Members Sir Don Posted January 17, 2006 Members Share Posted January 17, 2006 I bought my JCM800 2204 brand new in 1985. It was built in 1984. I haven't changed the caps in the amp since I bought it. It's been revalved on many occaisions. What I've noticed is that it seems to have minimal bass response while the top end is very pronounced. I had it checked by a tech about 12 months ago and he said every thing is fine, but I'm not convinced. Any opinions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mpdan Posted January 17, 2006 Members Share Posted January 17, 2006 it's junk. sell it to me for $50 shipped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sir Don Posted January 17, 2006 Author Members Share Posted January 17, 2006 Originally posted by mpdan it's junk. sell it to me for $50 shipped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mpdan Posted January 17, 2006 Members Share Posted January 17, 2006 heh. thought you might like that. i've been craving an 800 lately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zakian Posted January 17, 2006 Members Share Posted January 17, 2006 Got a player asking for advice, everyone wants to get cute. The life of caps is :supposedly 20-25 yrs. If you take your rig seriously, get a 2nd, 3rd opinion. Learn the basics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members moogerfooger Posted January 17, 2006 Members Share Posted January 17, 2006 it's never a bad idea to replace filter caps that are more than 2 years old. your amp will sound much better. check out http://www.hoffmanamps.com/ and http://www.torresengineering.com/ I just bought an overhaul kit for my blackface AB763 bandmaster for like 90 bucks included all the caps and resisters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mysticaxe Posted January 17, 2006 Members Share Posted January 17, 2006 About a year ago, I was in the same boat, and ended up sending my 2204 (of similar vintage) off to Voodoo Amps for their standard 20,000 mile checkup (or whatever they call it). I also had them do a couple other minor things. Pricey? Yes - but that was as much for the extras that I had them do. Worth it? HELL YES. The amp has much better bass response, its not as trebly, and I have better volume control (ie I can get good sounds at all volume levels). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JerryP Posted January 17, 2006 Members Share Posted January 17, 2006 Change the caps.Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rockys Mob Posted January 17, 2006 Members Share Posted January 17, 2006 Originally posted by zakian Got a player asking for advice, everyone wants to get cute. The life of caps is :supposedly 20-25 yrs. If you take your rig seriously, get a 2nd, 3rd opinion. Learn the basics. not everyone knows the life span of caps. thanks for the help, but dont be a dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JimAnsell Posted January 17, 2006 Members Share Posted January 17, 2006 Originally posted by moogerfooger it's never a bad idea to replace filter caps that are more than 2 years old. your amp will sound much better. check out http://www.hoffmanamps.com/ and http://www.torresengineering.com/I just bought an overhaul kit for my blackface AB763 bandmaster for like 90 bucks included all the caps and resisters please don't believe everything torres says on his site. you just wasted 90 bucks my friend.you're going to go through and change every cap and resistor in that amp only to find when your done that it sounds sterile compaired to how it did because you took away everything that made it sound "vintage". Parts that have drifted extremely far off spec, and filter caps are one thing, but its stupid to change every resistor and cap. Torres will send you a package of parts, you'll have to figure out which one is which. also, don't be suprised to find out its missing a part or two, and they won't respond to your emails. His "custom made magical orange caps" are nothing special.This guy makes a living selling {censored} you don't need to uninformed people and hyping it up to make it sound like you're going to accomplish something worthwhile by buying it.believe me, i fell for this stupid {censored} once when i was younger. and changing filter caps every 2 years is overkill as {censored}. