Kalamazoo Amp Field Guide: Model 1

Photos

For more information on the Kalamazoo line, see the Kalamazoo web pages at http://www.rru.com/~meo/Guitar/Amps/Kalamazoo/ .

Robert Whitaker's homebrew Based on the Model 1, plus hum reduction circuitry Since the photo was taken, the amp grew a handle.			Justin Belshe's monster Model 1 in the studio
Here's a basic front shot of a stock Model One. Two jacks, two controls, one lamp, one fuse, one speaker. This was mine, but now belongs to my son, Josiah. (The camera angle was a bit wonky.)			Full back shot, minus upper panel. Actually the lower panel used to be the upper panel; the lower panel got lost. It was moved down because people sit on the amp and it was starting to come apart at the base. It needs a new upper panel to keep dust and fingers out. The green label on the speaker magnet structure has the amp's serial number.
The round discoloring between the two knobs is where I had once put a sticker of some sort. When it started peeling I removed it, but the paint was munged. All the tube-based Kalamazoos used these knobs until they switched from the blackface panels to the woody panels.
It's all original except the power cord, filter cap (silver cannister), speaker wire, and the external speaker jack (actually a stereo headphone jack wired for mono use) you can just see at the bottom of the panel in the speaker closeup below. Lots of these amps need new speakers, but this one has the classic breakup without getting mushy. It could use a bit more top end, but Josiah wants to keep the amp as-is. The schematic might be pasted and stapled inside the amp, to either the left or the right wall, apparently chosen at random.
Transformers are original. The tiny OT was typical for a Gibson product. Gibson produced push-pull amps with twice the power of a Model One that used OTs this size or smaller. The 6X4 rectifier tube is new; the 6BQ5 output (tallest tube) is a NOS Raytheon. The 12AX7 preamp (shortest tube) is the original Raytheon (RTN) that came in this amp.
The guts are really dusty. The chassis and bottom of the amp need a good cleaning. A leaf blower works well, but I don't recommend using one near a speaker. I should have cleaned the chassis while it was out of the cab, before taking the pictures, but it was late, I was tired, and I didn't want to get the neighborhood dogs barking and wake everyone up.