Westcoast vs. Eastcoast builders

[LadyMermaid]

I know of a Southern who purchases his amps from a westcoast builder

I know of a few (5) westcoast amp builders -- most have good reps

If I was going to buy a new base amp today, not sure who I would go with

There is one builder I would stay far away from -- been burned by him

Another tech, I use one of his amps but he didnt build the amp for me but for someone else. I like the amp and would consider having him build for me but dont really think he is into the game

I hear there is another one who builds amps in Cali -- his amps have proven to be dangerous but I like to think over the years, he has learned to make safe amps

I am sure there are eastcoast amp builders that one must stay away from

Just to think someone can lose their life because someone did not wire the amp to be safe for the user

All the wattage scares me



Yes I am a bit sleepy...my thinking at this time is verrrrrry slowwwww

[MDYoungblood]

Buying amplifiers is like buying new cars, everyone has their favorite. I personally like a brand made in the Mid West, (no I'm not posting his name), the builder makes them one at a time and has quite a backlog of orders. There is also a builder local to me that just builds "Comp Boxes", haven't talked to him for years but I hear through the grapevine he is overloaded too. If you don't go with a manufactured box, ie: Dave Made etc., expect a couple month wait time for it.

3's

Greg

[LadyMermaid]

good to know

[Crusher]

East coast, west coast. Really doesn't matter. Just be sure the builder knows how to repair the amps they build. I have known a lot of builders that can build. But don't know the first thing about repairs. Usually they just yank everything off and start from scratch.

[Deleted User 14541]

No need to mention a name but what was dangerous about the one builder? Any tube box is dangerous with the lid off. There are some good boxes coming out of Alabama these days.

[Crusher]

Lol, besides the lid being off, I can think of a few scenarios that scared the heck out of me. One was a tube box that didn't have any bleeders on power supply. A lot of the old sweep tube junk was like that. I have seen regular house wire used for hi voltage. I'm talking 4kv+ they ran it thru big wire wound resistors and used the red hi temp silicone as an insulator and just smeared it all over everything. Lol. I like glitch resistors and fuse on the HV. Hate it when a tube arcs with nothing inline. Usually takes out power supply before main breaker trips. Fusing the bias is also a nice feature. If over driven or mistuned, may save the tube. Let's ya know something ain't right. Or worse, I have seen bias short and tube goes into full conduction. This usually happens on Russian tubes if builder was cheap or sub standard parts. I could go on and on. But I'm done.

By the way, 543 is right. The guy in Alabama is very good and builds a very nice product. He knows his stuff. I would buy from him before anybody else. Does real nice black powder coated cases. Nice and shiny.

[Deleted User 14541]

Lol, besides the lid being off, I can think of a few scenarios that scared the heck out of me. One was a tube box that didn't have any bleeders on power supply. A lot of the old sweep tube junk was like that. I have seen regular house wire used for hi voltage. I'm talking 4kv+ they ran it thru big wire wound resistors and used the red hi temp silicone as an insulator and just smeared it all over everything. Lol. I like glitch resistors and fuse on the HV. Hate it when a tube arcs with nothing inline. Usually takes out power supply before main breaker trips. Fusing the bias is also a nice feature. If over driven or mistuned, may save the tube. Let's ya know something ain't right. Or worse, I have seen bias short and tube goes into full conduction. This usually happens on Russian tubes if builder was cheap or sub standard parts. I could go on and on. But I'm done.

By the way, 543 is right. The guy in Alabama is very good and builds a very nice product. He knows his stuff. I would buy from him before anybody else. Does real nice black powder coated cases. Nice and shiny.

Those are some fine engineering techniques. A local builder was telling me about a home made tuber he came across with no plate blocking cap. The guy that brought it in said it kept popping the fuse every time he turned on the HV with the antenna connected...I suppose it could work with a 1/4 wave dipole.