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members strangegrey Posted January 17, 2006 Members Share Posted January 17, 2006 Originally posted by Sir Don I bought my JCM800 2204 brand new in 1985. It was built in 1984. I haven't changed the caps in the amp since I bought it. It's been revalved on many occaisions. What I've noticed is that it seems to have minimal bass response while the top end is very pronounced. I had it checked by a tech about 12 months ago and he said every thing is fine, but I'm not convinced. Any opinions? OK, it's hard to tell from your post whether or not the amp has been recapped at all. You've said you "haven't changed the caps in the amp since..." Does this mean you've changed the caps in 85 when you bought it new? I know this sounds kinda rediculous, but I gotta ask it.... One thing about the JCM800s is the fact that the amps are very top heavy....that's just a fact of the amp. Could it be that your tastes have changed and you want an amp with more bass and you're discovering that the 800 can't do it for you? As far as caps, if bass response is the only thing that bothers you about the amp, I would be hesitant to listen to anyone's suggestion that the filter caps are to blame. You MAY or MAY NOT experience an improvement if you change the coupling caps....but I would be extremely hesitant to blame the capacitors for these issues. If the amp has suddenly gotten noiser, you might want to consider the filter caps are due for replacement, but not for added or lost bass response... Have you tried new tubes? A single preamp valve or a new set of power valves can make a heap of difference in bass response... Regardless, proceed carefully with the idea of cap changes. Take the amp to multiple techs for second and third opinions...don't just rush into this, as you might have a tech want to sell you cap job just because his work load is light for the week... Originally posted by moogerfooger it's never a bad idea to replace filter caps that are more than 2 years old. your amp will sound much better. check out http://www.hoffmanamps.com/ and http://www.torresengineering.com/ I just bought an overhaul kit for my blackface AB763 bandmaster for like 90 bucks included all the caps and resisters WHAT?!??!?!?!?! replace the filters every 2 years?! What crank smoker did you glean this valuable information from? This is crazy...depending on use and conditions a filter cap can last for 20-40 years!!! Every 2 years?!??! No wonder they say 'dont trust 'experts' on the net!" Listen, new caps may or may not improve this guy's amp (I'd be inclined to think not)....but certainly not the filter caps.... These overhaul kits for amps really chap my ass...they're designed to sqeeze more cash out of tone hungry suckers that cant seem to find tonal nirvana out of their perfectly a-ok gear. Sure, sometimes an amp can use a cap job or new resistors (those old carbon comps can really float away from their original values)...but most of the time, the amp is perfectly fine being left alone. After the 'overhaul' the amp will most certainly sound different...but not necessarily better...but because it sounds different the user will tout the benefits of it...and more suckers buy into the gimmick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RupertB Posted January 17, 2006 Members Share Posted January 17, 2006 Electrolytic caps that are 20+ years old should be changed, JUST the electrolytics. Leave the tone & coupling caps alone. I recommend getting a tech to do the job. Learning how to do a recap isn't hard but IMO its far better learn on a small, simple amp that you don't require for gigging. I learned on a VChamp. BTW, you can tell the age of some caps (canned multi-caps usually have this as well) by finding the four-digit date code. This corresponds to wwyy, so "3483" = 34th week of 1983. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members strangegrey Posted January 17, 2006 Members Share Posted January 17, 2006 Originally posted by JimAnsell and changing filter caps every 2 years is overkill as {censored}. {censored} man! Changing filter caps every 20 years might be overkill as {censored}. I overhauled a late 70s fender a year ago...every component on the board was perfectly fine, no problems. The guy was dead set on having me pull the board and replace every damn resistor and cap. The only thing the amp needed was a tolex and grill cloth cleaning and the pots blown with compressed air... Thankfully, I convinced him nothing was wrong... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members strangegrey Posted January 17, 2006 Members Share Posted January 17, 2006 Originally posted by RupertB Electrolytic caps that are 20+ years old should be changed, JUST the electrolytics. Leave the tone & coupling caps alone. That depends entirely on the amount of use the amp has gotten over the past 20 years. Replacing a part just because of its age is rediculous... