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In my never-ending search for bottles of vintage spirits, i come across plenty of musical equipment with most of it being current stuff. So, the picture of the little tweed amp on the shelf in the background of an estate sale listing wasnt totally without precedent. With the tag hanging on it and the unblemished condition, i assumed it was a Pro-Junior or similar. I blew up the picture a bit more and started inspecting. Soon realized that this was most likely a vintage 50s Champ. Crazy.
I immediately contacted the estate sale company and asked if they had another picture or two and a price.
Soon after i got a text with a couple more pics confirming it was a 50s Champ and informing me the prices was $50.00. Yes, $50.
I assume from my experience that in Estate Sale 101 they teach you that musical equipment=potential high dollars. While its their business to know and research the stuff they sell, not everyone does obviously. Even with that said, i wasnt going to pay that little(no judgement of anyone that would).
Long story short, i gave her a number and asked if she could ship it. She was very happy to do so and i told her i would pay for all shipping costs, materials and their time. I sent her a video on how to pack an amp and of it went.
Well, recieved it today and the box looked like Ace Ventura was the delivery man!
Yikes!
Box was beat to all hell. Thankfully she removed the tubes and bubble wrapped them separate. Will be bringing to amp guy tomorrow for inspection.
Thru some research. I have conflicting dates. Looks like late 1957 or early 1958, so im pretty certain i will sound exactly like Julian Lage. Easy.
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04-15-2021 08:54 PM
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Un-be-lievable score!!
True 60+ yr old time capsule.
Tweed looks immaculate and you could eat off the guts they're so clean. Looks about unplayed, very rare find these days.
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Amazing! Congrats! Let us know how it sounds.
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Remarkable! Congratulations!
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I love 5F1 Champs since I built mine!
Are you going to change the electrolytes, remove the ‘death cap’ and install a 3-prong chord?
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Wow, very nice!!
I never played a champ but sounds like fun!
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omg... at that price... unbelievable! congrats, good that it went into good hands. maybe put some clip how it sounds!
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Very nice. I got one like that about 35 year ago (which I still own). Mine is not as clean on the outside, but the inside looks similarly like new. I have plenty of amps in which I have replaced all the old components, but I keep the little champ as a time capsule.
35 years ago, mine was $5.
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Damn! That's terrific. Great NAD.
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Great score. Hopefully the original Oxford speaker is in tact. Those are wonderful speakers.
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Originally Posted by Little Jay
Im not sure. I dont know a ton about amps, but i do own 2 50s Gibson amps that i had those alterations done to.
With this amp, im wondering if i should keep it as is for sake of value. Gonna talk to amp guy about it.
Im nervous about putting the tubes back in and firing it up. Dont want to get a shock or blow the amp. It looks like it was never used.
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Originally Posted by icr
Tell me about the sound of it? How is it with archtops?
I may follow your lead and keep it all original as well.
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Originally Posted by DMgolf66
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Originally Posted by DMgolf66
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Super score! I miss my old tweed champs. Congratulations, and play it in good health!
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This '57/58 Champ is a once in a lifetime score...especially for what you got it for!
Take it to a qualified amp tech to be checked out and enjoy that little beast for many years. It'll likely out live all of us!
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Dumbest estate sale people ever ! Somebody did zero research
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Since it's so clean I would leave it just as it is, unless some of the caps are gone, then just change out the bad ones and leave the old ones in a baggie inside.
I wouldn't even bother with a 3 prong on one that clean. It is a true time capsule.
You might even consider selling it exactly as it is to a collector and getting one that is more of a player, if that's what you're looking for.
Great score! I once found a '60 tweed Bassman in that condition- for $500!
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I don't understand the obsession with keeping original parts. Bad capacitors are useless, and should be tossed. They can't be used for anything. An old electrical cable is more likely to have issues other than just the lack of a ground, like other parts. If you just want to put the amp on a shelf and use it strictly for decoration, the old deteriorated parts are fine, but if you're going to use it for what it was designed for, it's essential to use working components that are within tolerance, and which won't kill you. Personally, I don't need more useless decoration taking up space.
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Originally Posted by sgosnell
If you just want to leave it all original and become more valuable then put it in a cabinet and sell it in 25 years or so....
But I can tell you a Champ is too nice to put it in a cabinet. Work on it and play it! You’ll thank us later
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Originally Posted by Longways to Go
What is the worth of an average estate? Depends but tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands?
Compared to the worth of a vintage tweed amp: thousand? Two thousands?
Maybe it's just peanuts to the estate sale company.
But it's good for You DMgolf66!
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Wow! What a score! Congrats, and enjoy!!!
Can anyone date this? goodwill epiphone
Yesterday, 05:40 PM in For Sale