Guitar and Amp Repair
You’ve got that sweet vintage amp that your dad gave you but it doesn’t turn on anymore? Let me guess,.. you just put it back in the closet and say to yourself,.. “I’ve got to get that fixed one day..” Or you have that guitar you’re learning to play but it has a broken string and you’re not sure how to fix it? Or,… you’re breaking into the big scene as a Nashville session player or you and your band are about ready to go on the Warped Tour and you want your guitar to be set up and your amp fine tuned for that perfect professional sound to blow minds! All these things,… one answer,.. http://www.guitartubeamprepair.com/Home
Check out my boy Steven Day and ask him a question,.. get a quote,.. and get that DARN AMP REPAIRED!!
Guitar Tube Amp Repair
Tube Amps > Article
The “1959 Fender Bassman Tweed” is the most sought after amp in the world. The first Marshall amp was just a copy of the Bassman. The Bassman sales today for probably around 12 thousand or so. What makes this amp or any other vintage amp deferent than todays modern models? It has been said in books and articles on the net that the Bassman circuit is “legendary”, and other such words, that shows us that this vintage amp as well as other amps of that era are different!
“Leo Fender” obviously set the standard for guitar amps. He also made many “guitars” that are “legendary” as well. I understand that the Seymour Duncan company studied the bridge pickups on vintage Telecasters to the point of even studying the effects of age on magnets (pickups are basically magnets with wire wrap around them). Did Leo know that he was doing things that would cause others to study his work well into the future? I don’t think so.
So again what is the deference? Well of course first of all we have say that the “tube” is the one big deference. Most of us that have studied these things know that the way a tube distorts and the way a transistor distorts is deferent. But I don’t think that is all. I believe It also has to do with being hand wired and the quality of the materials being used.
At some point manufacturing companies began to compete in a deferent way. When the transistor arrived on the scene there got to be a move toward miniterization and building electronic equipment for less and less overhead. Quality was less and less a concern. I’m not saying that companies didn’t try to save money in the golden age of amps, but rather that I think there was less concern about that and more concern about quality. There were not a thousand deferent companies making components and other materials anyway. So the competition was in the area of quality. And how much would it cost to have rows of people soldering all day? How much would it cost to buy the same materials today?
Well all is not lost. Components today are available and capacitors and resistors are probably of higher quality today. Now tubes are a deferent subject, they do vary somewhat but there are still good ones out there, it’s all according to how much you want to spend, Reissues do well such as Tung Sol as well as NOS. I can build and test a look a like amp that should sound very much like the original for you (see Custom Made Tube Amps). If you did find a vintage tube amp you would be replacing the old capacitors (at least) with new ones. So think about and give me a call.
Steve Day
August 13, 2010 at 10:26 am