This is a funny little solid state amp I bought from a fellow on Craig’s List. I bought it “as-is” and it hummed and made noise but passed no signal. At first I thought it was Japanese, but when I took off the back panel there was a tiny schematic marked “Paris Corp. Salina, Kansas”! I replaced the first transistor which took care of the noise and lack of signal, but the tremolo wasn’t working. I rebuilt that section with some new caps and a resistor and dug up a vintage footswitch to turn it on and off. The power supply filter cap had already been replaced so I can only think that the amp has always had some hum (it was certainly not high-end when new). Adding a second stage of filtering killed the hum and made this into something that could actually be used. Honestly it was more work than the amp is probably worth, but a fun project nonetheless!
Archive for amplifier
Zim-Gar Vintage Transistor Amp
Posted in Modded, Repaired, Restored with tags amplifier, discrete transistor, guitar, guitar amp, solid-state, tremolo, vintage, Zim-Gar on May 4, 2013 by AnalogAudioRepairFender Re-Issue Amp Repairs
Posted in Repaired with tags amplifier, Deluxe Reverb, Fender, guitar amp, reissue, tube, Vibroverb on December 29, 2012 by AnalogAudioRepair- Vibrolux *EXPLODED* cap!
- Vibrolux with hardwired front panel
- Deluxe front panel connectors
- Deluxe BURN
- Deluxe epoxy/new resistor #1
- Deluxe vibrato cap
I recently serviced a pair of Fender Re-Issue tube amps from the 1990’s. One was a Deluxe Reverb with a shorted output tube, the other a Vibrolux with a blown cap (literally). These ’90s re-issues are much like their predecessors, but with printed circuit boards which make it a bit more of a pain to work on them. At least the Deluxe has connectors for the front panel controls rather than soldered wires like the Vibroverb! It had some 2 watt resistors that were so charred they almost burned through the PCB. I had to scrape away as much carbon as possible and seal the board with epoxy before replacing the resistors and power tube. The Vibrolux had a capacitor which actually burst and both amps had very weak Chinese made 12AT7s. While I was in the Deluxe I added the de-clicking cap to the vibrato circuit.
Acoustic 126 Bass Amp
Posted in Repaired with tags 126, Acoustic, amplifier, bass, discrete transistor, vintage on October 15, 2012 by AnalogAudioRepairThis is a vintage Acoustic Control Corp. model 126 bass amplifier. I received it non-functioning with no power cord or fuse cap. Replaced two output transistors, re-soldered an inductor in the EQ section, and cleaned the heck out of the pots and sliders. Added a new power cord and fuse cap and it fired right up. These ’70s Acoustic heads really sound good!