1965 Fender Showman.......Back from the dead, but not without an epic struggle 

NOTE: Before you comment on the "Low Battery" indication on the Eurotubes probes, please note that they do not use batteries, but get their power from the 6.3VAC filament circuit. Perhaps the voltage was reduced a bit by the Current Limiter (which has never been an issue.....ever) but the incorrect values persisted without the CL and also in other amps with known-value tubes. I suspect that the extremely high current draw either damaged the probes or de-calibrated them. I will report my findings in a future video.

At the moment of watching, Three people pressed the dislike... proof that in the world, no matter how good, kind and charismatic you are, someone out there is a jerk

A beer, my dog and a new Uncle Doug vid, need I say more.

I appreciate how difficult it is to not only fix but film the process and edit it all.

Yes, Uncle Doug-it was worth the wait!

Perfection......a 65 Showman in working order....around ($1700.00) One worked on by Uncle Doug in working order........($Priceless).

Thanks for the great and patient explanations. In my retirement, I'm returning to my first career (a theory-weak TV-radio repair man (aka "tube jockey") via my collection of old and infirm guitar amps I've been dragging around for the last 40 years, and your videos have been absolutely priceless to me. I've cobble together a mashup of analog ancient and honorable test equipment from the island of unloved toys, along with some impossibly inexpensive devices from the Orient. I'll be starting on a 2 x 6V6 AB763 kit from the Doug Hoffman site as soon as I get the chassis finished - a pile o' parts awaits! You are helping me discover that the old dog can indeed be retaught his tricks with a lot of new ones besides, albeit at a lower frequency, and I'm having a lovely time of it and thank YOU for keeping it simple - I can learn the low-mu, high mu and mu-mu later on from the amazing and arcane engineers out there, but nothing matches your relaxed and unassuming style of your teaching.

If it takes a month to do things right, so be it. Kids need to learn that good things take time. You simply can't have instant gratification. Keep up the quality work. You set a good example.

Top shelf troubleshooting and explanation Uncle Doug. You're a gold mine full of tube amp knowledge. Thanks for all you do!

I don't fix amps and I can't play anymore due to nerve damage in my hands but I enjoy like heck all of your repair videos. Never knew before how amps worked before and find your explanations and work top notch

One thing you can be sure of. Uncle Doug will keep you entertained throughout the slog. Love your channel!

Ahhhh..... a video from Uncle Doug. For an hour and twenty seven minutes the world felt right again. Beautiful amp. It's easy to see why the owner wanted top shelf performance.

Uncle Doug. Thank you for this wonderful video and all of the ones before it. I feel like it’s a Master Class in amp repair. More specifically Fender amp repair ( even though you repair all brands). I realize it’s a labor of love on your behalf and takes much longer than a viewer understands but I wanted you to know IT IS MUCH APPRECIATED. Moving tubes around to see if the problem follows them or resides in the sockets! I love this logical yet well thought through process. Even though you couldn’t save the the highly desired original transformer you added value by making it more versatile. Love it. Thank you for sharing your skills with the common man. It gets no better!

Really pleased to open YT and find a new Uncle Doug video. Foods cooking as I sit and watch this taking in every detail. Glad you are well Uncle Doug

Doug take your time and keep producing the great content that we have come to be accustomed to. Always a treat to get a no BS analysis and repair on vintage amps . This was especially interesting to me as I own a 70s era Dual Showman which I got in 1979 at a pawn shop. Man do I love that amp.

Thanks for another great video, Uncle Doug!

I can't begin to tell you how much I enjoy these videos. I love how in depth you get with explaining how things work and how things need to be. I learned the basic principles of electronic theory in school which lets me follow along to a certain extent, and with you explaining things along with everything it fills in the gaps that I had in my limited knowledge of circuitry so I can fully understand it. What I wouldn't give to have even a fraction of the knowledge you have with this stuff.

A perfect demo of Fender "clean" tones...Great work UD

Thank you Uncle Doug!!!

Uncle Doug is the most watchable show on RU-vid.

Thanks Uncle Doug; These are heady times for those of us who proselytize the critical importance of adequately packing an amp for shipment. Let's hope this renaissance you've noticed continues. 🗳

When I saw Dick Dale , he came out with 3 Showman heads with three huge cabs loaded with JBL 15’s. His bass player was using Showman heads with JBL’s as well. One of the loudest things I’ve ever heard. HE LIT THAT PLACE UP!!! What an amazing show!!

