My New $250 Flea Market Amp - Ideas?

[Amp360]

Every week, I go to a flea market. I'm always there at 6:30 am, waiting in line. Many times, I find nothing, but I sometimes find cool things.

Anyway, I've bought amps twice over the last three weeks, and both cost $250. The first was a Vox Cambridge, which I wouldn't have normally bought, but it's in excellent condition with the speaker, cover, foot switch, and paperwork. It sounds kind of neat, but I still have a few gremlins to work out.

The second is an oddball. It's a '70s Super Reverb chassis in a Bandmaster Reverb box. I know it's probably worth $250, but it actually makes sense with what I want to do with it. I couldn't test it, but I figured I would take a chance. It hums but doesn't have any guitar signal. The hum does rise with the volume. Also, the reverb tank is missing.

Part of me wants to just do it up stock and put a tank in it. It would be great this way and I could put it in my road case with my Soldano and use it for cleans. OTOH I have a Vibrolux already, so I was wondering what something different I could get done might be.

Anyways, I'm open to suggestions. Also, what is a good tank for one of these?

 

[corpse]

It’s probably just tubes and the doghouse caps. The usual suspects.
Those Supers are great cleans and take pedals like nobody’s business. Great platform.
You might think about ignoring the reverb- I am sure you have something on your board anyway.
The trem is another story. It’s cool and unique.

 

[zacknorton]

that vox is COOOOOOL!

 

[garywright]

that head would look great perched upon a drip edge dual showman cab

 

[Amp360]

It’s probably just tubes and the doghouse caps. The usual suspects.
Those Supers are great cleans and take pedals like nobody’s business. Great platform.
You might think about ignoring the reverb- I am sure you have something on your board anyway.
The trem is another story. It’s cool and unique.

I changed the power tubes and it didn't make a difference. Maybe I'll change the others before I bring it in.

I have the smallest bored around. No reverb

Here is the one I like to use:

This is the one I usually use:

 

[Amp360]

that head would look great perched upon a drip edge dual showman cab

I agree, but I don't want to move one!

 

[Amp360]

Well, I changed all the tubes, and it still just hums. I opened it up, and if I poked the wires between the output tubes with a sharpie, I got some clicks.

That's about all the amp work I do. If it had been a bad solder joint or something, I would have been happy. Someone has been in here, and I don't think they were all that qualified - check out the power cord.

The caps look recent, but who knows if they were done right. I will bring it in to get it taken care of. The good news is it does turn on and hums. I'm sure it will be fixed up pretty easily by the guy I go to for all of these things. It sounds like a ground issue to me, but I guess I'll find out.

 

[Amp360]

double post

 

[corpse]

You’ve gone past my ability to diagnose. Never heard of the sharpie trick. I used a chop stick. Update-
I had a ‘63 Deluxe that suddenly lost its shit with a hum. I found an uninsulated wire had come loose from the chassis. It was a solid conductor. I brought it to my tech-a very good one in ATL. He spent a ton of time on it and couldn’t determine the source- until I pointed out the aforementioned loose wire. Resolder and viola’.
Not brave enough to wave a soldering iron in an amp.