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Friday, January 29, 2016

Important Tips About Guitar Amplifier Repair

By Richard Martin


To ensure that guitar amplifiers produce the desired tone, they should be maintained regularly by experienced and qualified technicians. Consistent maintenance enables your amplifier to have a long life and high resell value. Repairing and preventive maintenance will cost less than purchasing a new one. Some of the tips on guitar amplifier repair one can use are discussed below.

Filter caps need periodic replacement. Though they might not be working quite fine for a long time, they will be depleting on the low end and compromising tone solidity. When these caps are not replaced in time, they eventually fail at any moment which can be very embarrassing. Big caps are the most vulnerable and need replacement when they are not more than three years old. Similarly, small caps on the preamp section need to be checked to determine their state.

On the same, you should ensure that tube sockets are tightened occasionally since they loosen up after using the guitor amp for some time. This task must be carried out by a technician because there is high voltage on the tube sockets. However, if you must do it yourself, use a good screwdriver and tighten it carefully. When carrying out this task, check for any corrosion and apply cleaner on it to avoid more damage.

Scratchy pots should be cleaned thoroughly. Clean the access holes in all the potentiometers from inside the chassis and rotate them to clean up their tracks. Failure to this, you are forced to replace the pot entirely. You can use air blower to remove any dust, cobwebs or dodgy wires in the chassis.

Moreover, you should tighten all the bolts and screws holding the power transformer, back panel on the cabinet, the feet or glides, as well as the mounts of the chassis. If these bolts and screws become loose, the back panel will be vibrating sympathetically as the music goes on hence compromising the quality of the tone. You can get a toolkit to aide you in tightening of the bolts and screws.

Besides, resistors must be replaced occasionally since they wear out in the life time of the amp. When not replaced in time, they make the equipment to produce hissing and sizzling sound. This is a serious distraction in the band and none would enjoy this during the music. In fact this interferes with the sounds of other instruments. The most vulnerable resistor is the 100 ohms because of the voltage present at the preamp stages of vintage fender amps.

Also, large resistors on the power stage wear out frequently because of the high voltage and heat which they have to deal with. They also have to be checked regularly and replaced with new ones to avoid any anomalies. The replacement of the resistors should be done by experienced technician to avoid more damage.

Capacitors on the tone circuit and coupling should also be checked occasionally. This is because they can become faulty in the event of power surge. This exercise must be carried out by qualified technician to prevent further damage.




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