Here's a little trick for getting no-lead solder off. Add a bit of 60/40 tin/lead solder to the joint. It will mix with the no lead solder and make it easier to remove. I've done this many times with circuit boards and it works great.
Thanks for sharing the great work and helpful experience on the pots! I recently bought an old odd lot of carbon comps and got a few of those tiny 1/4W ones too. Didn't even know they made them.
The metal on those pot bushings is what we actually used to call "POT metal". It's actually very cheap die cast zinc, AKA, the cheapest cast metal that money can buy. Super cheap pots and pans were made from this junk cast zinc, plus it was commonly melted down in a steel pot and cast into molds with shapes like toy soldiers & paper weights. Hard water eats zinc up like hot water dissolves beef bullion cubes.
The countersink on the flexible shaft is one of my favorites, Lyle. You're going to eventually give away ALL the secrets, aren't you?;) I hope Korg and their ilk keep (indirectly) giving you plenty of upgrade jobs on their A-list amps.
I had an amp tech go through my handwired 18 watt Marshall and he wanted to replace those yellow bypass caps which were the same brand as the ones in this amp you're working on. He also put in a choke. It did sound better and Im not sure what he put in as far as bypass caps. He gave the old ones to me in a bag and I still have them. I'm going to use the .047 in my Gibson RVT 19 Falcon when I remove the 3 prong tone suck network couplet. The bypass cap it will replace is a .0100. Apparently the stock .0100 filters too much bass and along with the tone suck couplet thing scoops the tone and makes it too thin. It will be much louder and more full when I'm done. :)
So happy about the nuanced view on solder. I have a compliant station and another station that isn't... Since I don't make anything that's more than a dozen units, I can splurge on _relatively_ expensive lead-free; and as you've mentioned, mixing metals makes life difficult for so many reasons (increased resistance, making an unintentional thermocouple, corrosion, brittle joints, hard on tips, etc.) And you're absolutely right, instead of the cheapest SAC305 they can find, they could use SN100, for which the patent has expired. Kester even has a version they call "K100D", though with a different flux than my favorite AIM/Nihon Superior SN100c "Fastcore". Also, for hand soldering, it has the advantage of being eutectic; though I know that's not a plus for everybody. I notice you don't seem to use 63/37, which is fine, it's about technique and preference. (They could just use a quality SAC305, too, for that matter, but I digress.) Just wanted to thank you for expressing your view on solder, it's kind of a big deal with how much respect you've earned. It's not really a simple subject, and you approached it fairly without questioning anybody's courage at the bench (lol).
@@PsionicAudio I've been using Cardas Audio quad eutectic, and it works very nice. It flows, sticks, and isn't messy. No ice sickle's. The price is ridiculous though. If I were doing production I would certainly be looking for a more cost effective alternative.
Been watching a few of your videos recently, you do good work. Interested to know why you changed those poly caps though. I know Vishay poly axial caps are good quality but in my experience the cheaper poly caps are fine as a rule. I've tested a lot of them for leakage at wkg voltage and 10% higher and found no issue's. The Vishay axials have soared in price, about a fiver each in the UK now (2022), I've started using Panasonic radial's in my amps to keep costs down. Keep up the good work, thanks for another video....DA.
I was changing some values too, in fact all but two are now a different value. So I charged those two as well so they all match. Panasonic ECQs are great.
For deburring what you’re using obviously works great, but I couldn’t help to think that the RCBS case deburring tool I use for reloading would also likely work great for your purposes.
I wish I could get the ultimate TBX AC30 mods done by you on my one! Alas, I fear the shipping of it in its tour case from New Zealand and back might slightly break the bank…
For the amount of components that were left on the turret board, it seems it might be less time to completely start from scratch than just leave in about 15 components.
Glad to see splined, split shaft pots being replaced with solid shafts; but why do setscrew knobs still use a straight blade screwdriver in 2022? Invariable the slots are found to be chewed up after a couple of previous services or after the customer himself has had at it. If I had my way they'd all be using Torx setscrews.
Had one and found it harsh - sold it. After watching your videos I can see why some of these amps don’t sound as expected, cheap components and other cost cutting etc.
What I am doing with deburring is putting the bit through hole and then into the drill machine :D so the chassis is between drill bit and machine. THen you just have to pull it toward yourself.
