Stromberg Carlson TV-12 scored

[bandersen]

There was a listing for the past few weeks on my local craigslist for a Stromberg Carlson set with no pictures. From the description it sounded like a console so I passed on it. Then Kevin got his TV-125 and I figured I better check it out for spare parts if nothing else.

The seller replied with this photo and I recognized it as an early, uncommon set and made arrangements for a visit


When I arrived and could see it in person, I immediately noticed it had been refinsihed badly It was stripped and sanded aggressively - right through the veneer in some areas. Then clearcoated with poly. No stain, toner or grain filler. That I don't mind so much as it can be refinished but the veneer loss is a drag. You may have noticed it still has the original decals. That threw me at first, then I got it into better light and saw the refinisher had sanded around them. There's a wavy band of darker, original finish around the decals.

On top of that, the speaker cloth has been replaced with some modern plasticy stuff more at home in an amp. Also, the tuning escutcheon's original patina/paint (?) has been polished off, one knob is not right and the back is missing.

M3-SRT8 has a similar TS-10 in very good condition.shown here. There's also a beautiful blonde at the ETF.

OK so much for the cosmetics, what about the insides ? Well, the seller had been powering the set up and fooling around with it before I contacted him and had it on when I got there. The screen had a full raster with a dark spot in the middle and some static was coming out of the speaker. That ion burn really had be puzzled at the time. How could that happen unless it had been rebuilt with a straight gun ? Later I read up on the 12JP4 and had my answer.
I ended up purchasing it, brought it home and examined more closely in the garage. What a back breaker! Now for the good - aside from the tubes it's 100% percent original inside