Can someone ID this OT?

[mbratch]

This is in a BFPR. But it doesn't look original to me. There are no markings on the top of the transformer. Anyone know what it is, who makes it, and when made?

[brad347]

8316601 is the source-date code.

831 is the EIA code for Better Coil and Transformer.

6601 indicates it was made the first week of 1966.

May be original. They might have run out from their supplier and used the Better Coil and Transformer iron for like half a second? Don't know. Or if the amp was made before 66, it might have blown very early in the amp's life and been replaced. But it's certainly from the right period in time. Correct me someone if i'm wrong, but wouldn't the correct tranny for this amp be a Schumacher (EIA code 606)?

I don't know anything about Better Coil's products, but it's possible that it's a very good transformer indeed.

[mbratch]

Thanks brad347. That's a lot of good info.

The BFPR is a 1966 (PE code on the tube chart, at least, and a '66 stamp inside).

[brad347]

mbratch: It's original. From the 20th century guitar Fender amp database:

Non-Schumacher transformers - It's been universally accepted that Fender only used Schumacher transformers on amps made in the 1960s and 1970s. These are marked with EIA code "606" which is the company number for Schumacher. Well, this universal "truth" was debunked when we found a bunch of amps with transformers made by the Better Coil and Transformers company. These are marked with EIA code "831" and are most prevalent during the 1966-68 time period. Some examples include a '66 Princeton Reverb and '6 Pro Reverb with Better Coil output transformer, a '66 Deluxe Reverb and '67 Twin Reverb with Better Coil reverb transformer, and a 1968 Vibro Champ with Better Coil trannies. These units look, and apparently sound, just like the Schumacher-made units so it's easy to overlook that "831" code.

read here:

http://www.tcguitar.com/articles/gagliano_pt5.html

[mbratch]

That's awesome. Again, thanks.