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Yamaha Tube Amps Good or Bad?


The Boogie Man

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This guy is offering me his Yamaha T100C 100 watt amp, made sometime in the '90's it think, is channel switching and sounds good but I think needs new tubes. The amp looks a little rough from years of gigging but seems well built. Anyone ever have one of these, did you like it, any trouble with it?

 

Thanks

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Proud owner of a Yamaha T-50. Thumbs up. OD channel, all knobs on 5 w/presence to taste = AIC "Them Bones."

I've got a paid of Smicz TADS in mine to stick it at 3-4 watts, and it's my college apt. amp. I also use the power amp in combo with my v-amp2 for some tasty versatile results.

I paid $200 + tax for my T-50, this was maybe 3 years ago. Anything under $400 should put you in the right market for the 100-watt combo needing new tubes. If the price is right, play that bad puppy and let her rip.

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Originally posted by The Boogie Man

This guy is offering me his Yamaha T100C 100 watt amp, made sometime in the '90's it think, is channel switching and sounds good but I think needs new tubes. The amp looks a little rough from years of gigging but seems well built. Anyone ever have one of these, did you like it, any trouble with it?


Thanks

 

 

I remember a couple of years ago someone ripping a bunch of clips on a T-50. I think it was TU BE.

 

Anyway, never seen or heard one in person but I remember the clips sounding really good. I've heard other people call them poor man's Soldano's.

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If my memory serves me correctly, the Yamaha was designed by Mike Soldano himself, and bears a close aural resemblence to a SLO-100. But Yamaha used printed circuit boards instead of the hand-wired SLOs, so if you think that detracts from the tone, just a heads up. But then again, I've never played through one myself, so take this with a grain of salt.

I'd buy it. :thu:

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Originally posted by bludoochile

If my memory serves me correctly, the Yamaha was designed by Mike Soldano himself, and bears a close aural resemblence to a SLO-100. But Yamaha used printed circuit boards instead of the hand-wired SLOs, so if you think that detracts from the tone, just a heads up. But then again, I've never played through one myself, so take this with a grain of salt.


I'd buy it.
:thu:




That's what I remember too and I'd also like to have one. :thu:

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The SLO has a PCB too. The Yamaha has reverb and the SLO doesn't. The SLO uses a choke in the power supply and the Yamaha doesn't. Yamaha made some changes to the way Mike designed it so the Yamaha models are different thru the years. They changed the reverb circuit.
Jerry

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Originally posted by JerryP

The SLO has a PCB too. The Yamaha has reverb and the SLO doesn't. The SLO uses a choke in the power supply and the Yamaha doesn't. Yamaha made some changes to the way Mike designed it so the Yamaha models are different thru the years. They changed the reverb circuit.

Jerry

 

 

Just out of curiosity, what exactly does the choke do? Supposed to have an impact on the tone?

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Originally posted by bludoochile

If my memory serves me correctly, the Yamaha was designed by Mike Soldano himself, and bears a close aural resemblence to a SLO-100. But Yamaha used printed circuit boards instead of the hand-wired SLOs, so if you think that detracts from the tone, just a heads up. But then again, I've never played through one myself, so take this with a grain of salt.


I'd buy it.
:thu:



I don't think electrons know the difference between circuit boards and point to point, I sure can't tell the difference with my ear. The only thing I like better with PP is their easy to mod, but since I don't mod amps anymore, shouldn't matter.

Thanks!

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Originally posted by bludoochile

If my memory serves me correctly, the Yamaha was designed by Mike Soldano himself, and bears a close aural resemblence to a SLO-100. But Yamaha used printed circuit boards instead of the hand-wired SLOs, so if you think that detracts from the tone, just a heads up. But then again, I've never played through one myself, so take this with a grain of salt.


I'd buy it.
:thu:



Yea!! I got it last night it states on the back panel Design By M. J. Soldano and is made in the USA :thu: I didn't know that and thought it was made in Japan, that would be ok, but USA is good. It has all the original tubes plus a "new set" of 5881's installed. I tested all the tubes, all of them even the old 6L6's are good, only one 12AX7 in the amp wasn't original, V6 the reverb tube. Switching channels makes a little pop with the foot switch, no biggie and I tamed the overdrive channel a little by replacing V2 with a RCA 12AT7, sweet. She's a keeper! I'll gig it next Friday and see what happens. This maybe the best $200 I've spent on a amp ever. :wave:

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Originally posted by The Boogie Man



Yea!! I got it last night it states on the back panel Design By M. J. Soldano and is made in the USA
:thu:
I didn't know that and thought it was made in Japan, that would be ok, but USA is good. It has all the original tubes plus a "new set" of 5881's installed. I tested all the tubes, all of them even the old 6L6's are good, only one 12AX7 in the amp wasn't original, V6 the reverb tube. Switching channels makes a little pop with the foot switch, no biggie and I tamed the overdrive channel a little by replacing V2 with a RCA 12AT7, sweet. She's a keeper! I'll gig it next Friday and see what happens. This maybe the best $200 I've spent on a amp ever.
:wave:




Dude....you got one for 200 bucks???

Why can't I ever find deals like this? I haven't seen one for less that 400 in a long time.

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Originally posted by TU BE




Dude....you got one for 200 bucks???


Why can't I ever find deals like this? I haven't seen one for less that 400 in a long time.



Lucky I guess. I've know this guy about 25 years he used the amp every weekend but hated how heavy it was for it's size, so he bought a Blues Jr, and the dealer only offered him $50 trade in, so he called me up and asked me what I thought it was worth and if I wanted it. I had never seen the amp up close and just took a wild guess at it's worth. He bought it new and gigged it about 15 years, never a problem. I guess it pays to be the only guy in town with a repair shop as a hobby and a tube tester everyone comes in to use for free. :wave:

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Originally posted by The Boogie Man



Sorry, I don't play metal, I'm a jazz freak and this amp does clean very well, and my computer is way to slow to down load music on the net.



Hmmmm, jazz you say. That means you can do 6 string sweeps right?:)

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