SoCal Amp repair?
Moderated By: mods
SoCal Amp repair?
Howdy y'all, need to get the PRS Sonzera 20 I bought serviced as there's a bloody great hole in one of the tubes - I can see it from the back of the amp. It's also humming like a fridge which is probably why the guy was selling for 400 bucks instead of the normal 500-550ish.
Overall it's a nice amp and just needs a service and a clean up, any suggestions for someone in the greater LA or San Diego areas? I don't really want to have to trudge too far north but I'm close to the main Freeways for LA/SD.
Overall it's a nice amp and just needs a service and a clean up, any suggestions for someone in the greater LA or San Diego areas? I don't really want to have to trudge too far north but I'm close to the main Freeways for LA/SD.

Re: SoCal Amp repair?
Jeff Snyder was always the guy in N County SD. Let me check. My old guitarist works at a shop in Vista and I am pretty sure Jeff does their work. Not sure if you are closer to LA or SD. I can ask around some friends about LA (One guy I know in particular will no quality people for sure)
They say great minds think alike....Sometimes we do too...
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Re: SoCal Amp repair?
it's a dying art, especially in SoCal in my experience. i've still yet to get my marshall up to Orange County to the one authorized repair shop within 90 minutes of here (the one in Riverside closed, and the North County San Diego guy said he couldn't work on it).
Mickie, if you've got a guy, i'm all ears
Mickie, if you've got a guy, i'm all ears
Re: SoCal Amp repair?
Ill reach out to Vintage Guitar Workshop and see what they do.dots wrote: Wed Nov 15, 2023 3:43 pm it's a dying art, especially in SoCal in my experience. i've still yet to get my marshall up to Orange County to the one authorized repair shop within 90 minutes of here (the one in Riverside closed, and the North County San Diego guy said he couldn't work on it).
Mickie, if you've got a guy, i'm all ears![]()
Ill let you guys know. If I know them it wont be quick.
They say great minds think alike....Sometimes we do too...
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Re: SoCal Amp repair?
mickie08 wrote: Wed Nov 15, 2023 5:31 pmIll reach out to Vintage Guitar Workshop and see what they do.dots wrote: Wed Nov 15, 2023 3:43 pm it's a dying art, especially in SoCal in my experience. i've still yet to get my marshall up to Orange County to the one authorized repair shop within 90 minutes of here (the one in Riverside closed, and the North County San Diego guy said he couldn't work on it).
Mickie, if you've got a guy, i'm all ears![]()
Ill let you guys know. If I know them it wont be quick.
Re: SoCal Amp repair?
Thanks Mickie. There's a dude up in North LA, http://www.yelp.com/biz/blankenship-am ... Amp+Repair this guy - who does some spicy looking Tweed and Marshall JMP-50 copies for 2k-ish mark - if he's in business I'll see if I can get some videos if/when I visit him. Website design is old enough to be my father but it's also timestamped 2023 at the bottom so seems he might be active.mickie08 wrote: Wed Nov 15, 2023 5:31 pmIll reach out to Vintage Guitar Workshop and see what they do.dots wrote: Wed Nov 15, 2023 3:43 pm it's a dying art, especially in SoCal in my experience. i've still yet to get my marshall up to Orange County to the one authorized repair shop within 90 minutes of here (the one in Riverside closed, and the North County San Diego guy said he couldn't work on it).
Mickie, if you've got a guy, i'm all ears![]()
Ill let you guys know. If I know them it wont be quick.

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Re: SoCal Amp repair?
dots wrote: Wed Nov 15, 2023 7:43 pmmickie08 wrote: Wed Nov 15, 2023 5:31 pmIll reach out to Vintage Guitar Workshop and see what they do.dots wrote: Wed Nov 15, 2023 3:43 pm it's a dying art, especially in SoCal in my experience. i've still yet to get my marshall up to Orange County to the one authorized repair shop within 90 minutes of here (the one in Riverside closed, and the North County San Diego guy said he couldn't work on it).
Mickie, if you've got a guy, i'm all ears![]()
Ill let you guys know. If I know them it wont be quick.
![]()
did the googling, found the shop, sent a note. hopefully, they can do something at least. i'll report back how it goes.
http://vgwguitar.com/
Re: SoCal Amp repair?
We just parted ways a few months.ago. my guess is they will be pricey but if they.can do it they will get it done right. We split on amicable but weird terms. Not aure a name drop would be helpful. .

