Crate Vintage Club 50 Head
- Thread starter leftyguitartony
- Start date
Re: Crate Vintage Club 50 Head
I'll play! I just traded a 1992 Peavey Foundation bass I modded (Bourns pots, vintage bumblebee cap and Babiscz bridge... damn, that bass sounded good) plus $150 cash for a Black Tolex Vintage Club 50 2X12 combo. I love these amps. I played a friend's cream Tolex one for a long time and never had a bit of trouble from it. Question: What are the designated preamp tube positions from left to right closest to the transformer? Is it V1 closest to tranny or V4?
I just took the amp apart to check out the tubes. Looks like the original Sovtek EL84s in the power positions and three JJ ECC83S tubes in the preamps and...get this... one Amperex 6681 tube in the third socket from the tranny.
I'll play! I just traded a 1992 Peavey Foundation bass I modded (Bourns pots, vintage bumblebee cap and Babiscz bridge... damn, that bass sounded good) plus $150 cash for a Black Tolex Vintage Club 50 2X12 combo. I love these amps. I played a friend's cream Tolex one for a long time and never had a bit of trouble from it. Question: What are the designated preamp tube positions from left to right closest to the transformer? Is it V1 closest to tranny or V4?
I just took the amp apart to check out the tubes. Looks like the original Sovtek EL84s in the power positions and three JJ ECC83S tubes in the preamps and...get this... one Amperex 6681 tube in the third socket from the tranny.
Spudman
New member
Re: Crate Vintage Club 50 Head
And there you have it. I've had my VC50 since 1994 and it's a tube guzzling beast. Sounds great for a while, but I learned to never move the amp after the tubes heat up until I'd given them time to cool way down and that helps some with the longevity.
Get sturdy well made tubes and they'll last longer. You can also get a computer fan to put on the back of the amp to help dissipate heat. I got one from a dumpster outside a computer place and just set it near the amp to keep air moving. It's really quiet.
And there you have it. I've had my VC50 since 1994 and it's a tube guzzling beast. Sounds great for a while, but I learned to never move the amp after the tubes heat up until I'd given them time to cool way down and that helps some with the longevity.
Get sturdy well made tubes and they'll last longer. You can also get a computer fan to put on the back of the amp to help dissipate heat. I got one from a dumpster outside a computer place and just set it near the amp to keep air moving. It's really quiet.
Rick330man
Member
Re: Crate Vintage Club 50 Head
Years later and I've still got my two Vintage Club 50 heads.
I found that getting the coolest setting JJ EL84s possible will survive. A JJ EL84 quad has been in one of my VC 50 heads for over 3 years now. The JJs sound great and are holding up well. The other VC 50 head has a quad of those old Soviet military 6P14P-EVs.
With the factory spec 4 12AX7s in the preamp the amp can generate unwanted preamp distortion and delivers that bees-in-a-jar type distortion when pushed. Sticking a quality NOS 5751 in V1 and a quality 12AT7 in V4 (phase inverter) will allow you to enjoy the amp's beautiful cleans while also allowing you to have a usable drive channel.
Anyone else? I'm also curious about what speaker and cabinet combinations folks are using with their VC 50 heads.
Years later and I've still got my two Vintage Club 50 heads.
I found that getting the coolest setting JJ EL84s possible will survive. A JJ EL84 quad has been in one of my VC 50 heads for over 3 years now. The JJs sound great and are holding up well. The other VC 50 head has a quad of those old Soviet military 6P14P-EVs.
With the factory spec 4 12AX7s in the preamp the amp can generate unwanted preamp distortion and delivers that bees-in-a-jar type distortion when pushed. Sticking a quality NOS 5751 in V1 and a quality 12AT7 in V4 (phase inverter) will allow you to enjoy the amp's beautiful cleans while also allowing you to have a usable drive channel.
Anyone else? I'm also curious about what speaker and cabinet combinations folks are using with their VC 50 heads.
