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Crate TD-35 rebuild project (Read 6272 times)

Matthew

Seasoned Member

Posts: 109

Crate TD-35 rebuild project
01/30/13 at 05:55:38

I hope this is the appropriate place to post this; I thought there used to be a musical instrument section.

I'd like to dive into refreshing my old Crate amp. It's been sitting inactive for over 15 years, I believe; I'm sure it's time to replace all the electrolytics and look into finding a nice sounding 12AX7 for it.

Any suggestions for improving the stability of the circuitry and resultingly the sound of the amp are much appreciated. Also, should I do anything, physically to the Celestion driver?

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dank Seasoned Member pair of dual 18 Imperials Posts: 425	Re: Crate TD-35 rebuild project Reply #1 - 01/30/13 at 20:20:39 I have a number of 1970's vintage amps that all have their original electrolytic caps. I would never go to the trouble and expense of replacing a capacitor unless it was bad. Same with the speaker...there are lots of speakers out there that are over 25 years old that still work fine. So, try it before you fix it. Dan
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HPDJ

Senior Member

Posts: 79

Re: Crate TD-35 rebuild project
Reply #2 - 01/30/13 at 20:36:45

Also, if the amp has been sitting in a damp/moist area for a long time you can carefully remove the speaker and place it in at box with some silica packets to absorb the moisture. I was a little apprehensive about removing the speaker from my amp, as I've never done anything service wise to it before. But it was SUPER easy, and it actually helped to restore some life and vitality to my speaker that had been lost after having sat in a very moist basement for months and months. Here is the article I read about the whole process

http://www2.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Features/en-us/tone-tips-the-good-doctors-...

Definitely just plug into it first and see how you like the sound. You may not even want to mess with it at all because you dig it

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4krow

Seasoned Member

IMAGINE WHIRLLED
PEAS

Posts: 1666

Re: Crate TD-35 rebuild project
Reply #3 - 01/30/13 at 23:33:38

I'm kinda on the fence about electrolytic caps. Depending on their position in the circuit, it may be wise to change them out(power supply circuit). On the other hand, if it is a quality product, the caps are of decent decent quality as far as life span, and how hard and how much the equipment was used in the first place. I never seem to be able just to leave well enough alone Wink

Decware 34I.3 integrated amp/Forte' 3 bass amp/Velodyne SMS-1 bass mngmnt system/Decware ZOB speakers/Audio Nirvana 8" bass drivers/Xiang Seng DAC/ LR Audio Computer/Rega Apollo R CDP/Emotiva ERC3 CDP/BPT 3.0 power cond.

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HPDJ

Senior Member

Posts: 79

Re: Crate TD-35 rebuild project
Reply #4 - 01/30/13 at 23:52:49

I have a vintage Denon turntable that I recently got serviced. Not because it was not working properly, but just for good measure and a sense of security. The TT is like 30 years old and was a gift years ago that I safely kept until I was able to finally get a HiFi system going. Some of the parts inside would not be replaceable if something went wrong though and one of the things the tech did was replace the electrolytic caps. This should insure some more years of service with this particular unit

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Matthew

Seasoned Member

Posts: 109

Re: Crate TD-35 rebuild project
Reply #5 - 01/31/13 at 00:51:10

Okay, let me clarify: As recapping motherboards, soundcards, power-supplies, what-have-you is fun for me, this amp is going to get entirely recapped... all electrolytics replaced, any on the output will be changed to bipolars and then I'll play with films if I think I need to change anything about the sound.

I don't think the amp has been exposed to any moisture, it's just been sitting, forever collecting cob-webs.

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HPDJ Senior Member Posts: 79	Re: Crate TD-35 rebuild project Reply #6 - 01/31/13 at 00:56:35 sounds fun, enjoy!
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