So quite some time ago I hinted that I was planning to resurrect an old amp and turn it into something resembling the classic Marshall JTM45.

Well, it's taken me 6 months or so, but as of Sunday, I'm absolutely delighted to announce "It Lives!"

Lets go back a bit though.

I scored a Vase Bassman 60 half stack maybe 15-20 years ago. Don't be surprised if you don't know the name, they were made in Australia (Brisbane) in the 60's and are, based on my research at least, extremely rare animals.

The head was 6L6GC powered and whilst it of course had no Master Volume in line with the trend of the time, it did have inputs for both 4 and 6 string Bass and guitar. It also, did not function at all, due I suspect, to the fact it had quite literally had a fire break out inside it.

At the time there was precious little about tube amps on this new "internet" thing that had just happened, and all my training was on solid state devices so tubes were a mystery. I also had no comprehension that an old tube amp could be worth anything, so I basically butchered it pretty savagely as I tried to turn it into a hybrid of JCM800 preamp and a Fender power stage using whatever I could rat from the junk bin at work (at the time I was repairing electronics for work). It hummed and squealed and oscillated and was generally just horrible. Looking at the crazed rats nest of wiring, it's hardly surprising.

Here's what it looked like after my first butchery...


Last shot before I ripped this mess out... by Ch0jiN, on Flickr

And this is what it looked like on the outside..


Classic Combo by Ch0jiN, on Flickr

So quite some time ago I started to realise just how rare this amp was, and I was feeling really bad about destroying a bit of Australian music history, so I got in touch with the guys who now own the brand, only to discover there are no existing schematics for this particular amp, so there was no way I could rebuild it exactly as it was.

I thought for a long time about what to rebuild it as, and the Fender Bassman/Marshall JTM45 seemed like the right fit. Same vintage, same bass amp as a guitar amp vibe, and the whole "build it in ya shed" approach.

I think this is a good place for the end of part one...