Shocking Amp but Why?

[misterc57]

Great info from all of you, thank you.

The new owner is going to bring the amp to a tech.

[Chuck H]

Great info from all of you, thank you.

The new owner is going to bring the amp to a tech.

That's a vague bit of info. Because what constitutes a "tech" is too often self defined in the guitar amp genre. There was a guy in my area for a while that was so bent on the vintage aspect of older amps that he would do things like REVERSE grounded AC cord installations and remove new electrolytics to install NOS originals. To him a drifted original resistor, almost regardless of how far off it was, was superior to a new resistor in spec. I never met the guy but I met a few of his clients. On three occasions when watching bands playing clubs I noticed the guitar players amp exhibiting symptoms of needing service. I offered my services and was told that the amp had been recently serviced by this "amp tech". The first time this happened I defended my position and reiterated that I could clearly hear a problem and that it could be fixed. This didn't go over very well so I stopped doing that.

You did a good thing by installing a grounded AC cord on the amp. Let's hope the "tech" that will be checking it out isn't like the guy I described. Most aren't, of course. But it's still possible to do the right thing and have some snobby tech discredit it while pontificating internet lore and the virtues of vintage with their pinky out