If amp works perfectly is it necessary to replace caps?

[jh45gun]

You cannot fault the guy for saying a lower price because it needs caps a lot of folks here would do the same thing myself included. Prices are all over the map but I have seen more than a few in the 500 dollar range advertised if they are good shape I would not mind paying that knowing I would need to do a cap job on it. I am looking for players not collectors so if the price was too high I would pass. Since I have two SF amps now a PA `100 twin variant and a MMB amp which has been fixed up the only way I would buy an other SF if it fell into my lap dirt cheap. Myself if you do not need the money I would keep it.

[homesick345]

anybody heard of that Klingon saying?... Like... aint broke dont fix it ..or something?

[Vintage Amps 1]

@DonMI6

It is far cheaper to buy Fender Twin Reverbs in USA and ship to Australia. My carrier will container ship large BMW motorcycles for around $500 LA to Melbourne. You could ship 4-8 Fender TRs for around same price. The Australian local price for any tube guitar amp is a rip-off.

[Green Lantern]

I have a '71 Twin Reverb, and it's probably the best amp I have. I would never sell it for $500. It, to me, is worth more than that. If at all possible, I would hold onto the amplifier.

Anyway, I would think replacing the caps would be a good idea. The amplifier could fail in the most inopportune moment, leaving you in a pickle, and with quite possibly an even bigger technical mess to clean up. I think one big reason why the Reissues go for just about the same amount of money as the vintage handwired Silverfaces is because people don't want to have to deal with that.

[homesick345]

Originally Posted by Green Lantern

I have a '71 Twin Reverb, and it's probably the best amp I have. I would never sell it for $500. It, to me, is worth more than that. If at all possible, I would hold onto the amplifier.

Anyway, I would think replacing the caps would be a good idea. The amplifier could fail in the most inopportune moment, leaving you in a pickle, and with quite possibly an even bigger technical mess to clean up. I think one big reason why the Reissues go for just about the same amount of money as the vintage handwired Silverfaces is because people don't want to have to deal with that.

Congratulations, I'm a 71 fan myself. Did you know that Leo was back during that period, for a couple of years, as design consultant???

[H. Mac]

Originally Posted by homesick345

anybody heard of that Klingon saying?... Like... aint broke dont fix it ..or something?

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is a Klingon saying? Wow. I always thought Jimmy Carter made it up!

[homesick345]

T. Bert Lance maybe? Anyways that's a pic of him:

http://globalmoxie.com/bm~pix/klingo...n~s800x800.jpg

[T Prior]

I've never heard of caps good for 40 years..but heck...everyday you learn something new I suppose..The advertised life of an electrolytic is 15 + years or so before they start to dry up...at least that's what my learnin' and experience has told me....

nonetheless...


68 thru 71 TR's are not the same as 72 and beyond..and will grab a few dollars more than the MV and UL amps..but that being said they are all great amps.

Set YOUR price..pay no attention to anyone else....you sell it at the price YOU are ok with... My 71 TR is pristine..it looks like and sounds like it is brand new...$500 ? I don't think so...Line up 10 TR's in a row, all for sale, mine being $800 to $1000 and the rest lower priced and less physical condition..Mine will sell , maybe not the first but early in the pack....there are players that seek pristine amps, especially those that are 40+ years old and have history, plus condition tells a story of being well cared for.

And yes, I already know that many here will not pay more than $500 for my 71 TR...that's not an issue, it would never be a consideration to sell it to them for that price anyway ! It's a mute point.

71 Twin is a great amp...don't give it away...

[H. Mac]

Originally Posted by homesick345

T. Bert Lance maybe? Anyways that's a pic of him:

http://globalmoxie.com/bm~pix/klingo...n~s800x800.jpg

Good one, homesick345! It was Bert Lance that said, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/If_it_a...27t_fix_it..22

He said it while he was in the Carter Administration, so I was close!

[homesick345]

Originally Posted by H. Mac

Good one, homesick345! It was Bert Lance that said, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/If_it_a...27t_fix_it..22

He said it while he was in the Carter Administration, so I was close!

It's a great phrase to coin. I am disappointed that it's an obscure bureaucrat that coined this gem, instead of a "real" folks hero, a confederate general, THe Red Baron, or something like that. Carter & his administration were boring beyond concept, if memory serves me well....

[Justinvs]

I thought it was an old Irish folk saying? Damn, now I'm really bummed.

OUt of curiosity, when did recapping an amp become something routinely done? When I was a teenager (late 70's) SS amps were the rage and old Fenders were dime a dozen. I never heard of recapping much until I started hanging out here, though I'm sure people must have been replacing the electrolytics for decades. But, when was it truly recognized as just one of those tune up things?

[6942]

Maybe when people started scratching their heads and wondering...........................

"Why did my 30 year old Fender/Gibson/Webster/Valco amp blow up?"


Steve

[Hiker]

My circa mid-80's tube amp has been stored in air conditioning (indoors) since the beginning. It is very low mileage. This does not compare to amps that have been stored in garages at 85-95 degrees (or near freezing temps) for part of their existence. I'll take a guess here that we don't need to consider all amps as aging in near ideal conditions, or seeing little use vs. fairly constant use.

