deciding what to do with this, Magnatone MP1 cab...

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Con-Tiki!
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deciding what to do with this, Magnatone MP1 cab...

Post by Con-Tiki! » Sun Apr 23, 2017 8:27 am

i bought this at a yard sale yesterday.
It's just the box, originally a Magnatone MP1 1x12 combo. Hard to tell from the pics, but its medium sized, about 22" wide, maybe 16" high.

Image

I was originally thinking I would buy some sort of 5w tweed kit, fit it into this box, and buy a nice speaker.

Then, I found the guts from a different Magnatone combo for sale. Chassis, tubes, transformers, everything but a speaker and the box. From the measurements the guy gave me, it looks like the amp chassis will be an easy fit. The guts are from an M10, i think. Different model, produced at the same time, might have been the one with the weird top controls. i think they were 35 or 45 watts.
the guy wants a couple hundred bucks for it, claims it was working, but that he can't guarantee anything. i get it.

does it make any sense to chase the Magnatone parts, or should i stick to the original plan?
I've been wanting to build an amp for a long time, now I'm not sure what to do.
(Christopher, also)
I've been to one World's Fair, a picnic, and a rodeo, and that's the stupidest thing i ever heard come out a pair of headphones.

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marqueemoon
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Re: deciding what to do with this, Magnatone MP1 cab...

Post by marqueemoon » Sun Apr 23, 2017 9:45 am

If it were me I'd just use it as a cab and build my 5W tweed in a head cabinet while I looked for the original bits.

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jthomas
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Re: deciding what to do with this, Magnatone MP1 cab...

Post by jthomas » Sun Apr 23, 2017 9:45 am

If it were me, I'd measure the opening in the front and see if it's possible to buy a blank chassis and, if so, I'd build a Supro style 6v6 or 6973 cathode biased amp (or something in that ballpark). You can find Mangatone and supro schematics all over the place. Watts Tube Audio makes a good Supro kit, but it's made for a top-mounted set of controls and go get a good growl you would need to mod the preamp a bit. Still, that would be a good starting point.

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Re: deciding what to do with this, Magnatone MP1 cab...

Post by s_mcsleazy » Sun Apr 23, 2017 4:09 pm

put a deluxe style head in there and rock the hell out of it.
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Re: deciding what to do with this, Magnatone MP1 cab...

Post by Con-Tiki! » Sun Apr 23, 2017 4:38 pm

these are all good suggestions.
I was looking around, and found a silvertone 1484 kit. Not cheap, but i've always wanted one...

don't know yet.
i have two amps currently, a Pathfinder 15r, which is my noodling go-to, and an unbelievable '53 National Supreme. 12 watts of joy.

that's why I'm stuck.
I either need to build a small tube amp, or a big, obnoxious tube amp.
(Christopher, also)
I've been to one World's Fair, a picnic, and a rodeo, and that's the stupidest thing i ever heard come out a pair of headphones.

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Re: deciding what to do with this, Magnatone MP1 cab...

Post by Ursa Minor » Sun Apr 23, 2017 6:07 pm

Oh I damn, a Supreme!? Jealous. Still want one someday.

I have a little tube radio that I've been thinking about doing something similar with. Mine would almost have to be a head though, it's pretty tiny to fit a speaker that would be worth much.

My current faves are for a either a little 5F1 Champ, Supro Super. Nice and simple. One, maybe two controls and that's it. Then I could use it with my other amps and think about a cab down the line. Supro Spectators are pretty cool too. I had one but not for long enough to really bond with it. I love the idea of octal power.

With your amp you could do so much more given the size. Bigger amps for me would a 5C3 tweed deluxe. Again octal power tubes. A 6g2 brown Princeton isn't a terribly difficult build, either. They're basically the same as a tweed Vibrolux. :?
The artist formerly known as kosmonautmayhem.

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