Latest junk score

[eleventeen]

Peavey MX, VTX series $50. in road case. Open 8A filament fuse > replace > works. (4 6L6 use 8 amps? Burning it in under dummy load at present. File photo, identical appearance. These are rather unusual amps as they have solid state preamps and a solid state semi-power amp that wiggles the cathodes of the 4 x 6L6 outputs (USA Sylvanias) instead of applying grid drive as 99% of all other tube amps do. I figured the 4 x 6L6 tubes were worth about $50 so I couldn't resist. The iron (OT & PT) are enormous.


I *think* but I am not sure the schematic is identical to http://el34world.com/charts/Schematics/files/peavey/Heritage-vtx%20schematic.pdf "Heritage VTX". These reputed to be obnoxiously loud.

[MadMax]

Sweet score eleventeen, no way that was ebay, was it a yard sale?

[eleventeen]

Craigslist, advertised as non-working. "Pilot lamp & fan come on but none of the tubes light up". [no 12a_7 tubes in this, 4 - 6L6 only] No way do 4 tube heaters blow at once, I figured either there was a burnt trace on the 6L6 fils which I could bridge or---a fuse. I really just bought it for parts, as-is, how-is, didn't even plug it in. The 6L6's appear to be the original tubes but they test v. good > excellent on my Hickok. Not bad for 35 year old tubes.


I haven't bought anything on ebay for a fair while. The unknowns, especially with a heavyish piece of gear, are unattractive. As a seller, they take too much commish what with their fees & PP. Some people do very well, it has lost a lot of luster with me.

[MadMax]

Yeah, with shipping hassle and fees, heavy stuff can be a pain to deal with 'specially if you have to return it.
I got a ValveKing head needing repairs, but when I got it, someone had already been crawling through it with a heavy hand (missing screws, hack-job solder, etc.) they said their tech told them the PT was bad and they weren't willing to invest in a new one. Turned out that the PT was fine. After much testing (sometimes with my good VK combo as reference) I finally found a bad transistor. All's well that ends well, but it doesn't always go that way.