1997 Ampeg SVT Full Service/Repair

[@PKpops]

Thanks, Dude! Really awesome video with great tips and techniques. I have an original SVT from '72. I had it professionally retubed and recapped. I am trying to work out a problem with the 6C4 preamp tube burning out. Oh well, back to the bench.

[@kiwibass]

Damn... I wish there had been a video like this on YT a few years go! I ended up selling my US-made SVT 2 pro because it sounded somewhat undefined and kept farting out on me even at relatively low volume. Tubes were testing okay, and other than the ridiculously sloppy sound the amp had no issues to speak of... no buzz, no hiss, no hum, no nothin'. Okay, okay - my back issues would've made me sell it anyway sooner or later... ;-)

[@Labi5150]

15:00 Great video, thanx for sharing it. However, was wondering about the bias control. Are you sure that the light has to stay green?! The manual says otherwise. Thanks.

[@bassweld]

Cool I want a vintage svt. I may get one some day. Did you know the Fender 400 ps also introduced in 1969 was rated at 435watts but actually put out over 500 watts. It was bigger and heavier than the svt and you had to connect 3 cabinets to get full power so it was more expensive. Can you imagine that Fender beast? There is or was one for sale on rev erb.

[@okinawajapan1]

Thanks for this video. Buying one of these this week. It has some noise (white noise/static) that comes out of it when it is turned on. Any ideas what this is? It gets loud a minute after turning the amp on then goes away after a minute or so. Then it's a normal quiet amp.

[@HawkAmps]

Depending on how old it is, it could be time for a cap job. If the noise goes away after a minute or two then I would just wait until it gets worse to address the problem. It will get worse eventually.

[@juanb8073]

Thank you for this video. What did you use to scrape off the glue around the caps? Did you reglue the caps? How did you drain the caps?

[@HawkAmps]

I just used a wooden chop stick to scrape off the glue. You don't want to use a screwdriver or anything metal. And then use clear, low odor silicone to glue the new ones. It just helps them stay intact under heavy vibration. As far as draining the caps, I don't recall exactly how I did it on this amp, but it is a little more tricky than most guitar amps so great caution is needed! Thanks for watching!

[@declanmctiernan7338]

Really insightful video. What is your preferred brand/series of filter caps to use?

[@HawkAmps]

For this amp I was more concerned about finding the right physical sized caps that would fit on the board. Radial lead caps need to be exact on the lead spacing, down to the millimeter, to fit properly on a PCB. In the case of this amp, I had to scour the internet to find caps of the correct value that would fit the board, so I took whatever I could get as far as brand.

[@declanmctiernan7338]

@@HawkAmps Thanks, much appreciated.

[@enzo962]

Thanks for video. You could have tested the preamp out into an external amplifier first and determined right off the bat it wasnt the preamp section. Also, open screen resistors pretty common on this amp. Thats where I would have looked first. Anyhow thanks for thorough job and tips...

[@jochemjonker3362]

Nice showing of problemshooting in this amp.Good tips to solve potential problems before/after they occur (resoldering tube and pot connections on the preamp board, did you did this also on poweramp board?).

[@HawkAmps]

yes, touched up power amp board as well.