Amp techs in Nashville? Smokin' Matchless SC-30

[Zippy]

An acquaintance from another forum, Acoustic Guitar Forum, placed his Matchless SC-30 in a local shop on consignment to raise money to buy an instrument from me. I heard last night that the shop owner was playing the amp and it started smokin' and cracklin'. Aside from wanting to whack the hands of the abuser, I'd like to help the person that owns the amp get it fixed.

Who is working in/near Nashville that would take on a failed Matchless SC-30? How difficult is it to get parts - I guess that question is actually, "Does Matchless use proprietary parts?" Can a tech easily get parts for (or from) Matchless?

I'm nowhere near the area and want to help this guy - regardless of whether he is still able to buy my guitar.

[Drumslinger]

man that sucks! I would help out but i'm in Colorado. the shop owner should at least pick up half of the bill or all of it. i'm sure the amp was tried out when it was dropped off at the store. makes me wonder if there is more to the story.

[CaseyJones]

Who is working in/near Nashville that would take on a failed Matchless SC-30? How difficult is it to get parts - I guess that question is actually, "Does Matchless use proprietary parts?" Can a tech easily get parts for (or from) Matchless?

There isn't anything in a Matchless that a good amp tech can't get from a dozen different sources. Should be easy in Nashville.

I'm nowhere near there. Those hats would lynch me.

[Zippy]

Turns out that the shop owner was running a Telecaster through a Zendrive into the Matchless SC-30. Story goes that the amp starting making a loud crackling noise when fretting a string. He put the amp on standby then turned it back on again after switching the Zendrive off. After a few minutes, the crackling sound returned followed by white smoke coming out the ends of the chassis and the input jack.

The good news is that the shop is covering the cost of shipping to Matchless and the repairs.

Are these amps running so close to the threshold that the value of the cathode bias resistor needs to be adjusted for new tubes? Or conversely, is tube matching critical on these amps if you are not going to change the bias resistor?

[jimg]

You might try Nashville Amplifier Service, they're in Franklin just outside of Nashville. Phone #- 615-591-7556

[Zippy]

Thanks. I'll check to see whether the amp has already been shipped.