Check out this ebay seller...(pilot light lense)

Bill Ashton · Nov 12, 2007

When I first stumbled upon this, I thought it looked familiar...yes, the frosted green lamp on my 66-J! Took a couple times before I actually got one, seems to be the exact same housing as the Guild lamp uses, although the green is "rough frosted" and not polished like the original in mt amp. Not jeweled, though, and perhaps closer to the real thing if someone is looking for one.

He appears to have sold 33 of these, don't know if he will be offering any more...sorry to tease, if they are all gone,

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0160508470

capnjuan · Nov 12, 2007

Hi Bill and welcome: I notice the jewel in the ebay auction is smooth while all / nearly all of the after-market jewels are faceted; plastic? Got any pics of your 66J? I checked the one currently listed on eBay; nasty covering but no pic of closeup of control panel.

Best regards, cj

Bill Ashton · Nov 12, 2007

Arggh!...my mispellings embarass me.

Thanks for the welcome, been lurking from time to time in the amp section...

I would characterize the original Guild pilot lamp lens as "frosted under polished glass," while the ebay replacement is "frosted (on top of?) glass, and not polished." Either gives the soft green glow.

I am not familiar as to how to post a picture, is there a tutorial on this board?

I got my 66-J in March of '68, a gift for making the honor-roll in eighth grade! We saw an add in the Boston Globe Marketplace which really was THE place to find used equipment back then, and my father and I traveled to the Alewife Circle in Cambridge at the end of Route 2 (anyone here remember when it really was a circle?...then you are at least as old as me!), where we met this guy and my father gave him $ 40.00. Could have been hot I suppose, but that wasn't our impression at the time.

Had never seen a Guild amp before, I believe it to be early sixties, but I still have her today...she got me through all my high school garage bands, a little club playing, college stage band...I just wish I could get her tremolo back, cap job didn't help.

The amp is rough grey tolex, silver grille cloth, block guild logo over the baffle, no sticker inside but the schematic was inside the top rear panel. Leather handle. The switches have ball ends, always wondered if they were original. Really need some feet, would love to get reasonable facsimile of the orignals.

She still plays loud and clean; I have taken out her blue Jensen AlNiCo and replaced it with a Weber Signature 12 AlNiCo, very nice...

capnjuan · Nov 12, 2007

Hi Bill: here's a link to an LTG BB thread w/ some directions on posting pics; this one uses ImageShack but there are dozens of web photo-hosting sites including Photobucket and others.

http://letstalkguild.com/phpBB2/viewtop ... f=2&t=5522

If you have trouble, say so; someone will help you out. Yes, I'd say $40 sounds like the White Van Music (informal BB code for 'thieves') price but you 'stole' it fair and square and had the good sense to hang on to it.

I have an early 60s Gibson GA18 which I think has the same formula as the 66J; 2X12AX7 and 2X6V6, no? I pulled its Jensen P10R and replace with corresponding Weber too. cj

Bill Ashton · Nov 12, 2007

I had missed the one currently on eBay. Yes it is like mine, sans the magic marker squiggles. Mine has the metal plate with the block Guild logo, but the Jensen speaker is a blue Special Design AlNiCo and does not have the magnet cover. It appears there is some sort of plate on the upper back panel, mine does not have that either.

But then, mine has those nice (GM ?) stars on the grill cloth...

OH, and as I discussed in my email, the tube layout is 5Y3, pair of 6V6 and three 12AX7's.

Cheers!

capnjuan · Nov 12, 2007

Post on behalf of new member Bill Ashton; a proud owner of a Guild 66J.

bill ashton said:
Dear capnjuan: Here ya go. They are kinda dark because I had to get them done quickly, will try for more "studio" shots later. I never knew until I finally found an old Guild advert, that the "stars" weren't original...lol! What do you think they came from, Oldsmobile, Buick, Pontiac ???

