EPIC Conversion -1956 Knight Tube Guitar Amp
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ส.ค. 2024
- This video will follow the entire conversion process - from unboxing thru servicing and modification to final demo - of a 1956 Knight Allied Radio 10W-15W hi-fi mono amp kit into an electric guitar amplifier. Tubes are 1-6SL7, 2-6SN7, 2-6V6 and 1-5Y3. Changes include general troubleshooting, complete recap, modification of the power rail, modification of the grounding scheme, addition of Fender Brownface Pro Amp type tone circuit, addition of 1/4" jacks, and preamp mods.
Fender Brownface Tone Stack: amps.zugster.ne...
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Greg nailed it. Bob Ross for guitar players. Love these videos. Lifetime subscriber.
"These capacitors aren't happy. Just gonna add some fresh solder right over here. Yeah.......happy capacitors."
I like that you don't edit out the thought process even if you were wrong about something you don't reshoot or edit out the commentary just to look like a genius...appreciate the honesty and thought process
Hi I built that amp in about 1956. The amp used two 6SN7 amp tubes, the 6SL7 was as option it had to ordered separate. I did not buy the 6SL7 option. But the amp was very good for its day. The speaker plug had two pins in the AC circuit so you could not use the amp with the speaker connected. I have a diagram of the setJoe
Yeah, it took me a minute for the old brain to kick in and remember I've seen that same speaker plug trick in other vintage equipment. Not enough coffee, I guess.
I really love your videos. I don't know how many hours of tune amp repairs I've now watched, but I've been fascinated since I first discovered your channel. Brilliant work!
Another good one. But It was a mess "under the hud" That tub tester looks so cool. Piece of art. Nice collection of old guitars there.
I didnt expect much on tone until you bumped down to 250k and both the Hofner and the Knight really shine now, as I hadnt heard that guitar til now. Very cool project. Thx.
My lord that sounds incredible.
Faksakes sounds like a Marshall with the bassman circuit I think that’s the jtm 45
One nice thing about tube amps...
No need to care for anti-static wrapping! :)
All joking aside: a very nice packing job. Kudos to the seller.
"This amp sounds like centipedes mating or something" - may fav quote on TH-cam brother !!!!!! Love it
I remember going to Radio Shack with my dad to test the tubes in our TV. Oh the memories.
Thanks to you along with uncle Doug, mr Carlson and Terry d lab I'm building amps now! Slowly got the equipment.... I started with model trains at age 7 with my dad in 1964. My first musical device was one of those crystal radio sets maybe 1969? I remember I hooked the antenna lead to the rain gutter. Popped in the single earpiece thingy and started scratching around on the actual crystal and the first song I heard was........Jimi playing All Along the Watchtower!
Thanks for another great video. I really enjoy the trouble shooting aspects of your videos. I was a Heathkit builder/fan as a youth and tube amps has gotten me back into the electronics building.
That's really cool! I never had much of an electronics background growing up. My first experiences came when my mom married my stepdad when I was a teenager. He is an electronics engineer, so I picked up a lot from him. He taught me to solder, make instrument cables and stuff like that, but that was about it until later. I built and repaired computers a lot, but not much board level soldering involved there. Different skill set entirely.
Just found this by accident and have subscribed, I'm having to hold myself back from ordering all the gear to start repairing tube amps myself. I really have enough hobbies but watching this makes me very tempted. Great video thanks.
I just found one of these amps that used to be my grandpa's. I am planning on doing the same stuff as you did so I'm glad I found this video.
please dont let anyone put mallory 150 caps in it to replace astrons, black cats, or any other vintage caps, there is a difference even though modern thought says no, its about the outer coating of the cap, in the proper position the original amp will not sound the same with the wrong type of cap
I'm addicted to 6V6 tone ! I have a british 80's 6V6 amp here ... love it . There is just something sweet about those 6V6 power tubes. Good work here .... quite involved .
Beautiful thing this amplifier. I'll watch the video until the end to learn from your tips. I'm new to the channel, so the comment 5 years later, kkkk. Congratulations on the channel.
