Perfect Stranger
Well-known member
EXCELLENT article from Premier Guitar on
Must Know Amp First-Aid
http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2012/Aug/Must_Know_Amp_First_Aid.aspx
For a good percentage of 6-string guitarists out there, a tube amp isn’t just the preferred way to achieve the ultimate tone—it’s
heresy to consider playing anything that doesn’t have glowing valves around back. And the longer you play, the more likely
it is that you’ve been through a bunch of brands, models, and output-tube types in effort to find the sound(s) in your head. We
all tend to start out with what we can afford, and gradually we graduate to something better—and better again—all to achieve
the next degree of tonal satisfaction.
But at some point, most of us tube-amp fans also experience some sort of failure related to this arcane—yet fantastic and sonically
satisfying— technology from the 1950s, and it’s often at the worst possible time. Unfortunately, there’s no practical or accurate way
to predict when or where this will occur. But, as someone who has been in the repair and modification business for more than 25 years,
I can tell you there’s a very good chance it’ll happen to you sometime if it hasn’t already. Sans a crystal ball and the ability to see
into the future, the best way to prepare is to practice preventive maintenance and be prepared for the inevitable with a little bit of
basic knowledge and the proper contingent of tools and parts to back it up. To that end, this article will furnish you with must-know
information that will help save the gig and allow you to execute basic troubleshooting and repair on your amplifier.
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