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Do solid state amps need maintenance?

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  • #16
    Re: Do solid state amps need maintenance?

    Originally posted by 80's_Metal View Post
    They Only need maintenance after I use em....
    Ha!!!!!!
    I live in Northern New Hampshire, we shoot the things we don't understand here???

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    • #17
      Re: Do solid state amps need maintenance?

      To answer your question, no not unless you are experiencing problems...
      I live in Northern New Hampshire, we shoot the things we don't understand here???

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      • #18
        Re: Do solid state amps need maintenance?

        Regarding the firmware, Peavey considers the Vypyr VIP firmware to be stable and it hasn't been updated in several years.

        Still as Mincer noted, firmware updates would be a maintenance item for modeling devices.
        I miss the 80's (girls) !!!

        Seymour Duncans currently in use - In Les Pauls: Custom(b)/Jazz(n), Distortion(b)/Jazz(n), '59(b)/'59(n) w/A4 mag, P-Rails(b)/P-Rails(n); In a Bullet S-3: P-Rails(b)/stock/Vintage Stack Tele(n); In a Dot: Seth Lover(b)/Seth Lover(n); In a Del Mar: Mag Mic; In a Lead II: Custom Shop Fender X-1(b)

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        • #19
          Re: Do solid state amps need maintenance?

          I recently got a 2nd hand 1997 Marshall Valvestate II VS65R. I know this is a hybrid amp with an ECC83 in the preamp and a solid state "everything else". I got lucky with it because everything is solid on the PCB.
          But I looked into changing the stock tube to a JJ ECC83s. I found a D-Lab Electronics maintenance vid on YT to help me out (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIqtvDH9pkk). The main problem with the amp in the vid is from connections breaking on the PCB after a good number of years. I would imagine this is the same for most SS and Valve amps when they get old. The soldering repairs in this vid are probably closer to a professional level, but they are something to think about with an older amp.
          Last edited by SkyMonkey; 05-09-2019, 12:27 PM.

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          • #20
            Re: Do solid state amps need maintenance?

            Originally posted by SkyMonkey View Post
            I recently got a 2nd hand 1997 Marshall Valvestate II VS65R. I know this is a hybrid amp with an ECC83 in the preamp and a solid state "everything else". I got lucky with it because everything is solid on the PCB.
            But I looked into changing the stock tube to a JJ ECC83s. I found a D-Lab Electronics maintenance vid on YT to help me out (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIqtvDH9pkk). The main problem with the amp in the vid is from connections breaking on the PCB after a good number of years. I would imagine this is the same for most SS and Valve amps when they get old. The soldering repairs in this vid are probably closer to a professional level, but they are something to think about with an older amp.
            I didn’t watch the vid but is the connections issue due to changing the preamp tube?
            You should just be able to pull it out and push a new one in.

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            • #21
              Re: Do solid state amps need maintenance?

              You would have to see the vid, but no, nothing to do with the tube. Mostly loose resistors.
              The tube was a doddle to change and livened up the amp a fair bit to my ears.

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              • #22
                Re: Do solid state amps need maintenance?

                Originally posted by SkyMonkey View Post
                You would have to see the vid, but no, nothing to do with the tube. Mostly loose resistors.
                The tube was a doddle to change and livened up the amp a fair bit to my ears.
                Probably due to heat from the tube though. Solid state amps shouldn't develop loose components generally, with the exception of maybe the jacks.

                Sent from my BlackBerry using Tapatalk

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                • #23
                  Re: Do solid state amps need maintenance?

                  I think most of the broken solder joints in the YT vid were too far from the tube to be attributable to valve heat. I am no expert though.
                  BTW I got this amp from my LGS and tried it out first. When I got it home I changed the speaker and an inch of fluff was lying at the bottom of the cone. Looked like the owner did all his band practice in a cotton mill! The chassis was OK though. Pretty much an enclosed unit on these amps.

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                  • #24
                    Re: Do solid state amps need maintenance?

                    Originally posted by ibanezrocks View Post
                    +1

                    Unless it breaks, leave it alone. You're more likely to break it doing "maintenance" than actually help anything.

                    Sent from my BlackBerry using Tapatalk
                    +2!
                    I have been using and abusing the same 1978 Randall RG since 1988. It has been dropped, kicked, left on, carried up and down thousands of stairs, stored in hot attics and damp basements, and one time used at an outdoor show when the temp was 30 degrees Fahrenheit. ZERO maintenance. The master volume on the green channel has a few crackles between zero and one. That is the only hint that it is more than a couple years old.

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