Retubing a Studio 22?

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44deluxe

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Hi everyone!

I've got a nice Studio 22 in white Tolex (no graphic eq) that I bought about 18 months ago.

It's a great little amp but I think it could use some new tubes.

I'm not very electrically minded, is it possible to just buy a whole set of new valves and replace them?

I don't know how to test tubes or bias or anything.

Will unbiased valves just blow quicker or will they harm my amp?

Basically, for my current situation (ie living in the middle of nowhere) I just need a quick easy service I can do at home.....


All help appreciated! :wink:
 
Just buy some good tubes and change them out. You'll need (5) 12AX7 tubes, and a pair of EL84 tubes.

I've had good results buying tubes right from Mesa Boogie.

You don't need to worry about biasing the EL84s.

You do need to worry about the quality of the tubes. The Studio .22 is especially sensitive to crappy, microphonic preamp tubes.

Additionally, I would suggest:
Make sure R131 is 1k, 2Watts.
Change C9 to 3300uF, 16V.
Change all electrolytic caps (not just the filter caps). I always use
Sprague/Vishay 30uF, 500V for the filter caps.

If your clean channel sounds distorted, you may want to replace resistors:
R115 330 ohm, R261 100 ohm, R100 470 ohm, all 1/2 Watt.
 
Thanks Mark....

I don't understand much of your post, but I appreciate you taking the time to answer! :oops:


Basically, I can just order some replacement Boogie tubes and switch them though!?

Cool! 8)
 
Yes, as far as replacing the tubes, you can just buy a new set from MB, and everything will probably be fine.

But your amp is probably 15-20 years old, so if it's never been serviced, you could be playing on borrowed time (electrolytic caps can start to go bad in that amount of time). I'd get it to a qualified technician and give him all that nonsense info I posted, and be sure he knows the R131 mod isn't an option - it's mandatory.
 
Hi Mark,


I have an Uncle who worked for Marconi. He's not necessarily used to working with guitar amps, but he knows his way round a circuit diagram and is a super clever guy!

We haven't a lot in common and I only see him at Christmas time really.

As this time is approaching I thought I might take the amp, plus any necessary valves and capacitors so we can service the amp together and avoid awkward chats!

Is it possible you could explain to me in layman's terms (or recommend a good site) where I can get a grip of what may be involved.

Changing valves seems straightforward enough....but taking the amp out of the cabinet is another step again. What does the R131 mod do?

Lastly, do you know how I can make the reverb louder on the amp? Maybe it's not possible, but I'd be interested to know if it is.


Sorry to bombard you, just ignore this post if it's too much! :lol: :wink:
 
I'm not saying you *need* to do any of these things. You could be fine for a while just changing the tubes. If you bought the amp used, it may already have been re-capped and updated.

Here you will find schematics and information on the components, including a grid that shows you component location:
http://raktron.com/studio22/

I can help you with sourcing the actual resistors and capacitors (I don't have that info with me at the moment, but I'll get it to you).

Servicing should only be done by someone with electronics safety training. The caps can hold a lethal charge and must be drained. To remove the chassis, remove the tubes, remove the 4 screws on the top of the amp, and slide the chassis out the back. You'll see a printed circuit board in which all of the components are on the bottom side. If you see any parts on the top, that's a sign the amp has been serviced or repaired. The easy way to replace a part is to drop the old one out the bottom and mount the new one on the top of the board, and that is what most technicians do to save time.

I prefer to remove all the pots from the front panel so I can flip the board over and replace the components on the bottom side so the end result looks more professional.

What does the R131 mod do? The original 1 Watt resistor just can't handle the current, so in some amps it just overheats and burns up. The 2 Watt replacement can take the heat just fine.

How do you make the reverb louder?
After looking at the schematic, my first impression is that you might achieve this by replacing R232 with a smaller value of resistor. (At least I'm pretty sure it's R232 - the numbers on the schematic are almost unreadable, but one end of this resistor is tied to pin 7 of tube socket V3). The original part is 330k, so you could try a 270k and see what happens. Just remember that such experimenting can sometimes yield undesirable results, like strange tonal changes or oscillations.

If that doesn't work out, there is a nearby 220k resistor, which I'm guessing is R223 (also tied to V3 pin 7), but once again - the numbers on the schematic are impossible to read. If you increased the value of this 220k resistor, it might reduce the actual dry guitar signal that gets mixed with the reverb signal, making the existing reverb seem louder. In addition to weakening your signal, this could also cause undesirable changes in tone, so experiment at your own risk.

The other possibility would be to bypass the factory reverb and modify the amp for a big external reverb, like an Accutronics 9AB3C1B (17" long, 3 springs, which would sit in the bottom of the amp cabinet). It might improve on the sound of the reverb and possibly provide a stronger signal.

Stuff like that is experimental, so you have to be prepared for strange results, unwanted distortion, minor explosions, etc. :)
 
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