Bought a new amp the other day! (PICS!!!)

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Got my hands on a beautiful Bluesbreaker Combo last saturday. Truly amazing, what a sound!! :dance:

This is an amp that I have wanted for a long time. And now I got the change to get it for 700€, which I thought was an amazing price!

No tubes changes done, but the guy who I bought it from said it was played little on it so. But I guess a tube change is coming soon.

It had a few scratches here and there...but I have it fixed up now. And some minor problems, gonna ask you what to do about them here underneath.

My Rig.jpg

Soo beautiful... :D

Bluesbreaker Top.jpg

The "Presence" button is loose, and the buzzes when you turn it. What to do about this? It's a "clip" button...not the one with a little screw that holds it in place. How to fix this?

Repaired Scratch.jpg

This was the uggliest scratch...tried to cover it up the best I could with some rubber compound.

Switch Height.jpg

Is this right...shouldn't the switches be on the same height? Suggestions or tips what to do about it would be appreciated.

Last problem is that it's a buzzing and waving sound that goes on all the time. I don't have a footswitch to it yet but when I get that, will it probably take away the "waving" thing, cause now the tremolo is going on all the time... even though you set the speed and intesity of it down to 0. Is this what is called "ticking tremolo"? I know that these kind of amps will buzz a little and will not perfectly quiet, but how loud?

And at last...do marshall have a support/customer email? Didn't find it on their website.
 
Re: Bought a new amp the other day! (PICS!!!)

All you Marshall people... please help!
 
Re: Bought a new amp the other day! (PICS!!!)

the switches should have a nut on the inside that you can back out so the switch can be pushed further out to match the other one. but you have to make sure that the capacitors are discharged before going into it. i'm sure there must be a thread showing how to do this. as far as the presence knob, is it a buzz or scratching sound, it may need to be cleaned. what you can do is shut off the amp and turn the knob back and forth quickly a few times and try again to see if change. if it is a buzz there may be a bad component inside. but don't worry these old amps are point to point so it's a matter of some small parts. it's late and this is a quick explanation. HTH
 
Re: Bought a new amp the other day! (PICS!!!)

Okay, so the switch should be taken care of from the inside with the capacitors discharged. Gonna make a search on that issue.

It's not just that the Prescence knob is scratching. It's not as firm as it should be, I can rock it back and forth. How to take the clip knob of, is it just to pull them straight up or do I have to do something from inside? Any suggestions on how to make it firmer?

well, I could try to record something with it and see if the buzzing sound is audible...and upload it. So you guys can tell if it should make that noise.
 
Re: Bought a new amp the other day! (PICS!!!)

Man, that amp is great!!

I tried one a couple of weeks ago, and I'm definetly going to get one of those!

Enjoy!! :laugh2:
 
Re: Bought a new amp the other day! (PICS!!!)

Nice amp....I Love those! Do some Bluesbreaker stuff on it for us...Best of everything with it....Heavy sucker isn't it...????? ;o)
 
Re: Bought a new amp the other day! (PICS!!!)

Thanks man! I'll record something as soon as I have any time over for that :)

Just went over to a shop nearby and tried one out. Noticed the exact same humming sound and when tremolo is on it also waved like I described above. So It's just the Marshall Hum that I have to get used to then ;) Now I just need to get a footswitch to switch the tremolo with. I would like to get the one that comes with the 18w handwired combo, cause it looks more classic and suits the bluesbreaker look much better. (Perfectionist;) ...)

Switch Height.jpg

I did a search on adjusting the switches to same height, didn't seem to find anything :/ Need a detailed description on what it means to discharge capacitors, and how to open up the chassis so I can get to the switches and be able to adjust them to the same height (this doesn't effect the sound at all but just for the looks). Help me out guys!

And again the Prescence knob is loose and can be rocked back and forth, plus that it scratches when it's turned. Need some advice on that as well.

Thanks for your posts!
 
Re: Bought a new amp the other day! (PICS!!!)

can you post a close up shot of the presence switch. thanks. i'll check back later
 
Re: Bought a new amp the other day! (PICS!!!)