You have a very rare bird . The tubes are a fortune ! I had one that was made from a kit I bought at a garage sale for 20 dollars and sold in 4 hours for 660 in who did it and ran condition . On craiglist no less . I did not dare plug it in .Restored museum quality and they look like art !
Hey, for your kid's power wheels... You can put another motor on the other rear wheel. Their identical. All you have to do is reverse the polarity of the one you put on that side. "The controller" is just a switch and isn't as sensitive to amperage as a PWM unit would be. Also, you can put sheet metal screws in the plastic wheels to give it better traction in the yard there. I helped a friend mod theirs and it worked out pretty well. That and the fact that it's fun for the kid too makes it worth while. It might even make for some interesting and useful video content. I know there are lots of dads out there looking for a simple solution to the same problem your daughter is having. Just a thought...
Amazing work my man! Can't wait to hear it in person. Thanks and keep on Rockin'
Thanks Bernard! I'm going to burn this one in a while tonight and see if I can cause any failures before I ship back. This was a fun one, by the way...right on the line between being very interesting, but not so much I pulled my hair out. :)
Wow.. great playng, and thats better than some Fenders and Marshalls... I have a Knight amp from approx. 1959, my grandpa gave it to me when i started playnng guitar, the cool trick was to plug guitar to a gramophone input and solder a 47k resistor instead the 108k that was in there, and bias the cathode... anyways it reminds me of your amp, much appreciation from a 14yr old here... A GREAT video, nothing sounds like a tube and a good filter caps...
I absolutely love the sound of that Hofner !
Brad...A note on the power lead going through the output Amphenol connector: This was a 'failsafe' feature. There was usually a jumper in the plug, that would complete the power circuit. That way, the amp would not power on without a speaker connected to the output.....thereby obviously protecting the final output from 'no-load' failure/damage. It's almost too bad that only Hammond/Leslie combinations still use these connectors. They were clunky as hell, but way more flexible than (even) Speakon connectors for nice little features like this one. :-)
That's correct. Took me a minute to remember that! I had encountered similar plugs before and just whiffed on it with the camera on. Happens all the time. :P
Wow what a beast of a little old school tube amp this thing turned out to be!!
Recently subscribed, getting caught up watching these videos! Much respect for the good father points; I hope the first year has been treating you well!
Knight was Allied Electronics (mail order house) house brand. Kinda like Heathkit. I have a few old Allied catalogs around here, actually. The funny thing is, I have been looking for an old Knight amp to convert to a guitar amp, but havent found one yet, and then I discovered this video.
Heathkit did a guitar amp at one time but it was solid state.
I have another 1940s Knight amp head, if you're interested. I could sell it as-is or convert it for you.
Allied once had an arrangement with the now mostly unlamented Radio Shack. You could get anything Allied had through your local Shack. Except for franchised rural stores that are privately owned ( some were good) I swore that I would never set foot in a Shack again unless human life was at stake in 1998 and it was the best decision I ever made. All the ones out here are gone and I shed no tears the day they all went out.
@@wamgoc3637 I think it sucks big time at RadioShack is it around I could always find small stuff that no one else carries at radio shack I wish they were still around
@@TheGuitologist Did you convert the other Knight ?
im wanting that Terry Kath tone if it will do that Id like one to drive other heads with..
Thanks for another great video I liked the extra detail and length of this one. I learn something on each one. I work in construction and we tear down old buildings. I always keep an eye out for these old amps and anything else salvageable. I recently re capped, added 3 prong cord and 1/4 inch jack to a Silvertone 1483 I rescued from a house that was about to be torn down in St Louis. The amp went from super dusty with no tubes, to sounding great. Hoping I have learned enough from you and Uncle Doug to convert some of these PA amps I have found. Thanks again and congrats on new baby.
Man, what a find! Makes me want to get out there and start knocking on doors in old neighborhoods with a bunch of cards asking if they have any old amps lying around. Come to think of it, that's probably not a bad idea...shake the sugar tree, as it were. Got a video up of your Silvertone?
