Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2014 3:03 pm
I've barely used that amp for 10 years. It became a cat bed. Then he threw up on it and stopped sleeping on it.
I've always hated that amp and have wanted to get rid of it. But now all of a sudden I find myself in a new band out of the blue so I need it.
But I hate it, right? So I started to look into upgrading it. I was planning on just replacing it with a Marshall head. But then I looked it up online and a lot of people like these amps better than Marshalls. I listened to it in youtube videos and it sounded great. I found out this is the amp Izzy used on AFD, it sounded pretty good there. So then I decide to keep it. I figure I bought it used, I've had it a long time, the tubes probably need changing.
I decide to bring it in and clean it up and check the tubes.
I bring the head in first and clean it off pretty good. I check the tubes. This amp is supposed to come with 6L6 tubes, but mine has EL34s in it. Somebody already changed the tubes before I got it! So now I don't know if I should change them. Most people said the EL34s are better than the 6L6s so my whole plan was to switch to EL34s, but they're already in there. So should I switch to 6L6s? What if I hate them worse than the EL34s? That'd be a waste of around a hundred dollars. And since somebody already switched them I don't know if the amp was biased. You're supposed to re-bias the amp if you switch between EL34s and 6L6s. If the person who switched them didn't do that, maybe that's the problem? Or maybe he did so I should just try another set of EL34s so I don't have to re-bias. Or if I get the 6L6s, maybe the amp is still biased for 6L6s and I don't need to do it??? AHHHHHHHHH HEAD SPINNING!!!
Also, I read you're never supposed to use guitar cables from the head to your cabinet. Only use speaker cables. I have always used two 20 foot guitar cables between mine. Maybe using the right cable will make it sound better?
Anyway, I was cleaning it up. One thing I noticed is that, unlike every example I saw on the internet, my tubes had no clamps or anything that held them in position. They just push in and pull out. All my power tubes were very loose. One was almost all the way out. Maybe this was the problem??
I bring the cabinet in and start trying to clean the cat puke off. I get the metal grate off the front and clean it but it doesn't help. Even without the cat puke, it has been rusted so it doesn't look any better at all. The speakers had some kind of nasty funk all over them. I cleaned that off. I go to put the grate back on and it slips out of my hand. The corner of it goes right through the bottom speaker.
I almost cried.
I went to the internet to start looking up speakers. 80 bucks for a replacement speaker.
I almost cried.
200 to just get a new cabinet. I'd rather do that than pay 80 for one speaker.
I sadly put everything back together and wheel it into my bedroom so I can try it out and see how bad the busted speaker sounds.
It sounds fine. And the amp itself sounds fine. I don't hate it at all. Why did I hate this? I decide to go back through videos of my old band to see when I started using this amp and check how it sounded. I can't find it. I'm using my old Peavey half stack in every video. Now I am utterly confused. Did I ever really hate this amp or did I hate the Peavey? When the hell did I get this one and from where and how? WTF?
I just sold my old guitar for 200 on Ebay. I was planning on using that to buy tubes. Now I've decided to just get some effect pedals and some cables and maybe some pre-amp tubes and see how it does. And maybe stab the other speakers since that seems to help.
I've always hated that amp and have wanted to get rid of it. But now all of a sudden I find myself in a new band out of the blue so I need it.
But I hate it, right? So I started to look into upgrading it. I was planning on just replacing it with a Marshall head. But then I looked it up online and a lot of people like these amps better than Marshalls. I listened to it in youtube videos and it sounded great. I found out this is the amp Izzy used on AFD, it sounded pretty good there. So then I decide to keep it. I figure I bought it used, I've had it a long time, the tubes probably need changing.
I decide to bring it in and clean it up and check the tubes.
I bring the head in first and clean it off pretty good. I check the tubes. This amp is supposed to come with 6L6 tubes, but mine has EL34s in it. Somebody already changed the tubes before I got it! So now I don't know if I should change them. Most people said the EL34s are better than the 6L6s so my whole plan was to switch to EL34s, but they're already in there. So should I switch to 6L6s? What if I hate them worse than the EL34s? That'd be a waste of around a hundred dollars. And since somebody already switched them I don't know if the amp was biased. You're supposed to re-bias the amp if you switch between EL34s and 6L6s. If the person who switched them didn't do that, maybe that's the problem? Or maybe he did so I should just try another set of EL34s so I don't have to re-bias. Or if I get the 6L6s, maybe the amp is still biased for 6L6s and I don't need to do it??? AHHHHHHHHH HEAD SPINNING!!!
Also, I read you're never supposed to use guitar cables from the head to your cabinet. Only use speaker cables. I have always used two 20 foot guitar cables between mine. Maybe using the right cable will make it sound better?
Anyway, I was cleaning it up. One thing I noticed is that, unlike every example I saw on the internet, my tubes had no clamps or anything that held them in position. They just push in and pull out. All my power tubes were very loose. One was almost all the way out. Maybe this was the problem??
I bring the cabinet in and start trying to clean the cat puke off. I get the metal grate off the front and clean it but it doesn't help. Even without the cat puke, it has been rusted so it doesn't look any better at all. The speakers had some kind of nasty funk all over them. I cleaned that off. I go to put the grate back on and it slips out of my hand. The corner of it goes right through the bottom speaker.
I almost cried.
I went to the internet to start looking up speakers. 80 bucks for a replacement speaker.
I almost cried.
200 to just get a new cabinet. I'd rather do that than pay 80 for one speaker.
I sadly put everything back together and wheel it into my bedroom so I can try it out and see how bad the busted speaker sounds.
It sounds fine. And the amp itself sounds fine. I don't hate it at all. Why did I hate this? I decide to go back through videos of my old band to see when I started using this amp and check how it sounded. I can't find it. I'm using my old Peavey half stack in every video. Now I am utterly confused. Did I ever really hate this amp or did I hate the Peavey? When the hell did I get this one and from where and how? WTF?
I just sold my old guitar for 200 on Ebay. I was planning on using that to buy tubes. Now I've decided to just get some effect pedals and some cables and maybe some pre-amp tubes and see how it does. And maybe stab the other speakers since that seems to help.