Guitar Snob: August 2012

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Joe Walsh's talks about when he was young in Kansas!

Sad and funny at the same time.

Friday, August 24, 2012

Imelda May and Darrel Higham announce the birth of their first child!

As proud new parents, the couple have announced a new addition to their expanding family, Violet Kathleen Higham was born 23-08-12 and a dove she is! Congratulations!
Look for Darrel to stay busy with Kat Men! Check them out at their Facebook page or at the website link here! Kat Men! Look out world - a mini Imelda is aboard mother-ship earth.
The Best!

Friday, August 10, 2012

Fender 65 Twin Reverb Reissue - Volume knob

The Fender 65 twin reverb reissue uses a smooth shaft potentiometer. The knob has a set screw that prevents the knob from spinning independent of the potentiometer shaft. Some times the shaft and knob spin independent of each other and when this happens you cannot control the switch. One might think that applying some crazy glue or similar type of glue will alleviate the problem. However, to service an amp, the pot knobs must be removed in many cases. However, to be clear, the pot "top hat's" don't need to be removed to take the chassis from the cabinet.

The switch below had a knob glued on very well, so well that when I tried to extract the knob, the shaft failed inside the potentiometer and ruined the switch.

You can see a shiny spot where Cyanoacrylate was applied

The Potentiometer is ruined (right side)

In the photo below you can see the volume potentiometer shaft extended from the its original position.

The repair isn't difficult but the parts aren't available at Radioshack and take time to procure. Time is usually what most people have little to spare. Therefore, don't glue your knobs to the pot shafts!

The picture below gives you an idea of what the inside of a Fender amp looks like when you take it apart.The picture below is of the potentiometer board with potentiometers attached. The board is attached to all the externally adjustable potentiometers for this amp (Fender Twin Reverb 65 reissue)

Fender 65 Twin Reverb reissue Amp Schematic link -

Fender 65 Twin Reverb reissue Service manual link -

PCB backside with clip pot soldered by factory

I used a solder sucker to remove the solder - clip is removed thereafter

Broken Fender clip potentiometer after removal

Nice New potentiometer prior to installation

Example of improperly seated clip potentiometer

Clip potentiometer properly seated and ready for soldering

Fender clip potentiometer carefully soldered to the PCB

No solder should leak to the top side of the PCB

No solder visable on the top side - this is good!

Fender clip potentiometer is ready for chassis installation

The Fender potentiometers and PCB are ready to install into the chassis. I will now re-tube this amplifier and check and adjust the bias if needed. Burn in will be completed and then I'll check the bias again and if stabilized, I will then do a final test and finally return the amplifier to the customer. Cheers!

Updated - 12/09/14.
I've had a few requests for parts and such. So here are a couple of links that could help you if you have similar issue to the one I outlined above.

Schematic: http://ampwares.com/schematics/65_twin_reverb_@20manual.pdf (use this link to find the part number needed)

Parts: http://darrenriley.com/product-category/fender-parts/ (buy the parts from Darren - I have and it was a good experience, quick, accurate, and they even sent me some swag! :)

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Gibson Guitar Corp. Agrees to Resolve Investigation into Lacey Act Violations

Department of Justice

Office of Public Affairs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, August 6, 2012

Gibson Guitar Corp. Agrees to Resolve Investigation into Lacey Act Violations

Gibson Guitar Corp. entered into a criminal enforcement agreement with the United States today resolving a criminal investigation into allegations that the company violated the Lacey Act by illegally purchasing and importing ebony wood from Madagascar and rosewood and ebony from India.

The agreement was announced today by Assistant Attorney General Ignacia S. Moreno of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, Jerry Martin, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee and Dan Ashe, Director of the Department of the Interior’s U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

The criminal enforcement agreement defers prosecution for criminal violations of the Lacey Act and requires Gibson to pay a penalty amount of $300,000. The agreement further provides for a community service payment of $50,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to be used to promote the conservation, identification and propagation of protected tree species used in the musical instrument industry and the forests where those species are found. Gibson will also implement a compliance program designed to strengthen its compliance controls and procedures. In related civil forfeiture actions, Gibson will withdraw its claims to the wood seized in the course of the criminal investigation, including Madagascar ebony from shipments with a total invoice value of $261,844.

