Author Topic: OLD F-2B NEED HELP!!! (Read 291 times)

lukerochon · « **on:** December 09, 2008, 03:20:23 PM »

I have an old f-2b from seabastpol and some moron modded the heck out of it and sold it to me. Its pretty butchered. hard linked channels and some caps and resistors are missing. i am so down.

if anyone has an old f-2b can you please post close detailed pics of what wires go where please. or any other information that will help me get this baby back to factory stock PLEASE!

i cant read schematics.

PLEASE IM ON MY KNEES!!!

(Message edited by lukerochon on December 09, 2008)

adriaan · « **Reply #1 on:** December 10, 2008, 01:15:25 AM »

First of all welcome to the Alembic Club!

If you can't read schematics, you shouldn't trust yourself to make any modifications to an electronic device, let alone a tube-driven one. Take it to an expert! You can get the schematics from the very friendly people at Alembic.

lukerochon · « **Reply #2 on:** December 10, 2008, 06:16:41 AM »

I dont exactly trust anyone with it. Ive heard horror stories about techs stealing people vintage parts. saying their caps were bad and needed to be replaced but the customer cant have them back.

I know how to soder i just cant read schematics.

So if i can get some good pics of what wires go where it should not be a problem. All i need is someone who has an old one to pop the lid and snap some pics of the front and back of the circut board so i can make out where to soder my wires.

Mine is serial number 933 from Sebastopol. Has the red knobs. SO PLEASE if anyone has one thats unmodded some pics would really help! I dont want to be stuck with a 525 dollar paper weight!!!

funkyjazzjunky · « **Reply #3 on:** December 10, 2008, 09:45:57 AM »

Welcome to the forum. Contact this sites Moderator Dave Houck. He is the man.

Where are you? There may be an honest shop nearby.

By the way, how does the amp sound?

lbpesq · « **Reply #4 on:** December 10, 2008, 10:29:07 AM »

Luke:

If you're anywhere near Sebastopol, you're a hop, skip, and jump from the Alembic factory in Santa Rosa. You can certainly trust them to fix it right. As for old caps, they're no good, but any honest tech will give you your old caps back, if you want them. As for fixing it yourself, I strongly agree with Adrian: if you can't read a schematic, you really shouldn't be doing this yourself. Not only is there a danger of damaging the F2B, but more seriously, you could harm yourself. If you really don't trust a local tech (even though there really is no reason to fear old parts theft) then take or send it to Alembic. It's a great pre-amp and it's worth doing right.

Bill, the guitar one

David Houck · « **Reply #5 on:** December 10, 2008, 11:08:29 AM »

Thanks Vann-Di!; but I'm not really an electronics guy. In fact, I have an F-2B with the red knobs (I think they look cool), and I sent mine back to Santa Rosa for some repair work as well. Luke, if it were me, and stuff was missing, I would be inclined to send it to Santa Rosa. Alembic uses high grade parts, and if they do the work it will be to factory stock like you want. If you or someone else does the work, then the replacement parts might not be to the same spec.

There are some pictures here.

On an F-2B that is this old, one thing to be aware of is that the foam that cushions the caps wears out; and as it wears out, the caps start moving around and the leads get loose and/or break. So when the caps are replaced, new foam should probably be installed to properly position and protect the caps.

(Message edited by davehouck on December 10, 2008)

lukerochon · « **Reply #6 on:** December 10, 2008, 07:30:34 PM »

ok thanks so much guys!!! im in college and both my parents just got laid off so money is VERY tight.

I think ill send it back to alembic. How do i go about doing this? they would be nice enough to bring it back to factory specs for me? around how much should i expect this to cost? 100 or 200 dollars?

lbpesq · « **Reply #7 on:** December 10, 2008, 07:35:49 PM »

Luke:

You might want to call first. Mica or Mary will probably answer. They are VERY friendly, as are all the other elves at Alembic. They can answer your questions.

Bill, tgo

hieronymous · « **Reply #8 on:** December 10, 2008, 08:56:23 PM »

Yup - getting in touch with Alembic directly is probably the best route. Good luck!!!

edwin · « **Reply #9 on:** December 15, 2008, 11:07:11 PM »

Where are you located? If you are anywhere near me (Boulder, CO), I could recommend someone to do the work. Working on them is kind of like a Model T. Very simple circuit and if you know what you are doing, it's an easy job. If you don't, it can kill you. Not kidding. What makes it sound so good is the high voltage in there.

Edwin

mike1762 · « **Reply #10 on:** December 17, 2008, 05:51:49 AM »

I'm betting you bought your F-2B back around the middle of November on EBay and its description was:

Here is a vintage Alembic F-2B Bass preamp.
Serial Number: 933
One of the first made by Alembic.
The Left and Right channels have been internally linked together.
This is the same make and model favored by David Gilmour.
Comes with brand new Mesa Boogie Tubes.
Less than 5 minutes on Tubes.
Sounds really clean and warm.
Like a Fender Twin in a Rackmount.

I was looking at that unit but passed when I realized what had been done to it. I don't know why it was modded like that. All you had to do was patch the 2 channels together to accomplish the same thing and preserve the integrity of the unit. Hope you are able to get it back in stock condition. I know that had to be disappointing.

David Houck · « **Reply #11 on:** December 21, 2008, 06:03:03 PM »

The contact number is here. The telephone answering hours are fairly limited; something like 10 to 4 pacific time.

lukerochon · « **Reply #12 on:** December 21, 2008, 06:13:35 PM »

yes thanks very much! i was pretty distraught thanks so much for the help!

and yes that was the ebay auction. at the time i didnt know anything about the f2b so i couldent tell the guy was lieing. and yes it just baffles me why such a person would do this to such a great pre amp when a simple patch cable could to the same thing.