How to restore an old guitar amplifier
I take care and great pride in my work so you always get the very best. I value your vintage equipment as much as you do and will restore your equipment to as close to museum condition as possible. I also build custom and reproduction vacuum tube amplifiers. I own and operate Spike's Amp Repair from my workshop in southeastern Pennsylvania. My love for guitar amplifiers started in when I built my first vacuum tube amplifier out of parts from an old radio and was honed over years of working as an audio technician.
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What You Should Know Before Buying a Vintage Amp
Vintage amps are like classic cars. The same approach is recommended when buying used amps. Find a good tech, have them check it before purchasing, if possible, and have them do the necessary work to restore it to optimum playing condition.
Almost every major city has an amp guru or two, and often the best amp techs in the area are well-kept secrets who do business strictly by word-of-mouth recommendation. Choosing a vintage amp often depends on whether you are buying for collecting or playing. Will you play at home or with a band?
Will you play small clubs or stadiums? Are you more concerned about originality or reliability? A pristine, mint-condition amp with percent original parts may be fine for playing in the studio, but it may not be the best choice for gigging, as parts and cosmetic appearance can quickly wear out from consistent use and abuse.
Here are considerations that affect the value and playability of a vintage amp:. As with any antique or collectible, physical condition counts. Visible and irreversible cosmetic modifications are as much of an issue on amps as they are on guitars. On amps, you may find cabinets with cutouts for fans or extra holes in the front and back panels. These severely reduce collectability and value. If you are collecting, look for original logos, coverings tweed, vinyl, tolex and so on , and grille cloths.
Corners, piping, handles and feet matter, but they are less important. The original speaker plays a crucial role in both value and tone. For collecting, a speaker that still has its original cone is essential for a museum piece.
However, old speakers will eventually fail and need to be re-coned, especially if you plan to play the amp at loud volume levels, where they sound best. Fortunately, the parts for many vintage guitar amp speakers are still available, and many techs and speaker repair shops can bring old speakers back to life.
Transformers are very important to value and tone. Thankfully, good replacements are still available from a variety of sources. The output transformer is the most important part, followed by the power transformer and the choke. A replaced power or output transformer can devalue an amp by as much as 15 to 20 percent, or more if both are replaced.
Both collectors and players look for original caps. The parts on many old amps have failed or will, but good replacements are readily available. Filter caps will stop working because they have a limited shelf life. Originality affects value somewhat, but while original filter caps are fine for a museum piece, you should have them replaced if you plan to use the amp. Resistors can and do fail. Many older amps used carbon composition resistors. These have a reputation for good tone, but they drift in value over time and get noisy.
How much and how bad depends on their quality. When changing parts, I recommend that you use or specify replacement parts of the same composition as the originals. Resistors and capacitors of different construction produce sonic differences that can sometimes be quite dramatic. Some NOS parts are available, but generally they are very hard to come by, and expensive.
For that matter, avoid old filter caps, even NOS. You may find that a tech can salvage the outer portion of the failed component and insert a new part inside to maintain appearances. It may just be the next best thing to having the original. In addition to owning an impressive collection of amps, he restored the largest private collection of vintage amps. He is the mastermind behind Colby Amplification. GP logo Created with Sketch. Topics Mitch Colby. The Pick Newsletter.
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How to recover a guitar amplifier
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register. This topic This board Entire forum Google. Pages: [ 1 ] 2 Go Down. Packed up some tools and made house call to local guitarist who owns vintage guitars in need of service.
Tube Amp Rebuild (and Mod)
Love that there is a locally owned guitar shop to support. Great selection of unique guitars and they are still bringing in more. As a musical novice, I decided to use the great quarantine of to learn how to play the guitar. My Guild De arrived today. Incredible service and guitar setup. Rhys was great to work with and helped me build a killer board. Great people, friendly, knowledgeable and the price is just right. I'm willing to drive from Fort Worth to shop and get service there. My favorite store ever. Everyone there is so helpful, and personable.
DIY Workshop: Fender Tweed Pro Restoration
Guitar amplifiers operate on high voltages, the exposure to which can cause serious and fatal injuries. Never attempt any internal maintenance or adjustments yourself unless you are a qualified professional repair-person who fully understands safe practices in working with these components. Be aware that simply turning off and unplugging your amp is not enough to guarantee safe access to its internal workings. The nature of many of a tube amps' internal components means that extremely high voltages are still present even when the amp has been turned off and unplugged for a considerable period of time, even several days.
Amplifiers
Your tone is our Number One Priority! Vintage amplifier repair, modification and service, and complete amplifier rebuilds are all performed right here at Mannella Guitars. Communication is one of the keys to effective and professional repairs. We will discuss your amplifier and your concerns with you before we begin. We have a fully equipped workshop, and in 35 years of electronics repair we have developed many techniques to handle difficult jobs such as intermittent faults. We only use the highest quality parts, ensuring that your equipment functions the way the manufacturer intended, or better.
WHERE OLD BECOMES NEW
Thanks for seeking out my website. I've enjoyed building, repairing, refreshing and tuning guitar amps for over forty years. These amplifiers are a result of these many years of experience and experimentation in my quest for tone. Take some time to browse the site to learn more about my products and services, and please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. I also perform repairs, restorations, tuning, re-voicing, and non-intrusive mods on vintage, all-tube musical instrument amplifiers of all types, as well as custom design and construction. All work is done to the same high standards that I apply to my own designs. If you want to restore that tired old amp to its original glory or create something new, please contact me for more details. Here are answers to some frequently-asked questions about my repair services.
Amp Restoration and Mods
We also repair and service solid state guitar and bass amplifiers, Hi-fi amplifiers and pre-amps, PA power amplifiers, effects units, studio pre-amps and processors, and powered speakers and subs. And our Kiwi contingent have a soft spot for Jansen and Holden amplifiers, etc…. We can source all current production as well as new old stock NOS quality valves, and will run industry standard testing on your tubes as part of a standard service. And our Kiwi contingent have a soft spot for Jansen and Holden amplifiers, etc… A standard amplifier repair service includes as a minimum: independent tube testing if applicable assessing and cleaning scratchy controls assessing solder joins bias checking and adjusting if applicable assessing and cleaning all sockets and switches speaker tests for combo amps output tests on scope specific voltage checks if applicable play testing with an actual instrument an internal and external clean We can source all current production as well as new old stock NOS quality valves, and will run industry standard testing on your tubes as part of a standard service.
How to Repair Solid State Guitar Amps
RELATED VIDEO: How to restore an old guitar ampQuality Repairs. Fast turn around. We are now agents for Guitar Tuning Services. We Re-Tube with your favorite tube brands.
Amplifier problems can be tricky. Luckily we have many years of experience to solve any amp repair problem. Or if you simply need tubes replaced we can do that too! Keyboards, amps, effects, you name the issue and we most likely have seen it and can get you back on track! Mission impossible: make it blue again. A lot of careful wet sanding ahead
If you want to get in touch to discuss a repair, restoration, sale or harmonica conversion, use the form on the Contact page, or email me direct on stevetheampman gmail. If you want to know more about what I can do for you — go to Services. I will repair and then sell amps on commission. All repairs must be paid for before I put the amp up for sale.
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