My boogie got back from service....

[Aart]

.... and it's 15 year old caps tested better than a new set of sprague's and a new set of mallory's.

My tech tested both. Also mounted them in to test the tone, and the old ones sounded better! So I'm playing with 15 year old caps, and there's no problem. So before you change your caps, think twice.

The preamptubes are changed too. previously 5 EH's(4 x 12ax7 and 1 12at7), now 2 x JJ12ax7, 2 x EH 12ax7 and 1 x EH 12at7.
Tried tung sols, but sounded EXACTLY the same as EH's(they're from the same factory btw, explains a lot).

He was excited about the shape of the amp btw. Boogie Rules!

Anyone as happy as me with his or her old Boogie?

 

[phyrexia]

My chassis says 2/94

 

[Boogiebabies]

23 Years and going here..

 

[Guitarzan]

Sweet!

 

[gonzo]

taking mine to the shop tomorrow.

it's a mark2b, 1981.

i really don't have any issues with it.... so i'm making this tech trip with no real requirements, other than to check everything out.

over the years, i've noticed a little more hiss, a little more flubby bass, but not enough to even warrant a meter test!

so, we'll see how a 26 year old holds up to the same tests!

i do have 3 broken eq sliders (they've been that way for about 23 years) so, while he's in there, i'm going to get him to replace those suckers.

my guess is, after any required cap replacements, and a good cleaning, and any re-tubing, i wont need another checkup for..... well, at least another 26 years!

 

[gonzo]

here's a link to my head/post/thread:
http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?t=13728

 

[Russ]

I dig my '91 Mark IV. I am glad to hear about the cap comparison.

 

[Aart]

Great to see a lot of happy boogie owners.

My 6/92 Mark IV went in for a check up. No real issues except some preamp tube hiss.

I asked the guy to check the caps and clean the pots etc.

Love that thing, so it deserved a big check up for it's 15th birthday.


When I have the money, I will buy myself another Mark. Best amps out there.

 

[Russ]

For sure...

 

[Shep]

my mk IV is a 6/92.. it's in the best working order possiable.. the Cap's are great.. the pot's are slient and nothing is playing up.. my mk III on the other hand has scatchy pot's and the reverb died on me the other day.. It was just the tank..and i feel it really need a cap job to..

the III looks in great condition to..

 

[phyrexia]

I just need a simul-class amp. When I have the dough I'll probably snatch up the first one that becomes available

 

[Aart]

my mk IV is a 6/92.. it's in the best working order possiable.. the Cap's are great.. the pot's are slient and nothing is playing up.. my mk III on the other hand has scatchy pot's and the reverb died on me the other day.. It was just the tank..and i feel it really need a cap job to..

the III looks in great condition to..

Cool, another 6/92. Export one too?

 

[kdove]

My chassis is marked 3/24/78 ... just replaced the caps recently (see the lenghty post). It sounds better now. Glad I changed them.

 

[Aart]

My chassis is marked 3/24/78 ... just replaced the caps recently (see the lenghty post). It sounds better now. Glad I changed them.

Well, its 14 years older than mine...


But mine sounded better with the original caps(we changed them to test it). So he put the original back in after the test round. Thereby, the originals tested better too, witch means the original caps have less chance on blowing within the next 3 years(at every retube service its getting a fast checkup).

 

[kdove]

I don't think anyone expects them to last 30 years ... I think mine were in better condition because I play almost every day. Apparently, playing regularly keeps caps in better shape.

But they finally started acting up. I just didn't know any better and actually educated myself here about the issue.

The one thing to consider though is if they are old and they explode you can have a mess. If the electrolyte material releases inside the amp. Point is that when old caps go bad, they don't just fail. They may cause other damage. So some people want to keep the old caps because the are "vintage". If it explodes there may be many other vintage components that have to come out. The biggest risk appears to be if the amp is not played for an extended period of time.

I did not know all of that ... just thought you had to change tubes and you're done. I was wrong ... I'm not willing to take the chance with the "rest" of my vintage amp.

But it sounds like you've got a good plan.

 

[Aart]

I don't think anyone expects them to last 30 years ... I think mine were in better condition because I play almost every day. Apparently, playing regularly keeps caps in better shape.

But they finally started acting up. I just didn't know any better and actually educated myself here about the issue.

The one thing to consider though is if they are old and they explode you can have a mess. If the electrolyte material releases inside the amp. Point is that when old caps go bad, they don't just fail. They may cause other damage. So some people want to keep the old caps because the are "vintage". If it explodes there may be many other vintage components that have to come out. The biggest risk appears to be if the amp is not played for an extended period of time.

I did not know all of that ... just thought you had to change tubes and you're done. I was wrong ... I'm not willing to take the chance with the "rest" of my vintage amp.

But it sounds like you've got a good plan.

Currently they are in better shape than new caps, so why change em? They are checked every 3 years(but I didn't have this amp so long, so this was the first time) so if they start to sound bad they will be replaced.

 

[Tuna141]

Another satisfied Mark user here...I bought a 1 year old Mark IIC back in the late 80's and still have it. About 4 years ago I picked up a Mark IV, and recently picked up a Mark III.

My old Mark IIC has worked flawlessly during it's last 20 years or so of use...

My tone rankings are: #1 = Mark IIC, #2= Mark III, #3 = Mark IV

(It's reversed order for versatility, though :lol: )

 

[kdove]

Man you just need a Mark 1 and you'll have a full house. That's cool to have all of those amps.

 

[Russ]

Wouldn't that be closer to a straight?