In light of Gibson’s acknowledgement of its conduct, its duties under the Lacey Act and its promised cooperation and remedial actions, the government will decline charging Gibson criminally in connection with Gibson’s order, purchase or importation of ebony from Madagascar and ebony and rosewood from India, provided that Gibson fully carries out its obligations under the agreement, and commits no future violations of law, including Lacey Act violations.

“As a result of this investigation and criminal enforcement agreement, Gibson has acknowledged that it failed to act on information that the Madagascar ebony it was purchasing may have violated laws intended to limit overharvesting and conserve valuable wood species from Madagascar, a country which has been severely impacted by deforestation,” said Assistant Attorney General Moreno. “Gibson has ceased acquisitions of wood species from Madagascar and recognizes its duty under the U.S. Lacey Act to guard against the acquisition of wood of illegal origin by verifying the circumstances of its harvest and export, which is good for American business and American consumers.”

“The Department of Justice is committed to enforcing the laws enacted by Congress,” said U.S. Attorney Martin. “Failure to do so harms those who play by the rules and follow the law. This criminal enforcement agreement goes a long way in demonstrating the government’s commitment to protecting the world’s natural resources. The agreement is fair and just in that it assesses serious penalties for Gibson’s behavior while allowing Gibson to continue to focus on the business of making guitars.”

“The Lacey Act’s illegal logging provisions were enacted with bipartisan support in Congress to protect vanishing foreign species and forest ecosystems, while ensuring a level playing field for America’s forest products industry and the people and communities who depend on it,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Ashe. “We’re pleased that Gibson Guitar Corp. has recognized its duties under the Lacey Act to guard against the acquisition of wood of illegal origin from threatened forests and has taken responsibility for actions that may have contributed to the unlawful export and exploitation of wood from some of the world’s most threatened forests.”

Since May 2008, it has been illegal under the Lacey Act to import into the United States plants and plant products (including wood) that have been harvested and exported in violation of the laws of another country. Congress extended the protections of the Lacey Act, the nation’s oldest resource protection law, to these products in an effort to address the environmental and economic impact of illegal logging around the world.

The criminal enforcement agreement includes a detailed statement of facts describing the conduct for which Gibson accepts and acknowledges responsibility. The facts establish the following:

Madagascar Ebony is a slow-growing tree species and supplies are considered threatened in its native environment due to over-exploitation. Both legal and illegal logging of Madagascar Ebony and other tree species have significantly reduced Madagascar’s forest cover. Madagascar’s forests are home to many rare endemic species of plants and animals . The harvest of ebony in and export of unfinished ebony from, Madagascar has been banned since 2006.

Gibson purchased “fingerboard blanks,” consisting of sawn boards of Madagascar ebony, for use in manufacturing guitars. The Madagascar ebony fingerboard blanks were ordered from a supplier who obtained them from an exporter in Madagascar. Gibson’s supplier continued to receive Madagascar ebony fingerboard blanks from its Madagascar exporter after the 2006 ban. The Madagascar exporter did not have authority to export ebony fingerboard blanks after the law issued in Madagascar in 2006.

In 2008, an employee of Gibson participated in a trip to Madagascar, sponsored by a non-profit organization. Participants on the trip, including the Gibson employee, were told that a law passed in 2006 in Madagascar banned the harvest of ebony and the export of any ebony products that were not in finished form. They were further told by trip organizers that instrument parts, such as fingerboard blanks, would be considered unfinished and therefore illegal to export under the 2006 law. Participants also visited the facility of the exporter in Madagascar, from which Gibson’s supplier sourced its Madagascar ebony, and were informed that the wood at the facility was under seizure at that time and could not be moved.

After the Gibson employee returned from Madagascar with this information, he conveyed the information to superiors and others at Gibson. The information received by the Gibson employee during the June 2008 trip, and sent to company management by the employee and others following the June 2008 trip, was not further investigated or acted upon prior to Gibson continuing to place orders with its supplier. Gibson received four shipments of Madagascar ebony fingerboard blanks from its supplier between October 2008 and September 2009.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with assistance from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The case was handled by the Environmental Crimes Section of the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee.

12-976

Environment and Natural Resources Division

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2012/August/12-enrd-976.html