Quality not quantity is far more important Uncle Doug. Your videos are always entertaining.

The tones on the final reveal struck me as having very good string separation and dynamics. Probably a very good rig for pedals. Thanks for your dedication to your craft!

Good to see Uncle Doug, Jack, Ollie and everyone healthy and in good spirits! The video was great as always. I learn something new from every time.

There's never a lack of education here! Quite a beautiful amp and more than worthy of the wait.

Cascading proplems all the way through. Good to see thorough technical work, preparations and repairs. I learned a lot from this. Thank you.

Greetings Uncle Doug! Your not kidding about the guitar strings being possibly energized. Back in the mid 80's I was in a band playing my bass through my Bassman (which had the two prong plug with switchable polarity) singing into a mike connected to another amp - a huge Peavy 8 channel PA with a 3-wire grounded system. I reckon my polarity switch and the Peavy didn't get along and the battle ocurred when my lips touched the mike. I had a perfect screen pattern burned there that lasted at least three days. Lord I miss them days. Great job on the amp as usual, your the best in my mind. Take care!

Wonderful, Uncle Doug! You may not video all of your repairs, but you do chose the best! I have first hand knowledge of what speakers were paired with both the Showman and Dual Showman so when the question arose about what speaker could handle 85 watts I knew JBLs. They ARE my favorite. I had a ‘65 Bassman with twin 12” JBLs and I should have never sold it, keep the amp, ditch the wife! If you can afford them, you are never disappointed. Thanks for the heads up on the tube source. You said it right, in these dayz of uncertainty, beggars can’t be choosers. The amp is worth 10 times what this repair costs, I’m sure the owner will be trilled, I am! Love from NW Colorado. Thanxz

A very troublesome fix of a beautiful amp. Thanks to you and the other swingin' cats for sharing your knowledge.

i enjoy waking at 3am when the world is still, and everything is quiet, and putting on your video....it makes my coffee taste better...thank you....Tom

Hey Unkie, Another fine video that kept me glued to my smartphone. As you introduced this latest feature and invited us to pull up a chair, I had just perched upon the vitreous ceramic throne to experience a thoroughly rewarding massive! I also let out a hearty chuckle with the coincidence and timing about sitting back in your fave EZ chair or whatever the verbatim of your introduction. I suppose everyone has their own folk remedies such as your 40 ounce cool pop. I discovered maybe laughter may be the best medicine. 🤔 Hmmm,, Maybe that too much info? I digress. It's not unlike me to ramble on. More seriously , great video! I couldn't put the smartphone down and had me at the edge of my seat for the whole hour! ( Doh!) This amp sure was an extremely clean beauty! It sure goes to show you that even a nice looking amp that the beauty is skin deep and the personality sometimes takes greater depth to realize. Well Ya know me, I love making these amps look pristine and correct,,, kinda disappointed that no cap stuffing was done on this one. As for the metal oxides? That's one I often lose sleep over... Usually for the power supply I will utilize the metal oxide. For the grid stoppers and plate resistors I still use carbon comps. Honestly, mostly for looks and period correctness. However there are the boutique cork sniffing types that say they can substantiate a tonal difference likely due to fluctuating thermal coefficients that make the amp more dynamic. I don't know how perceivable it is to my ear??? Well actually as I just wondered, it is highly perceivable when ya get all those fizzy fried bacon sounds coming from the depths of the white noise within,,, maybe even some paranormal EVPs? Pondering some mojo tonal snake oil and wives tales, my thoughts also on that Hammond iron.... I must say just how freakin nice it is of Hammond to share the technical particulars with ya! It is especially nice that they include info pasted right into the core with a nice label that doesn't just include a model number but gives all the info one would think you would wish for.... ( I just was sorting thru a literal ton of iron being discarded by an estate.) I wish they all were labeled half as good! Getting to my thought on asking what your take or opinion of the hallowed Mercury Magnetics?!? I dunno? I always was suspect by their amount of marketing hype and the fact that they don't include much of any technical data or specifications. Their often premium price put me off too. BUT,,, now that I have used and heard them in several different applications, I think they influence the perceived sound. I can't technically describe it but I do notice in some applications they introduce a looser bit of briter but pleasant jangle and bloom (damn I sound like one of them!) One thing that they do is that they offer rewind service and can take that orig period correct tranny and make it right . Surely there are others that still practice such arts... I have had my Ham license since before I could have a driver's license. One thing that had always remained magical is the whole resonance/reactance deal of electro magnetic circuits and devices especially transformers, inductors and such. Building projects they instruct you to wind so many turns of some wire on whatever form and that it will work for your application. The formulas are complex, just how the hell can they predict or formulate that if have x amount of wire wrapped around a certain permeability during a meteor shower you will arrive at the center bandwidth of whatever tuned circuit you wish to emulate? Nope I am still hit and miss. Sure don't miss the grid dip meter of my youth. It is simply magic! Those people who practice such black arts of spec, building and winding output transformers are holy. While asking opinions , I noticed the metalized polyester wound caps you had replace the ceramic disks along with one big polypropylene orange drop too. So what is your fave cap , fave cap material, style and brands? Why? Is there more to the make up of tone caps other than their actual component value that can color tone or alter signal? Love to see ya do a tone myth video, or better yet discuss it over a cold pop or some other refreshment in person. Love ya man!!!!!

