FS/FT: 1965 Selmer Treble and Bass M11, serviced and sorted! Might trade strat/tele

surfguy13 · October 2013

Hi guys

OK, not sure if this is going to be of interest to anyone but if not it will convince me to keep it!

http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/7287/1965selmertb063.jpg

Sorry, it seems that all the photos bar one have just appeared as links? Maybe I've put too many photos in. Anyway, this is a link to my Image Shack album where there are loads of photos: http://imageshack.us/g/1/10114677/

This is one of the early MK11s and for anyone that's never heard or used one they are just amazing.....this is my 3rd. Of the 3 I've had this is the best and the reason it's the last to go. It's in remarkably good cosmetic condition all round with very respectable grillecloth and intact badge. Everything is there that should be there including the serial number tag on the back panel (30123).

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/715/sel2005.jpg/

A majority of old T&Bs have been butchered, had replacement parts and in pretty poor cosmetic condition. This one is original bar valves and a bias pot which Andy Broadbent (Animal Amps) installed for me last year....please see photo below. This is a mod that can be reversed with no damage to the amp whatsoever. All MK11s were fixed bias and therefore installing new power valves was a bit hit and miss. The bias pot allows for perfect biasing. Andy went through the whole amp at the same time to make sure all the values of components were within specification. They were!

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/443/1965selmertb022.jpg/

All of the other components are original and working perfectly. This is a 100% handwired amp needless to say! There is a slight hum and I discussed with Andy whether we should change the power train caps but we mutually agreed that the level of hum is so low it's a) not worth doing and b) anything you change will change the character of the amp. The decision was not made on financial grounds, more in an effort to retain the sound as it is.

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The valves consist of a pair of Electro Harmonix EL34s and 3 standard ECC83s. I was going to get Andy to swap out the EH power valves as I assumed the amp could be improved with vintage or better quality EL34s.....Andy tried several matched pairs of vintage and good quality modern valves and found that the EH were every bit as good so we decided to leave be. Just shows you can't always assume lower priced valves are rubbish!

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/845/1965selmertb039.jpg/

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The amp has two very distinct channels.....a bass channel and a treble channel. The bass channel is just wonderful and this tends to be my default for guitar but, with the right cab, it sounds amazing with a bass through it too! The bass channel is incredibly warm but not at all muddy....I had a 1967 Marshall Superlead 100 and the 2nd 'channel' was pretty much too muddy to use on its own (particularly with humbuckers) although fine when jumpered. The T&B works well with humbuckers, P90s or single coils and is one of the few amps I've ever used that handles the whole spectrum really well. The treble channel is as you would expect.....really usable and very sweet. Although the EQ only consists of treble and bass controls these are REALLY effective with a huge sweep.

The amp has 7.5 ohm and 15 ohm outs which is handy and is UK mains voltage.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/89/1965selmertb053.jpg/

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/855/1965selmertb057.jpg/

As I said, the amp is in great nick cosmetically, certainly for a 48 year old amp, with no 'issues' at all. The only minor problem is that the pilot light glass is cracked with a small portion of the glass missing.....still works perfectly and it is an incredibly easy fix but just never got round to it. There is also a small crack in the plexi glass front panel, just above the pilot light but it's really not an issue at all.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/835/1965selmertb061.jpg/

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This is a wonderful old amp and sounds amazing......it's rated at 50 watts and has more than enough power for gigging but equally it is an ideal amp for home use. I don't use pedals, other than a treble booster, but it handles pedals really well and with a treble boost in front of it it is monstrous! Please give me a shout if you want any more info/photos.

I'm happy to ship the amp and will include shipping, on a next day with UPS, within my asking price. This is with £50 insurance but if you feel you need it extra insurance can be bought from UPS for 2% of the total value. However, if you're within spitting distance of Cambridgeshire please come and try it, I have a variety of cabs here.

I think £440 is a fair price for the amp given it's condition and it's age. Might consider a strat or a tele, cash either way.

martinw · October 2013

surfguy13 said:

The valves consist of a pair of Electro Harmonix EL34s and 3 standard ECC83s. I was going to get Andy to swap out the EH power valves as I assumed the amp could be improved with vintage or better quality EL34s.....Andy tried several matched pairs of vintage and good quality modern valves and found that the EH were every bit as good so we decided to leave be. Just shows you can't always assume lower priced valves are rubbish!

Wisdom duly awarded!

Nice amp.

surfguy13 · October 2013

Thanks Martin! You clearly appreciate these lovely old amps.......

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FS/FT: 1965 Selmer Treble and Bass M11, serviced and sorted! Might trade strat/tele

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