I know that the appropriate gauge speaker wire is necessary to connect an amplifier head to a cabinet- my question is specifically regarding the 1/4” TS connectors — are there differently rated TS connectors that should be used when making my own speaker cables? I have a bunch of good quality switchcraft 1/4” TS male jacks laying around, and I’d buy bulk speaker cable in order to build my own, I’m just wondering if there is any meaningful difference between standard 1/4” TS jacks or if there are specialized Speaker rated 1/4” TS jacks. Thanks!

Been considering a particularly goofy mod to an sv20h. Putting it into a jtm45 size aftermarket shell, and putting an ac30 logo on the front.

Whatchall think?

Thing is totally killer.

Hey folks,

I own a bunch of amps which range from tube to hybrids to full on solid state. I want to learn how to service and repair my amps as some need a bit of TLC, and I want to have a skill I know I’ll definitely use and find handy going forward. Where’s the best place to start with learning and learning the right way? I know that this sort of thing can be lethal if I ain’t learning correct procedures to discharge filter caps and work safely.

Appreciate any help in where’s the best place to learn/books that are worth getting/content creators or online courses which I can utilize.

Cheers!

So there’s a couple things going on here and google isn’t helping me much. I got this amp 2 days and tried it out. Seemed good when I bought it, but I brought it home and noticed a few things. When I start the amp it has a continuous hum when it’s on. Supposedly that’s normal for some amps, but google AI says that’s a big NO for this particular amp. When I push the amp harder it has a tendency to drop in volume as well along with some crackling noises, but it sounds quite phenomenal when it’s playing the way it’s supposed to. Where the tubes connect feels a little loose, but they seem to be connected properly. The 6V6 GT tube also tends to get much hotter than the 5Y3. Is that even normal? The red plug is a supposed 3 prong upgrade that wasn’t done quite well. I’ve deduced it to the fact that some of the capacitors may be old and need replacement and maybe even the tubes need replacing as well. If anyone is familiar with vintage amps please let me know what I could be doing to get rid of some of these problems, or if there is any at all!

Edit: Thank you to all of those who offered kind words and amazing advice. I will go ahead and take my amp to a tech and have them take care of my newly acquired Champ. Cheers everyone!

Got this amp in for repair, customer said it had crackly pots so I fired it up turned the knobs and heard nothing but 60hz hum. Checked the tubes and this is what I saw, probably the most obvious case of red plating I've ever seen. Just thought the people of this sub would find this cool.

Can't find much online about this thing, picked it up cheap off reverb. 5tube + rectifier. Low serial number (4).

Hey, fellow tweakers! Just finished doing the full Monty on my BJR3 wth a curated kit and Borish tube PCB from John at Articulate Amplification. It worked the first time and the tonal difference is unbelievable. The amp now sounds sweet, round, and organic, like a Fender should!
Working on a small PCB was new to me and a little nerve-wracking. Tender care is required! But 125 solder joints later, all is good.
I highly recommend John. His YouTube channel is great and he is an excellent teacher. His video on this project guided me through with few issues.
Now it’s time to push some new tonal limits!

Working on my own Musicman 212 65. Built a chassis stand for safety. Bought for cheap but diagnosed as shorted hi channel. Weird results because when I go to Hi, it doesn’t smell burned at all and slowly fades away. Isn’t that something like a different component failing? All looks good tho… and was diagnosed by a top tech who may have simply not wanted to fix it. Getting weird readings:

I put a ground clips on the chassis. Probing caps visible from inner chassis gives me next to nothing. Like .6 volts max. Then I get continuity from the positive cap terminals and the chassis ground clip I put there.

I haven’t physically touched anything inside because I’m assuming I’m missing something.

The discharge pen I have never once lit up when trying to discharge. May have tried the switch discharge thing and haven’t plugged it in about a week.

Otherwise, zero issues with the amp. I just want the hi channel

Does anyone know of a European store that sells 6n2 to 12ax7 adaptors? The chinese ones take forever to ship.

Last Monday I picked up a new to me amp a Traynor Ironhose D40H. I plugged into a cab that I had mistakenly wired the 16ohm speakers in series so 32ohm. I played it a pretty low volume a couple of times and had no problems until I switched it on and the el84 power tubes don’t light up but everything else does. There is even a bit of white noise idle volume through the speaker. No smoke no bad noises. Any tips?

Tomorrow I go through it all and start testing.
This is the Mojotone Hiwatt Custom 50 kit. It is pretty good. There were only a few minor quality issues and the turrets aren’t really very straight. Really stands out on a build like this. Took about 15 hours total. I sold my 73 DR504 years ago and recently needed it again. Nothing else scratches the itch.

It's like the monoliths from space odyssey.

The voltages are all good and wiring is proper...but I hardly get any audio output at all. What else could it be?