This subject seemed to first emerge (that i saw anyway) in discussions around repair (or not as it turned out) of a Roland Blues Cube and the conclusion seemed to be that Roland's policy was that they don't make spares or tech info available for out of warranty repairs, making the amps effectively disposable.
The same seemed to be the case with the Katana and perhaps now with the new Fender amp range too.
1. Is this indeed the case?
2. If it is, should we expect reviewers and even retailers to be making this better known?
Red ones are better.
Comments
A more useful goal in many ways, which has been achieved decades ago by some manufacturers, is simply to make the failure rate so low that it doesn't really matter - and even then, obsolescence is the bigger issue. Most old solid-state amps from the 80s and 90s still work fine, but not many people want to use them now...
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
aye that's a good point - it seems to be a shift in this particular market though
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
The disposable culture.
Everyone wants the latest 'thing'.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Is there a single amp on the market in the sub £300 praccy amp space that would be completely repairable indefinitely?
For my limited knowledge, even a top 2 or 3 suggestions per category would be helpful, so for small tube combos, maybe the Yerasov, the Pro Jr, perhaps, depending on cost and people experience of them for reliability /value.
This may be useful and help guide newcomers or players like me who aren't too experienced, but I'm not sure if the forum gives space for such a thing or indeed if any individuals are prepared to create the necessary threads. Apologies if such things already exist beyond the random threads that already exist.
I'm not a gear head, but it's time for a new amp and a quick note of what experienced professionals find reliable and well designed at various price/volume/weight points would be very helpful indeed.
I'm tempted by a modern, lightweight, loudish solid state amp, but really can't afford to waste cash on something poorly built, badly designed or fiddly to use. I can decide if I like the tone myself, but the other factors are a bit intangible without inside knowledge.
I'd love to know how an experienced amp tech would rate the Orange Crush, Peavy, Vox and other affordable solid state amps for design and quality.
I can find decent (but different) tones in all of them, what I don't know is how they rate on longevity and how much care the design and manufacturers took when speccing and building them.
I like nicely built things that last - looks or fashion don't really come into it.
Thanks for listening.
The reason a lot of manufacturers won't give out schematics/repair info is because there is a danger of being sued for damages or even death. To explain:
Person A reads on the internet that repairing his amplifier is dead easy, all he has to do is solder in part 'y'. Look up the schematic on line on their website, order the part from their part store and blob it in.
So he does so, and fits it wrongly.
The amp blows up.
Because Person A has read loads of stuff on the internet, he's wired his own house too - and the wiring has the wrong fuses etc. So when the amp blows up, the resulting fire burns down his house and the small child sleeping in the upstairs bedroom dies.
So who is at fault? Clearly (using common sense) its Person A for being a dick. BUT... Person A stars claiming that the part supplied was at fault, and that the schematic should have stated categorically that if installed wrongly there could be a fire. So they instruct lawyers to sue the amp manufacturer... whether or not they win is almost irrelevant because the costs spiral, the bad publicity hurts the brand and the amp manufacturer's business is damaged... possibly terminally.
All for a free schematic and an inexpensive part...
Wouldn't happen? Well, its happening. The companies I've worked for (and work for) will not supply parts to non-qualified techs (by that I mean members of the general public - you need to be a proper tech), and likewise the schematics - not because of anything other than a genuine concern about safety.
Most modern loud SS amps that are light will never be as easy to work on a a simple valve amp built on a turret or eyelet board.
Dont know how far it’s reach was though.
When you can pick up good used Katanas for around £100 not many people will bother driving a broken one over to a tech three towns away and waiting a month for it to be fixed, no matter how many spares are available.