They say great minds think alike....Sometimes we do too...
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Re: SoCal Amp repair?
gotcha. they haven't replied back yet either, so we'll see.
Re: SoCal Amp repair?
Sounds like it just needs some new tubes and maybe a rebias? Don't need no tech for that, geez.Rhysyrhys wrote: Mon Nov 13, 2023 12:59 am Howdy y'all, need to get the PRS Sonzera 20 I bought serviced as there's a bloody great hole in one of the tubes - I can see it from the back of the amp. It's also humming like a fridge which is probably why the guy was selling for 400 bucks instead of the normal 500-550ish.
Overall it's a nice amp and just needs a service and a clean up, any suggestions for someone in the greater LA or San Diego areas? I don't really want to have to trudge too far north but I'm close to the main Freeways for LA/SD.
http://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/p ... ent.40624/
Re: SoCal Amp repair?
Can I actually do that myself? I always thought it was a fraught business to pull offDoog wrote: Fri Jan 12, 2024 9:03 pmSounds like it just needs some new tubes and maybe a rebias? Don't need no tech for that, geez.Rhysyrhys wrote: Mon Nov 13, 2023 12:59 am Howdy y'all, need to get the PRS Sonzera 20 I bought serviced as there's a bloody great hole in one of the tubes - I can see it from the back of the amp. It's also humming like a fridge which is probably why the guy was selling for 400 bucks instead of the normal 500-550ish.
Overall it's a nice amp and just needs a service and a clean up, any suggestions for someone in the greater LA or San Diego areas? I don't really want to have to trudge too far north but I'm close to the main Freeways for LA/SD.
http://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/pr ... ent.40624/

Re: SoCal Amp repair?
Obviously it depends on the amp, but it can just literally be a case of putting a multimeter on a few points (that are generally accessible and not buried) and moving a similarly accessible trimpot until both tubes show the right reading.
I did this on my Marshall DSL50 many times as a relatively clueless 20-something with a bit of 2000s-ass HARMONY CENTRAL GEOCITIES ASK JEEVES info, I'm sure you'll have no bother.
http://d159anurvk4929.cloudfront.net/d ... Manual.pdf
The manual doesn't given any DIRECT instructions (QUALIFIED TECHNICIANS ONLY), but I'm sure there's some images or videos online somewhere where you could suss out how easy it is on this specific amp.
EDIT: there you go; 6:10 here, looks easy:
I did this on my Marshall DSL50 many times as a relatively clueless 20-something with a bit of 2000s-ass HARMONY CENTRAL GEOCITIES ASK JEEVES info, I'm sure you'll have no bother.
http://d159anurvk4929.cloudfront.net/d ... Manual.pdf
The manual doesn't given any DIRECT instructions (QUALIFIED TECHNICIANS ONLY), but I'm sure there's some images or videos online somewhere where you could suss out how easy it is on this specific amp.
EDIT: there you go; 6:10 here, looks easy:
Re: SoCal Amp repair?
I've always been a bit of a coward, but with a second hand amp would it not be an idea to get it a once over? Is a massive hole appearing in the side of a tube a normal wear and tear type thing, or a possible symptom of something else going on?

Re: SoCal Amp repair?
It's most likely that the previous owner (or whoever) touched the tube directly, leaving GROSS SKIN OILS on it, which will cause that 'hotspotting', I forget the proper term. That, potentially in combo with an overly-keen bias setting, can take a tube out; those things get hot, Watts.
Re: SoCal Amp repair?
So!
I retubed it, was sounding good for a bit, even got a power tube bias to what is set in the manual (+ a little bit because that's what all the really cool people with big hair in the 80s do). Then I moved it and the weird shit started happening again where it was changing channels randomly and the power and channel switching lights were flickering on and off.
One of the tubes had hotspotted, the 6L6 so I don't feel like I wasted money because I will have had to have done this at some point soon anyway. I found: http://www.yelp.com/biz/forgotten-gear ... buena-park this guy somewhat near me and he has excellent reviews! Hopefully I can round out this year+ old thread one day
I retubed it, was sounding good for a bit, even got a power tube bias to what is set in the manual (+ a little bit because that's what all the really cool people with big hair in the 80s do). Then I moved it and the weird shit started happening again where it was changing channels randomly and the power and channel switching lights were flickering on and off.
One of the tubes had hotspotted, the 6L6 so I don't feel like I wasted money because I will have had to have done this at some point soon anyway. I found: http://www.yelp.com/biz/forgotten-gear ... buena-park this guy somewhat near me and he has excellent reviews! Hopefully I can round out this year+ old thread one day


