Members Rick6 Posted December 20, 2009 Members Share Posted December 20, 2009 I know this is off topic for this forum, but I also know there are some experts here. 1964 Ampeg Reverberocket. I bought it new when I was 14. When it's working it's like a chorus of angels. Terrific sounding amp. Had some intermittent crackling, then died. Here's the failure mode. I noticed at my last gig that the volume started fluctuating slowly. I carry a spare. At home I plugged it in and got some loud crackling, which has happened before and has proved intermittent. A few days later, I turn it on and it is silent. Well, actually, I can hear some faint low hum, which I think the amp does somehow -- not thru the speaker. No controls influence this hum at all, and it's very quiet. I can hear it with my ear to the amp and not otherwise. The speaker works when attached to a different amp. All the tubes are lit. Switching the 6SL7's around didn't help. I don't any obvious loose wires. The tech will keep it for 6 weeks (don't ask). Is there anything I should check before I give up and take it to the tech? Can this just be a tube? Some of the tubes in that amp turned 45 this year. Thanks in advance and happy holidays. My skill level: understand nothing. solder anything. bad combo. Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sailorman Posted December 20, 2009 Members Share Posted December 20, 2009 My 65' Fender Super Reverb started the snap/crackle/pop routine. I had it re-capped by a local tech; only a couple weeks to get that done. I know enough from following the DIY forum to NOT fool inside a tube amp unless you know more than just how to solder. 300+ volts stored in those caps, a nasty surprise can result. I still remember my uncle, a TV repairman in the 50's, getting thrown across the room by the caps in a TV that had been unplugged for days. Complete recondition including new caps, tubes, a 3-prong power cord (mandatory) was well under $200 bucks and it now has another 45 years in it. Oh and I've built tube amps and modified an Epi Valve Jr, plus built some pedals. Still left that recap/recondition to a pro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted December 20, 2009 Members Share Posted December 20, 2009 Check that the rectifier tube is fully seated. In fact, check that all the tubes are fully seated. Otherwise, I would use this as a chance to get your amp serviced and any needed work done... including the grounded power cable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rick6 Posted December 20, 2009 Author Members Share Posted December 20, 2009 It's got a diode rectifier. They changed that in 63 or so. Tubes are seated well. What surprises me is the silence. It seemed like the speaker was disconnected. This happened once before -- and the speaker was disconnected by a bad solder joint. I fixed that and it worked ... hmmm I'm going to triple check those solder joints. What's interesting about this amp is that it's so well built that the things that have gone wrong have usually been external e.g. that speaker was a replacement speaker (the paper rotted out on the original) and it was the connectors that failed --. not Ampeg's fault. Aging cap. Bad tube. like that. One other point. Is there any way to get the cell phone noise to stop? Like other old tube amps, you can hear clicking and buzzing from cell phones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sailorman Posted December 21, 2009 Members Share Posted December 21, 2009 bass player in my band uses a solid state bass amp (Ampeg BA15). It makes a huge racket when a cell phone rings. So evidently not a tube amp thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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