We have got some new valve technology coming and most of these are 21st century designs ( yes new technology) in audio valves !!!  It is rare to see innovation in audio valve technology and JJ Electronics are doing it. This  new valve technology  are valves that are designed to give you the ability to have new colours of sound from your amp just with a valve change. No component changes needed.  Check back in […]
Over the weekend, I got my hands on a bunch of vintage audio valves and rectifiers.  I went through all of them and tested them and that blew most of my weekend.  Testing valves and doing matching is  a boring but very necessary job! Some were brand new in boxes,  some were loose in Tupperware containers and obviously had been used. I was curious also to see the test results of vintage versus new valves
How many of you have wondered , ” How Old is the Valve (Tube) technology in my amp?” Valves as we call them in the UK have been around for about a 100 years !! Â I decided to check out when the common valves ( ones that we sell) first came on the market. When checking this information sometimes there was some arguement on the exact year so if you alllow give or take one
How Old is the Valve (Tube) Technology in My Amp? Read More »
I was on the hunt for a nice original Vox AC30 from the 1960′ s and it got me thinking on why I wanted it and what work it would need.  Now I have worked on AC30’s in the past and my first AC30 was GIVEN to me as it was considered beyond repair. The player had sat a pint of beer on top of the amp, by all accounts the pint glass  was almost
Amplifier valves get hot and there are very high voltages present, so make sure the amp is switched off and and the valves are cold. Hot amp valves can give you a bad burn ! The output valves , the rectifier, and ECC99’s all get especially hot ! Â My most recent burn was off the little output valve in the picture above, the EL84 output pentode The first basic question is how often to replace
Steps to follow when changing your valves in your amp Read More »
Rectifier Valve ? Many of the vintage amplifiers such as the Vox AC30 , Fender Twin Reverb  use a rectifier valve.  Other amps use modern silicon diodes. The rectifier valve  ( or diode) is a key part of your amplifier’s power supply. Its job is to “convert” or  rectify the AC voltage coming from the transformer into the high DC voltage needed by your valves in your amplifier. The output valves need the highest voltage
Electrolytic Capacitors You find electrolytic capacitors in the power supply and decoupling of valves in Hifi and guitar amps. They are like a battery because they have a positive and negative terminal.  In you amp power supply they can have values of 22 up to 200 or more uF ( uF= micro-farads). Electrolytic capacitors store energy, and often they are working at voltages of 500 volts DC !  When you switch off your amp , they