benadrian wrote: Wed Sep 04, 2024 12:45 pm Modification. Rebuild the circuit with mods that might make me want to use the amp more. At the core it will be the classic vibrato channel circuit. In addition I might put in a mid knob, maybe a mod to revoice into a trainwreck style preamp. Perhaps a single stage tube gain boost from the normal channel. Change some cathode bypass caps to tame the lows below 50Hz. Maybe a Lar-Mar Master volume. I'm not going to drill, but it will eliminate the normal channel and reorder the knobs on the front. I might use the amp a bit more, but it also might be stuff that could be achieved my just using a damn EQ or boost pedal.

I feel like this is, on paper, a great, and commercially viable design. I love old Fender amps, but really there’s no reason anymore for the overhead of two channels when those components could be better used for extra gain staging, master vol, more effective tone controls etc. keep the verb, vibrato and basic voicing but make it more useable for folks today.

I’ve pretty much convinced myself I’d buy this amp, provided it was in snakesking torlex

So, you've all talked some sense into me. I'm just going to make it the total classic '66 Pro Reverb. If I want tweaks, I can add a Klone or EQ/Boost.
If I don't like it, maybe it's time to let it go and buy a Deluxe Reverb kit amp, which is a size/volume I like better as an almost 50 year old, and then I can build the normal channel into boosts and such. As long as I don't accidentally build an early Boogie design

I think a 60s Pro Reverb is the Calvary Cross amp! Just get Richard Thompson to fill in the rest

Have you considered pulling all the components off of the board, and conditioning the original fiberboard - for authenticity sake? Different amp techs/restorers have different ways getting them back to being non conductive. One dude in the Chicago area sprays them down with WD40. Which is definitely a mess if you don’t remove the board and components from the chassis first, but might not be bad if it was done to a bare board. Might be worth looking into other ideas/options. If it was silver face I’d just scrap the board and start over. But the black ones are worth some coin.

I’d reuse as many parts as you can. People especially like to see those blue molded Mallory “tone caps” left in place if they are still good.