Lee Jackson Metaltronix Amplifiers

[George]

My first amplifier was a Fender Delux Reverb. That was in the 70's. Great AMP! Then I, and do not laugh, was given a Peavey Pacer. Loud for 30 Watts, and still enough to summon the neighbors. I had a Fender Super Six for a Tad, great, but too big and heavy. Then, at a pawn shop, after loking in vain, I saw the Crate Stealt 50 watt head. It was $250.00, and thus I baught it. I loved the look, (I had not even heard of Lee Jackson at the time) from the start, and could sense something about it... some atmosphere or something. When I got it home and plugged it in, I was astonished at the Volumes it could achieve! Unbelievable. I never got to really get into it, for it started to short out with cracking noises and such. So I had it fixed for ninty something bucks. It worked great! Only problem was, that two nights after getting it home, I decided to drink a bit whilst I played. Now of course it does not have a standby switch, and by the time I had become a heavy metal mad man I would not have noticed it anway. After six or seven hours of unrelenting insanity, there was a big blue flash of light about the size of an orange, and then nothing. Well, I put it in storage, and there it sat. I am now having it fixed again, and I have learned my lesson indeed. I think it just overheated, or I did something else I don't know about. The chap I brought it to said it was one or two tubes + the fuse that had blown. Also, the tubes had never been changed. So when I get it back, then I can reaquaint myself with an amp I fell in love with at first sight...and be much more gentle with her.
What is it about this amp? Does it need any sort of special care or pampering. Other than setting the oms switch right, can anyone give me any secret info if there is any. Also, where can one obtain the footswitch, and are there any that one can substitute if the original cannot be found?
This amp seems to still be an unknown, yet those who have one or played it for a bit seem to become obsessed like myself. Some sort of magick about the stealth 50 amp! I would appreciate any stories those with this amp would like to share, and how it seems to be definitive for metal.

[ClassX]

Welcome George,,Ya you got you gem,,, a much under rated amp,,As you now know designed by Lee Jackson for Crate.

I aquired a Stealth combo 50 watt chassis in a trade ,,had it serviced then tore an old waterbed frame apart and made a very small,,all pine,2x8 combo out of it,,, think of it as a Fender Deluxe Reverb on steroids,,,plug a 4x12 cab to it and get ready all hell to break loose,,

Anyhow,, a 2 button footswitch with a single stereo 1/4 inch jack will work,, for switching the channel and reverb ,,but on that amp it has a second drive knob on the distortion channel,, with a 3 button switch,, you can set 2 differnt drive levels,, one at classic crunch,, the other at ,,over the top compressed meltdown,,,

Keep on aRockin',,,,

[George]

Thanks for the info. I will search for a two button and a three button footswith. I think I will build a small wooden cab for one or two 12" speakers. I want to keep this set up small and compact as possible. I am not going to tear my bed up to make it though. I must say these floor boards look quite sturdy!

[BM]

I thought the 2 button switch was the right one
button 1 toggles between clean and overdrive, button 2 engages the other gain stage...

[ClassX]

Ya my bad ,,, sorry for the mis info,, the 2 button will work fine,,

Keep on aRockin',,,,