This was nice! I appreciate you talking about changing the grid stoppers and other circuit value issues. For me, this is the real issue with converting old PA’s, receivers, and R2R’s - figuring out the best gain structure for guitar use. There are usually multiple inputs and sometimes an extra gain stage, so guidance on navigating that is good. The caps, pots, etc would be the same as any amp. 👍🏼
Knight Electronics were sold by Allied Electronics (AE) in the 50's and 60's. Some were sold in a completed version and also a " KnightKit" version. My first electronic kit was a Volt-Ohm Meter from them (V.O.M.). I bought it from them at an Allied Electronics Store in Sacramento, CA. Previously they were strictly mail order then went retail in the 60's and were later bought by Charles Tandy who at that time only owned Tandy leather and the Allied stores become Radio Shack.
Nice job fair decisions
TKath played thru two Allied Knight tube PA heads
Hey Brad.....Congrats on your second child! I love to see how calm you are with your kids and dog.....great stuff. I really look forward to all of your videos. Between you and Uncle Doug, I've learned a ton. Bart. Btw.....your playing is killer as usual.
I don't film the times I'm kicking the dog out of the neighbor's yard, pulling my hair out, and yelling at Izzy to "GET DOWN OFF THE CHAIR!" ...but thanks Bart. I appreciate ya.
That was a very interesting build I didn't understand why you had the word epic in the title but after hearing you play it at the end of the video, it is epic! it's epic it's got a sound of a tremolo that's inherent in its design it gives it an epic Vibe the amp is is amazing! good job
Per usual, another excellent repair journey and superb result. That is a damn fine sounding amp, super dynamic!
You have that sounding really nice, I I have been building and fixing amps for 35 years here in the uk well done
Thanks! Appreciate the comment.
Wow! Looks like all the hard work paid off - that thing sound amazing! And also congratulations on the newborn. All the best from Finland!
Thanks so much. I feel blessed, for sure. I thought at 38-years-old I was too old for a baby, but Mick Jagger s 72 and having one, I'm sure I'll be fine. I've always wanted to visit Finland. Sibelius makes it sound like a lovely place.
Well you're most certainly welcome. Keep up the good work!
Your the best man, I really know very little as far as rebuilding and troubleshooting on these tube amps but I'm trying to take it all in, but your input and your videos really help, thanks! I would love to see your guitar, bass and amp collection, I'm sure everyone else would as well. Keep up the good work.
My first HI Fi was this model Knight Kit in 1957. Your version is the 1956 model that had a painted chassis. The 1957-58 model was chrome plated. This amp had great sound and was even given an excellent review in AUDIOCRAFT Mag.February 1957. Old issues can be found at AmericanRadioHistory.com.
Stellar information, sir! Thank you for sharing that! I'm sure the guy who owns this will want to find a copy of that magazine for himself. I know I would.
The American Radio History site is a treasure trove of over almost three million pages of old electronic magazines from 1900 on. The item I noted in Audiocraft of Feb. 1957, has the schematic of the Knight Kit.
Brilliant! Thanks!
I just went to that site because I have a KnightKit too. That mag had a lot of ads, and the models are clearly explained as the years roll by. Very interesting reading !! Thanks, Ken.
Guud stuff, and congrats to both of you, on your new arrival.. Les.
Thank you, Les. I appreciate that, Buddy. - Brad
All way over my head but actually enjoy watching you sorting things out bro. Sounds cool at the end though.
Thanks, Ken.
You did a really great job on that amp! Love the sound of it!
Congrats on the new baby!! I didn't know you (and the wife) were expecting...
Thanks! She's the apple of my eye. I have another apple in my other eye (which can be seen about midway through this video). So, I'm pretty much walking around and can't see shit. :D
Nice find on that car and jeep... I can see how she's the apple... As a father of a 21 year old in College.. and a 16 year old in an expensive tuition based high school... SAVE YOUR MONEY, my advice is a 529B... you can open with any amount you want and add any amount you want as you go, they grow significantly over the years... 529's are good landing spots for birthday-christmas money from relatives as well....
just found the exact same amp on the beach, a bit of salt damage and caked in mud but I've seen videos showing how anything can be taken apart and washed in the bathtub, all you need is a hair dryer.
I use the US Navy soldering technique, "the bigger the blob the better the job".
This is gonna be ez cash.
