elk amp 50 with matching 2x12 cab

[siamesedream]

chris kat pics 054.jpg
i have i believe a 1964-67 elk twin amp 50 head and matching 2x12 cab. i aquired it about 4 years ago from a friend who wasnt using it anymore. it has been retubbed and serviced and sounds amazing. probably one of the best sounding amps i have used. the tone is unmatched. problem with it is after it is on for a while it starts to make some hissing and ocassional popping sounds. the tech who cleaned it up said something about the oil filters may need to be replaced for this problem. not sure about this as i am a guitar player and not an amp tech.when you are playing you dont notice the sound until you either stop or are playing lightly. what might this sound be caused by and is it fixable. what is the deal with elk amps. very little info on the net but they seem to be little hidden gems from anyone who has one in working order.i also have a non working elk amp 45 head. looks exactly the same as the 50. are these amps rare? and are they worth anything?

[Bruce / Mission Amps]

It has been a long time since I have but the last time I worked on one I had the distinct feeling it was made at the height of the Vietnam War in some dirty sweat shop in Asia. ... probably hand assembled with slave labor children and maybe with their feet.
Very amateurish, poor construction, crappy chassis, dubious components and lousy coupling capacitors, that are oil filled and probably leaky now...
pretty much a super cheaply made amp... similar in basic topology as a Fender Reverb amp but I think with EL34s, no classic eyelet board and incredibly inexpensive parts. And did I say cheap yet?
I can't remember if they were cathode biased power tube or not though.
It's good you like it a lot and I've always been able to make them sound good enough but I'd never give anyone a warranty on a repair nor would I ever want to own one.