" voice coil that could handle a lot of power. If I recall correctly Mesa Boogie combo's would have a single EV 12 and handle 100 W rms. Twenty years ago that was quite a feat. Maybe it still is respectable.
M

that is the exact OG Mikey Houser (RIP) rig, together with the Soldano SLO 100, Soldano Surf Box, Boss DD Pedal, Ernie Ball volume pedal and 1990 Fender Telecaster *Deluxe Plus...and yes, it's still respectable, considering it is still the best tone I have ever heard, by far.

Mikey said he had played every brand amp, and the Soldano was the only keeper. But I truly believe Mikey would have liked Guild amps, if he ever got the chance to play one. I found my own tone, searching for his!
 
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matsickma

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Never heard a Soldano but based in the number if preamp tubes I assumed it was a very saturated tone. In my experience that tone would be the opposite of that if a Guild amp with the exception of a punched Maverick or punched Thunder 1. A punched Maverick reminds me of a Marshall or maybe a HiWatt at a 30 Watt instead of 100 Watts.

I have had 5 or 6 Maverick's of both the chrome /red and pink/red control panel. Most sounded great with the 7592A output tubes.
M
 

matsickma

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Please excuse the misspelling. Damn keyboard on the phone often mistakes "i" for "o" and "a" for "s" and vice versa!
M
 

mavuser

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Please excuse the misspelling. Damn keyboard on the phone often mistakes "i" for "o" and "a" for "s" and vice versa!
M

and a "1" for a "2" ? (7591A tubes!)

i didnt mean to say that my tone or Guild amp tone is like Mikeys or Soldano SLO 100s. i just meant Mikey would like them because they run hot and are super clean. also, the Maverick tremolo sounds just like his Surf Box (think vibro champ on the trem, not vibrolux)

as far as my own initial electric guitar tone that I found, the point at which I stopped experimenting for a long, long, time...which was inspired by Mikeys playing (but does not sound like him), together with a couple other players...this consists of the Gibson P-90 Les Paul Jr and Melody Maker, Maverick 2X10 amp, Boss OS-2 and Boss DD-6 pedals...scorching!

after a while some other keepers in the mix include jetstars, teles, some fender amps and the thunderstar. I do not currently own a Thunderstar however- I traded it to Default only because I know I can find another fairly easily, when the time is better as far as owning large amps goes.

I think Mikey would be like me and really like the late 60s Guild amps. There is just something about them. especially at that (current market) price and especially the Thunderstar. and I have not played the Superstar yet, it could easilly be the best one of all!
 

matsickma

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I got you...
Yes I see what you mean.

The sound of the Guild amps ('69 & '70) released with the Thunderstar (2-7591A tubes & 1-12 spkr), Superstar (2-6L6 tubes & 1-15 spkr) and the 3rd version of the Thunderbird (2- 6L6 & 2-12 spkrs) differ from the 2nd version Thunderbird (2-7591 & 2-12 spks) and Superbird (2-8417 & 2-12 or 2-15 spks) models ('68 ) primarily by the changes in the preamp circuit. The later model have higher gain but don't have control over the power amp input "master gain" input like the '68 models. Lot of amplifier changes going on at Guild at that time. Amazing how quickly they were turning out completely new amp architectures that looked alike but had significantly different tone!
M
 

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Mark Dronge told me that he thought Guild was on the cusp of becoming an "amp company" when his father was killed. Leon Tell killed the amp line and the synthesizer project that became Mutron.
 

gilded

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I've never played a Maverick, but I would if I got the chance!

I own an '66 Thunderbird, a '68 Thunder I RVT and a Superstar with an EV sro 15". I used to own a ThunderStar 1x12", but it was a little too loud to play in rehearsal (according to the rest of the band) so I gave it to a friend. That said, he doesn't play it much, so I called him up and it's coming back home sometime this week! I don't know where the heck I'm going to put them, but then I guess I can go vertically.

I love all of 'em, even though they all have their advantages and disadvantages and are in various stages of repair.

I may even figure out how to take some pics for you guys!
 
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