As always Brad, even in your back catalog, I find your accumulated noodling repertoire of musical material very interesting, as it should be, seeing that your from much further south than I am in Toronto. Nice little amplifier.
chopsticks are vastly under rated tools - great vid, interesting amp
That amp sounds fantastic! Good work. Great video. You’d pay a fortune to get an amp with that tone! It’s so strange how no one has improved on the old school equipment? Modern amps are ok (ish)!? but they are a bit like holding up a photograph of an amp and saying, “That sounds good”! If you want a old sounding tube amp, an old tube amp is the way to get it. Not a modern day cyber mock up, let’s pretend to be a cool old school king! Great amp! Great video! Great work! Thanks!
I'm a hobbyist with electronics. I have built a few amps, tons of quad copters, pedals and other arduino/pi type stuff. That said, no idea how you work on that birdnest mess. Love these videos! Cheers and go Cards!
I use an untouched 1956 De Wald mono 35 watt hi-fi amp/preamp for a guitar amp. Tones like butter.
Sweet tone out of that rig. Amazing really. A definitely top notch recording amp.
Bout to start a Knight rebuild. It has the same tube compliment as a Gretsch/Valco 6161. All British Mullards that work just fine. Transformers are good too.I made up a simple design just to check everything out and it’s all systems go for a rebuild! Just gotta order parts :-)
What a great sounding combo, man brad..u sure got some magic skills
Audiocraft magazine was edited by Ed Dell, the guy who put out Audio Amateur magazine for decades and it is well worth searching for. Many good articles. Audio Amateur was bought out and buried by Ciarcia of Ciarcia's Circuit Cellar and pretty much buried.
This sounds like a pretty nice amp after all that effort. If that was my amp as seen in the final results I think I would want to turn it into a head unit using perspex to make a clear surround so that all the valves could be seen while it is in operation.
A lot of grocery stores had tube testers in the 50s' 60's and 70's My dad was an electronic engineer and taught how to keep out television tuned up. I was always drawn to tube based technology (stuff) and lost interest as transistors took over the world.
LizardKing0851 Ya, I do remember that. I think Sears down town in Albuquerque NM had a tube testing cabinet as you walked in the store. I want to say maybe one of our drugstores had one to. Thanks for reminding me of those good old memories....
The power running to the speaker jack and being beidged is a fail safe so the unit couldnt be powered on with out a speaker plugged in.
That is exactly what it is for . It's a very effective solution.
That guitar has a slight banjoesque sound quality to it. great vid. cheers
Love the sound of that amp. Sounds better than My blues Jr.
Nice man - it sounds like one of Pete's old Hiwatts to me. Well done.
Thanks. Yeah, I really like the breakup on the old octal preamp tubes.
after coming home from a psychadelic rave party, ive found mr guitarologist... ive watched for hours, days.... now i collect old radios, amps+++ dismantle them and fix them... thanks mr guitar for inspiration...
I imagine the power running through the speaker plug is to prevent running the amp with no load, which could damage the unit.
Dude you do the Best freaking work of anyone ive ever watched!! Every amp you start building sounds like total Crap then at the end you've got what sounds like a hand wired $2,000 Amp playing through it. I can't believe the tones you get from those little amps!!! \,,/
complete success. such mastery.
I have a really old Teeco box like that that has one 6SL7, one 50L6GT, one 5Y3 rectifier tube, one transformer and one tube sized aluminum cap looking thingy on top. One volume pot that doubles as the on/off switch by clicking on the amp before turning it up and it has one tone pot. I used to use it as a preamp for an old crappy sounding Peavey 2X12 solid state amp back in the mid-1990's and I swear it made that amp come alive and sound as good as a hotrodded Marshall JCM800 2203. Not sure if using it that way was a bad thing or not because I still have no idea if it's even a preamp or an actual amplifier with a preamp amd power amp section and I can't seem to find any information on it online, not even a similar amp with the same design and layout. I just recently pulled it out of storage and I'm trying to get it back in working order as I've purchased three NOS tubes for it, but I'm kind of afraid of trying it out into my expensive Mesa 50/50 tube power amp because like I said, I have no idea if this thing's an actual preamp that can safely be used that way. I'm also not sure if the old original capacitors are still good (they're the original ones that a made out of paper as well as a few plastic ones). The thing worked great last time I used it about 22 years ago and I sure do miss that killer overdriven tone I got from it through an amp. A friend of mine told me it looked like an old 'widowmaker'. It is actually in remarkably good shap for how old it is, as I've always taken really good care of my equipment. Any advice?