I just ordered some Gavitt 22 gauge stranded cloth insulation wire from Stew-Mac. They have white, yellow, orange, green, black, blue and red. It’s all a very close match to the original wire that Fender used up to the Silverface era. The price is right for a 50 foot spool. I prefer the stranded wire over the solid core cloth insulated wire that everyone else sells. It’s far more resistant to breaking from vibration and reduces microphonics. I am so happy that Stew-Mac sells this stuff. It was hard to find in all of the colors and very expensive if you did find some. Can’t recommend it enough!

Nice Job: I like your troubleshooting technique, you don't jump to conclusions and you evaluate the a Perceived problem more than one way. Thus avoiding shot gunning problems which of course means lost productivity and higher costs to customers.

Thanks so much for these videos. All please stay well.

Uncle Doug take all the time you need…I play guitar but know nothing about electronics but just like listening to an obvious absolute expert plié his knowledge

I just feel blessed that you take the time and bring us these wonderful funny and educating videos. I build and repair amps myself, just for a hobby and learned someting from every single video. But more important is that through you, I gained the self-confidence to just start and build my first amp . thank you for that and greetings from Germany

It was definitely worth the wait Uncle Doug. I appreciate your time and effort. Keep up the fantastic work. Always enjoyable!

What an ace amp (now) have been hooked on your channel since discovering it. I was a radio mech in the Fleet Air Arm in the late sixties/early seventies and worked on an American ground control radio installation (Gilfillin) that had almost 2000 valves all in rack mounted modules, it was a nightmare if there was a power cut as everything went tits up when restarting it and everything would need recalibrating.all the racks had at least one replacement or two for the most troublesome ones that where serviced and recalibrated waiting on standby. Have been a guitarist musician all my adult life so love your channel and your calm methodical restorations ,it's so theroputic in this mad digital world. Thank you.

Love your wry and dry banter. Hilarious!

Great to see you on here, I missed you, it's been a while, best wishes to you and your family and friend's.

Outstanding! Great job and very instructive following your troubleshooting process. Amazing how well it was preserved after all these years. Thanks Uncle Doug! Cheers!

Thank you very much for this video Thank you very much for being there

Thanks Uncle Doug , always a pleasure sitting in while you are working.

Thank you for another great presentation. It is always uplifting to see that there is a new uncle Doug video notification. BTW, the switchable NFB loop mod you made to my 66 super is a real game changer in my opinion. I would recommend it to anyone .

Another great video Uncle Doug. I'm no expert, but if I may offer a few suggestions: 1) a little silicone under all filter caps to help secure them 2) move the AC safety ground from the PT mounting bolt to chassis (directly soldered, more reliable) 3) elongate the AC safety ground wire - should someone pull on the power cord and the strain relief gave away, the ground would hopefully remain intact and be the last to go. I believe this is modern safety code as well.

That Showman is dripping with tone. Very very nice, sir.

Refreshing to see someone who knows what they are doing great job uncle Doug.

Very interesting, I thought the Dual Showman had two 15s. Very big, very loud. Clapton and Hendrix used these for a time, and somehow got a nice breakup, despite the (I assume) massive headroom. I've also heard that these Showman heads are basically Fender Twins in different housings, which is also interesting. Thanks for documentary Uncle Doug!

The knowledge you have a bout these old amps and the way you implement it in your repairs is just amazing. These amps are truly a treasure, and so are you my good man. Well done!

