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Amp techs who seem to hate amps.

#81
audiomitch said:
All they see are broken ones. From their perspective the entire world is filled with amps that need repair.

I used to work for my Dad's swimming pool repair service when I was a kid. I still won't own a pool or spa because most of the ones I've seen needed some type of repair. Nothing but problems...
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I own a small cab company. I usually
Don't see my cabs in person til they aren't running. It's a problem...
 
#87
Hehe......I remember this thread. So, yeah....who ended up under who's backyard? Or was the only thing buried a hatchet and a good time was had by all?


FWIW, I love amp techs....characters they are...the good ones anyway. I like them seemingly a little bit "wierd", or lacking in some of your more basic social skills. Crotchety old crumugeons are cool too. That's when you know you're getting the straight dope, man, no bull. All those types are usually very good at what they do.

So...can I take it to mean that if a 135 watt Twin can be pretty well blackfaced without replacing the OT, my Bassman 135 may be as well? It needs some work....first time in a long time....may as well do it all at once. Especially if it helps it's guitar tone. Bass forum I know, but, whatever. I actually don't mind, but rather like it's guitar sound know, at least for Fender clean and loud, but a little "personality" wouldn't hurt.
 
#90
will33 said:
So...can I take it to mean that if a 135 watt Twin can be pretty well blackfaced without replacing the OT, my Bassman 135 may be as well?
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general opinion is that it's way harder and less successful to try and blackface the later amps with the big "ultra linear" transformers, which you can spot by the output power rating on the back: 135 watts for the 4 power tube amps and 70 watts for the 2 power tube amps.

you'd likely be better off selling it and finding a "100w" or "50w" silverface; even with the master volume, these have "normal" trannys and are way easier to get back to the good blackface specs.
 
#91
walterw said:
general opinion is that it's way harder and less successful to try and blackface the later amps with the big "ultra linear" transformers, which you can spot by the output power rating on the back: 135 watts for the 4 power tube amps and 70 watts for the 2 power tube amps.

you'd likely be better off selling it and finding a "100w" or "50w" silverface; even with the master volume, these have "normal" trannys and are way easier to get back to the good blackface specs.
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Cool, thanks.

I still like my 135 for bass use when the volume suffices. Never been big on their grit. Unlike a lot of folks it seems, I like tube amps for their big, "warm but pretty clean" sound. I think they have many beautiful uses outside of hard rock overdrive....although that's fun too.
 
#92
I owned a Fender 135W Twin Reverb for many years. I regret selling it. I used it for bass with a different speaker cabinet and thought that it worked pretty well.

Guitar players like to blackface amps because of the tonal qualities that are gained. My take is that it doesn't translate the same when it comes to a mostly clean bass tone. I find it best to leave the ultra-linear in place and use the amp as is. Having said that, in general, I think that ultra-linear designs make good hi-fi amps but aren't so good for musical instrument amps.
 
#93
Update on this old thread. My 135w twin was taken to my favorite amp tech, who not only took an instant liking to it (he said that it was VERY worthy of being restored to original), but he also took it home from the shop to work on it and fix it in his own time (his wife was actually in the hospital with serious cancer surgery). He found a number of bad mods, and changed values that made no sense and now it's back to stock, except for the Weber California speakers that are in it.

On returning it, he thanked me and told me it was a pleasure to work on such a great amplifier.
 
#94
BurningSkies said:
Update on this old thread. My 135w twin was taken to my favorite amp tech, who not only took an instant liking to it (he said that it was VERY worthy of being restored to original), but he also took it home from the shop to work on it and fix it in his own time (his wife was actually in the hospital with serious cancer surgery). He found a number of bad mods, and changed values that made no sense and now it's back to stock, except for the Weber California speakers that are in it.

On returning it, he thanked me and told me it was a pleasure to work on such a great amplifier.
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Man, that's a great ending to a great story. I feel a little sorry for his wife, but that's some dedication right there.
 
#96
johnk_10 said:
after being an amp tech since the 70's, i've definitely gotten pretty opinionated on what differentiates a great sounding or an excellent amp design from a poor one. i never try to offend anyone that brought their amp to me, but i did always give them my opinion any model that i've serviced or repaired.

everytime i used to repair a marshall JCM2000, i told the owner (and in his best interest), that now that it's fixed and operating at spec, it would be a good time to sell it, since they would meltdown either their power or or output trannys after about three years of normal use. one guy finally threw his in a dumpster after the third power tranny died (9 years of use). he bought a jcm800 and was happy ever since.

man, those JCM2000 amps would go thru trannys as if them had a timer circuit in 'em.
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Bad designs are all over. I worked at a stereo shop and saw a lot of Sansui receivers from the R-Series (R50, R70, R90 models), thanks to a retailer in Madison, WI. They sold the crap out of them because the retailer's owner owned 25% of Sansui. They blew up so often the joke was, "They put the output transistors in to protect the fuses".
 

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