Re: SoCal Amp repair?
That defo sounds like something 'cold solder joint'-y, or maybe a failing cap (I had similar things happen to my DSL50 back in the day too); getting a tech to look it over certainly sounds like a good idea at this stage, although you could always give the footswitch input/s a blast of contact cleaner, just to rule that out quickly.
I fixed volume dropouts on my DSL50 JUST before recording a few years back by removing the chassis, and cleaning every pot, switch and tube socket - sometimes it can be dumb shit, but it seeing as you've got time and money on your side, you might as well get your amp a full once-over to hopefully dodge any future shit too.
I fixed volume dropouts on my DSL50 JUST before recording a few years back by removing the chassis, and cleaning every pot, switch and tube socket - sometimes it can be dumb shit, but it seeing as you've got time and money on your side, you might as well get your amp a full once-over to hopefully dodge any future shit too.
Re: SoCal Amp repair?
Turns out this guy is a bit of a ledge and has a YouTube channel!
Check this out, it me:
Check this out, it me:

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Re: SoCal Amp repair?
Been in touch with this dude myself, thank you for sharing his info.
So, he had me dig the JVM out of the closet and pull the rectifier cap off to see if any of the preamp tubes went dark after powering on for a bit.
First of all... Marshall stashed all but 1 of the preamp valves BEHIND the power section.
But, no they all light up...
So, they all light up, no issues there. And at that point I wasn't getting any sound at all when before I would get a few minutes before it would fall off. Reported all that to him. He said to connect a jumper to the fx loop jacks. Done. No sound...except when I pulled the guitar cable I heard a brief string ringing...
Plugged it back in, nothing. Unplugged, nothing. Unplugged, plug in, switch channels, and I got what I can only describe as a reverb flash...like the circuit got a signal and then cut out. Hm.
Unplug, plug in, unplug, plug in. Only now I've got the emulated line out going to my Presonus for larfs. Nothing.
One more time, unplug, plug in...MOST INSANELY LOUD MARSHALL ROAR BECAUSE THE MASTER WAS DIMED COMES OUT THE CAB AND THE PRESONUS.
Wtf? Dialed the volume down, and the cab stops making sound, but the line out is still pushing to the Presonus fine. Turned it all off, reseated the guitar cable, switch from 16ohm output and input to 4ohm, turn it on, same thing. Twisted the input jack on the cab...everything's working!
I asked Frank if a dodgy input jack on an amp can create this scenario, and he said he didn't think this one would based on the schematic just showing a straight line from it to the tube (no filtering circuitry between).
He's up the road from me about 90 minutes, so I'm taking it to him at the end of the month to get it looked at top to bottom. Maybe some dirty jacks were an issue all along? Kinda pisses me off if that's the case since I've had the amp in 3 different shops since 2015.
The saga continues...
So, he had me dig the JVM out of the closet and pull the rectifier cap off to see if any of the preamp tubes went dark after powering on for a bit.
First of all... Marshall stashed all but 1 of the preamp valves BEHIND the power section.

► Show Spoiler
Plugged it back in, nothing. Unplugged, nothing. Unplugged, plug in, switch channels, and I got what I can only describe as a reverb flash...like the circuit got a signal and then cut out. Hm.
Unplug, plug in, unplug, plug in. Only now I've got the emulated line out going to my Presonus for larfs. Nothing.
One more time, unplug, plug in...MOST INSANELY LOUD MARSHALL ROAR BECAUSE THE MASTER WAS DIMED COMES OUT THE CAB AND THE PRESONUS.
Wtf? Dialed the volume down, and the cab stops making sound, but the line out is still pushing to the Presonus fine. Turned it all off, reseated the guitar cable, switch from 16ohm output and input to 4ohm, turn it on, same thing. Twisted the input jack on the cab...everything's working!
I asked Frank if a dodgy input jack on an amp can create this scenario, and he said he didn't think this one would based on the schematic just showing a straight line from it to the tube (no filtering circuitry between).
He's up the road from me about 90 minutes, so I'm taking it to him at the end of the month to get it looked at top to bottom. Maybe some dirty jacks were an issue all along? Kinda pisses me off if that's the case since I've had the amp in 3 different shops since 2015.
The saga continues...
Re: SoCal Amp repair?
Nice dude!
Yeah solid fella, he's up in Buena Park area which is not my neck of the woods, we were shooting the shit about Spaceflight because everyone in LA that is a nerd is basically a space nerd.
He got my shit back up and running turns out it was a bunch of burnt out caps, he even fixed my MBM pedal up for me and now I can rawk teh fork out with maximum Kurdztrz.
I owe this thread and other threads demos now that I can actually record on something that isn't my iPhone
Yeah solid fella, he's up in Buena Park area which is not my neck of the woods, we were shooting the shit about Spaceflight because everyone in LA that is a nerd is basically a space nerd.
He got my shit back up and running turns out it was a bunch of burnt out caps, he even fixed my MBM pedal up for me and now I can rawk teh fork out with maximum Kurdztrz.
I owe this thread and other threads demos now that I can actually record on something that isn't my iPhone
