Ampeg B-15-N

[chucksta]

My father has had one of these amps in our back gargage for some time. No one usues it so i've decided i'm going to fix it up and sell it. Now, i'm not sure if you guys have a "help" thread, i couldn't find it.

You'll have to excuse me, i know a little about electronics but not that much. When i plug it in i get a very loud humming noise. Is this the tubes? What could it be and how can i fix it.

Also, can someone tell me how much it is worth? or if i should even bother to fix it and sell it as-is.

[John_H]

http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=Ampeg+B15N&hl=en&hs=SFn&lr=&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&sa=X&oi=froogle&ct=title

Don't sell the amp... buy a guitar.. They're a fine amp. I own a B15S. If you want to sell it your best bet would be to probably try to vend it as-is locally. Shipping one would be pretty expensive. They weigh about 120 lbs. Having it repaired could get expensive, but there are many people out there that would love to own it.

[chucksta]

How much would it cost to have it repaired and where could i get it done? I've been thinking of getting back into guitar or bass.

[Tom Phillips]

Charlie,

Q. How much would it cost to have it repaired?
A. Hard to say without an in person evaluation and with only the info you provided. Guess: between $50 and $500.

Q. and where could i get it done?
A. Tell us the city you live in and there is a good chance that someone on this forum can recommend a good shop near you.

Regards,
Tom

[chucksta]

I live about halfway from Lancaster, PA and Philidelphia,PA. I just went out back to check to see if it would respond to a signal, it wouldn't. When i turned it on, it went from a higher hum to a lower hum. When i touched the guitar plug to metel it would get deeper. I checked the power fuse its good. And all the plugs glow.

[soundmasterg]

It probably has worn out electrolytic caps and possibly has some drifted or noisy resistors, and possibly has some leaking couping caps. It will most certainly need to have the tube sockets cleaned and tensioned too. Any amp tech could do the work for a couple hundred or less if the solutions I mentioned are all that is wrong with it. The humming is most likely from worn out electrlytic caps. You could learn how to do it yourself and you'd only be into it for parts and then your own labor time. Parts would be under $50. These are considered one of the all time best tube bass amps. Any old Motown stuff used these amps, along with many other recordings. If I had the cash, I'd be interested in the amp myself. If you fix it yourself, or have someone fix it, it should be good to go for another 20 years or more as long as you play it on a periodic basis.

[tonezoneonline]

I have one on the bench right now.They are well sought after amps and I agree that the electrolytics need to be changed.Sometimes you have to get a little creative with this since the originals are not available.The tubes could also be part of the problem.Check out www.fliptops .com.There are also some redrawn schematics on the net that are very good.