16:30 Never change you glorious bastard.

I’m chasing a blown fuse in a 1979 Pro Reverb Ultralinear. Uncle Dougs videos have been a great help.

Lesson learned: Mark the output tubes and their place before removing them. Very instructive video. Top! Rob

Love ya Uncle Doug!

I went to one of Dick Dale's Thanksgiving shows in Savannah back 1999. My right ear has been ringing ever since.

Interesting diagnosis of the transformer. Great info. Yes your video's are worth the wait. Looking forward to the next one. Cheerz!!!

Well that's definitely some Charmin chiming the wonderful sound of vintage Fender amp

It might just be educational to tear open that old OPT and see what defect(s) can be identified - a very easy thing to suggest while sitting in this comfy chair, not having to do the work... Excellent video, yet again, thank you Uncle Doug.

Excellent...sometimes it takes a lot of digging to find all the problems. That's a total service call. Thanks Uncle..👍👍👍👍

Great little repair as usual ... Thx for posting ...

Hi Uncle Doug, I think we all appreciate your video's as you and only a few others give us the correct information in your explanations. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. 🙂

For a long time, I have been getting all my tubes just from one local dealer. They have a person that lives tubes. They match them perfectly and do selections for V1 tubes and matched triodes when you need those. I have had great results with current TungSol tubes, and those are in most of the amplifiers I have designed. I also love current Genalex tubes. Those are even more refined. That is good for some schematics despite the fact that a lot of guitar amplifiers do not require nor benefit from HighEnd HiFi tubes. You can easily go with 300 to 500 hundred bucks pair of HiFi tubes and those will not guarantee better sound in the guitar amplifier. At yhe same time you will notice that extra quality in the home HiFi amplifiers. TungSol tubes are more suited for rock but still retain nice level of details. I have started my love relationship with the Hammond iron with small single ended amplifiers. I used them there first as output transformers and chokes. Nowadays almost all chokes I use are made by Hammond. Their iron is just better than expected for the price. Though they have started making some of their stuff in China. To be honest I haven't notice issues with those nut still when I can, I get Canadian products. Sadly some models are made in China only. In a world of boutique stuff made in China label is almost not acceptable disregarding how good part might be. People relate to it like it will be bad quality. TungSol availability is back to normal luckily. Few years ago, in time of this video, availability here was extremely bad. For one of my amplifiers, I have chosen a specific tube from TungSol, and I didn't want anything else. It was impossible to get them. I was talking to my tube guy, and he plainly said it was politics. They couldn't import stuff from that country. I'm glad that at least that part of the nonsense is over.

You, Brad, and DLab have taught me so much

You’ve definitely tamed those bad packers Uncle D . No more bubble wrap for fear of youtube ridicule! Another Gem pal ! Love from 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

That thing sounds incredible. 👍🌄🇺🇸🥃

A video a week or a video a month, they are always watched with enthralled interest and much thanks. This one really needed the padels to bring it back though.

My more than grateful thanks, U Doug. Another forensic success. Thank you, always. To Rusty: RIP. 💖 To your Darling KittenKatz: Eternal Purrs. To You and Yours: All the very best. Stay free, D. Rab 🍻 😎 🌠 💚

I imagine a Circle K Polar Pop enema will give one a wicked tone ring. Outstanding video, well worth the wait. Thank you, Uncle Doug!

I notice I must have watched this one before, but didn't remember. Revisiting as I have a linguini that I may want to sacrifice to build a Dual Showman Reverb... and I found a clean schematic, have most of the parts - a dangerous combination. I keep noticing your amp stand, reminds me to build one of those as well, especially helpful for working on massive chassis amps!! Thank you for still being here ;-). All the best in 2023 and beyond!!

Great vid. Appreciate your time. Enjoyed

Wow. That one was a rollercoaster ride, Uncle Doug. That amp was a perfect storm of problems. Always great to see a new video. I have never once _not_ learned at least one new thing watching one of your videos.

Thankfully we have Uncle Doug for these things.

it's always worth the wait.

Uncle Doug takes his time to please all the patient lil boys and girls out in RU-vid land. Victory ✌️

Definitely worth the wait, Uncle Doug. Thank you for producing such informative and entertaining videos. Can't wait to see the next one!

