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Re: 1981 DR103 Feeler

Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2014 5:21 am
by Buggaluggs
If someone could move this to the Hylight Era Amps page that would probably be best as the whole thread is a bit misleading to someone interested in buying an amp:

A) Its not 1981
B) Its not a turret board
C) Its not even really for sale
D) It has a dodgy orange cap!

Re: 1981 DR103 Feeler

Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2014 10:36 am
by OldSchoolDave
Buggaluggs wrote:
What do I do about that?
Probably nothing, unless you have a vintage mustard cap on hand and are skilled in soldering on PCB's.

There's nothing inherently wrong with Sprague Orange Drops. Obviously, that one is not original to the amp - but I'm not sure what tonal difference a mustard in that position would make. Orange Drops got over-hyped and over-used by over-zealous techs who replaced otherwise good caps with them in "shotgun" cap jobs under the guise of upgrading amps.

The fact that many of the removed vintage caps wound up for sale on ebay for top dollar didn't help :evil: .

Anyway, there's kind of a knee-jerk reaction to them nowadays. If it bugs you, seek out an authentic replacement. Otherwise, leave it be.

Dave

Re: 1981 DR103 Feeler

Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2014 6:44 pm
by Alnico
Not just the orange drop, those silver micas and the dark red caps are all replacements. I'm not sure about the carbon comps either; my old PCB DR103 had all Iskra resistors, other than the 2W CF Pihers.

Re: 1981 DR103 Feeler

Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2014 7:47 pm
by mikhailwatt
Well, obviously a few non-original solder joints and swapped-out components. Not sure what "they" were going for.

If it were mine, I'd trace it all out and put it back as near to OEM condition as possible. But that's just me... :|

If it sounds good and you like it, yes, perhaps leave well enough alone.