Yes, amplifier thumping school is no joke. The curriculum is intense, and many people drop out before completion. Then you have to re-certify every 5 years to satisfy the government trade requirements. Expert amp thumpers deserve the respect due as industry professionals.
We're totally underated. HAd a guy in the other day who reckoned (and I quote) "Anyone can thump an amp!" Neeedless to say I gave him the 'if you only knew' look!
The high wattage head versions of the Bogner-Line 6 collaboration catch fire. Just like all Line 6 designs; they are more digital modelers than guitar amplifiers. It is fortuitous to have graduated from the University of Hard Knocks. That degree in precision knocking did come in handy to the chagrin of all the naysayers. Well done as always, Stuart. Enjoy the weekend, and raise pints of warm cider to fortify against winter's icy grip. Cheers!
I’ve had a DT50 212 for about 12 years now and it’s never given me a lick of trouble. I guess I got lucky because I’ve heard stories about failed transformers with these amps. The novel bit with these is the jumpers that actually rewire the amp topology when you switch from I-II-III-IV (Fender, Marshall, Vox, Mesa Boogie/Bogner). No other amp does this. Which is why they sound so good, but never caught on because Line 6 did a horrible job marketing these, the public assumed it was more Line 6 digital modeling, not an analog amp that can actually switch topology between four different preamp designs.
I guess having worked on amps for many years, it surprised me that a seasoned tech wouldn't check the valves first before disassembling the amp. That's amp repair 101. I've actually owned a DT amp for 12 years, and it's been flawless, besides the run of bad power transformers that was replaced under warranty. I can't say the same for my Marshall DSL.
Many workshops will charge to diagnose, so that was decent of you to only sting him for the replacement valves. I guess happy customers will return & recommend!
Yes very nice little amp. But as with most Blackstar gear it's made down to a price and with modern manufacturing methods (e.g. surface mount components). So if it goes wrong, it is hard/impossible to fix.
For people with a bit of know how, when these and the bass breakers etc eventually give up the ghost, you could buy them up cheap, rip out the circuit boards and using the transformers and valves hand wire your own simple Fender/Marshall/Vox circuit fairly inexpensively and save the land fill.
Great Repair Stuart, but give me an old Marshall or and old Laney, I guess I’m biased to me Marshall and Laney are two of the best amps in my Opinion that’s why I Own a lot of them, British Engineering at its Finest I can’t forget Hiwatt either.
These are good sounding amps. Not saying they aren't problematic but not many go up for resale. I used one in a back line a few years ago and it really did sound great. Without watching the vid it sounds like a valve or cap 🙄
Assembly quality of some of these is really questionable.. I’ve seen (and fixed) one that had one of the output tubes’ coupling cap lead cut so short it wasn’t actually soldered to its pad but was barely touching the little blob of solder there, cutting the volume down intermittently.. it was a tricky one - all pads _looked_ good until you realize one of them just didn’t have a lead through.. and then with a little tug the cap comes right off the board. Ugh. But after fixing this it’s been all good for many years so far.
Great.stuff as usual. I think this amp is a right.old.car crash.waiting to happen , people just want.more.and more.from the amp . They.should watch Jeff Beck . 1 old Marshall 1 cab and 2 pedals.
@@stuartukguitarampguy5830 I remember yrs ago we had a local amp repir dude called Clever Trevor , we never had many techs in the Teesside area back in the day .. so anyway I had this big.old Selmer 6 channel.mixer amp that.wasnt working.it was ancient.had about 12 valves .. I thought he's not.gonna wanna fix this .but when he seen it he was delighted... because he was sick of the 80s troublesome tranny amps . The Selmer.had .everything.accesible no as easy and cheap to fix . But he loved working.on it . Your comments abt the Fender which.went to land fill reminded me.of it .
It would cost you several hundred quid to equip with the tools and microscope to take on surface mount repairs. It's closer to repairing a laptop than a guitar amp ... I'm in admiration of your amp banging methods.. Henry Cooper would be frightened of you !
Hi Pete YEs agreed, I don;t want to do it though. I also don;t want to learn how to do switch mode power supplies. Forty years ago maybe, but these days I prefer to work on stuff i enjoy. All the best
They say that the simplest and most sufficient explanation is always the most probable, and in many cases it is true.
Good job Stuart. Regards.
Thanks Suso
Yes, amplifier thumping school is no joke. The curriculum is intense, and many people drop out before completion. Then you have to re-certify every 5 years to satisfy the government trade requirements. Expert amp thumpers deserve the respect due as industry professionals.
We're totally underated. HAd a guy in the other day who reckoned (and I quote) "Anyone can thump an amp!" Neeedless to say I gave him the 'if you only knew' look!
Good to see you my friend.
Thanks Monty. Been a bit rough for a few weeks with a dreaded virus of some sort. OK now.
The high wattage head versions of the Bogner-Line 6 collaboration catch fire. Just like all Line 6 designs; they are more digital modelers than guitar amplifiers. It is fortuitous to have graduated from the University of Hard Knocks. That degree in precision knocking did come in handy to the chagrin of all the naysayers. Well done as always, Stuart. Enjoy the weekend, and raise pints of warm cider to fortify against winter's icy grip. Cheers!
