DriftTone

30/08/2026

Had a '65 Custom Deluxe Reverb reissue and a genuine AB763 Super Reverb on the bench together recently; useful, because it turns "they don't make them like they used to" into something you can actually check rather than just repeat.

Reissue wins on consistency; tighter tolerance parts, less chasing imbalances that were baked in from day one. Original wins on serviceability and has forty years of component drift that needs finding, not assuming. The circuit was right the whole time in both cases.

Full write-up in the comments.

04/08/2026

Nine NOS Sylvania 6L6GCs, USA originals, tested and graded in a real amp — not just on a tester — before any of them go near a customer.

Current draw spread from 20.8mA to 31.3mA on tubes that have sat in the same box for decades. Four came in tight — 24.8 to 27.7mA — that’s your matched quad, sorted properly under real operating conditions.

Listened to them running too. They sound great.

Bias is only ever as good as the tubes you start with.

29/05/2026

🎚️ That crackle when you touch the gain k**b. You know the one.

A Marshall came in sounding great — right up until the player reached for the gain k**b. The moment they touched it, a vicious crackle. The sort of thing that makes you jump back from the amp.

It's one of the most common faults we see. The pot wears over time, the wiper starts dragging across a damaged track, and every small movement gets amplified into noise.

First thing to try is always contact cleaner. Work it back and forth, and often that's enough. A lot of amps leave again after nothing more than that.

This one was beyond that point. The track was too far gone — cleaning would have been a temporary fix at best. The right call was a replacement, sourced to match the original exactly: same value, same taper, same shaft so the original k**b drops straight back on.

Gain control confirmed smooth and quiet through its full range. Clean to crunch with no drama.

👉 Full write-up (with a video of the sweep after repair):
https://www.drifttone.net/from-the-bench/marshall-gain-k**b-replacement/

A Marshall amp crackled viciously every time the gain k**b was touched. Contact cleaner wasn't going to cut it — the pot was too far gone. Correct replacement sourced, fitted, and the control is back to sweeping cleanly from clean to crunch.

28/05/2026

💡 Someone stomped a little too hard.

An Electro-Harmonix Hot Wax dual overdrive came in with the indicator LED for the Hot Tubes channel kicked clean off the board. No LED, no legs — just two bare pads where it used to be.

The good news: the PCB was completely undamaged. No cracked traces, no lifted pads, nothing else touched. The Hot Tubes circuit was still passing signal — it just had nothing to show for it. The Crayon side was completely unaffected throughout.

Full strip-down, pads cleaned up, matched replacement LED fitted and soldered back in the correct orientation. Both channels tested, both LEDs lighting as they should.

Sometimes a repair is straightforward. This was one of those. The only evidence anything happened is the line on the invoice.

👉 Full write-up (with a video of both channels confirmed working):
https://www.drifttone.net/from-the-bench/ehx-hot-wax-led-replacement/

An EHX Hot Wax arrived with its Hot Tubes indicator LED kicked clean off the board. PCB intact, pads cleaned up, matched LED soldered back in. Both channels working again.