WORTH. THE. WAIT. Tremendous investment on your part in terms of time and effort. Rare for my Utube viewing time, I am SMARTER for having spent time with you and your clear, informative, and very entertaining content.

Uncle Doug Excellent as always!! Thank You! Great troubleshooting technique!

Just came upon this. Another great one. So good no BS just the facts. Yes!

Customer gets a fixed amp and Uncle Doug gets a door stop. Win, win! \ o /

Glad you're not dead yet. Time is needed to get a quality video. Nothing but the best from Uncle Doug. Steve

thank you... as always... great to see your videos!!!! Thanks again!

Hi Uncle Doug. Welcome back from the dead!

brilliant, just bloomin marvellous....

i have a 67 showman 12 so i found this very interesting. luckily mine didn't need as much work but i really enjoy how you worked thru the process! thank you!

Thank you! Another wonderful diversion.

Hello Uncle Doug and Family, Glad your doing well. Wow, what a survivor! Always top rate restorations and narrative of the repairs made and the reason why. Copy that on the primary circuit wiring. What a great tutorial, teacher, I never fail to learn a lot, Thank you so much. Pardon me for being late, very busy working on house, work, etc.. I will always catch up with Uncle Doug. Great video! Very meticulous. Typical Oregon weather, clouds, rain, but, warm. Be good, all the best, Cass.

Uncle Doug ..what great knowledge of tube amp you have. Simply put you are a historian when it comes to the development of tube amps from the inception to the present. Truly a walking encyclopedia ..especially with the history of fender vintage amps..sounds like if you were a design engineer for Leo Fender.

You are So good at what you do. Never apologize for the time you devote to such Difficult Projects. If people cant appreciate your Epic Achievements, it's really Thier Problem. This is worth the wait. I had a 100 watt American Guild amp with 4 12 inch JBL Speakers back in the 1980's....ahhhhhh...

Oh man people are the worst. i love your content however long the wait is. just glad to hear your voice and watch your work and learn.

Thanks been missing your craftsmanship.

You are the gem, Uncle Doug, thanks for another great video!

Yet another invaluable repair and lesson for your disciples. I absolutely love your little handheld cards during soundcheck. Thank you Uncle Doug.

Thanks Uncle

A wonderful, educational video! Thank you, Uncle Doug. From Jack in Essex, England.

Thanks Doug for all you do. God bless Rusty

A very nice demonstration on the wiring of the fuse, electrolytics replacement and everything else. Many thanks.

Yea!!!! Uncle Doug & crew. This just showed up today for me. Yes!!! Such a beautiful amp, the proud owner must have hermetically sealed the amp after using it, & only touched it, while wearing surgical gloves. Those complaining about the length of time between videos reminds me of when I worked at Lockheed. I was loaned out to another dept. they did basically sub assembly, on certain frames for the C5B. (I was usually installing their work into the aircraft). 1st time I'd done that job. We worked exclusively from blue prints. The entire day, the "powers that be" came by every 15 minutes urging me to go faster, so I'd have time for rework. I told them leave me alone, there won't be any rework. I finished the massive assembly about 30 minutes, before the shift ended, the inspector scrutinized the assembly, stamped off on it. The supervisor & the lead men were almost out of breath, "Where's the frame at?" I said it's up there, pointing to the location finished assemblies were to placed, after they were "sold". They gasped "You're not going to have time for rework." I said "There wasn't any, it's sold, go check yourself." They did, they seemed suprised. The best part was, the supervisor was a hot number. A few years older, but she was a hammer!!! When we swept up, the supervisors, in order to inject a bit of levity, would say "Well _____ you're doing such a great job with that broom, you can come over to my house, & sweep up there."(explosive laughter generally followed from the supervisors) She should never have said that to me. I was 29 still in my prime. I looked at her, eyed her shapely contours, smiled & looked her dead in her eyes, & said "Any time _____, anytime, any day, I'd be more than happy to help you out." Her face flushed red. Then she walked away. All the guys raved about her 20 something daughter, but she was the real hot ticket. LMAO She never made me that offer again!(much to my disappointment 😉) The moral of the story, is take time to do it right the 1st time. Then you're done with. I guess that supervisor would be near 80 now, but she was a sight to behold.👌

LOVE the long video! I, for one, appreciate all the detail and the tangential information that you provided.

Awesome job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You sound like the narrator from "A Christmas Story"... and that is in no way a bad thing. So grateful I found your channel while searching for speaker cleaning tips.