CW Guitar Audio

Peavey F-800B Super Festival in for a service which included all new electrolytic capacitors throughout. Budget was a concern for the customer so high quality radial caps were used in place of axials to save on cost. The damaged power cord was replaced and controls were cleaned. The customer also wanted the distortion circuit modded to match the earlier production F-800B amps so that portion of the amp was modded. Now the distortion circuit provides clean gain then a fuzz-like distortion toward max.

1964 Fender Princeton Reverb was low on volume in need of a checkup. Was previously poorly repaired with a partial recap(but they left the original bad filter cap installed), incorrectly wired power cord, incorrectly wired screen grid resistors added, incorrect B+ dropping resistor that was 10x the stock value causing the output of the amp to be low, incorrect bias cap value more than double the maximum value that can be safely used. So the multi-section filter cap was replaced with a PCB and modern radials that are more reliable than new production multi-section caps, rebuilt bias supply w/bias adjustment, removed the unneeded and incorrectly wired screen grid resistors, new B+ droppers in the correct values, correctly wired the power cord, modified the tremolo so it has much more depth, reflowed all solder, new plate resistors, new power tubes, and a new preamp tube. Now solid for many more years to come.

Vox AC 15 handwired combo in for a checkup. Just had noisy controls and tired power tubes so a cleaning and new tubes took care of that. The customer requested replacement of the low quality generic filter caps which was a smart move. So all were replaced with long life Vishay filter caps. The screen grids also got an upgrade to promote longer power tube life. Better than new!

Another CW Guitar Audio 8 Channel Switcher on its way to Charlotte, NC. Streamlining the recording process increasing creativity and productivity. Link in bio to get your build started today.

Fender Blues Jr IV came in for a service. Had bad power tubes so a new pair was installed. The customer requested all filter caps to be replaced with higher quality F&T caps. The stock molded speaker cable was also upgraded with a new cable using made in USA wire and Made in USA G&H plug. Now rock solid for many more years.

Fender Blues Jr was not powering up as a result of a shorted power tube and blown fuse. The amp was previously modified with new filter caps, output transformer, speaker, 6V6 power tubes, and a list of other associated mods. Not my preferred quality of work but good parts were used and solder work was ok so left that all alone.

Vox Kensington 1241 bass amp was in need of rehab but instead of a 13 step program this one got 13 new electrolytic caps that were all original to the amp from the late 60’s. The 15” Jensen was also swapped for a new Eminence much improved over stock. The 2 prong power cord was replaced with a grounded 3 prong, death cap removed, and mains rewired correctly. Some broken wires leading to the back panel were identified and reattached which allows the onboard tuner sample tone to work.

Ampeg SVT 7 Pro would not power on. The amp was previously repaired by a prominent local tech who I assume left the resistor tacked onto an IC chip floating and touching the lid along with the cooling fan unplugged. Being a switch mode power supply driving a class D power amp, repair of these is often temporary without chasing cascading failures of parts. So a brand new main board with all the revisions to make it reliable without ongoing issues and spending more money. Now essentially a new amp that will serve more years reliably.

90’s Fender 59 Bassman 410 reissue had random crackling and volume drops. The previous owner had replaced the stock PCB with a Hoffman turret board setup. In theory seems like an upgrade but the work was poor with lots of bad solder, the original problematic IC brand filters caps were kept when they were the only thing that really needed to ever go, just poor overall ex*****on. So all offending noisy carbon comp resistors were replaced, all electrolytic caps replaced, solder touched up, new power tubes, some rewiring of the input jacks that was a mess, and the speaker jacks were rewired correctly to keep from losing neutral connection. Always be weary when buying an amp that was someone’s learning tool. For those wanting to learn it’s always best to start with pedals and if you sell your project then be honest with what you’re passing off to someone.

1964 Fender Deluxe Reverb in for a checkup. Previously had a recap, new power cord, new plate resistors, new mixing resistors installed. The filter caps were low quality and not installed to a high standard so they were replaced with quality F&T caps. Some cathode caps were retained and some cheap ones swapped out to match the others. Bias supply rebuilt, new power tubes, a couple new preamp tubes, tremolo circuit repaired, all k***s replaced with right type, power cord rewired correctly, new B+ dropping resistors, grid stoppers, screen grid resistors, and bias. Another one like new again.