Sickamps see many more guitar amplifier repairs than any other form of electronics stage equipment. Naturally, as our name suggests it has become a specialism for us and somewhat of an origin.
Guitar amps are not necessarily more problematic or fail more but they are more popular and are generally multi-functional and often used as bass amps, piano amps and so on. At the end of the day all electronics passing high voltages and currents mixed in with a harsh stage environment of beer sweat and often tears it’s no wonder stage electronics occasionally have hiccups.
-Damaged jacks
-Hums & Crackles (caused by dry joints, leaking capacitors)
-Blown Elements
-Played too loud and let out some smoke
-Reading wrong information on forums and DIY attempted repairs
-Rarely it’s human error – We try to understand how you use the kit and offer suggestions for best results
The term solid state means no moving parts and all ‘solid’ refers to is the Silicone Transistors and MOSFETS used to amplify and deliver the current to the speaker. Solid state amplifier repairs can refer to a solid state preamp circuit which uses Jfet and opamp devices, as well as referring to solid state output stages which rely on often big heatsinks with large transistors or Mosfets to dissipate the heat.
Valve amps use electrons travelling through a vacuum to amplify the current. The blue glow tinge you see on power tubes is plasma and is as close as you can come to seeing electrons moving. Like solid state valve amplifiers, valve amplifiers can have a valve preamp section as well as a valve output stages. Because of the high voltages and low currents used to run valve output stages, output transformers are used as devices which in simple terms lower the voltage and increase the current making to match the load of a speaker.
Both amplifiers technologies contain dangerous voltages and users are not recommended to start prodding around inside. We have had many amps in over the years where a video clip on ‘repairing amps’ is used and often creates many more faults. For many people their guitar amp is their tool to earning money, and needs to be carefully repaired and looked after. If you are unsure, do not touch it and call us!
We’re authorised by some of the biggest brands in musical electronics and amplifiers. Please see our extensive list at [link to Brands]
