http://www.mouser.com/Passive-Compo...rs-Leaded/_/N-75hqw?P=1z0wrjjZ1z0wqsmZ1yx4arc
https://www.tubesandmore.com/products/capacitors?filters=Type=Electrolytic

Yes, those are good caps, useful for replacement of older 450v caps in the power supply such as we are discussing. Especially if chassis space is tight. Gotta love that +105C rating too!
As mains voltage has increased in the last 40 or 50 years I always get leary of how the caps can take it, like you mention seeing above 500 volts.
Back fifteen or so years ago when a lot of caps were poorly made this was a big problem. I had a bunch of "500volt" Sprague Atoms that where garbage. My Tel-Ohmite TO-6A gets a lot of use as I service mostly vintage era audio amps. When I tested the those new Atoms they would pop and crackle internally below or right at 500v. They may have been two caps in series in the can. Uneven voltage distribution with caps in series is a problem if not done properly.
The caps today such as the Nichicons can really take it though, very well made and they meet their specifications.

Good to meet another tube guy out there.

 

I remember one problem, back in 1977, where a triode wasn't conducting,

And I remember one at a Training center in 1971 where a resistor on the yoke was open. I couldn't even see the keystone distortion in the picture because my eyes weren't trained enough yet. A few more years of practice and I stay away from the TV sales sections of stores in order to avoid critiquing the new designs. Doncha just hate watching the stripe pattern in a necktie ripple in red, green, and blue?

 

The tube sockets were Belton ordered from CE Distribution. I did not try to fix the socket which most likely has a pin that needs retensioning.

All the filter caps are F&T except the B voltage cap which is a who knows. I did not have a 33uf F&T cap. I changed to the 33uf to reduce ripple. Originally the ripple was 116mv with the 16uf cap with 400 plus volts on V3. 33uf reduced it to to 65mv which is less than 2% ripple.

The reverb is a very sensitive circuit and I guess Fender put in whatever they could get away with back in the day.

Although everything is working per the schematic, I am still not happy with the sound of the amp. I have to go to Miami this afternoon and I have a friend who has a original Deluxe Reverb I want to play to remind myself what a blackface actually sounds like.

On another note, I have a 100 Watt amp that is giving me lots of problems. I tried to combine a Fender Bassman circuit with a Fender EVH 5150 channel two circuit. The amp plays but I have lots of noise/power supply issues to solve. In fact, I am not at all sure at this point if this project can be made to work correctly.

The idea was to have one amp that would sound like a Bassman with reverb on one channel and a EVH 5150 on the second channel. That is a tall order to begin with. The two circuits share many things in common but the output transformers are different and the power supply filter system is very different. I will post a photo soon.

Thanks to everyone for responding,

Billy

 

The reverb is a very sensitive circuit and I guess Fender put in whatever they could get away with back in the day.

Quote from a friend that worked with Leo Fender: "The only reason Leo ever changed a part was to save a penny."

Start a new Thread for the next project.

 

Well...even with the issues of trying to make his amps more profitable Leo managed to make and sell some pretty good sounding amps.

After going to Miami and playing the original 1966 Fender Deluxe Reverb, I am even less happy with the way my amps sounds. I have built about a dozen amps at this point. A few took a bit of extra work to make them sound good to me. A few sounded killer the day I finished them.

I may take this one completely apart and start over. I may see if I can build it back as a totally stock Deluxe Reverb Blackface.

There are obvious issues when trying to recreate a old amp of any kind. The transformers made in 1965 are not available. Most , if not all of the modern "boutique" amps I like the sound of have custom made transformers. Two Rock Studio Pro comes to mind and so do Bruce Zinky amps.

I don't have the skills to design transformers. I assume Chris Merrean could make me what I want. He has provide me with great transformers for Marshall amps I have built. I have tried a few Mercury Magnetics transformers but I was not that impressed plus they are pretty pricy.

I also used 1% metal film resistors in this build which should actually sound better. Most of the Fender style amps I have built I used carbon composition resistors. Perhaps I should go back to that.

Playing guitar live can be a pretty draining experience when things don't go right. I sort of feel the same way about this amp at the moment. Good material for a song....lol

Billy

 

I also used 1% metal film resistors in this build which should actually sound better.

I have slipped in all sorts of resistors on my audiophool, and he could never tell any difference. The only thing modern resistors do different from carbon composition resistors is stay the same value for 50 years.

