woodbutcher65
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 4, 2018
- Messages
- 623
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For the past few days I've been waiting for the parts to refurbish and return a 1983 D180 to service.
The sucker has 10 of the 220 uF 300 volt filter caps in it. HUGE energy storage. Six 6L6 output tubes, and a conservative 150 watt output rating.
So the parts arrived and I recapped the whole thing, which is a bit of a chore given how those 10 big caps are built in a bus wire cage.
Finally I went to test it and discovered that the fuse was blown. Nope, I don't have 6.25A slow blow fuses on hand. But the local hardware store did!
I replaced a 470 ohm resistor on the bias board because it was mostly black from heat. Stuck in a fresh 1/2 watter and as it turns out, D180s always roast that resistor if it's less than a 1 watter so I'll put one in when I get one.
So, anyway, the unit's working. The D180 was built to be both a guitar amp AND a bass amp. It shares some circuit design elements with the Mark 1 or SOB including how the master volume (limiter) on an SOB works.
It has two inputs. Input 1 cascades to input 2, so input 2 is low gain and intended for bass and meant for headroom and not to distort.
Input 1 has an extra gain stage and it'll get a little bit crunchy.
The effects loop controls are always active even with nothing in the loop. They DO affect the volume level.
Cranked up, in the clean channel, I honestly don't think I've ever heard an amp get that loud and stay absolutely clean. It's a stunner!
Cranked up, in the dirty channel, I hit three notes and instantly thought "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Refugee tone". It was right there.
I'm impressed. This is a simple amp, definitely not high gain, but it has good tones. Pick one up if it doesn't cost you an arm and a leg, and have a place that allows you to crank it up.
Now I've got to spring for a fresh set of tubes (It takes two 12AX7s and two 12AT7s in the preamp) and that's going to cost a few bucks.
This amp will be for sale after I finish up a few details. The covers are getting repainted to original spec because they were flat out nasty, and it needs a new power indicator lamp. (Blue...fortunately I have one in stock for it.)
The sucker has 10 of the 220 uF 300 volt filter caps in it. HUGE energy storage. Six 6L6 output tubes, and a conservative 150 watt output rating.
So the parts arrived and I recapped the whole thing, which is a bit of a chore given how those 10 big caps are built in a bus wire cage.
Finally I went to test it and discovered that the fuse was blown. Nope, I don't have 6.25A slow blow fuses on hand. But the local hardware store did!
I replaced a 470 ohm resistor on the bias board because it was mostly black from heat. Stuck in a fresh 1/2 watter and as it turns out, D180s always roast that resistor if it's less than a 1 watter so I'll put one in when I get one.
So, anyway, the unit's working. The D180 was built to be both a guitar amp AND a bass amp. It shares some circuit design elements with the Mark 1 or SOB including how the master volume (limiter) on an SOB works.
It has two inputs. Input 1 cascades to input 2, so input 2 is low gain and intended for bass and meant for headroom and not to distort.
Input 1 has an extra gain stage and it'll get a little bit crunchy.
The effects loop controls are always active even with nothing in the loop. They DO affect the volume level.
Cranked up, in the clean channel, I honestly don't think I've ever heard an amp get that loud and stay absolutely clean. It's a stunner!
Cranked up, in the dirty channel, I hit three notes and instantly thought "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Refugee tone". It was right there.
I'm impressed. This is a simple amp, definitely not high gain, but it has good tones. Pick one up if it doesn't cost you an arm and a leg, and have a place that allows you to crank it up.
Now I've got to spring for a fresh set of tubes (It takes two 12AX7s and two 12AT7s in the preamp) and that's going to cost a few bucks.
This amp will be for sale after I finish up a few details. The covers are getting repainted to original spec because they were flat out nasty, and it needs a new power indicator lamp. (Blue...fortunately I have one in stock for it.)
