anyone know a good tube guy in the Dyton Oh. area?

[Bhairab108]

we have sadly lost the best amp guy i have ever known, and my sonic I-40 needs some help!! i am blowing rec tubes like crazy and i have never had to replace one in it . any guesses? i had it serivced in early june  and all was well, and now BOOM! my doom is no longer in bloom!

[Soundmasterg]

Are you blowing fuses too? If so, you may have some bad caps or a bad ground connection.

Another possibility, when the amp was serviced, did they use larger caps than 60uf for the first stage? The GZ34 has a 60uf limit for the first cap stage. Go any larger and the GZ34 can't supply enough current quick enough to the cap and it blows the GZ34 out.

I would suggest to give Ted Weber a call at Webervst. He sells some tubes and sells them for a cheap price. He is a very knowledgeable guy himself about tube amps and their operation. Also, he probably knows a good amp tech around your area since he's from Kokomo, Indiana, which isn't that far away. Another thing you could try would be to get one of his Copper Cap solid state replacements. The WZ34 model that he sells is $20 and will work whereever a tube GZ34 works, but it wouldn't be bothered by a larger than 60uf cap. It also won't wear out in your lifetime, and it emulates the voltage drop and sag of a tube rectifier. I'm using one of them in my Sunn 200S that I rebuilt and modified. It sounds and works great! Check out his site at www.tedweber.com.

Greg

[EdBass]

There's a guy that I think is in New Bremen, or maybe St. Marys, somewhere in that vicinity, not too far from Dayton that specializes in Sunn tube gear. He did an interesting two channel mod to a ?Sceptre? using the reverb circuit. He was advertising his repair services on eBay not too many months ago and also has posted on this site regarding dead opticoupler repairs for Sunn tremolo circuits as well. I can't remember his name, and can't find any posts of his in a quick look, but if I come up with it I'll let you know. Maybe someone else here would remember, or maybe the above description will ring a bell in your local Dayton music community. If not, there are lots of good tube guys in SW Ohio, and an old Sonic should be child's play for most reputable techs.

[Bhairab108]

no, no fuses ,just tubes! if i remember correctly,which i often do not,it was doing this the lastime i had it worked on,and the dude that worked on it,whos name escapes me at the moment,couldn't find a problem. seems i need a second opinion!  it has been fine the last couple times i played it,then this morning(i'm a bad neighbor!) it strted poping and i shut it off before it could blow anything. i am at a loss. as far as i know, nothing was changed the last service,just a couple loose connections tightened. i did have the plug end of the power cord changed,because it wwas knarly and wouldn't stay plugged in without being taped ! i will definatly try the copper caps,sounds like a super sweet soulution. at this point i will try anything to make this head more reliable. i been looking for the fella ed was talking about,but with no luck. i really apreciate all the help and sugestions,thanks alot fellas!