old tube amps and capacitors

[esandes]

i used to use my marshall from the 90s religiously and then i switched to my 2008 barely used randy rhoades 1959 and, man, does the RR head destroy the old marshall.

i think i need to seriously consider capacitor upgrages to make the old vintage sound as *****ing as my RR.

what brands are good for a tune up in the capacitors?

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: old tube amps and capacitors

is the old amp a jcm900 dual reverb?
I used one for nearly 10 years (back in the 90s just like you), so im not trying to crap in your gravy - but they are not marshall's best sounding amps (its partly to do with the way the signal goes thru a series of opamps before it even sees V1).
However - they can sound pretty damn good, and good players can still make them wail.
Have you given it a fair chance by a installing full set of fresh tubes and getting it biased first before you go looking at new caps?

 

[esandes]

Re: old tube amps and capacitors

is the old amp a jcm900 dual reverb?
I used one for nearly 10 years, so im not trying to crap in your gravy - but they are not even close to being marshall's best sounding amps.
However - have you given it a fair chance by a installing full set of fresh tubes and getting it biased first before you go looking at new caps?

no the old amp is a 1987x from the late 90s. the tubes are new and biased. aspen pittman recommended upgrading old capacitors. i think he's right because the sound difference is huge even with the extra hiss the 100W brings.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: old tube amps and capacitors

ok cool - just checking.
Ive only used spragues and mallorys in fender amps. Spragues are the most hifi and clear. Mallorys i guess you could call them "vintage" sounding. I never recapped either of my marshalls.
So i cant say from personal experience about this but lots of people rave about sozo caps in marhsalls.

 

[kevlar3000]

Re: old tube amps and capacitors

Likely has as much to do with cap values as it does cap brand. Yes different shades of tones for sure, but the 87x is very bright in stock form. Clipping or changing the volume bright cap is a start, converting V1 to shared cathode, and if memory serves, swapping out a .0022 cap on the board for a .022 makes a HUGE improvement in the amp. They are wonderful amps once dialed in.