Help me refurb and upgrade my old Workingman 12. love it

[Zapp]

the one amp I have had that I will never sell, and always come back to! an old Workingman 12 combo I bought from a starving college student when I first moved to Austin back in about 1989. it was already noisy and dirty when I got it, and its never lost those charms..... yikes.

but I love the sound of it.
It needs help - its got a pronounced hum... sounds like an amp in need of a three-pole power connector that only has a two wire, but its not... or its not grounding right.
The pots are all noisy, dangerously so... do NOT touch them in the middle of a song or the sound guy will throw a bottle at you.

Anyway, I'm thinking... 'why not upgrade a tad'. but I'm a novice at such things. Like, there are far better power supplies for basses on the market these days: is there one that would fit in the space provided that would give me a LOT more headroom, and respond like lightning??
What are the best pots out there? I don't mind spending money on it, 'cause this is the little wonder I come back to when I'm frustrated with all my other equipment - which is the state I'm in now. gotta let go of the old GK 700rbII and find a new chick

thanks for educating me... and if you can help tell me where to order parts from that would be spectacular!

[BassmanPaul]

While you can upgrade an existing power supply they don't come as plug and play replacements. An amplifier is not like a computer. Your pots possibly just need cleaning with something like Deoxit. If the amp has a damaged power cable replace it. The hum could be from tired filter caps which should be replaced as well.

Paul

[Eric Swaim]

If your doing it yourself, have fun. If your upgrading and someone else is charging you, my suggestion is get another amp. I just paid $280.00 to get the transformer on a Peavey Classic 30 all tube amp replaced. I could have gotten a used all working classic 30 for $325.00. So unless the amp has a whole lot of sentimental value, I would just get another amp, or at least a more modern version of what you already have.

I have an SWR SM400S I love and would probably pay more than I should to get it fixed if it ever needed it, but as long as these amps are priced low enough (as they have been for years) I will just replace it with another used one.

Good Luck!!!!!!!!$$$$$$$$$!!!!!!!!!

[Codger]

Pots and filter caps? The hum could be due to something else. An audio tech with a scope could probably find it easily. If you really want to refurbish it, strip the rat fur and cover it with tolex or perhaps Duratex or truckbed liner.

[richnota]

Didnt play with the electronics. but....

upgraded the speaker.

put some classic tweed on it and antiqued it with shellac.

leather handle.

Covered the grill with some elegant cloth.

ready for the tiki bar.

[gm2_in_co]

If your interested in another Workingman's 12, let me know...

[Zapp]

what speaker?
I'd not mess with the driver unless I knew that I knew it would be way better...they got lucky on this one.

what was the difference in the early ones versus laters...??? I have heard some from latter years that just sounded like a 10inch fender

surely new good pots wouldn't be so expensive. I think I can do that stuff myself.
the hum i dunno...

your rig looks awesome

and I learned a new term today! "Rat's Fur".... what a PERFECT descrip

Originally Posted by richnota

Didnt play with the electronics. but....

upgraded the speaker.

put some classic tweed on it and antiqued it with shellac.

leather handle.

Covered the grill with some elegant cloth.

ready for the tiki bar.