I use only leaded solder for my own projects. Mostly eutectic alloys. Lead-free solder is terrible to work with and beats the hell out of soldering iron tips. Lead-free soldering requires higher temperatures and quickly erodes the tip plating. I have four different soldering stations but only use an older station with inexpensive tips If I need to do lead-free soldering for some reason.
How come that 10k carbon comp is missing after the rebuild? Also, do you think maybe Vox used 1/4w resistors to take advantage of the resistance-voltage coefficient when approaching max voltage for some added harmonics?
Tin/Lead ratio should be 63/37 or 60/40 rosin cored solder. Kester 44 50 or Kester 44 66 are both good choices. With new production equipment that uses lead free solder, you will have to remove the lead free solder before you use leaded solder for soldering the connection.
@@PsionicAudio thanks! I actually very much like the Sozo micas but at $9 a pop I wouldn’t mind finding something close that’s much less expensive. Plus the Sozo’s have very limited value choices.
I put a toroid magnet over the holes I am wowing out in steel. All the steel sticks to the magnet. Aluminum? I use a modified vacuum cleaner crevice tool attachment with a slot and a couple of holes drilled in it. It works on steel too.
Sorry man, misspoke in the moment. The ‘90s UK Voxes were made for Korg by Marshall and it can get confusing. The point was Vox and Marshall have infinitely more money than I do, and I can still get holes on-center. Maybe giving a damn matters more than revenue…
@@PsionicAudio You’re one of the nicer guys. I had a tech North of Detroit that was deplorable. I can say that, I work in mental health. He tried keeping my friend’s speaker after he just asked him to swap it. I’d love to say his name, it kinda sounds like Zean Dink. Detroit people will know of him.
You don't have a board of directors overseeing every 1/4 cent. You would think with a connected world, they'd want the word to get out about their quality.
I think he plays too much sharp chords and notes. Flat chords and notes don't hurt fingertips as much as those sharp ones. They can of course hurt ears if played too 📢.
Oh Vox, you have been revealed to be but a shadow of your former self. Well done, Psionic Audio.
Tip, when drilling a hole through metal put a magnet on the inside close to the hole to catch any stray metal shavings.
Thanks. I don't know why I have never thought of that. My only concern would be magnetizing the chassis, and having things stick to it.
Here's a little trick for getting no-lead solder off. Add a bit of 60/40 tin/lead solder to the joint. It will mix with the no lead solder and make it easier to remove. I've done this many times with circuit boards and it works great.
I really enjoy watching your techniques. I’m learning so much.
great to see you back! Thank you.
Love your work ethic. Tradesmen like quality!
Sounding magic mate, always love watching your Vox vids..Keep it up xD
Huge improvement as always.
You'd think with the higher prices and the title "hand-wired" they'd put more attention into these things. Very nice to see a real tradesman
Made in England too, not in China.
@@jerrywalaszek2473 Vietnam I believe that’s where my AC30hw is from
@@ramon4545 are you happy with it?
@@jerrywalaszek2473 Definitely not made in England.
Thanks for sharing the great work and helpful experience on the pots!
I recently bought an old odd lot of carbon comps and got a few of those tiny 1/4W ones too. Didn't even know they made them.
In some solid state gear you can find special "1/6 watt" resistors. They're so tiny they resemble 1/8 watt.
We love your art!!
These mods sound so good, can’t wait for him to get working on mine.
The metal on those pot bushings is what we actually used to call "POT metal". It's actually very cheap die cast zinc, AKA, the cheapest cast metal that money can buy. Super cheap pots and pans were made from this junk cast zinc, plus it was commonly melted down in a steel pot and cast into molds with shapes like toy soldiers & paper weights. Hard water eats zinc up like hot water dissolves beef bullion cubes.
oh, that amp sounds great now. Well done sir.
It looks really nice.
The countersink on the flexible shaft is one of my favorites, Lyle. You're going to eventually give away ALL the secrets, aren't you?;) I hope Korg and their ilk keep (indirectly) giving you plenty of upgrade jobs on their A-list amps.
Tremendous difference in tones. This amp sounds great.
I’ve been using a countersink bit for years but the flex shaft idea will make it easier.
