bonedog569
523 posts
May 22, 2012
6:47 PM
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Picked this big ugly baby up on a Craiglist whim. The price was right - $240, and what little there is on the web about this brand - Sano- is very complimentary.
get this - it's loaded with a 15" CTSs and a 6" utah ! the other baffle hole is empty. It's got quite a nice reverb - which only plays through the 6" speaker! The 6" does not output any of the dry sound. It's output power tubes are a pair of 8417's. Hadn't even heard of them before. Never thought I'd play harp through a 15" speaker- but I'm sold now. At least in this set up.
It's a hand wired amp in a solidly constructed wood cabinet- made in New Jersey in the 60's. As well built as a Fender. Originally an accordian amp company frpom what I can gather.
It's the warmest, ballsiest amp I've ever played. It doesn't break up into crunchland early but I don't care. It gets very loud before feedback. Ear-protection loud, and just sounds very sweet. Using my octave pedal it produces bass to die for. My yamaha magic stomp works well on it if I want tweed sustain & crunch (without ear-bleed)
It does have more hum than I'd like , but as soon as I'm playing with anyone - or the stereo , it isn't heard and doesn't matter. I may hunt it down and kill it one day - but I'm afraid of messin with the Mojo right now.
5F6H (or anyone else) - if you want the schematic, give me your email and I'll pdf it to you. I can't save it as a jpeg for now. noams@comcast.net
The only real drawback is that the 8417 tube is no longer made - by anyone, - so replacing with NOS when I have to, will likely cost me dearly.
I'll post some sound clips when I get a chance.
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Last Edited by on May 22, 2012 6:48 PM
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5F6H
1211 posts
May 23, 2012
7:23 AM
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Cool find, looks like you got a real bargain.
Bloomfield used a Sano (don't know which model) prior to the Epiphone Futura he was seen with in the PBBB days.
Mike Holland used a similar reverb principle on his 4x10" Gibb Droll amps, 1x10" was just for the reverb wet signal.
Those 8417 might not be being worked too hard, they are 35W tubes, might have some life left in them yet? Some folks have rebiased & switched the 8417 to 6L6 (if plate & screen voltages were low enough), or 6550 (a little more heater current draw at 1.6A per tube vs 1.3A for 8417, so heater voltage would need checking). Plate impedances & pin out are common to 6L6, 6CA7, 6550, 7581A, KT88 etc.
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HawkeyeKane
950 posts
May 23, 2012
7:58 AM
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Mojokane had a thread about a Sano amp about 6 months ago...
http://www.modernbluesharmonica.com/board/board_topic/5560960/2493343.htm
To me, his resembled a twin version of a Kalamazoo Deuce.
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Hawkeye Kane
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bonedog569
525 posts
May 23, 2012
10:55 AM
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For now the tubes seem to be fine. I may snag me a pair to have on backup though. They are not likely to get cheaper as time goes by.
I wouldn't want to swap em for 6L6's. I don't know how much they have to do with the tone I'm digging - but this has a sweeter / ritcher tone than the Fenders I have now, - including a blackface deluxe reverb - (now with 6v6's) My SF twin might have been close - but it's been on the bench a while - and it's responsiveness was slower - if my memory serves.
@ Hawkeye - that snakeskin Sano-nette looks killer. Did you ever post sound files ?
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MP
2282 posts
May 23, 2012
11:18 AM
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Sanos are pretty cool and come in various sizes and speaker configurations. i've played through one like bonedogs that had a chrome handle. also 1/12 jobs(my fav) are killer. Sano-ettes are are smaller and gritty little buggers. all the examples i've seen or played through have this jackson pollock paint job thing going on- sometimes just the grille cloth and sometimes the entire amp. definitely an italian-american fellow started the company to make accordian amps.
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MP
affordable reed replacement and repairs.
"making the world a better place, one harmonica at a time"
click user name for info-
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HawkeyeKane
952 posts
May 23, 2012
12:57 PM
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@bonedog
It's not mine. Better ask mojokane.
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Hawkeye Kane
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MP
2284 posts
May 23, 2012
1:16 PM
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i've played MojoKanes Sano-ette. He lives next door to me. it is retired as it just didn't deliver the goods. no bottom end....just like how it was in its stock cab w/ original speaker.
he's still experimenting with it. the brains were missing from the snakeskin cab yesterday.
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MP
affordable reed replacement and repairs.
"making the world a better place, one harmonica at a time"
click user name for info-
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