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RE: vintage amp upgrade

Posted by Bill Way (A) on April 8, 2015 at 08:23:30

In Reply to: vintage amp upgrade posted by rockanroller on April 7, 2015 at 16:51:21:

Interesting thread. Some thoughts:

re-capping:
Electrolytic caps can be expected to be out of spec after 20-30 years. There are exceptions at both ends..

other passive components:
Resistors can go out of spec with time, especially if subjected to excessive heat. Non-electrolytic caps tend to have very long lives. Wire can oxidize inside its dielectric, sometimes dramatically. Diodes either work or they don't. There isn't much to "wear out" on inductors or transformers, unless they pass too much current. Overall lifespan depends largely on the design: a circuit that runs components near their limits is more likely to have problems than one that doesn't.

old gear:
Electronics do *not* necessarily wear out, though *some* do. I had a conrad johnson MV75 that gave up the ghost due to heat dissipation issues on the PCB. (It was their first amp, after all.)

But my 1980s-vintage VTL preamp is lovely, as is the MCI 600-series console in the studio where I assist. That piece is from the late 70s, and quite a number of Big Deal engineers go there to track and mix because it sounds so good. Yes it's been re-capped. The monitor amps, all from about 1979-1985, are superb (BGW 250 & 750, SAE 2200 & P250.)

The great tube mics from the 50s and 60s, with their associated electronics, can still sound incredible. With a little periodic maintenance, they should all perform well indefinitely. You don't see people throwing out Neumann U-47s just because the electrolytic caps in their power supplies have gone south.

What to tell the tech:
Figure out if it's worth spending money on, and if it is, work with the tech to decide what to do. Re-capping the power supply is easy. There might be mods or upgrades that could improve the amp's performance.

Good luck.

WW
"Put on your high heeled sneakers. Baby, we''re goin'' out tonight.

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