Thrift store find - vintage Baldwin amp

Amps, Cabs, Speakers, etc
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laurie
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Thrift store find - vintage Baldwin amp

Post by laurie » Fri Sep 17, 2021 12:23 am

Baldwin C1 Professional. Unfortunately, they knew what they had so it cost a bit... But a beast. Sound is pure early SS.

Needs a re-cap, pots cleaning and lubricating, and a clean-up.
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Last edited by laurie on Sun Nov 19, 2023 3:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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fernieite
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Re: Thrift store find - vintage Baldwin amp

Post by fernieite » Fri Sep 17, 2021 1:54 am

Wow, cool!
Looks like the speakers are late 1965 ceramic magnet CTS. Are they 12"?

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laurie
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Re: Thrift store find - vintage Baldwin amp

Post by laurie » Fri Sep 17, 2021 2:07 am

fernieite wrote:
Fri Sep 17, 2021 1:54 am
Wow, cool!
Looks like the speakers are late 1965 ceramic magnet CTS. Are they 12"?
Yes 12". Huge tone. Not sure of the brand yet...

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fernieite
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Re: Thrift store find - vintage Baldwin amp

Post by fernieite » Fri Sep 17, 2021 4:08 am

The brand of the speakers? Like I said above - CTS. :mrgreen: (Chicago Telephone Supply)

The code for them is 137, and yours were made the 51st week of 1965.

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Pepe
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Re: Thrift store find - vintage Baldwin amp

Post by Pepe » Fri Sep 17, 2021 5:29 am

Oh, this looks like a lot of fun! Can we have a close-up picture of the coloured "Supersound" switches? :D
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Sinom
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Re: Thrift store find - vintage Baldwin amp

Post by Sinom » Sat Sep 18, 2021 2:22 am

Interesting read, if you haven't seen it already

https://www.vintageguitar.com/32703/mar ... s-trigger/

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laurie
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Re: Thrift store find - vintage Baldwin amp

Post by laurie » Sat Sep 18, 2021 11:32 am

Amp is completely dismantled for a clean and a re-cap. Will take pics once it is cleaned up.

Even though it is SS, it is built using the same techniques as a tube amp - turret boards, tag-strips, multi-segment capacitors, etc. These amps that are on the cusp of the change from tube-to-SS are an interesting beast.

The multi-segment capacitors are impossible to get today - they are high capacitance/low voltage. The only modern multi-segment capacitors are low capacitance/high voltage replacements for tube amps. I will need to build a "capacitor box" to replace them. Fortunately modern caps are about 1/5 the size. I'll post pics of the comparison when I get that far.

Parts required:
- All the electrolytic caps. Everything is 100% original. Fernieite decoded the speakers to November 1965, so the caps are 56 years old...
- Ground lift switch. It had fallen apart.
- Power cord. Must change from 2-wire to 3-wire (with ground).
- Fuse holder. Must change to safe type.
- ​Rubber shock-mounts for the reverb tank. They are crumbling.
- Foam rubber around the reverb unit. It is disintegrating.
- Maybe some new pots if I can't get the old ones fixed.

Plus parts to make a foot-switch.
Last edited by laurie on Sun Nov 19, 2023 3:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Pepe
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Re: Thrift store find - vintage Baldwin amp

Post by Pepe » Sat Sep 18, 2021 12:17 pm

Well, that sounds like a challenge that will take a while. ;)
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The_Doc
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Re: Thrift store find - vintage Baldwin amp

Post by The_Doc » Sat Sep 18, 2021 1:10 pm

This should be really interesting. I do like SS amps so I can’t wait to what this one sounds like after Laurie has saved it !

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Old_Iron
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Re: Thrift store find - vintage Baldwin amp

Post by Old_Iron » Sat Sep 18, 2021 1:55 pm

Gorgeous piece of vintage gear.

Congrats for this score Laurie.

Gave me instant deja-vu from my childhood in the early 70s, when my uncles had european made shortwave radios and used to bragg themselves for listen to BBC classical music shows. :lol:

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