fluff191
Well-known member
So I sold my FJA 3 Channel Dual Recto (and got more that I had thought I would for it) and was on the hunt for a 2 Channel Dual or Triple. Saw a Dual on the local CL for $750 and thought 'what the Hell, might as well check it out'.
This amp had been on CL for many weeks (!!) and man when I saw this amp it had been to the war in the Middle East and probably done several tours at that. Headshell is beat, dried up beer stains on the top and vent grill, etc.
Dude fired it up and I about fell over. Sounded amazing. So I paid the guy and off I went home.
Pulled the chassis and actually laughed out loud. It had NEVER been out of the shell, and still had the OE tubes in it, except for 2 of the center power tubes (several of the power tubes had loose sockets as well as the rectifier tubes) and literally was caked in beer and dirt and mice droppings:
Preamp tubes are the STR 12ax7-A (which I just happen to have bought several a few weeks ago on a whim) with an old Chinese SPax7 in V1. Inside the chassis it looks totally brand new, with the exception of a screen grid resistor that looks like it got a little hot years ago due to a tube failure or something.
Without this preamp tube combination in it, the amps sounds good, but not anything to jump up and down about. When you put in the SPax7 in V1, BOOM you are in Rockland. So cool!!
After I cleaned it up:
Anyone know if the current Mesa Spax7's are just JJ's? I would love to find more of these old Chinese tubes. Sound HUGE!!
Oh and I had enough leftover to go and get a Mesa 4x12 as well. 8)
This amp had been on CL for many weeks (!!) and man when I saw this amp it had been to the war in the Middle East and probably done several tours at that. Headshell is beat, dried up beer stains on the top and vent grill, etc.
Dude fired it up and I about fell over. Sounded amazing. So I paid the guy and off I went home.
Pulled the chassis and actually laughed out loud. It had NEVER been out of the shell, and still had the OE tubes in it, except for 2 of the center power tubes (several of the power tubes had loose sockets as well as the rectifier tubes) and literally was caked in beer and dirt and mice droppings:
Preamp tubes are the STR 12ax7-A (which I just happen to have bought several a few weeks ago on a whim) with an old Chinese SPax7 in V1. Inside the chassis it looks totally brand new, with the exception of a screen grid resistor that looks like it got a little hot years ago due to a tube failure or something.
Without this preamp tube combination in it, the amps sounds good, but not anything to jump up and down about. When you put in the SPax7 in V1, BOOM you are in Rockland. So cool!!
After I cleaned it up:
Anyone know if the current Mesa Spax7's are just JJ's? I would love to find more of these old Chinese tubes. Sound HUGE!!
Oh and I had enough leftover to go and get a Mesa 4x12 as well. 8)