[Green Lantern]

Originally Posted by homesick345

Congratulations, I'm a 71 fan myself. Did you know that Leo was back during that period, for a couple of years, as design consultant???

I was not aware of that, actually. Thanks for that factoid.

[Wally]

Originally Posted by Justinvs

I thought it was an old Irish folk saying? Damn, now I'm really bummed.

OUt of curiosity, when did recapping an amp become something routinely done? When I was a teenager (late 70's) SS amps were the rage and old Fenders were dime a dozen. I never heard of recapping much until I started hanging out here, though I'm sure people must have been replacing the electrolytics for decades. But, when was it truly recognized as just one of those tune up things?

Justin, recapping became 'the rage' when the old weak caps started 1)yielding
poor sonics and then 2)started failing..sometimes with catastrophic results.

SS amps rage??? I suppose so. I had to have a Kustom 3 X 15 because of CCR in 1970, IIRC. My next amp was also a SS amp.....a Lab SEries L-5,w hich is the best SS amp ever produced AFAIAConcerned. I sold it about 18 years ago, and I recently got it back in much the same condition that it was in when I sold it. IT gets very close to mimicing a wide variety of pure tube amps if one knows how to twist the knobs. HEre she is...hang tage, layout, schematic and all..... There is no other SS amp through which I care to play guitar for any lenghth of time.

[milocj]

Trying to sell a twin reverb. A guy keeps offering me less because he says "it may need a cap job." The amp works beautifully and is trying to justify his low ball offer by making me believe it needs a cap job. It's a 71 and I think it's all original.

I'll agree that it more than likely needs a cap job, and that some TRs are definitely in the $500 market range given the current trend toward the smaller Fenders. However, I'm going to say that there's a big reason why the guy keeps trying to low ball you and that's because your amp is more desireable than the ones that are selling for $500-600.

Unless you need $500 right now, I agree with TPrior and say stick to your guns. It's not like your $750 asking price is "stupid money" for a 1971. Does that still have the removeable speaker baffle? IMHO that puts the amp into a higher desireability category as well as the non-master volume.

[muchxs]

OP has his location as "Blackstone Valley" which as just south of here and in the heart of $500 Twin territory. I could buy that amp, do the cap job and everything else it conceivably needs... and then I'd have to sell it for $600 because that's what they go for here.

Oh, wait. I'd ask $600 while the amp sat in the closet until the fresh electolytics dried out. My next of kin would eventually inherit it. I wish I could make a few coins flipping these things here.

Thinkin' of goin' back to buildin' custom motorcycles. Amps are too much work.

[Green Lantern]

OP has his location as "Blackstone Valley" which as just south of here and in the heart of $500 Twin territory. I could buy that amp, do the cap job and everything else it conceivably needs... and then I'd have to sell it for $600 because that's what they go for here.

Then forget "here" and sell it on eBay. There are Twin Reverbs selling for decent money there. Although, to be fair, from what I can tell of recent completed listings, it seems the Reissues are going for higher prices than the typical Silverfaces. But most of the SF amps I see there are master volume ones.

[ac15]

Is there a distinction between "caps" and "tone caps?" I took my 62 Deluxe to my tech and he was very disappointed to find that the previous owner had replaced the tone caps with orange drops. He said that a lot of people change them even though they don't necessarily need changing (even the original ones Fender used in 62 when they made the amp). Is he talking about a different type of cap than the ones you guys are discussing in this thread?

By the way, he took out the orange drops and replaced them with some that were closer in spec to the originals (Mallory 150's I think).

[Wally]

Originally Posted by ac15

Is there a distinction between "caps" and "tone caps?" I took my 62 Deluxe to my tech and he was very disappointed to find that the previous owner had replaced the tone caps with orange drops. He said that a lot of people change them even though they don't necessarily need changing (even the original ones Fender used in 62 when they made the amp). Is he talking about a different type of cap than the ones you guys are discussing in this thread?

By the way, he took out the orange drops and replaced them with some that were closer in spec to the originals (Mallory 150's I think).

Yes,Ac15, when we say 'recap', we are referring to replacing the electrolytic capacitors....the filter caps, the bias cap/s, and the bypass caps. Some foks have taken 'recap' to mean the replacement of all caps in the circuit...the electrolyics , the coupling caps, and the tone caps. Electrolytics are somewhat like dry cell batteries. They will go bad over a period of time whether or not they are used. The coupling caps and tone caps are good until they short out, start leaking voltage or drift out of spec'd value.....they could last forever. Electrolytics cannot last forever...they have a limited lifespan...just like dry cell batteries do.
I have seen amps that were 'recapped'......and still had the original electrolytics...but all of the coupling and the tone caps had been replaced. Some folks, right?
Your tech was correct in being disappointed that he original toen and coupling caps in your D6G3 were replaced. AS to 'closer to orignial specs'.....someone may have replaced the orignials with Orange drops that had the same capacitance as the orignials, but the methods of construction are different and therefore the sonic results gave you a different amp....or, they coudl have used OD's with different values. Either way, it is disappointing for you and that amp. Imho, unless an amp is a 'museum' piece that is so clean that one would not be taking it out and playing; repalcing the electrolytics does not hurt the vintage value. Wholesale replacement of the tone and coupling caps on the other hand does have an effect on value, imho.