Thanks Alex!
I’ve had a DT50 212 for about 12 years now and it’s never given me a lick of trouble. I guess I got lucky because I’ve heard stories about failed transformers with these amps. The novel bit with these is the jumpers that actually rewire the amp topology when you switch from I-II-III-IV (Fender, Marshall, Vox, Mesa Boogie/Bogner). No other amp does this. Which is why they sound so good, but never caught on because Line 6 did a horrible job marketing these, the public assumed it was more Line 6 digital modeling, not an analog amp that can actually switch topology between four different preamp designs.
Ok interesting thanks I didn;t know that.
I guess having worked on amps for many years, it surprised me that a seasoned tech wouldn't check the valves first before disassembling the amp. That's amp repair 101. I've actually owned a DT amp for 12 years, and it's been flawless, besides the run of bad power transformers that was replaced under warranty. I can't say the same for my Marshall DSL.
I enjoyed the video very educational !
Thanks Don.
I'm not going to get these dt 25 amps!@@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Another great video stuart..I'm with you cant beat basic. I've had one of those type of amps in for repair absolute nightmare.
Hi Bob. Like the BAssbreaker 15. Nightmare.
Many workshops will charge to diagnose, so that was decent of you to only sting him for the replacement valves. I guess happy customers will return & recommend!
Hi Jeff. I'm lucky in that I don't 'need' to make a living from this so I can be a bit more generous.
Hi Stuart...Nice easy fix for you..Land fill for sure..Looks like a headache if anything really serious went wrong with it..Ed..UK..😀
I can;t really see (in all honesty) how you WOULD fix this if it was something serious.
Would you recommend the new 40 Blackstar HT Mark series 3 as a combo guitar amplifier please?
Yes very nice little amp. But as with most Blackstar gear it's made down to a price and with modern manufacturing methods (e.g. surface mount components). So if it goes wrong, it is hard/impossible to fix.
@stuartukguitarampguy5830 Thankyou for getting back to me I Appreciate it
For people with a bit of know how, when these and the bass breakers etc eventually give up the ghost, you could buy them up cheap, rip out the circuit boards and using the transformers and valves hand wire your own simple Fender/Marshall/Vox circuit fairly inexpensively and save the land fill.
Great Repair Stuart, but give me an old Marshall or and old Laney, I guess I’m biased to me Marshall and Laney are two of the best amps in my Opinion that’s why I Own a lot of them, British Engineering at its Finest I can’t forget Hiwatt either.
Can't argue with you there Ricky!
i just bought one online for 60 dollars shipped, that produces no sound. Lets hope mine is an easy of a fix as this was!
I hope so!
Thanks for the cool video. Yeah, that amp looks like a pain in the neck.
Thanks!
These are good sounding amps. Not saying they aren't problematic but not many go up for resale. I used one in a back line a few years ago and it really did sound great. Without watching the vid it sounds like a valve or cap 🙄
Hi Richard Yes they sound pretty good. So does the Fender Bassbreaker 15, but both are an unholy nightmare to work on.
Assembly quality of some of these is really questionable.. I’ve seen (and fixed) one that had one of the output tubes’ coupling cap lead cut so short it wasn’t actually soldered to its pad but was barely touching the little blob of solder there, cutting the volume down intermittently.. it was a tricky one - all pads _looked_ good until you realize one of them just didn’t have a lead through.. and then with a little tug the cap comes right off the board. Ugh. But after fixing this it’s been all good for many years so far.
Nice fix Justin, well spotted!
so other than that, sounds like it was built pretty well?
Great.stuff as usual. I think this amp is a right.old.car crash.waiting to happen , people just want.more.and more.from the amp . They.should watch Jeff Beck . 1 old Marshall 1 cab and 2 pedals.
Yep. All good until they go wrong. I'll leave you to change the 100 pin surface mount IC if you don;t mind...
@@stuartukguitarampguy5830 I remember yrs ago we had a local amp repir dude called Clever Trevor , we never had many techs in the Teesside area back in the day .. so anyway I had this big.old Selmer 6 channel.mixer amp that.wasnt working.it was ancient.had about 12 valves .. I thought he's not.gonna wanna fix this .but when he seen it he was delighted... because he was sick of the 80s troublesome tranny amps . The Selmer.had .everything.accesible no as easy and cheap to fix . But he loved working.on it . Your comments abt the Fender which.went to land fill reminded me.of it .
@@bluesplayer59 Ha ha! Great. Take a look at my video on the Esoteric Audio Research valve mixer!
It would cost you several hundred quid to equip with the tools and microscope to take on surface mount repairs. It's closer to repairing a laptop than a guitar amp ... I'm in admiration of your amp banging methods.. Henry Cooper would be frightened of you !
Hi Pete YEs agreed, I don;t want to do it though. I also don;t want to learn how to do switch mode power supplies. Forty years ago maybe, but these days I prefer to work on stuff i enjoy. All the best
Hello frend.
Some EL84, Sovtek or Electroarmo nix, they are unreliable.
Yeah, sovtek el-84 that came with my DT-25 were microphonic crackly noisy crap.
OK I haven;t experienced that but you may be right.