A true piece of Rock & Roll History - This amp belongs to the legendary Gary Rossington of Lynyrd Skynyrd & you've heard this amp on Classic Rock radio stations around the world every day. This amp was used on the first (2) Lynyrd Skynyrd debut albums 'Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd' (2x Platinum) & their 2nd album 'Second Helping' (2x Platinum).
The amp is a 100 watt Marshall, model 1959 Non-Master Volume 'Super Lead' & has seen its share of road miles over the years. This amp was manufactured in 1973 & was in need of some well deserved TCL. She came equipped with (4) EL34 power tubes & (3) 12AX7 preamp tubes.
When we initially bench tested the amp it was running approximately 525vdc on the plates & the amp was biased in crossover distortion. The Power Transformer (PT) was spec'ed to run on 110vac, verses 120vac. We installed a 2nd smaller PT on the primary side which lowered the AC voltage down to 110vac (ala a fixed variac) allowing the amp to run at 480vdc on the plates. This helped to reduce the strident / harsh high end, smooth out the mids & add a nice richness to the tone.
Additional TLC & Maintenance - We performed a long over due Cap Job using F&T Filter Caps, repaired several solder connections, reworked grounding for quieter operation, replaced the (2) Fuse Holders that were held in place by silicone, cleaned & retention’ed all sockets & control pots, metered all Screen Grid resistors, and removed as much residue as we could from gaff tape that had been applied to the front & rear panels throughout the years.
A prior tech had replaced the factory power cable with an extension cord & the Ground / Polarity Switch was still active. We installed a Voodoo Amps 50/50 Series Power Cable & disconnected the Ground / Polarity Switch for safer operation. We retubed the amp with JJ-EL34's & 12AX7's that we Burned-In, Tested / Selected & Matched.
We disconnected the Bulgin 'plug-in-style' Impedance connector as the metal connections on the female receptacle were too brittle to be retention. We hard wired (2) Speaker jacks for use with (2) 16ohm cabs or with (1) 8ohm cab & additionally we hard wired (1) Speaker jack for use with (1) 16ohm cabinet.
Part of the criteria was to retain the vintage overdrive but at lower, more manageable stage volumes. We installed a Master Volume (MV) on the rear panel (as requested), which is the same MV we use on our 'V-Plex' Series Amps & is consequently the same MV we installed on all of Joe Perry's amps that were use do the last Aerosmith tour. This MV is very transparent, retains the amps original 'feel' & tone while allowing the vintage overdrive & richer low end to come through at any volume level.
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Documentation – The end results were amazing & we all played several classic Skynyrd songs through it as we smiled endlessly. This is truly a great example of what an older Super Lead should be. There were some unique values that we had not seen before & these were ‘stock’ or rather were installed at the factory when the amp was first made. As with all amps that are part of Rock & Roll History, we made detailed schematics, took numerous photos & videos to properly document the amp so that the original owner or anyone else can order a duplicate through our Custom Shop.
The amp was then placed on our proprietary Break-In Rig, was thoroughly Bench Tested & Audio Tested before being shipped back for active duty. We very much look forward to hearing this amp back in its rightful place behind Mr. Gary Rossington on stage this tour season with Lynyrd Skynyrd.
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Voodoo Amps
www.voodooamps.com
(607) 256-0465