UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum - View Single Post - Convert Vintage Valve Radio to Guitar Amp

robbo100 · 17th Aug 2019, 9:31 am

Morning all,

A bit of a project update for you all.

I now have the radio (the 501 AC) and it works really well. I have taken it apart and given it a good clean, as it had 50+ years of dust inside (as expected).

It is surprisingly loud when tuned into some radio stations, which is a great sign.

I tuned the radio away from a station, to science the radio sound, and connected a guitar to the gram input and it worked! However, as many have predicted, it was very quiet.

I have therefore built one of these (to run off a 9V battery) to give some pre-preamp boost.

Unfortunately, so far I have been unable to get it to work with the radio. It may be an error in my build process, so I will check it with a normal guitar amp at some stage (when my wife isn't telling me off for not decorating the lounge).

Thanks all.

17th Aug 2019, 9:31 am	#69
robbo100 Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK. Posts: 21	Re: Convert Vintage Valve Radio to Guitar Amp Morning all, A bit of a project update for you all. I now have the radio (the 501 AC) and it works really well. I have taken it apart and given it a good clean, as it had 50+ years of dust inside (as expected). It is surprisingly loud when tuned into some radio stations, which is a great sign. I tuned the radio away from a station, to science the radio sound, and connected a guitar to the gram input and it worked! However, as many have predicted, it was very quiet. I have therefore built one of these (to run off a 9V battery) to give some pre-preamp boost. Unfortunately, so far I have been unable to get it to work with the radio. It may be an error in my build process, so I will check it with a normal guitar amp at some stage (when my wife isn't telling me off for not decorating the lounge). Thanks all.