Yamaha T50 combo as ODS donor ?

[chopstuck]

I just hate getting rid of my Yamaha T50 since it was really made well and the dimensions are right on for a D-style combo. Oh yeah It's only worth about $350. That's roughly the cost of a cabinet and a chassis.

The amps has the right iron, V+ a little high at 500v. Pretty good and similar PS board, 2x 6L6, some opto based channel switching hardware and about 7 new preamp tubes with a good reverb tank and rv transformer. It has great switches USA pots with good knobs. All this ads up. I was thinking of a small change to the ps board, and building a new circuit board instead of modding the current one (big waste of my time- takes me too long). Of course It will need new sockets and such. I may be able to salvage some orange drops. Andy used to do this to Fenders all the time, right ?
I have been down the Hammond organ recycle road before but that was too extreme and pointless.

Are these two amps are really similar enough to convert. Heck it's not vintage but it's well made out of good parts. I bet with a nice overlay on the chassis It could look good, right?

[Structo]

Not sure what the chassis and cab looks like but the schematic looks like the transformers should be up to the task for a 50w easily.

[chopstuck]

Sorry, here is the cab next to my D-lite Normster 20%
Looks like the cab will fit the chassis too.

[Structo]

Was that signed by Mike Soldano?

[DonMoose]

The hole layout is a bit off (I've got a T100 I look at from time to time with similar ideas).

Since we know the layout and lead dress are really important to getting that DumbleNess, the preamp tubes along the backline are too close together, but the ones up front might be OK for reverb and PI.

Hope this helps!

[heisthl]

I hacked up a T100 once - here's an example of butchery on one.

[qtone]

Elvin Bishop.. very cool....Im struting my stuff yall...

Not much room to move in that amp huh ?
tight fit in there.....

[chopstuck]

I have some hours into this amp with only moderate success. I think it was designed to a price and built below that. It had the upgrades done but it's sorta sad, it sounds unremarkable.

Tom, yup signed by Soldano himself. AFAICT. Still doesn't sound good to me.

Nice cab, trannies and hardware though.

Thanks for the input guys. I was thinking if using backline holes 1-3-5 and the off set pair for a two tube reverb.

Hey heistle what did you build in there, it looks way more complicated than a D-lite.
Did you run into problems relating to the confines of the chassis ?

[heisthl]

Elvin Bishop.. very cool....Im struting my stuff yall...

Not much room to move in that amp huh ?
tight fit in there.....

It was a Proto - Elvin thought it sounded too much like a Marshall when cranked. So he ended up with a completely different design. I then converted it to 50 watts and Lloyd Jones used it for awhile when he was waiting for his to be built, ditto for Kid Andersen (there's a You tube with him talking about it). After that I cleaned it up and made it into a full ODS style with Reverb and a local Phoenix guy uses it. I still have the 100 watt transformers laying around somewhere.

[chopstuck]

Let me guess... Chuck Hall ?

[heisthl]

Let me guess... Chuck Hall ?

One of my favorite locals, but as a Fender employee (actually ex employee I guess) not a good candidate for anything that doesn't say Fender or Gretsch on it.

[chopstuck]

I grew up there and saw a lot of these local players in the early 80's.
Mostly at Edsel's Attic above the Spaghetti Co. on Mill Ave.
Nita's Hideaway behind the powerplant

I'd go see Cosmo Topper,
Mario Moreno
Bill Tarsha and the Rocket 88's
Brick Chair over at the Library (torn down long ago)
And many many more.

I built amps for Pete and Randy over at Fender soon after they came to Scottsdale.

All many moons ago.

[DonMoose]

I have some hours into this amp with only moderate success. I think it was designed to a price and built below that. It had the upgrades done but it's sorta sad, it sounds unremarkable.

Yeah, Mike is said to have been unhappy with a lot of what Yamaha did to that design. Their biggest mistake was to move the reverb return from that mixer stage (V4) to after the MV pots. Relatively easy fix, but make sure you restore the cut traces and remove the extra Rp on V4b.

Hope this helps!

[chopstuck]

Don, I will check that out.

According to the man at Soldano, not Soldano himself, all the Yamaha's that come through his shop for the choke mod have the reverb mod/unmod done.

I will check the board to verify.

Thanks again for the reply.