Some of the old radios at my great grandpa's house had power running to an electro magnet on the speaker. So instead of albino or ceramic the stationary magnets would be a coil around the pole piece
That's a funky cool guitar at the end
Yeah, they're rare.
You play so fine man!
amp sounds really good
Brad, been subscribed for years and enjoy your channel, you build some actually great sounding amps, I guess this is a request and not a stupid question ha ha, your a telecaster fan I am seriously curious what your amps would sound like played through an HSS Kramer because that is my weapon of choice, five way selector switch set between the neck and middle pickup is such a sweet tone and switch the five way down to the hummbucker for the high gain response, I would love to hear that as a second test, just a request bro, totally enjoying your channel.
Wow it sounds so beautiful....
Sounds good, nice hofner too. I got 4 vintage hofners myself. a 59 Pres blond, 60 450S, 63 450 & a 55 456.
Hofners are highly underrated 6-strings in the US. It's like we don't even know they made anything besides basses over here.
lots of of old ones floating round New Zealand I'm electrifying my 59 president with paf 59 humbucks 2v2t & 3 way switch & restoring my 60 450 & electrifying like an original electric 450. Would love to find a vioiin guitar & a club.
@@whasudr Kia Ora Taniwha, I sold a Club that I found earlier somewhere in Wellington to a guy that lives there and had just gotten himself into a 17 year mortgage. So I'm guessing its still there as this was in 2006. It had a Gibson George Benson p'up on it which I suspected might have been swapped in when new. I cant remember who or where exactly, But I hope that gives you some hope on your search. good luck
Hola, yo también construí ese mismo amplificador Knight en 1958, del cual tengo muy buenos recuerdos.
Do you have a video talking about your workbench? I think it's nice to get to know the benches even to get an idea of how to assemble one.Hugs from Brazil.
Stunning tone!! :)
Great job Brad, what was the Hofner you used for testing - lovely guitar but never seen one before - only the violin bass.
Some of these type of amps sound great for guitar as is. I have a 6L6 Stromberg Carlson one that Sounds Killer as is. I should go through it and change the old caps to be safe though.
its a roll chart. i have that exact same tube tester. keep up the cool vids, thanks for this
Is that one your only tester? How do you like it? I noticed mine doesn't have settings for a 6BQ5. Does yours?
no I also have a sylvania and a lafayette. the latter is my favorite, it was a cheaper one in its day but it works great and is compact. my precision does have 6bq5 listed on the chart but i have never used it to test one.
Do you have the settings for the 6bq5? I didn't try to look it up yet, but I could definitely use the settings for that one.
as it appears:
A B C D E F
1 7 5 4 1 2-7-9
(6BQ5 MUST SHOW SHORT ON 1-2)
(6BQ5-GRID SHORT TEST- THROW 1-2 TOGETHER)
not to sure what the 2 parenthesis means but its on there.
Brilliant Dave! Thanks so much for that. Huge help!
The power bridge in the speaker plug was possibly so you couldn't turn on the amp if there was no output load?
Right 100%
i love this chanel from sc
man, that sounds nice, very good work.......
Thanks, John. I appreciate you watching. I do a lot of conversion on my channel, so be sure to subscribe if you haven't already!
Thanks for posting !
Those wax caps have all got to go.Every video I've seen on any kind of repair to vacuum tube equipment,the host always replaces them.The filter caps included.I've had to do that to every old radio I came across.Bad filter caps will also take out your power transformers.
brilliant tone maaaan
I'm surprised to hear that you come across paper caps that are good. I've seen such a high percentage that are leaky that I replace every single one without even testing them anymore.
