Goldentone | 1744 | Reverbmaster 60 | Piggy Back | Valve Amplifier | 1967 | Vintage

This beautiful old amp is an original 1967 Goldentone Reverbmaster 60 Amplifier, with a vertical 2 x 12 cab loaded with original Rola Plessy 12P Drivers.

4 inputs over 2 independent channels so that you can plug the whole band in! (Not recommended) At 60watts of output power these are some of the most powerful amps Goldentone ever produced. Tube driven reverb and tremolo onboard. 

The late 60’s “Side Panel” aesthetic is very cool. The original black vynex covering is in great condition! 

Re-Conditioned/Restored by Goldentone and the ToneLab in Mornington, Victoria.

HERE ARE THE DETAILS OF THE RESTORATION/SERVICE

A vintage classic, hand-wired, all-valve amp, made in Australia.

The valve complement consists of:

• 4 x Miniwatt 12AX7

• 1 x Miniwatt 6GW8

• 2 x Mullard 6DQ6A output valves*

These valves are all made in Australia (including the Mullards). All preamp valves and the 6GW8 reverb driver are all in good condition and all testing within tolerance.

Both original 6DQ6A output valves were end of life. testing at only 10%. Replaced with New-Old-Stock Australian-made AWV Radiotron 6DQ6As

Transformers are original Australian-made A&Rs

A&R Type 2421 power transformer

A&R Type 2842 output transformer – this is a multi-tap transformer; the 4 ohm secondary is connected to the jacks to suit the current speaker cabinet, but 8 and 16 ohm taps are available. These are currently soldered to unconnected tags inside the amp chassis for safety. Secondary lead colour coding is:

• Brown = 4 ohms (currently connected)

• Yellow = 8 ohms

• White = 16 ohms

Rola LRH3 reverb transformer, dated 2 November 1966.

The reverb tank is installed in the speaker cabinet, connected via the octal plug from the head (as is the speaker connection). The tank appears to be original and is working properly.

The 1744 has two channels: normal (volume, bass and treble), and echo-tremolo with volume, bass, treble and tremolo speed. The tremolo speed control also includes the mains power on/off switch.

All electrolytic caps, including the dual cans, at sixty years old, are past their expected lifespan, however are all testing within tolerance and the amp has minimal hum or ‘buzz. However, as a safety precaution I have replaced all components in the bias supply, since a failure in this supply will result in damage to valves or possibly transformers. After completion of this process, the amp is outputting approx 46 watts RMS before notable clipping.

Service

• Valves tested, sockets cleaned, solder joints and wiring checked.

• 6DQ6A output replaced with a pair of New-Old-Stock Australian-made AWV Radiotron 6DQ6As. Both anode caps were not original and were poor quality plastic, not fit for purpose. I have replaced these with original-style bakelite caps.

• Internal AC and B+ wiring checked for continuity and safety. Mains fuse (T2A) installed on rear of chassis.

• Mains lead and plug replaced with compliant shielded plug (required for electrical safety), installed with strain relief inside the chassis.

• All pots and jacks cleaned and serviced, and front panel removed and cleaned.

• Capacitors and other passives checked for value drift. Most tested within tolerance and have not been replaced.

• Tolex re-glued in cabinet to minimise risk of damage when removing/ replacing chassis.

• This amp would have had a hard-wired two-button footswitch (missing), which I’ve replaced with a one button switch for the tremolo, and installed a jack for its connection.

• Reverb tank, cable and connections all checked and resoldered with the other speaker cabinet connections.