On the Bench
What I am working on . .
TL Audio
This week I have been working on a 5013 parametric EQ. Featuring an ECC83 pre amp buffer stage for headroom and four band parametric I bet this is great toy for bass players as well as studio applications. I have come across several TL Audio items and they are well engineered and eminently repairable. Usually … Read more
Fender Dual Showman Restoration
Absolutely amazing original amp. 40 years old and orginal valves working perfectly.
Marshall JCM2000 TSL/DSL Bias Drift disease – TSLitis
Amp repairs seem to go in waves. The latest one being a string of TSL with what I call TSLitis. This increasingly common condition causes these amps to overheat and do serious damage the amp. The problem is that the amps circuit board material is not doing its job of insulating the connections properly and … Read more
A pair of Copicats – Flea market find
A client found these two overseas on holiday and sent them in for repair. First one looks like a Mark III solid state Second one is a custom copicat
WEM copicat
The WEM copicat still causes amazement to all those who use, see or work on one. Physically moving parts clearly make a difference to the human ability to understand. Almost anyone that watches the little tape spin around the can see and imagine this marvellous device works with just a quick explanation and a bit … Read more
Cornford
Had the pleasure of servicing a Hellcat combo this week. A low serial number from around 2003 or 2004 built to the usual high Cornford standard. Compared with your average production amp like Fender and Marshall it’s the little things that I notice on these amps that make them stand out. For example aerospace PTFE … Read more
Laney VH100R
These monster heads are well liked by metal players for their high gain and awesome volume. Well this one came to me like a crippled kitten, working one minute and then cutting out where volume dipped completely strangling the output. The cause? Well Laney do design great amps, in terms of tone, but due the … Read more
Laney VC15R
Nice Diddy combos that have a massive sound despite their tiny size. Issues I have seen inclue: Output transformer cut out after a while and the culprit turns out to be the tiny output transformer. If you google round you’ll find this isn’t such an isolated problem and if you have this then you are … Read more
Hiwatt hi gain 50 combo
Well made PCB amps with high quality components and Lead dress. Watch out for the hidden mains fuse holder on the back. Its functiona is combined with voltage selector so if you put it in incorrectly then there could be trouble as you could be accidentally configuring the amp for say 110v and applying 240v.
Hohner Orgaphon 55
What an oddity. Is it a storage heater? Nope its a 212 hybrid combo from Germany and by date on some of the caps 1971. The design inside is completely eccentric, it feels more like a laboratory prototype than a rock amp. There are bus bars for the HT voltage, ground rail and little clusters … Read more
Fender blues DeVille 4×10 combo improvements
I am afraid no pictures but noticed much improved circuit board quality of and less dressing improved with coaxial connections to pre amp valves. if you have one of these amps and it is misbehaving, it is well worth getting it serviced. That will usually get it back on track.