 

The only advantage or perhaps disadvantage I have is that I own three original mid 1960s Fender amps. A 1964 Vibroverb, a 1965 Super Reverb, and a 1966 Twin Reverb. I also have access to a 1966 Deluxe Reverb. All of these amp are in original condition except for new filter capacitors and current production tubes.

I built a reproduction of the Vibroverb for someone else using the same construction methods as the original. The amp sound very good but when set side by side with the original I own, the two did not sound the same when played using the speaker in my amp.

So...what was different? The transformers, the coupling capacitors, and perhaps the potentiometers as I used PEC pots on that build. Other than that the two amps were as far as I could tell identical. Also I have listen to several "Vibroclones" and I have never played one which sounded like the original I own.

I assume if I had another original 1964 Vibroverb to compare with mine they would not sound exactly the same but very close. Because only around 300 of these amps were ever built it is unlikely I will ever get the chance to do a side by side comparison. I have only played through one other original Vibroverb in my life. Miami is not exactly the "music capital" of the world so there are fewer old amps around here than in LA for example.

Back to the Deluxe Reverb Issue. This is what I find unacceptable in the amp I just finished.

1. There is a greater amount of hum and hiss in my amp than exist in the original. The original I played yesterday was dead silent with no signal input.
2. The reverb circuit in my amp produces even a greater amount of hum than the original.
3. The overall sound of my amp is way too bright and tinny sounding. Perhaps this is to some degree a function of the 715P Series Polypropylene 600VDC round profile capacitors I used. Perhaps there is some other fault...bad solder joint somewhere...something else that I am missing.

The B+ voltage on my amp is slightly higher than than what is indicated on the original Fender schematic but other voltages on all the various tube are very close to the indications on the original Fender schematics.

In looking at the grounding scheme on the original amp yesterday, it appears that Fender just grounded things wherever it was most convenient. The original has a steel chassis and mine has a aluminum chassis. I ran buss bars and used isolated jacks. I perhaps have some mistake in the grounding system.

At any rate I am going to remeasure everything before I take it apart

Cheers,

Billy

 

Maybe 7025 (low noise 12AX7) would help.
Lowering the B+ to the input stages will reduce hiss.
Metal film resistors have less hiss than carbon composition, but that didn't fix the wet tar paper problems.
The old tar paper mounting system absorbs humidity and causes hissing and intermittent crackling. Don't use tar paper for your rivet board!
Never had any problems with 715P caps.
Look in the Deluxe to find the [lack of capacitor on the reverb driver tube and change the resistor to 680] in the Super Reverb.
Change the cap in the vibrato of the Super to 5uf to reduce the clicking sound from the vibrato circuit.

The original transformers were wound with alternating layers of primary and secondary. Much more difficult to do that one winding on top of the other. Causes inter-layer high frequency coupling. That's why fake after-market transformers don't sound the same.

Am I telling you anything you didn't already know?

 

I have read about the clicking sound in the Super but the one I have never did that so it is not something I have had first hand experience with.

I built this Deluxe Reverb amp on a turret board. I have built a couple of amps on eyelet boards but never liked that method of construction because it is hard to remove components when needed. Nowadays when using eyelet construction most everyone is using the same material as turret boards for both the top and bottom pieces. I have built the Bassman and Vibrolux using both methods which did not change anything I could hear so I do think eyelet versis turret has any effect on the circuit all other thing being equal.

The interleaving issue and type of material is for sure one of the things that make the new transformers sound different. Also in conversations I have had with Chris Merren he tells me that it is getting harder and harder to get the exact type of metal he wants to build transformers.

I did not understand your comment about the V3A and B reverb driver tube. There is a 25uf 25V cap on the cathode that bypasses the 2200 ohm resistor to ground. Other common values that I see used is 22uf cathode caps. Maybe I am not reading what you said correctly.

The 7025 is a better tube for low noise but the 1966 I just looked at had a new JJ 12AX7 which was working without issue. Real NOS 7025 RCA tubes are super expensive if you can find one that is not a fake!! I don't have any good ones. I have a few that are pretty worn out and don't test up to specs.

Cheers,

Billy

 

I did not understand your comment about the V3A and B reverb driver tube.

Look at the schematic.
You will see changes in the reverb driver and the vibrato circuit which my audiophool likes.
If only he had told me before he bought the Deluxe Reverb, I could have modified his Super Reverb to match what he calls a "much better" reverb sound.

ps, I didn't say anything about turrets or eyelets. I said, "Don't use tar paper."