Gibson GA77 Vanguard Rebuild Project

guitarjoem · Newbie Alert Joined: 19 Apr 2007 Posts: 3

I've built a few speker enclosure kits, and am handy with a soldering iron, so I decided to tackle an amp refurb. I'm having trouble finding the capacitors. the amp is a Gibson GA77 Vanguard, and once upon a time one of the paper caps, an Astron 20 + 10 uF 450v was quasi-replaced. the 20uF lead was clipped and a replacement cap was installed.

So far I've replaced the power cable with a grounded cable, fixed the power switch, and cleaned all the pots. I've replaced the speaker cable with a new lead with a soldered on 1/4" jack.

The speaker is intact with no issues, and the overall tone of the amp is great. the grill clothe is worn, but has no holes or tears. The tweed is badly worn, stained and torn. I need a bit of advice:

1. Should I replace the bad Astron cap, and if so where do I find one?
2. If I replace the cap with another brand type what effect will that have on the tone?
3. Should I install an external speaker jack, external power connector or other "modern" mod? If so, will this affect the value of the amp?
4. The transformers are scungy but functional. Should I replace them, presuming they might fail sooner rather than later, or should I wait and see since they seem to have been replaced a few years back?
5. I'm going to rewrap the amp. Should I use laquered tweed or tolex.

Thanks in advance for your input.

guitarjoem · Newbie Alert Joined: 19 Apr 2007 Posts: 3

I've move this discussion over to amptalk.com, if anyone's interested.

herb · Posted: Sun Apr 22, 2007 6:34 am Post subject:

Good luck with your project. I don't know anything about this amp other than I knew of it being around when I was young, so I didn't jump right in with bad advice! Wink