Opened up my Hammond amp...

[dd12939]

I got brave and took the bottom off my Hammond Amp. I thought it was a 1938 model (that's what I gathered from the Ebay ad, not that I really cared). The bottom of the transformer says 8-31-51, so I'm guessing 1951 is a better bet.
Granted, I haven't a clue what any of the stuff inside does/means, but I thought it looked cool and I'm pretty sure some people on here can gather something from all this nonsense, so I took lots of pictures.
http://photobucket.com/albums/a251/dd12939/Tube Amp/

There's a lever on the top of the amp that doesn't really do much aside from making a popping noise. The contraption that runs it is pretty cool though. I'll take pictures in a bit.

 

[Curly]

Re: Opened up my Hammond amp...

I don't know a thing about Hammond amps, but it looks cool ... some of the wiring - at least some blue wires - look newer to me

the plunger's a nice touch, BTW

you might do a search for Hammond amps and see what comes up - I know that there have been a couple ads in Vintage Guitar from time to time from dealers who specialize in Hammond organ parts and repairs.

also, it's possible that someone on one of the Ampage forums might be able to tell you more about it. I wonder if the "1938" is a model # - that sounds too old for a date. The "51" marking isn't necessarily the year of the tranny either - for that, you should look for a numbered stamp on the tranny. I think if you do a search for "Fender transformer date codes", you might get some idea, since most folks say that's one of the best ways to accurately date a Fender amp - Gerald Weber's first book has a section on that, I think, but it's something I've never really memorized.

the Fender Amp Field Guide has info on date codes in their FAQ that should apply to your amp as well

 

[Rich_S]

Re: Opened up my Hammond amp...

What are our plans for it? An amp that old will probably need work, re-capping at least. However, a lot of people use those as donor amps for new projects. They have lots of space, plenty of tube sockets, and good transformers that'll last forever (unlike caps).

Search AX84.com for threads on the 6V6 Plexi (or is the Plexi 6V6?), and absolutley great amp for which old Hammond donors are particularly well-suited.

 

[dd12939]

Re: Opened up my Hammond amp...

Ok, well I am pretty sure my amp came out of a Model 'M' organ and was manufactured in 1949 (based on the serial number that's on the organ placard that is taped to the amp).

As for plans, I have no definate idea - just that I'd like to mod it to be more of a guitar amp than it is now. As it is, it has no controls - It just plays louder based on the signal strength going into it. Running my GT6 as a booster, I can get it pretty loud, even well into distortion, but as Bob from Eurotubes told me (and I have found out from experience) the distortion is not too pleasing to the ear, I suppose due to the 6BA6 preamp tube.