A Quick Guide To 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.

Check the filter caps occasionally and determine whether they are working as expected. In the event that they are not in the best condition, replace them with new ones. When not replaced in time, they may cause the music equipment to break down during work. This can bring confusion and disharmony with the other instruments comprising of the band. The big caps are ones that get faulty frequently. Be checking on them frequently and replace them when necessary to avoid failure.

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.

Ensure that any scratchy pot on the amp is impeccably clean all the time. A lot of dust, cobwebs and insect carcasses are attracted to this part, which in the long run may cause faultiness of the amplifier. You must clean all the holes of potentiometers from inside the chassis and rotate them to clean up their trackssince replacing the pot with a new one is extremely expensive, you need to ensure that you have taken care of this part.

All the bolts, nuts and screws appearing at the back panel, power transformers and mounts on the chassis should be tightened. When these bolts, nuts and screws are left loose, they make the amplifier vibrate intensely hence lowering the quality of tone produced by the instrument. This task can be achieved by using a toolkit with screwdrivers.

Furthermore, hire a technician who is qualified and experienced to come and examine resistors in the amplifier. The technician is able to determine the suitability of the resistors and if necessary he/she will advise you to get new ones and replace the faulty ones.

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.




About the Author: