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Thank you for watching my video, and for leaving a comment! The "Death Capacitor" was removed before I worked on this amplifier, and a three wire power cord was installed. This is not a series filament design, the tubes all have 6 volt heaters. In its current state, this amplifier is just as safe as any new production tube amplifier.

To be honest, I was just playing a riff that came to my mind at that moment. If that is the vibe that you got from it, that means that it was not a bad idea! I was trying to sound like something, but not sound exactly like anything, if that makes sense.

Thank you for watching this video and for leaving another comment. Isolation washers do reduce vibration, but they are mainly used to electrically isolate the bolts that mount a transformer to a chassis. This is done to reduce eddy currents. A transformer works through electromagnetic induction. If the bolts are allowed to be conductive, they can vibrate and heat up. This diverts some of the electromagnetic energy from the transformer core and makes it less efficient.

@@mendittoamplification interesting, thanks!

@@soapboxearth2 You're welcome. Thank you again for watching my videos. Have a nice day!

Thank you! I am glad that you enjoyed this video. I am currently working on part 3. The next installment features a new production Jensen P10R AlNiCo speaker. Thank you for leaving a comment.

Thank you for your kind words and for your questions. I think that this 2013 Splawn Nitro SS is an excellent amplifier. The only problem that it had was a failed electrolytic capacitor. Everything else was still as perfect as it was when the amplifier left their manufacturing facility. I am not really sure if their operation is large enough to call it a factory. We know the person who owns this amplifier, and he told us that he left it in a storage closet, unused for many years. I would not blame the manufacturer for this capacitor failure. Nowadays, even if you buy the very best components available, quality and longevity are still a major concern. Aside from being an amplifier and electronics technician, I have also been playing guitar for over 37 years. I actually studied at a classical music conservatory for several years as well. I primarily design and build my own amplifiers and pedals. Repairing amplifiers, and making these RUclips videos was not originally my plan for what I was going to do with this knowledge and experience that I have developed. I would highly recommend Splawn amplifiers. I base this recommendation upon my rather limited personal experience with playing and working on this amplifier, and playing one or two others in the distant past. I also base this recommendation upon what my partner and mentor, Mike Maggio, the owner of the music store has told me. I have known him since 1988. He has owned several Splawn amplifiers, and he has tested out many others. Objectively speaking, the build quality and the quality of the components are extremely impressive. They really give you a lot for your money. There are no shortcuts or cost saving measures. The circuit layout and overall design are equally impressive. I also really like the sound quality, and the range of tones that you can achieve, but that part is subjective. My final thoughts on these amplifiers is that if you like the way that they sound, they are a quality investment that will probably last forever. In the event that a component does fail, they are robust and highly serviceable. I would choose a Splawn amplifier over the other brands that you have mentioned. Unless you are willing to spend big money on something completely handwired, with a large form factor like a turret board, eyelet board or terminal strips, you would be hard-pressed to find something better for your money.

Thank you again for watching my video and for leaving a comment. I really do appreciate it. Feel free to contact me directly at mike@mendittoamps.com if you need help with anything in the future.

I would also like to take this opportunity to apologize for not making any sort of sound test or demonstration of this Splawn Nitro SS amplifier. I have some serious neurological problems from which I have made a miraculous recovery. I am very self conscious about the fact that my guitar playing and overall musical abilities are not up to the standards of someone with the experience and training that I possess. Since making this video, however, I have decided that I am just going to go for it, and try my best.

@@mendittoamplification Thanks so very much for the recommendation! I really appreciate the advice because, I'm sure you know, there's increasingly a number of amps that techs refuse to work on. Based on my research, companies like Mesa are often ridiculed by techs and some refuse to service them altogether. I'm currently doing my homework and from what I remember from many years ago, I played through a Splawn Quickrod and liked it very much. It was versatile and a pleasure to play. I'm sure you are familiar with Lyle from Psionic Audio, that's where I got the idea for the Orange rk3 and Marshall 2203. In all honesty however, The Splawn is better suited for my style. Again, thanks so much for reaching out! I'm now going to be a "regular" on this channel & can't wait for more content. Awesome!

You are very welcome. I am glad to have been of assistance on your quest for a reliable way to achieve great tone. I recently tried to remotely advise a Facebook friend who has a high powered Mesa/Boogie bass amplifier that has completely failed. We could not find an accurate schematic diagram for the amplifier. That is not usually a big deal for me when working on basic trouble shooting. In this case, it was. The circuit was so complicated, with layers of components crammed together, that he just gave up on it. I am not really sure what he decided to do with it. I like a challenge, so I would definitely examine a Mesa/Boogie amp if it were presented to me. I would examine it for free, but with the caveat that I may deem the project cost prohibitive. Lyle from Psionic Audio makes great videos. I have not worked on any of the newer high end Marshall or Orange amplifiers, so I will trust his opinion on this subject. What I do know is that you can contact Splawn Amplifiers and Guitars directly, and speak to the people who actually make their products. If he has time, you can even speak or chat with Scott Splawn directly. I am honored to have earned your viewership! I am actually sitting here writing a general script and story boards for my next video presentation. I always try to improve upon everything that I do. It gets exhausting and tedious at times, so thank you for the inspiration to continue! Have a pleasant evening. Please let me know which amplifier you purchase.

