Hello- I'm in the UK and have bought a "Cain" pedal steel amplifier, which I understand is from a short run Kevin, or Kenneth(sorry) Cain made himself, basically a Sho Bud single channel. I have a few questions and would greatly appreciate any advice on restoring it to its' best, original (if possible) condition).It's running at 110volts with a transformer as we're 240v out here.
I want to make it as close to new as possible without altering it's original tone.
1st) the noise floor sounds quite high- I've read that could be caused by one of the RCA transistors needing to be replaced. If this is the case, are there modern equivalents to these RCA transistors that will not change the tone of the amp? is there a specific transistor in the schematic that is usually the culprit?
2)Would changing some of the carbon composite resistors lower the noise floor, (I know this is a topic that can induce nausea, I've tried to read through the opinions on this and I'm aware changing some resistors in specific parts of the signal path could reduce noise floor and some believe it does/ doesn't have an impact on tone) , I guess I'm asking- if you wanted to lower the noise floor and preserve the original tone, what would you do?
3) I understand these were made with JBLD130's, what would be a good equivalent speaker? When I bought it it had an Eminence ME15 300,which weren't made till the mid 1990's, so it's not original, (though weirdly it has an "Eminence" plastic badge nailed to the top of the cabinet as if it were).
4) I want to confirm the reverb pan is the correct one, (I'm using the Sho-bud single channel schematic to try to ascertain the pan hasn't been changed over the years and I'm not great at this. Either the drive or return channel (or both) are out as there is no reverb.
God only knows how this amp got out here to the UK, hardly anyone knew/knows what it is and I have to take in in to get serviced- any advice/ feedback would be greatly appreciated- fingers crossed- Thanks!
Sho Bud single channel- Cain amplifier advice
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Ron la Villa
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Ron la Villa
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Nick Fryer
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I can compare the pics to mine and see if anything looks different. Mine is in great working order but I do need to do a little maintenance on it. I’d like to redo the thermal paste in and around some of the components. Some are getting hot and it worries me a little. Also would like to check the bias on it.
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Ron la Villa
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Ron la Villa
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Lee Jeffriess
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Changing the components of the amp will change the tone somewhat, and you can’t get around that. How much it will change is basically a crapshoot, as all components have a certain tolerance when they are made, and as a rule, their actual values drift farther and farther as they age. The tone it has now is the sum total of all those values. All this to say that the tone you’re hearing now (the tone you’re probably in love with), is probably not exactly the way it sounded when it was new.
As the old adage goes, “you never know until you try”.
As the old adage goes, “you never know until you try”.