The Jensen Special Design speaker has a '59 date code, but I think the amp is later than that, based upon the advert...in '59 I think they still had the trapazoidal grille opening. The handle is a more modern (10 years or so?) Fender Deluxe replacement, as the old black leather one was to thin to carry the amp much longer...still have it though.

I think the amp sounds so clean as it really has only one gain stage...one is the preamp for both channels (one for each section), one is the phase inverter and one is used for the tremolo. The tone controls are Baxandall style, which I understand is the Ampeg way ... there we go with that myth again!

I used her all through my time of playing...er, seriously ???...as a rhythm - guitarist with a (real) Nocaster, she stood up to Silvertone Twin Twelves, a BF Pro-Reverb, Vox Berkley and others...wasn't bad with harp either! When she was constantly tripping the GFI in the basement, I finally converted her to three-wire-grounded and go rid of the death cap...that was the trouble, it unbalanced the load...anyway, its safer now.

I tried both pilot lamp lenses, and curiously enough the original looks etter unlit, while the NOS "outside frosted" looks better lit. Can't tell a difference in the photos, but in person you can. OK, WAY too much text. I'll close here sending my best wishes and regards;

Thanks Bill; pretty cool amp alright. You may have flunked the quiz on how to post pics but you had the good sense to hang on to your 66J. I'd guess Oldsmobile as the source of the pointy things .... Thanks again for the pics. Browse, post, enjoy. cj

Bill Ashton · Nov 12, 2007

Thanks, Cap'n! It occurs to me that there may not be a '56 Olds Rocket 88 safe on the street, now that these images are shown...all those Guild amp users will be out looking for their own stars...!!! :lol:

I didn't mention that it also came with its own, lined brown canvas color...now discolored by age, but still protecting her in the basement.

As mentioned above, anyone that has a 66-J, I'd love to see an image of the rubber feet and perhaps get dimensions...

Best regards to all...

capnjuan · Nov 13, 2007

Thanks again Bill for the pics; does this amp break up early, say 4/5 or does it have to pushed up to distort? Yup; the 'Ampeg' connection continues. There is weblore to effect that the Hoboken Guild and Ampeg shops were within a few blocks of each other; it's also said that each firm hired the other's people. It's at least an explanation for the many similarities between the early/mid-60s Guild and Ampeg amps. cj

Bill Ashton · Nov 13, 2007

After I first had the 66-J for about a year or so, Radio Shack had a sale on "100 Watt" amplifier speakers, so I was hooked and bought one...turned out to be a rebranded and repainted (orange!) Jensen C12N...just a little more robust than the old P12R. Thats what I had in it for years, and just recently got the Weber Signature 12. She will break up slightly at full-tilt-boogie, but never would with the Radio Shack/Jensen. Clearly a jazzer's amp, very clean and round sound...would be wonderful I'll bet with a jazz box.

I have heard eBay adds that talk of this amp breaking up like a tweed Deluxe or Tremolux, but I think that's just sales hype...or
there was something seriously wrong with those amps!

capnjuan · Nov 13, 2007

Bill Ashton said:
... a rebranded and repainted (orange!) Jensen C12N ... just a little more robust than the old P12R. Thats what I had in it for years, and just recently got the Weber Signature 12. She will break up slightly at full-tilt-boogie, but never would with the Radio Shack/Jensen. Clearly a jazzer's amp, very clean and round sound...would be wonderful I'll bet with a jazz box. I have heard eBay adds that talk of this amp breaking up like a tweed Deluxe or Tremolux, but I think that's just sales hype ... or
there was something seriously wrong with those amps!