Yes, but it was removed before I worked on this amplifier. If you look at the schematic diagram at about 1 minute and 30 seconds, it is, or was in this case, the .022 microfarad capacitor on the lower right hand side of the diagram. It is connected right after the power switch on one side, and it is connected to ground on the other side. ruclips.net/video/SFrQ0QWHDag/видео.htmlsi=jDg9okL2tW5oMs1w&t=90

Thank you for watching my video and for asking a question. I really do appreciate it! I am working on part 3 of this 1964 Gibson GA 5T Skylark video presentation series. I have a new Jensen P10R speaker arriving on Wednesday. I am simultaneously working on another video presentation featuring a 2009 Marshall MA100H.

Thank you, I am glad that you enjoyed this video! You are in luck, because I am working on more videos as I reply to your comment. I have a new Jensen P10R speaker for this amplifier arriving in a few days. I will release part 3 of this 1964 Gibson GA 5T video series very soon.

Thank you for watching my video and for leaving a comment. I am very glad that the video is actually helpful to you. Good luck in repairing your Gibson GA 5T amplifier. Remember to discharge the electrolytic capacitors! Let me know if you need help with anything.

Thank you! Have you seen part 2?

ruclips.net/video/SFrQ0QWHDag/видео.html

I am repairing an early 1965 version of this amp, and there are a lot of different circuit designs. However, I could not find a schematic for mine. So I found an online schematic diagram app, snd I am making a schematic diagram of my own. This is my first amp repair, so I am using this repair as a learning experience... Thank you for your video. Robin

@@robertingraham668 You're welcome! It is unfortunate that you were unable to find a schematic diagram for your project, but it sounds like you have things under control. This will be an excellent learning experience. Let me know if you need any help. I do know a lot about this stuff, but I am also friends with a very knowledgeable and well-known person who also makes tube amplifier repair videos. If I cannot answer your question, we can ask him for help. I hope that you are having a nice Sunday!

My friend @UncleDoug made a great video featuring a 1965 Gibson GA 5T Skylark about 5 years ago: ruclips.net/video/xsmp3if3j6U/видео.htmlsi=_I_78UkiU8vu_ZQj

Thank you! I'm glad that you enjoyed my video.

Thank you! I hope that you are enjoying your new amplifier.

Thank you, have a great day!

You're welcome! Thank you very much for watching my video, and for leaving a comment. I worked really hard on this video.

Thanks, Ron! We should build something together.

Based on recent sales data that I found on reverb.com, these amplifier range in price from $439 to $735. It depends upon the condition. One unit sold for $1729 just last week. Thanks for watching my video!

@@mendittoamplification Wow. Thank you.

@@ShawnStaplesFreeGuitarLessons You're welcome. Right now, I am working on the second episode of what has become a video series featuring this amplifier. Have a nice day!

@@ShawnStaplesFreeGuitarLessons I also just subscribed to your RUclips channel. Thanks again for watching my video!

@@mendittoamplification I Subscribed to yours as well. I love learning about amps. Dave Friedman will be modifying my JCM 800 soon and I will make a video of that. I probably should make a video of all my amps. I just realized I did do a Friedman amp video. Not very good. I will redo it. ruclips.net/video/8CoexFaFPRQ/видео.html

I am not well versed on this subject, but I think that M6 refers to the metal alloy. I know that alloy and grain structure have a lot to do with the materials chosen by engineers when designing a transformer. I assume that this has something to do with magnetic flux and magnetic fields.

@@mendittoamplification Ok thanks because the new orange bass amplifier the designer said he used a different IRON and Laminations other than M6 to get more BASS frequencies thump. I keep hearing about M6 but not sure what M6 means or does to the frequency response. Have you tried using a GAUSS meter and measure output transformers GAUSS levels?

No, I have not touched a Gauss meter since I was a kid learning about physics. There is certainly a possibility that the designer is experimenting with different materials to achieve the stated results. There is also the much more likely possibility that they are just making this up to get attention, and the company is using the same off-the-shelf components to build these amplifiers.

