1979 Fender Twin (very slow) restoration

Amps, Cabs, Speakers, etc
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laurie
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1979 Fender Twin (very slow) restoration

Post by laurie » Wed Sep 21, 2022 1:19 am

I'll be doing this restoration slowly over the fall/winter.

These are the pre-resto pics. The photos do not convey the smell. This amp has been in a LOT of smoky bars.
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79 twin 01.jpg
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79 twin 02.jpg
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laurie
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Re: 1979 Fender Twin (very slow) restoration

Post by laurie » Wed Sep 21, 2022 1:23 am

First step in the resto - I ordered a vintage spec footswitch on Amazon. Should be here this week.

I have most of the capacitors and vacuum tubes. Plus the parts bin will have anything else that needs doing - e.g. the "power" switch is missing... amp goes straight to standby when you plug it in.
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fuzzbuzzfuzz
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Re: 1979 Fender Twin (very slow) restoration

Post by fuzzbuzzfuzz » Fri Oct 21, 2022 6:51 am

Looks like a good project Laurie!

Amps are definiely a winter patience affair, good luck!

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Re: 1979 Fender Twin (very slow) restoration

Post by Dirk » Fri Oct 21, 2022 5:09 pm

Cool, what is that input jack looking thingy in the middle?

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laurie
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Re: 1979 Fender Twin (very slow) restoration

Post by laurie » Fri Oct 21, 2022 11:33 pm

Dirk wrote:
Fri Oct 21, 2022 5:09 pm
Cool, what is that input jack looking thingy in the middle?
It is a microphone mount. Screw a gooseneck into it and mic up one of the speakers.

It will be departing when I do the restoration.

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Re: 1979 Fender Twin (very slow) restoration

Post by Dirk » Tue Oct 25, 2022 5:24 pm

laurie wrote:
Fri Oct 21, 2022 11:33 pm
It is a microphone mount. Screw a gooseneck into it and mic up one of the speakers.

It will be departing when I do the restoration.
Oh I see, handy for live gigs I reckon.

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laurie
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Re: 1979 Fender Twin (very slow) restoration

Post by laurie » Sat Nov 12, 2022 4:28 pm

Parts are ordered.
  • New grille cloth because I'm certain I won't be able to get the smoke smell out of the original cloth, plus the screws for that microphone mount have torn up the cloth a bit.
  • A full set of new tubes. Won't need all of them, but what i don't use will be spares.
  • The silver "chassis straps" - the originals had rusted.
  • The handle - burned by cigarettes.
  • New power and standby switches.
  • A new Fender amp cover to replace the very smoky aftermarket one.
  • A full set of replacement capacitors to restock my parts bin.
By the time it is done it will have cost me less than CAD$1000 (~750 Euro).

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laurie
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Re: 1979 Fender Twin (very slow) restoration

Post by laurie » Fri Dec 23, 2022 5:57 pm

I'd be working on the restoration of this amp right now if it wasn't minus 10C in the garage. Grrrr.

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Re: 1979 Fender Twin (very slow) restoration

Post by Pepe » Fri Dec 23, 2022 6:53 pm

Are those temperatures dangerous for electric gear like this amp? What about the tubes?
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laurie
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Re: 1979 Fender Twin (very slow) restoration

Post by laurie » Sat Dec 24, 2022 12:23 am

Only dangerous if the gear isn't warmed up to ambient before turning it on again.

Just bring it inside and let it warm up for a couple.of hours.

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