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members moogerfooger Posted January 17, 2006 Members Share Posted January 17, 2006 I don't intend to change everything -- just the filter caps - tubes and some components that show signs of where and tear --- never hurts to have spear parts on hand - and opinions very as to cap life - etc -- it'a all good -- plus it's my money -- I can waist it if I want - if It doesn't work out - I just won't do business with them again I should have said -- electrolytic caps over 10 years old should be replaced --- or - if you bought a used amp and have had it for more than 2 years -- (not knowing how long it been beteewn recaps) its a good idea to change the filter caps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Voodoo Amps Posted January 17, 2006 Members Share Posted January 17, 2006 I bought my JCM800 2204 brand new in 1985. It was built in 1984. I haven't changed the caps in the amp since I bought it. It's been revalved on many occaisions. What I've noticed is that it seems to have minimal bass response while the top end is very pronounced. I had it checked by a tech about 12 months ago and he said every thing is fine, but I'm not convinced. Any opinions? I would have the amp recapped. It will sound, feel as well as perform better all the way around. Hope it helpsTrace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JerryP Posted January 17, 2006 Members Share Posted January 17, 2006 Originally posted by strangegrey That depends entirely on the amount of use the amp has gotten over the past 20 years. Replacing a part just because of its age is rediculous... Electrolytic caps dry up, they will fail, that's a given. To leave them in there till they fail and take out other components is ridiculous. It's also foolish and expensive.Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Voodoo Amps Posted January 17, 2006 Members Share Posted January 17, 2006 That depends entirely on the amount of use the amp has gotten over the past 20 years. Replacing a part just because of its age is rediculous... It's not all together ridiculous. Electrolytic are only designed to last so long. They will work past the 10 year or even possibly 40 years but does that mean they are performing at 100% of their potential. As they decline they do alter the way your amp sounds, feels and performs. For what it's worthTrace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Voodoo Amps Posted January 17, 2006 Members Share Posted January 17, 2006 Electrolytic caps dry up, they will fail, that's a given. To leave them in there till they fail and take out other components is ridiculous. It's also foolish and expensive Agreed Trace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sir Don Posted January 17, 2006 Author Members Share Posted January 17, 2006 Thanks for these replies, it's given me something to think about. The expense is no problem to me as long as I can see the benefits at the end of the day. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scottosan Posted January 17, 2006 Members Share Posted January 17, 2006 Originally posted by Sir Don I bought my JCM800 2204 brand new in 1985. It was built in 1984. I haven't changed the caps in the amp since I bought it. It's been revalved on many occaisions. What I've noticed is that it seems to have minimal bass response while the top end is very pronounced. I had it checked by a tech about 12 months ago and he said every thing is fine, but I'm not convinced. Any opinions? Whar are you comparing it to. The top end is always going to be there. It's what makes those so good in the mix. How hard are you pushing the amp? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scottosan Posted January 17, 2006 Members Share Posted January 17, 2006 Originally posted by moogerfooger it's never a bad idea to replace filter caps that are more than 2 years old. Every 2 years is way too premature to change filter caps. Most caps have a shelf life of of 6 years, and last longer if played on a regular basis. Where are you getting this info from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members psychodave Posted January 17, 2006 Members Share Posted January 17, 2006 Originally posted by JerryP Electrolytic caps dry up, they will fail, that's a given. To leave them in there till they fail and take out other components is ridiculous. It's also foolish and expensive. Jerry Perfect advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tommythelurker Posted January 17, 2006 Members Share Posted January 17, 2006 Originally posted by moogerfooger ...never hurts to have spear parts on hand... I guess you have a point there, especially if you hunt wooly mammoths in your spare time, but I don't know what you'd do with them in a tube amp... I should have said... if you bought a used amp and have had it for more than 2 years -- (not knowing how long it been beteewn recaps) its a good idea to change the filter caps. Right. It's a little known fact that change of ownership immediately adjusts the remaining lifespan of electrolytics to 2 years regardless of how old they are Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sir Don Posted January 18, 2006 Author Members Share Posted January 18, 2006 Originally posted by scottosan Whar are you comparing it to. The top end is always going to be there. It's what makes those so good in the mix. How hard are you pushing the amp? Believe it or not I'm actually comparing the top end to my TSL. I'm not pushing the amp too hard, master is on about 4, preamp on 8. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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