@@mendittoamplification true it can be because Peavy is claiming that the 90s version of the EVH 5150 amps output transformers have a mid bump from the steel, iron, laminate material alloys used which the newer 5150 transformers are made differently

@@waynegram8907 We can have a very long and in-depth discussion regarding this topic. First and foremost, mojo is what sells musical gear. The product does not actually need to be good, people just need to think that it is good, and that it makes them cool if they own and use a particular product. The second part of this discussion revolves around the quality of metals. There are many economic factors as well as geopolitical factors that impact this subject. The third part of this subject is how and where things are manufactured in this era. People are people regardless of where they are from. The way that people are treated, and the ethics of the society that they live in has a huge impact on the quality of manufactured goods. Let's keep this on topic. When a designer/engineer specifies a certain metal alloy, is the manufacturer actually using the specified materials?

Thanks for noticing!

Thank you for the question. An X class capacitor will most likely fail closed or short. In this circumstance, I think that the intention of the electrical engineers at Marshall was in the event of capacitor failure, the X class capacitor would prevent the loss of negative DC bias voltage to the grid, and prevent the tube from drawing too much plate current, aka "red-plating". The problem is that I have only experienced the opposite when these capacitors fail in Marshall amps. Every one of these capacitors that I have changed has failed open. Thank you for watching our video! -Mike Menditto

@@mendittoamplification I wonder why the X Class Capacitors often fail OPEN? because mostly the capacitors dielectric material insulator will get shorted out by the excess of the DC direct current. Maybe the 250v rated dielectric material didn't like the bias voltage

In this bias circuit, the capacitor is acting as an AC voltage dropper. Rectification occurs after this capacitor. The capacitor that Marshall chose is just not up to the task. A 250 volt rated capacitor was a poor choice by the engineers. The common consensus among other repair technicians that I have spoken to about this is to just replace this capacitor with a much higher voltage film capacitor, and forget about the "X Class" rating.

@@mendittoamplification So they are using this X Class capacitor as a Voltage Divider to step down the High Tension voltage down to a Bias Voltage? Using Resistors has Voltage Dropper to create a Bias Voltage but using a Capacitor has a Voltage dropper to create a biasing voltage is Poor Engineering

I recall measuring about 190 volts AC being fed to this capacitor.

This amplifier was not built to last, that's for sure.

It's a really nice survivor. I am not a big JCM 900 fan, but this one sounded great. Thanks for watching my video!

This is one of the worst electronic devices that I have ever encountered!

Thank you!

Thank you! I'm glad that you enjoyed the video. I have a few more in the works right now.

Thank you!!

Thanks man! Your opinion really means a lot to me.

Thanks, Joe! Thanks for the continuous inspiration.

Thank you for your question and comments! Everything listed on the model 4500 schematic is present and accounted for on this amplifier. In fact, the amplifier is in surprisingly good condition for a unit that has lived a rather hard life inside of a New York City rehearsal studio. This particular circuit does have a lot of variations from previous versions of the JCM 900, so you are not alone in feeling that something is very different. I thought the same thing as well, so you definitely have keen attention to detail. One half of the second 50 microfarad / 500 volt can capacitor is indeed left unconnected, but this seems to have been done intentionally on this circuit using 5881 power tubes, instead of EL34 power tubes. I have a full repair video in the works, but I am still waiting for the new output transformer to arrive. I have already changed the two can capacitors, and I have also replaced the 33 microfarad / 450 volt axial capacitor on the front circuit board. I should have the complete video posted in about a week or so. Thank you for watching my video, and thank you again for leaving a comment.

You can find all of the schematic diagrams for the different JCM 900 circuits here at this great website: www.drtube.com/marshall-jcm900/

I can't thank you enough for leaving a comment, and for making me think about a response. It's not easy getting people to watch these videos. It's even more difficult to get someone to interact. Have a good night! I hope that you enjoy the rest of your weekend. -Mike Menditto

@@mendittoamplification Oh yea definitely! I'm familiar with the AMp/Schematic, but just looked like it was missing a couple of the white 5w resistors. You can even see the two spots beside the other one's where they should be, so was just curious why they were missing, or if you were just in the middle of changing them/taking them out, or if you noticed etc. Also, even though I can do some maintenance/repair stuff on Amps/gear, I'm still pretty dang green, but I was also just like, hmmmm, I wonder if the fact that it may have been missing two of those resistors could contribute possibly to the reason the transformer went down? Guessing not, but then was thinking maybe if it was causing the tubes to draw excessive current, it lead tubes to fail, and then put stress on the OP tranny over time, or just the fact that if it was causing incorrect voltages to different parts of the Amp, then also just put stress on it over time, but I dunno hah.

@@mendittoamplification Also, regarding the power caps, I didn't mean it as like oh, make sure you do it right or something, as if to imply anything about your skills, because it's not that. It's just an issue I discovered when I was in the Amp, and going to replace them for the first time, and it's definitely a mistake from factory that since noticing, that I've seen it in a lot of them.

My older brother bought my first guitar at Maggio Music Center in 1988, and I started taking lessons there soon after. I have been close friends with Mike Maggio Sr. and Mike Maggio Jr. ever since. Let us know if you need anything. I hope that you are doing well!