Bought a mystery chassis really cheap a while back. Was missing a PT. Finally got around to wiring in an old grey Triad PT a few days ago. Never could figure what this amp was 'cause it has no identifiable markings. Had two channels/four inputs like a tweed Deluxe with two tones and two volumes. Once channel marked normal, one bright. Huge four bolt OT, but not much room for a big PT. Had been filter capped 40-40-40. Cool easily moveable internal spade clip for 4/8/16 ohm secondary/speaker out. Strangely shaped chromed chassis, like maybe a front top control layout diving down the back of a combo. Unrecognizable circuit with big old 0.25 blue molded Mallory coupling caps indicative of a bass amp? What look to clearly be original pots have date codes late 1970...
So... a few weeks ago a buddy tells he thinks he knows what it is cause he saw one on Ebay - a St. George 'Lancer' 1x12 2x6V6 bass amp combo from mid sixties. I said "huh? a 2x6V6 BASS amp?" Started researching and found next to nothing about this - just a few references to Ray Massie a buddy of Leo Fender's who (probably erroneously) is credited with perfecting the push-pull amp circuit and worked with Leo in his radio shop and maybe in the amp biz til CBS buy out.
Back to the amp, I fire it up after wiring in the PT (for any recto) and it's a killer sounding amp, albeit a tad dark. So, I remove the 0.25 big blues and solder in two 0.1 mf Mustards. Sounds d*mn good. I mean D*MN good. Sort of a cross between Maggie 213, 5E3 and 18 watt Marshall. I pop in two perfect old NOS black plate RCA 6L6GB a friend gave me and swap the 5Y3 copper cap for a RCA 5U4 he also gave me - BAM, instant mojo! You pretty much need to dime the tone control and it's got a very pretty Maggie type midrangy voice.
Meanwhile, I'm looking hither and yonder for info on this little monster - nothing but a few "if you ever see you grab it!" comments on boards. Then, I'm bumpin around on the 'bargain bin' section of Schem Heaven and lo and behold there it is under 'Ray Massie,' except it's called the Massie Electronics of Los Angeles 'Model 363 El Basso!' The schem is an actual photo of a chart inside a cabinet and matches what I've got minus one or two obvious replacement parts. Down at the bottom is says "this is what what inside my St. George Lancer." Suddenly it is all clear. I have a St. George Lancer Model 363 El Basso 2x6V6 bass amp, LOL!
Well, I've just started tinkering with this thing. It's got a few little roaches motoring around inside and MIGHT need just a tiny bit more high end harmonics, but lemme tell ya this amp sounds really, really good. And, it's so cool to be able to swap power tubes and rectos. Also neat how easy it is swap speaker impedance. With the 6L6GB (haven't tried 6L6GC yet) and 5U4 it KILLS with headroom up to maybe 25 watts and then a nice growl after that. It's really right in that bar room band sweet spot. And it seems to work best with just a delay pedal to simulate reverb and a gritty boost, nothing else needed. It has enough built-in compression that it sustains for days clean or dirty. Oh yeah, best part is the way cool retro AQUA jewel, LOL!
Pics to follow. Haven't built a cab yet. Gonna put it in a custom dark lacquer tweed head box.