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I recently acquired these and wondered if the original seller might be lurking about, so to speak. I wet sanded and polished them, and added the rubber feet. If these were yours i would love to hear their story.. They sound EXCELLENT.
"When the demon is at your door, in the mornin' it won't be there no more"
Steely Dan
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Well, not those , but a single mono amp like it. I can still hear Clapton playing on it, in my head. Yours are awesome. Enjoy them!
As for the one I had... I found it when I was walking home from elementary school one day, and decided that I would walk downtown for some reason. We lived pretty close, and I was probably just bored. Mom and dad must have been at work that day, or I would have gone straight home, or else. As I recall, I was in the 3rd grade or so. Kids could get away with a few things back then.
Anyway, I was checking out the thrift shop (a larger store, Salvation Army or something like that), and spotted a very large square cabinet with a Motorola Hi-Fi logo. It was a plain wood box, mahogany color with gold & tan tweed looking cloth on front. It had a lift- up lid on top, and there was a nice record changer inside. Of course, the next thing I did was turn it around, and my eyes bugged out when I saw the 15" Jensen Concert Series, Alnico magnet woofer and 3 matching Jensen "tweeters". Not to mention, that dual 6V6GT tube amp, but I didn't know much about tubes at the time, except for tearing apart an old TV in the basement.
I called my Grandpa, and he came in his pickup to check it out. For some reason, I knew that I wouldn't get into trouble with him. He saw how much I wanted it, so he paid the $10 or whatever it was as a "present" for me, then we loaded it up and took it home. It didn't take long before we had it up and playing. The thing sounded absolutely massive, just like it looked. I remember listening to my dad's old Zeppelin, Sabbath, Chicago, etc. records and just rocking out to that awesome sound. I discovered a lot of music on that thing. I also ruined a lot of records by putting a nickel on top of the needle so it wouldn't skip.
I kept the Motorola intact and enjoyed the hell out of it for a good long while it seemed, until the desire to take it apart won me over. That was probably seventh grade. I used the amp as a stand- alone unit with a CD player, painted the chassis a hammertone blue, and tried to perform some "mods" on it. I ended up sticking in some tubes that really wouldn't work, and let the smoke out. I unwound the entire power transformer, counting the turns so I could re-wind it. That never happened. I'm sure that the awesome 15" Jensen either got cranked as loud as it would go & overheated or plugged into the wall outlet to impress some friends or something of that nature.
The Motorola may be gone, but the memories and influence remain. I'm sure that I owe a great deal of my musical taste and audiophile nature to that old beast.
Cory
Haven't seen anything like that ever. Wonder how he fabbed the outer cases - have they been welded at the seams?
Please don't tell us the ol' lady makes you go to the garage to listen to music??!!
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Buy Chinese. Bury freedom.
These are welded at the seams, very precise work. They were unfinished when I acquired them, however,
"When the demon is at your door, in the mornin' it won't be there no more"
Steely Dan
I'm not sure I've seen that particular amplifier chassis before. The transformers look like they could do a good job with 6V6s. Have you thought about finishing the raw aluminum of the cages? It would be pretty simple to apply a brushed or swirled pattern and spray them with clear lacquer. You could also have them powder coated (colored or clear) or anodized. Lots of options available, especially if you like the sound and intend to keep them awhile.
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Buy Chinese. Bury freedom.
If left alone indoors what will happen and how soon, oxydation-wise?
"When the demon is at your door, in the mornin' it won't be there no more"
Steely Dan
It's difficult to predict that sort of thing. I can tell you that I recently examined a polished aluminum bracket that I had installed inside a piece of equipment about 20 years ago. It was essentially unchanged, with no sign of significant oxidation. However, I do remember wiping it off after installation to remove fingerprints. The answer to your question probably hinges on both relative humidity (aluminum will oxidize more rapidly in a basement or seaside environment) and whether it's frequently touched. You could use a mag wheel polish to "reshine" it from time to time, but that leaves one other issue. Most alloys of raw aluminum are very soft. Some can be marred with a fingernail if they've been polished to a mirror finish. All of the finishes I mentioned will prevent that from happening, except maybe lacquer. I only use lacquer on machined or matte aluminum where minor blemishes won't show, just to prevent oxidation and keep it shiny. One other thing, many alloys of aluminum will go dull gray or slightly yellow when they're anodized, even if they have a mirror finish. If you really like the mirror look and you don't know the alloy, the best long-term solutions are probably clear powder coat (used on motorcycles) or nickel plate.
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Buy Chinese. Bury freedom.
Thanks for the information. One other question, if you will. Is the laquer you speak of formulated for metal or the same as for wood?
Thanks again, quite helpful.
"When the demon is at your door, in the mornin' it won't be there no more"
Steely Dan
Priming and painting aluminum is a bit of a bitch. Your best bet is to fully buff them to a high shine, which seals the pores of the aluminum, and also makes them easier to clean (and look better). aluminum oxidizes a clear layer which protects it, basically from the get-go.
I've been using Deft Clear Wood Finish in Gloss. The photo above is an example of a recent project. Bear in mind this panel was textured with a random orbital sander first, so it doesn't show dust specs and other minor blemishes. This one stays on my workbench in the house, but another panel I sprayed about three years ago has been living in my non-climate-controlled garage with no apparent ill effects.Like I said before, the lacquer isn't very hard (compared to other commercial finishes), but it does prevent the aluminum from oxidizing. If you spray this over a mirror finish, you're breaking new ground. I've never used it that way, so there could be issues with cloudiness, adhesion etc. that I'm not aware of.
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Buy Chinese. Bury freedom.
Edits: 04/13/15 04/13/15
If they sound as good as they look, you have a winner!
Jim
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