WHICH MASCO FOR GUITAR AMP BUILD?

[zozoe]

Hi all... I used to own a MA35 that a buddy had modded into a guitar amp, and it was a real fine amp, kind of Fender-like, but overdrived nicely at 7 & beyond, & in the loud side w/6L6's. I no longer have it, or any of my 30-40 amp collection, and was looking at having my tech do something with either an MA25 or MA35 Masco amp. Even though the MA25 also uses 6L6's, I'm wondering if it's a lower powered amp as perhaps dictated by the model #? I'd like to go for a lower powered build, but the used MA25 I saw used looks in need of some work, with one of its trannies hanging, but it was under $100, whereas the MA35 I see is $200 & seems to be in better shape. I'd go for the MA35 if I knew I could get it to O/D at a lower threshold. I know diddley about modding stuff & me techie isn't an amp specialist, but he expertly restored my Gibson GA40 thru & thru, and with schematics & some tips from you folks, this may work. Any more info on these 2 models for making a cool 20 watt beast out of it, including perhaps moving down to 6V6's for less power but better O/D. The 2 pics are of the MA25 with tranny hanging off.
Thanks all~

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[martin manning]

It’s hard to say what made your previous amp Sound the way it did. A PA amp conversion might might have only the chassis, tubes, and transformers in common with the original. The amp pictured looks pretty rough, and will require a complete teardown and de-rusting before rebuilding. The preamp OD characteristics are very much controllable with the specific circuit chosen, while the power amp distortion characteristics are more determined by the tube type and transformer set. There is probably some documentation available on the net, but I would guess that the 35 is a higher power model, and that the power amp will go to higher volumes before breaking up.

Similar project here, with MA-35 schematic: https://ampgarage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=30411 A unique circuit with paraphrase inverter and inductively loaded and coupled drivers.