You could use a chamfer bit for more control. Taking me back to my aircraft building days 😊
I had an amp tech go through my handwired 18 watt Marshall and he wanted to replace those yellow bypass caps which were the same brand as the ones in this amp you're working on. He also put in a choke. It did sound better and Im not sure what he put in as far as bypass caps. He gave the old ones to me in a bag and I still have them. I'm going to use the .047 in my Gibson RVT 19 Falcon when I remove the 3 prong tone suck network couplet. The bypass cap it will replace is a .0100. Apparently the stock .0100 filters too much bass and along with the tone suck couplet thing scoops the tone and makes it too thin. It will be much louder and more full when I'm done. :)
Hope I can afford to send my AC HW to Lyle sometime in the future. This dude is just amazing. A national treasure. Ha
So happy about the nuanced view on solder.
I have a compliant station and another station that isn't... Since I don't make anything that's more than a dozen units, I can splurge on _relatively_ expensive lead-free; and as you've mentioned, mixing metals makes life difficult for so many reasons (increased resistance, making an unintentional thermocouple, corrosion, brittle joints, hard on tips, etc.)
And you're absolutely right, instead of the cheapest SAC305 they can find, they could use SN100, for which the patent has expired. Kester even has a version they call "K100D", though with a different flux than my favorite AIM/Nihon Superior SN100c "Fastcore". Also, for hand soldering, it has the advantage of being eutectic; though I know that's not a plus for everybody. I notice you don't seem to use 63/37, which is fine, it's about technique and preference. (They could just use a quality SAC305, too, for that matter, but I digress.)
Just wanted to thank you for expressing your view on solder, it's kind of a big deal with how much respect you've earned. It's not really a simple subject, and you approached it fairly without questioning anybody's courage at the bench (lol).
Thanks man. I’ve used 63/37 but for whatever reason I end up with more flux to clean than with 60/40. Kester for both.
@@PsionicAudio I've been using Cardas Audio quad eutectic, and it works very nice. It flows, sticks, and isn't messy. No ice sickle's. The price is ridiculous though. If I were doing production I would certainly be looking for a more cost effective alternative.
Been watching a few of your videos recently, you do good work. Interested to know why you changed those poly caps though. I know Vishay poly axial caps are good quality but in my experience the cheaper poly caps are fine as a rule. I've tested a lot of them for leakage at wkg voltage and 10% higher and found no issue's. The Vishay axials have soared in price, about a fiver each in the UK now (2022), I've started using Panasonic radial's in my amps to keep costs down. Keep up the good work, thanks for another video....DA.
I was changing some values too, in fact all but two are now a different value. So I charged those two as well so they all match. Panasonic ECQs are great.
Love listening to this man's analysis... How do we look at the possibilities for buying a Psionic Audio amp??
He has a website and email on his “About” page on UA-cam. UA-cam comments get lost in the weeds.
For deburring what you’re using obviously works great, but I couldn’t help to think that the RCBS case deburring tool I use for reloading would also likely work great for your purposes.
That’s exactly how I adjust Knobs!
'BRING ME BACK MY LEAD!!!!!' Hahahahahahaha. Well done. And BTW - this is the definition of 'overhaul.' Lovely sounding amp at the end.
I wish I could get the ultimate TBX AC30 mods done by you on my one!
Alas, I fear the shipping of it in its tour case from New Zealand and back might slightly break the bank…
For the amount of components that were left on the turret board, it seems it might be less time to completely start from scratch than just leave in about 15 components.
can you do a video for us explaining the pots more. like where you would use and A audio taper B ? Liner tapper ? in guitars and amps.
Glad to see splined, split shaft pots being replaced with solid shafts; but why do setscrew knobs still use a straight blade screwdriver in 2022? Invariable the slots are found to be chewed up after a couple of previous services or after the customer himself has had at it. If I had my way they'd all be using Torx setscrews.
I like your guitar pick spacers. Use what you have I say!!
I had one of these and actually prefer the CC models that I now have (post mods)
Had one and found it harsh - sold it. After watching your videos I can see why some of these amps don’t sound as expected, cheap components and other cost cutting etc.
I've noticed over the last few months that 1/2W Yageo resistors are now the same size (smaller) as what used to be their 1/4W resistors.
They have two different sizes of 1/2Ws. The small ones have a lower voltage rating.
oooh ooh, good timing, question. Why don't you use blue loctite or similar to lock the nuts firmly?
