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
L120 Restoration Having spent a few years lying around this one presented more than the average repair challenge. Quite typical for old amps is a cap job which basically refers to replacing all the old electrolytic capacitors as they tend to dry up with time. This ageing is heightened with lack of use. Once up … Read more
Recently had to replace a transformer on an Egnater Tweaker 15. Client went for premium quality Mercury Magnetics and decided to upgrade the output transformer also. The end result is a stunning sounding small combo with extremely low noise levels. Must be a great studio amp for session musicians.
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
These good value for money home studio power amps must be one of the most popular home studio amps there is. I guess it is because they look good in a home setting compared with traditional rack mounted gear. Also no fan is a blessing. Annoyingly the Samson Servo range does suffer from a common … Read more
Problem: excessive hum from speaker. Solution : Often caused by faulty capacitors not smoothing the rectified ac properly however in this amps case it was something else as well. In this amp a number of op amps that are used for the effects send and return loop are powered by a 30v supply. It’s worth … Read more
Nice little budget amps with a range of built in effects. Seem to suffer from intermittent sound loss and cutting out. The PCB are plagued with bad joints around ribbon cables, regulator U10, and although I have not seen it the numerous large resistors and caps. Also recently saw one making g a terrible humming … Read more
Great looking vintage amps powered by tiny chip amp like you might find in car stereo but don’t let that put you off. Inside you have a pair of quality Celestion speakers, twin channels clean and valve powered drive channel, tremolo and reverb depending on model. Construction wise it’s pretty poor inside with a budget … Read more
Just recently worked on a few of these lovely PA speakers that are common site in pubs and mobile DJ. Great build quality means they are generally very reliable but occasionally things do go wrong. Despite being surface mount components they are good to work on and definitely worth repairing.
A common question I get emailed to me is: “Is it worth repairing my old guitar amp”. Well depends on how you approach life but for me it’s always a yes. Many amp faults can be categorised as “crude” problems like connectors, bad joints, noise pots. Or if they are “Hard” faults then usually a … Read more