Author Topic: Standel Amps Anyone? (Read 531 times)

hankster · « **Reply #15 on:** January 01, 2012, 05:39:10 AM »

Wierd - it works for me and takes me to the Standells playing on the Munsters. Sorry everyone.

R.

David Houck · « **Reply #16 on:** January 02, 2012, 11:42:33 AM »

That would be this.

hankster · « **Reply #17 on:** January 03, 2012, 07:49:51 PM »

Just so. Thanks Dave!

R.

lbpesq · « **Reply #18 on:** January 04, 2012, 09:00:09 AM »

In the spirit of 60's bands on 60's sit-coms, I submit this one.

Enjoy

Bill, tgo

benson_murrensun · « **Reply #19 on:** January 04, 2012, 09:10:41 AM »

Ahhh, so THAT'S what Zappa was parodying in Joe's Garage when he sang Plooking too hard on meeeee.
It's good to know this stuff....

hydrargyrum · « **Reply #20 on:** January 06, 2012, 06:16:17 AM »

Now that I've had a chance to play through the amp all I can say is that I'm quite impressed. It has a very organic sound to it, quite warm and unlike other solid state amps I've used. I contacted Standel, and they were able to tell me that this model was from 1965 and is probably worth around $300-500. I've been reading up, and it looks like all of the transistors used in the amp were early germanium, which might have something to do with the warm sound. All in all, I'm pretty pleased with the trade (especially considering I also picked up a Russian Big Muff).

lbpesq · « **Reply #21 on:** January 06, 2012, 08:25:09 AM »

I don't know if he has a bass amp, but Eric Pritchard in West Virgina makes AMAZING solid state amps. (Eric is an electronics and engineering genius that did a lot of machine design work for PRS when they started out). His amps are analog, not digital, and have multiple analog voicings (not modeling): Fender, Marshall, Vox, Boogie, several others, and you can even get one with a couple of horns and an acoustic setting for acoustic guitar. I switched from Fender and Boogie to one a few years ago. Small, less than 35 lbs., and dialable wattage up to 90 clean. My little guy can easily hold its own with a Marshall stack! More info here. He's a great guy and will talk to you over the phone forever. If he's not offering a bass amp on his web site, I wouldn't be surprised if he would whip one out on as a custom job. I never thought I'd go for a solid state amp until I tried the Pritchard!

Bill, tgo

sonicus · « **Reply #22 on:** January 06, 2012, 08:25:18 AM »

Kevin,
I love the sound of those Germanium transistors as well . I have had gear made with those and loved the sound, however as I am sure that you are aware of is that those little guys are hard to find replacements for. Sometimes Germanium transistors were in little sockets on the PC board and just need to be reseated firmly when they are indeed suspect . I think that if all is good now you might be in luck. Finding Capacitors for a re-cap job might not be so hard. If you can find a schematic diagram on line or from Standel it would be a wise investment to go with your lovely sounding newly acquired piece of gear . Congratulations !

Wolf

sonicus · « **Reply #23 on:** January 06, 2012, 08:29:58 AM »

I have heard Bill's Pritchard amp several times and agree that it has a pleasing sound .

hydrargyrum · « **Reply #24 on:** January 06, 2012, 09:59:07 AM »

Wolf,

Definitely good advice. Unfortunately, at some point Standel decided that they needed to protect their circuit designs, and began coating their boards in heavy black epoxy. The good news is that 95% of the amps continue to work after 45-50 years (at least according to wikipedia). I haven't opened mine up to see if it is coated or not, but I'm guessing the answer isn't good.

Bill,

I've definitely been curious about the Pritchard amps. I would certainly consider him if I ever went looking for another SS amp.

sonicus · « **Reply #25 on:** January 06, 2012, 10:15:34 AM »

Kevin , Yes I have heard that they did that. (Epoxy Potting , etc... ... )I have had gear like that as well. Sometimes you can work around that.

cozmik_cowboy · « **Reply #26 on:** January 06, 2012, 01:23:47 PM »

I haven't come across a Pritchard, but (inspired by Bill's endorsement of them a while back) I've read the website; here Mr. Pritchard recommends 4 of his 6 models for bass in a 1-12/2-5 combo with a 1-15 extension.

Peter

lbpesq · « **Reply #27 on:** January 06, 2012, 06:13:17 PM »

Eric gives a 30 day money back trial period. To be honest, I never would have tried one without the 30 day return policy. Though everything I read about his amps was very positive, it was still a little disconcerting to shell out $2K+ on an amp I had never seen before, let alone played. I'm very glad I took the chance. After I got it I spoke with Eric about some questions I had and my desire to swap out one of the voicings for another. I shipped the amp back to Eric, he quickly did the mods, and sent it back, NO CHARGE!!!! One mod I did myself was to replace the speaker (it uses a 4 ohm 12 speaker) with a Jensen Neo. A little less dark than the original and a little bit lighter too! Eric is really a trip to talk to - I'd love to be a fly on the wall with Eric and Ron in the same room.

Bill, tgo

jon_jackson · « **Reply #28 on:** January 07, 2012, 04:28:55 AM »

The Standel site has some old schematics of the inside circuitry of the epoxy modules, so there is a chance to work around one if it should go bad. What I've read about them (since that was a concern of mine for long-term ownership), is they usually went bad early if they were going to go out. Don't know how accurate that is, but made me feel better.
Jon

jon_jackson · « **Reply #29 on:** January 08, 2012, 10:49:23 AM »

A few photos of my vintage Standel bass amp, just for fun:

1969 Standel Bass Amp, Front

Back

Upper cabinet and amp section The amp can be used as a two cabinet unit, a single cabinet unit (removed from the rack), or the individual speaker cabinets can be used with a separate amp. Jon