What I am doing with deburring is putting the bit through hole and then into the drill machine :D so the chassis is between drill bit and machine. THen you just have to pull it toward yourself.
Would you recommend a HW Fender Princeton
have you ever upgraded to these larger pots on an amp with pcb mounted small pots? not sure i have enough wiggle room to do it in my amp 🤷♂️
I use only leaded solder for my own projects. Mostly eutectic alloys. Lead-free solder is terrible to work with and beats the hell out of soldering iron tips. Lead-free soldering requires higher temperatures and quickly erodes the tip plating. I have four different soldering stations but only use an older station with inexpensive tips If I need to do lead-free soldering for some reason.
How come that 10k carbon comp is missing after the rebuild? Also, do you think maybe Vox used 1/4w resistors to take advantage of the resistance-voltage coefficient when approaching max voltage for some added harmonics?
I moved it to the bass pot where it belongs. Nah, they cheaped out.
@@PsionicAudio Ahh, fair enough, the pots weren't in shot before so I couldn't see the change. Keep the videos coming, you're a legend!
Marshall isn’t owned by Korg, it was distributed in the USA by Korg.
What is the best ratio between lead & tin for a good solder ? And what about silver ?
Tin/Lead ratio should be 63/37 or 60/40 rosin cored solder. Kester 44 50 or Kester 44 66 are both good choices.
With new production equipment that uses lead free solder, you will have to remove the lead free solder before you use leaded solder for soldering the connection.
How much would it cost to have this done to a Vox AC15 HW? I would like to have similar mods done to my AC15 HW.
Been meaning to ask what type of ceramic caps you use for bright caps.
Vishay 562 series 1KVs.
@@PsionicAudio thanks! I actually very much like the Sozo micas but at $9 a pop I wouldn’t mind finding something close that’s much less expensive. Plus the Sozo’s have very limited value choices.
How do I get ahold of you
Those are 1/4 watt CC resistors
Do you sell amps? Maybe like the Excalibre 15 ?? I had watched some of the video of the project.
He does
@@barneycartwright4107 thanks
i use the countersink trick as well
creates a great champfer
btw, years in electronics industry, those are quarter watt, those packages, the size told the wattages
with lead free, I tin and use water on a sponge every stroke of the iron
lead is a very important element of solder, sucks wo imo
Lead free mandates are the result of things being designed to go into a land fill shortly after purchase.
I hate lead free solder. Since trying leaded I have never looked back.
I put a toroid magnet over the holes I am wowing out in steel. All the steel sticks to the magnet. Aluminum? I use a modified vacuum cleaner crevice tool attachment with a slot and a couple of holes drilled in it. It works on steel too.
Bring me back my Lead... and my Shotgun!
Korg do not own Marshall amps, korg used to distribute Marshalls about a decade ago in the U.S.A.
I think he was saying Korg owns Vox. Not Marshall.
Sorry man, misspoke in the moment. The ‘90s UK Voxes were made for Korg by Marshall and it can get confusing. The point was Vox and Marshall have infinitely more money than I do, and I can still get holes on-center. Maybe giving a damn matters more than revenue…
@@PsionicAudio You’re one of the nicer guys. I had a tech North of Detroit that was deplorable. I can say that, I work in mental health. He tried keeping my friend’s speaker after he just asked him to swap it. I’d love to say his name, it kinda sounds like Zean Dink. Detroit people will know of him.
You don't have a board of directors overseeing every 1/4 cent. You would think with a connected world, they'd want the word to get out about their quality.
Common sence is not a given. Knowledge needs to be the basis!
70 years from now.: "Some SAVAGE drilled this out to 3/8s. As if anyone uses Imperial anymore. Ruined!!!!"😀
I am here to report that the holes in Lyle's Excalebre 15 panel are perfect!!!
Excalibre........
You should really invest in better quality fingertips. These cheap IC fingertips ALWAYS fail. You saved, what, 40 cents here? Come on.
I think he plays too much sharp chords and notes. Flat chords and notes don't hurt fingertips as much as those sharp ones. They can of course hurt ears if played too 📢.
We hope Lyle's fingertips never spew their guts out!
You really aren't dedicated to your art unless you play till your fingers bleed!