Vox AC15

Restoration project of a 1962 Vox AC15.  Clearly seen some earlier work clue being the orange drop capacitors fitted around twenty years ago.  Most of the carbon composition resistors were high asnd showing signs of surface cracks so all replaced.  The Mullard valves appear to be original and in fine working order.  What a  great … Read more

Amp Fuses and Circuit Protection

There can be several fuses on an amplifier. They are there to protect against serious damage by breaking a part of the circuit when some fault occurs. So when a fuse blows, don’t replace it blindly but make sure you understand the reason for it blowing. Here are the fuses to be aware of: Mains … Read more

Retrospec Pedals

Squeezebox I had the fortune to repair one of these valve compressors recently.  Two 12AU7 valves, optical coupling, built to the standard of a  battlefield weapons system.  I was expecting it to sound good. Some compressors just seem to be so subtle that you sometimes don’t even notice them.  Not so with the squeezebox in … Read more

Mackie Studio Monitors HR624 MK1 Problems

Mackie Studio Monitors HR624 MK1 – no power or wont stay on. These great little monitors suffer from a regular power failure problem where they will not turn on.  Not always, but quite often, this is actually a fault with the standby circuit which shuts the amp off as it thinks the input signal is … Read more

Mesa Boogie 0.50 Caliber (EL84)

This amp, unusual with its master volume control had become unreliable. Occasional red plating, bit of noise. The cause is heat damaged circuit board. Just look at the pictures below showing the damaged sections – the dark areas indicating heat damage. The problem is that heat damage eventually changes the circuit board material from a … Read more

Marshall DSL401 

These medium sized combos from Marshall should be very cool.   They are packed with features (like multiple voicings, low noise pre-amp, fab speaker) all in a small box. Unfortunately they are not so cool because  they run so hot and they suffer from it.  Look at the picture left.  What you are looking at is … Read more

Vox AC100

Wow what a treat.  This 1966 AC100 needs a service. Well after all these years yes I agree it’s about time. One owner from  new, original cover and used twice weekly in the band.  The sort of thing vintage amp enthusiasts dream about. This rarity is one from the erase when pop music was really … Read more

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