Guild Thunder I Reverb T1-RVT

Tubeblaster

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Quick update on the Guild Thunder Reverb amp. I was able to bring it up to proper voltage and play it. It sounds pretty good. The reverb and tremolo work via the footswitch. There's some hum and noises when some of the pots are turned but they all do what they are supposed to. The tremolo clicks while oscillating sometimes. It is going to need some work; certainly some capacitors and general TLC. The grill cloth is in good shape but it has some dirt and stains. It's odd that it has a 3-prong cord but still has the polarity switch. The owner believes this 3-prong to be original. I wonder if the death caps are still in place despite the 3-prong? I appreciate everyone's thoughts and help as I work through this.

Wayne
 

59Panhead

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that is a very cool Ampeg Portoflex on your bench.
That's an older picture. I still have that amp, a B-12-N. Haven't seen it in a few years, as it's in a studio down in Durham, NC. It was my standard for a no-noise, no-hum amp.

Also, that's not really a bench. I found a small wooden pallet that fit the top of my Generac generator. I sometimes put a finished amp on it to get some 'soak' time, and to give them their first try after reviving them. Workbench space is a premium in my shop. Between tube amplifiers and vintage motorcycle engines/transmissions, I'm running out of space.

Jack
 

gilded

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Wayne,

I looked at your pics and compared them with my Thunder 1 RVT, serial number 6170.

Your speakers, an Oxford/Utah 12" and a smaller, reverb-signal 8" CTS are identical to mine, except that my dates are older, with the CTS dating back to '65. I can only guess they are original to both amps.

Also, my output transformer (I assume that the smaller trannie is the output) date was the same as yours and my power transformer was '6-26 (or 29. I was reading upside down).

Cosmetically, your amp is in better shape than mine, although I agree your amp is a bit dirty. I'd say it was an hour clean-up on mine. You could make it a 2 hour deal if you wanted to!

My amp had an original power cord (now replaced) and it looks nothing like what you have as a 'stock' cord. Mine was one the puniest power cords I've ever seen on any amp, although it was beige and did match the basic colors of the amp. Yours may be original, as mine was an earlier amp, but I would assume that you have a replaced cord that needs to be examined for safety issues.
 

Tubeblaster

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Wayne,

I looked at your pics and compared them with my Thunder 1 RVT, serial number 6170.

Your speakers, an Oxford/Utah 12" and a smaller, reverb-signal 8" CTS are identical to mine, except that my dates are older, with the CTS dating back to '65. I can only guess they are original to both amps.

Also, my output transformer (I assume that the smaller trannie is the output) date was the same as yours and my power transformer was '6-26 (or 29. I was reading upside down).

Cosmetically, your amp is in better shape than mine, although I agree your amp is a bit dirty. I'd say it was an hour clean-up on mine. You could make it a 2 hour deal if you wanted to!

My amp had an original power cord (now replaced) and it looks nothing like what you have as a 'stock' cord. Mine was one the puniest power cords I've ever seen on any amp, although it was beige and did match the basic colors of the amp. Yours may be original, as mine was an earlier amp, but I would assume that you have a replaced cord that needs to be examined for safety issues.

I just got back from a trip and am catching up on messages. Thanks for the comparison of your amp with mine. What did you use to clean the tolex?
 

gilded

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I don't remember what I used, exactly, it was 5 years ago. My guess is I got some kind of vinyl car seat cleaner from the local auto store. If I didn't, I would have used something like 409 Cleaner. Of course I would have tested it on the bottom tolex first, to see if it was okay.

I would have pulled the chassis, speakers, pan, etc., out of the cabinet and gone back and forth between the cleaner and a little warm water until I got it A) as clean as it was going to get and B) got the cleaner residue off of the tolex. I'm sure a scrub brush was involved, somewhere along the line.

For the grill, I used some kind of foamy cleaner from the same auto store. I would have foamed the grill fabric, let it sit, then used a soft of medium or soft bristle brush to Gently massage the dirt out of the grille. I probably wet-vacumed the residue out. I wouldn't have used any water, because the T1- RVT speaker board is particle board and would have absorbed the water with disastrous results. I would have pulled the grill/speaker board out of the cab to do all this, not only because of the particle board issue, but so I could get All The Dirt out of the combo cabinet...

My goal when I clean an old amp or guitar is to make it look like it has never been cleaned, but has generally just been in pretty good shape over the last 20-40 years.

I don't use anything that will permeate the tolex (like ArmorAll). I avoid stuff with silicone in it if I can.

That's all I got.
 

59Panhead

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Black saddle soap does a great job, and the dye in it will darken the worn spots. I ordered mine from Amazon.

Jack
 

gilded

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I have to ask, Jack, black saddle soap on a beige tolex amp? Is that a good thing?
 

sailingshoes72

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I have seen the automotive upholstery cleaner TuffStuff recommended for this job. As gilded mentioned, it is best to remove the chassis, speakers, reverb pan and even the speaker baffle because of the use of a "warm water rinse"... and quickly patting it dry!

Bill
 

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Thanks everyone for the cleaning tips. I'll get to that soon. I purchased the amp today from my buddy and am going to get going on the capacitors tomorrow. I'll get some before and after photos. Does anyone know if there is a difference in the schematic between version 1 and version 2 (which I have)? Here's a link to the schematic I'm referencing:

http://www.prowessamplifiers.com/schematics/images/Guild%20T1RVT.pdf
 

JohnW63

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I used an old can of "The Tannery" on a Randell amp I cleaned up. It worked pretty well. Not on the grill , cloth though.
 

Tubeblaster

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The amp is now functioning at a high level thanks to the ministrations of Geoff Woolfson at Amps & More in Westminster, MD. It was my first time at his shop and I couldn't have been more pleased with the quality of the work and the experience of being able to stand and talk with Geoff as he performed the work. Basically, it required replacing two electrolytic capacitors, which you can see in the photos below. A new 12AX7 was used. The rectifier tube socket needed cleaned and retensioned. The 3-prong power cord was more properly grounded. The pots were all cleaned and don't crackle any more.

Here's a link to the Google Photos album in case the individual photos below don't appear for everyone.

https://goo.gl/photos/uVniTzWpnXNhfVmK8

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Of interest, he also did a bang-up job restoring my 1938 Gibson EH150 amp after doing the Guild, but that's another story.

https://goo.gl/photos/Q75VcAMzUQJwMzPZ7

Q75VcAMzUQJwMzPZ7
 
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sailingshoes72

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Well done and a timely work schedule! I usually take about a year to get a project like that completed. :applouse:

The Gibson amp is really cool, too. I like the "coke bottle" rectifier tube and all the pre-war metal tubes as well. The speaker looks to be in excellent condition.

Bill
 
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