Ampeg svt heritage with rusty xfmr cores!

[nevetslab]

The last time I saw this Ampeg SVT Heritage amp was November 2014. It just came in with one of it's Sovtek 6550's blown...amp in Protect. I do like their Protect circuit, as it works fast enough to kick out the relay and kill the HT supply, but just long enough to make a nice controlled explosion within the tube glass envelope.

So, after I pulled the preamp out and then extracted the power amp chassis from the case, I found both the Power Xfmr and Output Xfmr with substantial rust on the lamination core stacks.



I applied a little bit of WD 40 onto a rag and rubbed it onto the rusty core surfaces, not enough to seep into the lamination stack (so I think). Minor improvement.



But, this is the first time I've seen an SVT come in this way. The heater xfmr is fine, no hint of rust on it. These two rusty xfmrs look a little different from what I'm used to seeing...based on the shape of the end bells. IS THIS what is touted as the Luxury Model in the SVT-CL line? I'll have to ask the client where this amp has been making it's living the last 3-3/4 years.

[Leo_Gnardo]

I'll have to ask the client where this amp has been making it's living the last 3-3/4 years.

Maybe it's the house backline amp at Humphrey's "On the Beach" or some similar venue. FWIW I bought - sight unseen - a Fender black panel Bassman that must have been used at some shag house on the North Carolina coast. Rustiest amp I've ever seen! But after some TLC it turned out to be a great sounding amp and worked flawlessly. Sold it to a customer. He still has it, loves it to bits, has needed only minor servicing once in 15+ years.

A little WD-40 or similar I'm sure won't hurt. Scrubbing the lams with steel wool or a wire brush whether by hand or mounted on a drill, not recommended, the general "wisdom" is you don't want to take a chance of shorting lams one to the next with shreds of steel. Running counter to this "wisdom" - Peavey's habit of running a welding bead across all the lams when they attach a mounting bracket. Their transformers work just fine. Go figure.