It is currently Mon Mar 16, 2020 6:46 pm

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 7 posts ] 
Author Message
Post subject: Maintenance for 1982 Super Champ?
Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 12:40 pm
Offline
Roadie
Roadie
User avatar

Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2012 1:08 pm
Posts: 253
Location: New England
I have a 1982 Super Champ with the upgraded speaker that sits more that gets played, since I'm mainly a bass player, and only play guitar once in a blue moon when I have to do double duty. I've always had solid state bass amps that I didn't have to worry about if they sat for a long time. I last fired up the Super Champ almost a year ago and it worked perfectly fine even though it sat unused for five or six years. I've read a few things around here that gives me the impression that this could be problematic to let a tube amp sit. I just want to confirm if there's anything I should be doing even though I've had no issues? Is it something I should worry about since it's 30 years old, or just if it's not broke, don't fix it situation? I plan on using it pretty soon, so it will be put to use again.

Thanks for any advice.

BTW, it's a really nice sounding amp, but then again, it's a Fender. 8)


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject: Re: Maintenance for 1982 Super Champ?
Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 7:00 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Sat Jul 03, 2010 2:18 pm
Posts: 6544
Where do you live? I'd find a good tech and have the electrolytic caps, coupling caps, & tubes looked at. Amd check and adjust the idle bias on those 6V6GTs. I believe there is no pot in the bias supply, so resistors need to be juggled to get the bias into range.

http://www.webphix.com/schematic%20heav ... _super.pdf


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Maintenance for 1982 Super Champ?
Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2012 8:58 am
Offline
Roadie
Roadie
User avatar

Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2012 1:08 pm
Posts: 253
Location: New England
Right now, I'm in Rhode Island, but I'll probably have to find someone out of town, since I haven't heard of anyone locally that does this. I'll do a search. How much does this usually go for?

As far as I know, the amp has never been gigged (my girlfriend's stepfather was the original owner, bought new) and it's in pretty mint condition. It's just been sitting in a room for long periods of time when it wasn't played. I wish I knew how to do this, myself. In fact, since I've had it, and been reading the forum, I've been thinking about learning electronic repair. I can see why people get into it. I find it interesting and it can be rather useful. I always thought it would be neat to build an amp, too.

I did find this page dedicated to it: http://www.superchamp.dk/frame.htm It has a good deal of info on it there, too.


Last edited by BassPaulL on Sat Jun 08, 2013 8:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Maintenance for 1982 Super Champ?
Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2012 3:58 am
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Sat Jul 03, 2010 2:18 pm
Posts: 6544
Hard to say what price the tech would charge. Depends on what all needs replacing and tweaking. Good thing is, cap cans and tubes are readily available for this amp.

This might be a simple amp to learn how to "tune-up" a unit.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Maintenance for 1982 Super Champ?
Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2012 7:04 am
Offline
Roadie
Roadie
User avatar

Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2012 1:08 pm
Posts: 253
Location: New England
OK. That's good to know. I've had the curiosity to open it up and look at it, but since I don't know exactly what I'm doing, I don't want to break anything or get zapped. I've read on here about the dangers of stored electricity. Definitely, some knowledge is acquired.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Maintenance for 1982 Super Champ?
Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2012 9:03 am
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Sat Jul 03, 2010 2:18 pm
Posts: 6544
Here's a good step one:

http://www.justinholton.com/hotrod/caps_p.html

Valve Wizard or Randall Aiken site can provide some good background and learned lunch-time conversation with fellow axe buddies. :D

http://www.valvewizard.co.uk/

http://www.aikenamps.com/TechInfo.htm

Good reading!


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Maintenance for 1982 Super Champ?
Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2012 11:08 am
Offline
Roadie
Roadie
User avatar

Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2012 1:08 pm
Posts: 253
Location: New England
Great! Thanks for the info. I'll have to look into this.


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 7 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: