Do You Take Risks With Gear Purchases?

[JiveTurkey]

Ugh! Mojo sent on this. Positive vibes sent to the amp Dr. to get it sorted!

 

[Deadpan]

Well, was able to get it to produce sound. Definitely going to need a visit to the tech.

 

[Deadpan]

Good news! The amp is back from the tech and the bill was $85!

It sounds fantastic!

 

[Whizzinby]

Good news! The amp is back from the tech and the bill was $85!

It sounds fantastic!

What all ended up having to be done to it?

 

[Deadpan]

What all ended up having to be done to it?

Here is his message:

Vox is all set. I’m not used to having to replace all of the hardware and voxs are weird, so I didn’t get a perfect match working with what I had. If you choose to upgrade, the screws connected to the plywood are 10-32 and the ones holding on the back plate are 8- 32. I didn’t want to risk bending the chassis back in shape, so you will need to add some shims if you want the control labels fully visible. Easy to do when you change the power tubes…

Current power tubes are shot, one of them is intermittently drawing too much current. You can see where both of them had been red plating for an extended amount of time. Kinda amazing that the screen hasn’t melted yet. actual bias in the amp was fairly low when you brought it, so no idea. I know you have tubes and know how to bias so I’m not going to fuss with it unless you want me to.

Otherwise, fixed some of the last guys sloppiness, replaced some caps, broken connections, cleaning, etc. New power cord and switch, the old new one didn’t fit the nut and was wiggly. Mains voltage selector is hardwired to 120v. Had a 4A fuse, schematic says 3, I put in a 2. Don’t think it will blow in normal circumstances, but I could be wrong.

I don’t really trust the kind of resistors in there, but so far they aren’t too far outta spec. Think I’ve only seen the style in really crusty stuff from the ‘50s so I could just be biased…

Otherwise, put in some new el34s and it should be good to go. $85. Let me know when

 

[Mongillo19]

Otherwise, put in some new el34s and it should be good to go. $85. Let me know when

Sounds like a good amount of work for $85!

 

[Fireproof]

I

Here is his message:

Vox is all set. I’m not used to having to replace all of the hardware and voxs are weird, so I didn’t get a perfect match working with what I had. If you choose to upgrade, the screws connected to the plywood are 10-32 and the ones holding on the back plate are 8- 32. I didn’t want to risk bending the chassis back in shape, so you will need to add some shims if you want the control labels fully visible. Easy to do when you change the power tubes…

Current power tubes are shot, one of them is intermittently drawing too much current. You can see where both of them had been red plating for an extended amount of time. Kinda amazing that the screen hasn’t melted yet. actual bias in the amp was fairly low when you brought it, so no idea. I know you have tubes and know how to bias so I’m not going to fuss with it unless you want me to.

Otherwise, fixed some of the last guys sloppiness, replaced some caps, broken connections, cleaning, etc. New power cord and switch, the old new one didn’t fit the nut and was wiggly. Mains voltage selector is hardwired to 120v. Had a 4A fuse, schematic says 3, I put in a 2. Don’t think it will blow in normal circumstances, but I could be wrong.

I don’t really trust the kind of resistors in there, but so far they aren’t too far outta spec. Think I’ve only seen the style in really crusty stuff from the ‘50s so I could just be biased…

Otherwise, put in some new el34s and it should be good to go. $85. Let me know when

dang that’s crazy. A lot of work for $85 - seems like a bargain. Glad she fired up and sounds awesome now.

 

[Deadpan]

Sounds like a good amount of work for $85!

I

dang that’s crazy. A lot of work for $85 - seems like a bargain. Glad she fired up and sounds awesome now.

Indeed, a great price for what he did. I basically brought it to him in pieces.

I have him do a lot of work for me. I mod many of the amps. Frankly so many just are not built well today and seem to fail just sitting. Seriously.

 

[Fireproof]

Indeed, a great price for what he did. I basically brought it to him in pieces.

I have him do a lot of work for me. I mod many of the amps. Frankly so many just are not built well today and seem to fail just sitting. Seriously.

And I was already hesitant to ship amps. After this I’ll probably only ever sell amps locally.

 

[Deadpan]

And I was already hesitant to ship amps. After this I’ll probably only ever sell amps locally.

I have sold and shipped many amps without issue. For me there are no buyers locally. I can't sell the amps anyway as I know I will need them again in the future.

I am told from others that this particular amp is known to not handle shipping well. After the fact of course. Glad I didn't know this as I wouldn't have purchased it and at the moment I am trying to decide if it sound better than the Matchless.

 

[Bruce]

Your amp tech works for free. Does he cook and clean too?

 

[Deadpan]

Your amp tech works for free. Does he cook and clean too?

He's not afraid to charge me that's for sure.

I was a bit surprised at the price. It may be that it took him a month to get to it. I do bring him a lot of amps and I'm sure he has fun playing some of them.

Thing is, he's very honest which is refreshing (long story.)

Once he was saying how he was frustrated with working on one of them so I paid a bit extra than he said. He felt I thought he was hinting for more. But no, I was just trying to show my appreciation.