So I have a bit of a thing here with an old Laney 30W all tube amplifier.
I am a little bit in doubt what to do with it, but basically I just want to get rid of it for a decent price.
Unfortunately the it makes quite some noise and there are some other issues.
I got rid of most of them, but basically it just really comes down to poor technical design.
Which is really unfortunate, because this thing has a ton of potential.
So what should I do, try to repair even further, or just strip the whole thing and make something from scratch?
I have done quite some custom designs in the past, so the last part is also not a really big issue.
It's just a bit time vs money thing I guess?
What would you do and do you think there will be anyone willing to buy a custom made amplifier?
(with actually top quality parts)
I am a little bit in doubt what to do with it, but basically I just want to get rid of it for a decent price.
Unfortunately the it makes quite some noise and there are some other issues.
I got rid of most of them, but basically it just really comes down to poor technical design.
Which is really unfortunate, because this thing has a ton of potential.
So what should I do, try to repair even further, or just strip the whole thing and make something from scratch?
I have done quite some custom designs in the past, so the last part is also not a really big issue.
It's just a bit time vs money thing I guess?
What would you do and do you think there will be anyone willing to buy a custom made amplifier?
(with actually top quality parts)
Rather unlikely that someone would pay you what it's really worth, after all the new parts and time.
So if you have the time, redesign/rebuild it to keep. Otherwise, sell it as-is and bail.
So if you have the time, redesign/rebuild it to keep. Otherwise, sell it as-is and bail.
If you scrap it and build something in it, what price would that bring? Not a lot I'd guess.
SO if you have a ton of hours into it already, write it off as an educational opportunity. GO ahead and finish repairing it - learn something.
SO if you have a ton of hours into it already, write it off as an educational opportunity. GO ahead and finish repairing it - learn something.
Well, that learning process I already did more than a decade ago 😉
Making a unique custom build is not that difficult. (that's basically my daily job)
The question I guess, is if people are willing to pay for something like that?
Or in other words, what are your experiences with these kind of things?
I am just not so experienced in the market of custom handmade (2nd hand) products
(I just realized that this will also highly depend where you live)
Look around, how much are locally home made amps selling for? AS you surmise, it isn't about difficulty of building, it is about potential market value.
And not to sound romantic about it, I have been learning electronics for over 65 years, and I continue to learn every day.
And not to sound romantic about it, I have been learning electronics for over 65 years, and I continue to learn every day.
If it is a poor technical design, than why did you even start working on it?
You have some pics and a schematic of your amp? What model is it exactly?
Ha! Yes I agree!
I was just talking about that I am no newbie in building amps.
But I actually find it very fascinating to look at other peoples work.
It can in fact sometimes say a lot about how certain companies operate as well.
Why did I start working on it?
The mean reason is that I don't play electric guitar anymore.
And if I would play, this amp is basically WAY to loud and heavy (I have back issues)
I bought this amp many many many years ago when I was young and naive and thought I needed a lot of oomph.
It always has been a noisy amp and in fact has a couple of major flaws if it comes to wiring, cabling as well as some sound issues (specifically on one channel)
In the meantime it has been moved several times, so there were some minor issues (always happens when you let other people move your things)
It's a Laney Chrome O Zone, you can find a schematic basically anywhere.
(maybe there are some internal photos online as well)
Besides just the noise issues, there are some design choices that I think could be improved with no additional costs to make this amp an awful lot better.
As in double the normal market price being on par with the top better.
Especially also when looking at the transformers.
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This sort of stuff is sold for close to nothing at e-bay, go figure. And if you do not have a reputation as customize expert, nobody will pay for your work but say: This is not original? Oh....😕
Not my pictures, sorry. Seems they shrunk to fit once I refreshed the page.
Pretty much.
But what is the purpose of sharing this in this topic?
And why is there so much hot snot and why are there so many screw terminals?
I totally missed this post. Obviously this is not my amplifier.
Mine looks like brand new basically.
Many years ago I bought the amp new, but I haven't really used it much at all.
Since I also have my own business, the idea is to sell it incl (technical) warranty and such.
Obviously this is not the answer you wanted to hear. Did you ever try to sell such stuff on e-bay? Good luck!
Just publish it for sale and be honest with description, not much else needed.
Your messing with it will actually decrease price and sellability so don´t.
It is a *complex* amp, so you will not be able to build a new one that fits, not exactly a Champ or Princeton.
Your messing with it will actually decrease price and sellability so don´t.
It is a *complex* amp, so you will not be able to build a new one that fits, not exactly a Champ or Princeton.
Ehm the exact point was that I am able and cable to build such an amp but that this amp just has some major flaws out of the factory?
What is the purpose of sharing? To save people the trouble of having to look up the schematic and layout of the amplifier to know what you are talking about and to hopefully get you a few opinions that are more than guesswork.
I'd generally agree with the aforementioned conclusions. Base your sale on the "Laney" name and get what you can for it; I'm sure there's some wide-eyed teen guitarist who'd both like it ("vintage") and wouldnt bother to look under the hood for years after purchase...
My last ebay custom amp sale didnt even come close to covering the accidental injury my finger received during construction, after the Dr bill for a few stitches. (It was to a fellow who just wanted an amp era-matching an old speaker cab someone had given him - so you never know what your customer would want it for - certainly NOT any feature I designed into it - I was lucky to sell it at all.) Say goodbye when packing it. Head in a different direction with your time / energy.
My last ebay custom amp sale didnt even come close to covering the accidental injury my finger received during construction, after the Dr bill for a few stitches. (It was to a fellow who just wanted an amp era-matching an old speaker cab someone had given him - so you never know what your customer would want it for - certainly NOT any feature I designed into it - I was lucky to sell it at all.) Say goodbye when packing it. Head in a different direction with your time / energy.
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I understand that, but this is not the normal layout with all these screw terminals?
I am no wizard, I only can find what people post online. I have no idea how they differ from your amp. Even with the differences I got more of an idea of your concerns with the amp looking at the 'wrong' picture than just looking at the schematic. In the future take pictures of your own amp to explain what you perceive as faults in the design rather than relying on others that have no idea how right or wrong the pictures they find are and they wasted their time trying to help out. Bye.