Have a Grommes that looks very similar that I will like to convert as well. One issue that concerns me is that it lacks any caps other than the power supply ones. Have a schematic to dig up.
the power bridged in the output plug could be so that it couldn't be turned on without a load to protect the output transformer.
WOW thanks!
Thank YOU for watching! :)
bridged in the socket to prevent powering up without a speaker connected
Another Beast !
I am a new fan of your videos. Yes, i am a Cannibal Corpse fan, mainly by way of their appearance in Ace Ventura Pet Detective. I do not understand your reference, however. But I must also mention that I set out my AO-29 Wurlitzer amp on my work table upon viewing your other video on that subject to compare mine's guts to what you've been working with. It looks good. Last question, I've been taking guesses at where you might be from, you've got a subtle accent that I would think is from the mid south, midwest... I was thinking Kentucky at first, but as a person from many places myself, it may be a combination of places. Keep up the good work, and I'll be thinking of you as I listen to Cannibal Corpse. *subscribed*
its because you can admit in public to getting into Cannibal Corpse through the movie Ace Ventura that you don't get his reference. Try watching it at half speed in reverse for about 7 hours and I think it will all become clear. Best of Luck Joel
Hello, very informative video on the 56 Knight 10 watt conversion. At the end you explained how owner had forwarded schematic after job was complete - nothing like good timing. I've the same problem with finding a copy on line. Any chance you could post a link to this schematic?
Watched the whole thing........nice.
i wonder if there was an optional jump cable to go from the' pre-amp out' to the 'tuner in' to facilitate low level input vs plugging line level input into the tuner in directly
in fact on the photo in hte brochure you can see the jumper cable from pre amp out to tuner in
Is a Knight KA-95 Stereo Hi Fi tube amp a viable candidate for guitar use conversion?? It uses EL34's, 12AX7's, EF86's, and GZ34's
No I don't have a video up for the Silvertone 1483. Guess I should figure out how to do that and make one. Do you use your cell phone or have a separate video camera and software ?
Well, I SHOULD be using a decent camera, but I use my iphone for most videos and a free editing software I found online for the editing.
Great job as usual! I have a Gibson Hawk I'm working on and It is missing the trem bug. What value ldr and bulb did you use on the Gibsons you have worked on?
I do not recall the exact values. I experimented with several. The only one I've replaced in a Gibson was shown here: th-cam.com/video/mhKp0mB52bE/w-d-xo.html
Why are there rubber O-rings on the input tube?? I hope those are silicone rubber, or they're going to melt!
Do you ever do any work on Hughes and kettner? If so where can I find the video?
No. I've demoed a couple, but never worked on one yet.
I think you could replace all ceramics with Polypropylene Metal Foil capacitors at 500v wkg and 500v wkg electrolytics and any resistors that look iffy with high quality High wattage carbon resistors.
Very entertaining! Great job!
Glad you enjoyed it, Robert. Be sure to subscribe if you have not already! If you like conversion vids, there's a whole playlist full of them here: th-cam.com/video/y5dFfYRm2pw/w-d-xo.html
Well done 👍
On the apps similar to that night and do you build cases form as well he dressed them up
NICELY DONE, KILLER TONES, LOVE YOUR HOFNER, WHAT YEAR, AND PICK-UPS? CONGRATS ON NEW BORN ( KID ) NOT AMP :) GREAT JOB, I'M IMPRESSED, SOUNDS KILLER!
Thanks. I appreciate that. The Hofner is a 1967 G459VTZ Super Beatle. I think the pickups are the model 512 or 513. Best pickups no one knows about.
The bridged plug on the speaker jack pre-conversion was likely to prevent power up with no speaker -->fried transformer prevention
Yep, you are right. I put a note on the video after uploading, but I realize those don't display for everyone. I've actually run across this once or twice before and slipped my mind. It's funny the stuff you forget when you're too busy talking to a camera. Either that or I'm just going prematurely senile. :)
+The Guitologist Ah, gotcha, I can't see the comment - just trying to be helpful and you beat me to it :). You do a good job on your videos. I've been into modding old pa's for about a year...got into it after I stumbled onto your channel actually. I've got a Bogen CHB 50 on the bench right now that'll be "tweed" inspired when I'm done. Keep em coming.