[Crusher]

Guy is lucky. He might of tried hooking up coax after it was turned on. Could of got the shock of his life. Which brings to mind. I never mentioned a safety choke. Safety chokes are installed just for that reason. If blocking cap shorts. They send voltage to ground which is suppose to blow glitch/ hi voltage fuse. Instead of waiting till power supply is overloaded and trips main breaker.
Also worth mentioning now, if seriously thinking about buying a tube amp. You need to figure out what kinda wattage and what you plan on doing with it. Specify how you plan on running it. Say you want 2500w. You need to specify if this is carrier/ dead key or if this max pep watts. Big difference between the 2. Otherwise you may be disappointed when you get amp. Or you may be paying for a lot more than you need.

[LadyMermaid]

Lots of techs-builders can build electronic items but cant begin to repair. Some dont have the patience for repairs. Then you have that person who enjoys trying to figure what is wrong with a non-working item, its a challenge for them.

As for what was dangerous about the amp -- well, I am sure some old tymers know of an older California gent who died touching a particular part in an amp. I believe it was not grounded correctly. The gent was well-knowledged -- not sure why he would touch anything inside the amp. My understanding if the amp had the proper wiring, the gent would not have lost his life.

[Bombero]

Hey..

Some people get brave when working on some electronic equipment.

Capacitors are found in a lot of electronic equipment. They store excess electrical energy during power surges and discharge it during power lulls to provide the equipment with a constant, even supply of electricity. The larger the capacitor, the more charge it can store per unit voltage, even after the equipment is turned off, lasting days, weeks or even months.

Before working on an appliance or electronic device, you must first discharge its capacitors.

Bombero

[Crusher]

Lots of techs-builders can build electronic items but cant begin to repair. Some dont have the patience for repairs. Then you have that person who enjoys trying to figure what is wrong with a non-working item, its a challenge for them.

As for what was dangerous about the amp -- well, I am sure some old tymers know of an older California gent who died touching a particular part in an amp. I believe it was not grounded correctly. The gent was well-knowledged -- not sure why he would touch anything inside the amp. My understanding if the amp had the proper wiring, the gent would not have lost his life.

Sounds like a 2 piece unit. Possible one section was not grounded and B- was floating. Know of a guy who did that while hooking up the amp. Forgot to hook up ground on one of the cabinets. So the -6kv was floating. Knocked him to the ground.

[LadyMermaid]

Well the situation I know of ended in death and I am sure he isnt the first person. I have always been scared of big amps/any amp....the reason I dont want NO big boy amp.

Then to know someone who fried their electrical wires in their home -- another crazy situation.

I think some guys should go buy/rent a warehouse and not use their home where they share with their wives as an electrical time bomb.

[Crusher]

When it comes to an amp, you get exactly what you pay for. Not a penny more. If it's a really good deal or too good to be true, it usually is. Point is corners were cut somewhere. As saying goes, pay now or pay later.
Yup I knew of one guy, the rx/tx relay was sticking. Guy had the cover off to unstick. Usually he used the wife's plastic spatula or something like that. Anyways the one day she took it to use. So he used a wooden ruler. What he didn't realize was it had that metal strip length wise. It was the last mistake he ever made.

The house wiring scares me, sound like amp wasn't fused of someone put much bigger fuses than what was needed. Problem is very few people understand the big amps. Not to mention lack of bypassing or even MOV's on primary side to prevent spikes. Honestly if someone has a big amp, they really need to know how it operates and what all the do's and don'ts are. The builder needs to think ahead and make sure to use proper safety interlocks, proper wiring harnesses that already include the ground interconnects. But as stated above. You get what you pay for. LOL. I have had stuff come this way and hand right back. LOL. I ain't even gonna plug it in. House wire used to carry the High Voltage inside an amp. Scary stuff. Sub Standard practices and because the buyer was clueless or ill informed, this is thought to be ok.

[Fantasma25]

I know this is a post from a few years ago but the information provided still applies today. Good info and thanks to all who shared.

Fantasma

[LadyMermaid]

2019 I am still here.

[jessejamesdallas]

2019 I am still here.

So since your still here...what did you do about a base amp? "East or West?"