It just looks like the pot is loose. As with the switch there should be a nut that just needs to be tightened. I would say to take it back to the shop where you bought it and let them fix it for you. It's not a good idea messin around inside an Amp if you don't know what your doing. It's obvious that somebody has been inside this baby. Nice Amp Good luck with it.
 
Re: Bought a new amp the other day! (PICS!!!)

If I bought it from a shop there wouldn't be any problem, but I bought it from a guy who sold it on "For Sale" site. So I just drove to him and tried it out, and apperently it came home with me ;)

He said that it was all original, and that the tubes hadn't been changed. But now i kind of worry a bit when you say that it's obvious that somebody has been inside it, hopefully is the circuit not all messed up with ugly mods :/

If there were a amp tech in my town I would go over to him and have him check it all through...but there's no tech here. Not that I know about at least, have to hear with my friends if they know any that they haven't told me about.
 
Re: Bought a new amp the other day! (PICS!!!)

turn it on and play a chord as the chord is ringing out unplug the amp from the wall and listen as the sound dies out. at this point strum a few more times. the caps should be disharged enough for you to be okay. now unless there's a small set screw you should be able to pull the knob off the pots and tighten down the nut ( just make sure the pot doesn't turn when you do it)
 
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Re: Bought a new amp the other day! (PICS!!!)

hmm :grumble: well, I almost have to ask around for someone who has open a valve Marshall before to come over and help me. (don't dare to do it myself, I could end up getting fryed;) ...)

I'm aware of that it's commonly known that a valve amp can, even though it's unplugged from the wall, cause very dangerous electric shocks. But if discharging the caps like jabsalt explained, unplugging it from the wall and disconnecting all cables (loudspeaker also...?) is done. Is there still a risk for electric shocks?

Is there in theory any possible way safe to open an valve amp, or does it always contain a constant amount of electricity. That will say it's always a risk for getting a shock? (Just curious to know, now that I actually own a all-tube amp)

The Prescence knob again..If I discharge the caps, like jabsalt described. Should I then just pull the knob right off (straight up), and then the part of the pot that should be tightened is on the "outside" of the amp...no need to get inside it for this? correct me if this is wrong.

1328c.jpg

- Does the pot look similar to this one?
- Is the "thin" nut on the outside of the amp?
 
Re: Bought a new amp the other day! (PICS!!!)

if you discharge like i said the caps will be down to a small voltage, i believe also that there may be bleeder resistors that do this when the amp is powered down, i'll find out and post back. but in the mean time, discharge as i said and try to pull off the knob, you may be able to tighten from the outside.

also check out this site you can ask there also.

www.ax84.com
 
Re: Bought a new amp the other day! (PICS!!!)

Thanks for helping me out jabsalt!

I've discharged the caps...though trying to pull the knob of, it still sits there like it were superglued. How hard can i pull really, I get that bad feeling that I could damge the pot or something.

How are the Push-on knobs fastened on the pot?

Should it be in a specific position when pulling it of?

It moves a little upwards when i pull, but just a tiny bit...then it sits there like stone! :argh:
 
Re: Bought a new amp the other day! (PICS!!!)

The knobs on the presence control (and other controls) are just slip on knobs, just like on your guitar. You should be able to pull them off, a little extra force shouldn't hurt anything. I would doubt that anyone would be stupid enough to glue one on, but I guess you never know. Pull it off and you should be able to tighten up the hex nut no problem.

As for the switch....I wouldn't worry about it. If it's functional for now, I'd leave it until you take it in to be re-tubed. At that point you can have the tech raise it up, and deal with any other minor issues. All in all, it sounds like you got a great amp for a great price.
 
Re: Bought a new amp the other day! (PICS!!!)

puh! finally did the knob come loose... and I got the prescence pot (nut) tightened :dance:

I found another suspect thing, looks like the whole front part has been taken loose of some reason...the screws that hold the front in place doesn't look really like they were screwed in in the factory. Gonna take a photo of it tomorrow.

Still thinking about opening it up, maybe doing that also tomorrow. My dad told me that he'll help me out...and in case we open it up, I'm going to take some photos of the inner parts and the circuit and post them. So I can get a confirmation about if there have been done any mods or if it's all original inside.

You guys have been really helpful, Thanks! :burnout:
 
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