Broken amps, what to do?

[Axtman]

I have an SWR Workingman 4004, Ampeg 400T and an SWR 350 bass amp heads. These heads are broken and do not work. The question is should I try to sell them as is or have them repaired then sell them?

[JMac4strngr]

I have thought about the same thing. I have a couple of fried amps that honestly would cost more to fix than what they are worth. So aside from being good parts or boat anchors, they are useless. I have wrestled with myself for years about hanging on to them but, at some point I will toss'em. I guess what I am trying to say is that if the cost of repair exceeds the fair market value of the amp, toss it.

[Yango]

Originally Posted by Axtman

I have an SWR Workingman 4004, Ampeg 400T and an SWR 350 bass amp heads. These heads are broken and do not work. The question is should I try to sell them as is or have them repaired then sell them?

Have you checked the fuses?

[MrLenny1]

Depends what is broken. Is it hardware, plugs ... knobs or output not there.
A lot of Solid State amps can be fixed by just replacing output transistors.
I'd have a shop give you an estimate and go from there.

[Axtman]

I know that the output transistors are fried. I may just fire up the soldering iron and try to replace them.

[T-Bird]

Hi.

Originally Posted by Axtman

I know that the output transistors are fried. I may just fire up the soldering iron and try to replace them.

While changing output devices may sound simple and cheap enough task, most times it isn't. Only the hybrid output chips may fall into "plug 'n play" category.

Almost without exeption, the output devices has to be matched. Closely. It's a PITA to even find some of the devices, let alone matched sets.

Biasing the output section requires knowledge and equipment that's usually outside of the average El-DIYer's range. Do it incorrectly and bang, the (expensive) output devices You just bought are toast.

I hate to sound so negative about it, but if You really don't want to toss yet more money into the amps, I'm sure that someone in the net will be willing to give at least something for them. As long as they're untampered .

As long as the pre-sections work, those amps can be used as pre's. A competent and lucky enough DIYer can even substitute the old fried power sections with class D amp modules if the rail voltages match.

Regards
Sam