Hi Bill; to be honest, I would have expected the 66J to distort early on particularly with the Weber. All of the mid/later 60s Guild designs rely on high value coupling caps at the junction of the pre and power amps. The higher the uf value, the more it acts like a 'low pass' filter letting through the bass and mids but - if you like distortion - sort of doing a number on the treble; filtering out alot of sonic hash and grunge. Some of the designs seem intended to be used with the big jazz boxes that, at the time, were G's big sellers. Agree that if yours doesn't break up at low/mid volumes and it's like the others, the comparisions of the 66Js to Fenders are a little off. cj

Bill Ashton · Dec 1, 2007

He's got another frosted green lens up, better get 'em while you can!

Once again, no affiliation whatsoever, but these are so rare I'd think this group would be scouping them up...

Best regards all...

Bill

capnjuan · Dec 1, 2007

Bill Ashton said:
He's got another frosted green lens up, better get 'em while you can! Once again, no affiliation whatsoever, but these are so rare I'd think this group would be scouping them up... Best regards all... Bill

Hi Bill; saw them. There are eBay dealers who just sort of drip-drip stuff out; like the ones selling picks one at a time. Thanks for the heads up! cj

Bill Ashton · Mar 23, 2009

Just lookiing through my old posts, I guess this is where I began on this board.

Still looking for some kind soul to post either dimension data or a photo of the rubber
feet that are original for the 66-J.

Interesting about the output distortion. With 60's NOS GE 6V6's, loud and clean right up to max, with a pair of Delco (unknown vintage) 6V6's, just a hint of hair when nearing max...however recently I bought a pair of the new Tung-Sol's just to have a spare pair on the workbench, and there is definately some grit going on with those. Could be the bias with those tubes is way off, they come with a "bias point" printed on the box, and apparently you buy them with your desire for clean or dirty? Didn't know that. Even distorted, this girl is nothing like a tweed Deluxe, but I guess its OK to have the ability for some crunch or grind if I needed same...although not at the moment for the surf musinc I am playing with in the basement!

Best regards all...

capnjuan · Mar 23, 2009

Bill Ashton said:
... Could be the bias with those tubes is way off, they come with a "bias point" printed on the box, and apparently you buy them with your desire for clean or dirty?

Hi Bill; your 66J is 'cathode-biased' where the bias of the 6V6s is set by the value of a beefy power resistor - typically rated at 5 watts - that connects the cathodes of the 6V6s to ground. When the tube is idling, that resistor forces a voltage to appear on the cathode guaranteeing that the voltage on the cathode will be higher (less negative) than the voltage on the grid where the signal is pumped in.

Most vintage low-power student / inexpensive amps with twin outputs are cathode-biased and, other than switching bias resistors in and out ranging typically from 200 - 300 ohms, there is no practical way to adjust or tweak the bias. The lower the bias voltage, the more headroom there is but the tone can be sterile and lifeless. A higher idle setting will generate a better tone at moderate volumes but lack the headroom of a cooler setting.

Most modern retail and boutique tube amps are 'fixed bias' where a small negative voltage from the power supply, by way of pots, is injected onto the grid guaranteeing that the voltage on the grid will be more negative than the voltage on the cathode that, without its bias resistor, is near zero. Groove Tubes used to rate their 6L6s ... maybe others too ... with respect to their tendency towards distortion but there are more factors that go into how easily an amp distorts than just output tube bias. One of good things about the older 6V6 amps is that 6V6s - as you've found out - come in tone flavors ranging from dark, thick, and smokey to lighter, tinkly, and cleaner. Good luck in finding the right size feet for it ... CJ

Check out this ebay seller...(pilot light lense)

Bill Ashton

Senior Member

capnjuan

Gone But Not Forgotten

Bill Ashton

Senior Member

capnjuan

Gone But Not Forgotten

Bill Ashton

Senior Member

capnjuan

Gone But Not Forgotten

Bill Ashton

Senior Member

capnjuan

Gone But Not Forgotten

Bill Ashton

Senior Member

capnjuan

Gone But Not Forgotten

Bill Ashton

Senior Member

capnjuan

Gone But Not Forgotten

Bill Ashton

Senior Member

capnjuan

Gone But Not Forgotten