DSL troubles
New Member
the guy I talked to said he charges 70 bucks to re-bias. plus, the 16 ohm jack is going to cost me again... uggh!
I need some help!!
- Thread starter DSL troubles
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links like Ebay, Amazon, and others.
You never re-biased? Jeeez. Dude, you're ust asking for trouble.
Get some proper tubes in there, have it properly biased and have the 16ohm output fixed. A faulty jack could blow the output transformer, if you haven't already done that.
Get some proper tubes in there, have it properly biased and have the 16ohm output fixed. A faulty jack could blow the output transformer, if you haven't already done that.
racko7566
New Member
Dude you can buy a multimeter for 9 bucks at harbor freight and on the dsl the bias test prongs are right there on the back behind the screen. there are 3 pins, center pin is ground, pins on the left and right of center pin are positive, right pin is right two tubes and left pin is left two tubes. Turn on the multimeter and set it to dc 200m. With your amp on ready to play, touch the black wire from the meter to the center pin, then touch the red wire to the left or right pin at the same time. You will then see numbers on the meter which should be between 75 to 90. If its not, turn the little white screw next to the pin your touching the red wire to until your in that zone, do the same to the other outside pin and adjust till both sides are in the zone. So easy a cave man could do it. lol. and make sure your cab is the same ohms and connected to your head before you turn amp on to bias. Dude I suck at electronics and I can do it. And on a dsl that guys charging way too much for something that literally takes 5 min or less. also make both sides readings as close to the same as possible
DSL troubles
New Member
Thanks man, I feel much better about it now. Besides, I would much rather spend my money on quality tubes than on some dude charging me 75 bucks for a 5 minute job. I am thinking that the jack is a broken soder or something. I wonder if I could fix that myself. I am pretty good at wiring pickups....
Can I plug the 8 ohm into the 8 ohm stereo jack on the amp til i can get that fixed? Thanks!!!
DSL troubles
New Member
The guy I was going to take it to makes it sound so complex -
Re-tubing properly is a process of:
1 hr labor @ $70, includes cleaning, tightening all tube sockets and pots, inspect electronics for stressed or burned components, in-circuit tube matching and bias, full power bench test under load for 30 minutes, recheck bias when hot, ear voicing of preamp section, playing test of all functions, 12hr burn-in, final test of all voltages, current draw, and playing/playback functions. I recommend yearly maintenance and re-tubing if it is determined to be necessary by bench testing during the regular maintenance process.
Re-tubing properly is a process of:
1 hr labor @ $70, includes cleaning, tightening all tube sockets and pots, inspect electronics for stressed or burned components, in-circuit tube matching and bias, full power bench test under load for 30 minutes, recheck bias when hot, ear voicing of preamp section, playing test of all functions, 12hr burn-in, final test of all voltages, current draw, and playing/playback functions. I recommend yearly maintenance and re-tubing if it is determined to be necessary by bench testing during the regular maintenance process.
racko7566
New Member
wow sounds like a better deal now. still rather do it myself.
DSL troubles
New Member
yeah, he probably just does the exact same thing you would do anyway. lol
wegman
Member
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2009
- Messages
- 342
- Reaction score
- 6
I found a dude who does a bias for $20 bucks if you provide the tubes. It's $10 if you buy the tubes from him. That's a good deal on my amp because he has to deal with the reverb tank.
That price is just for a bias. A full inspection is $65
That price is just for a bias. A full inspection is $65
For the $65 full inspection price, you could buy the equipment to do it safely yoursef.
DSL troubles
New Member
and do it again next time for free!!
MonstersOfTheMidway
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 1, 2008
- Messages
- 5,656
- Reaction score
- 4,142
Sup. One of the cool things about the DSL100 is that the bias prongs and bias pots are located on the back of the amp, so it's a quick and easy to get to (my JVM has its bias prongs and bias pots on the inside, so I have to take the chasis out of the case). Anyways, there are quite a few videos on youtube that demonstrate how to bias your amp. You can also go to Eurotubes website to see some decent videos on "how to bias" your amp (he even made a video biasing a JCM 2000 DSL 100 watt head).
Remember, you do not need to bias the amp if you are changing out preamp tubes. You do need to always bias the amp when changing power tubes. Once it has been biased, it's also a good idea to occasionally recheck the bias since you may get a little bias drift from time to time. You can get a decent multimeter at places like Sears, home depot, lowe's, etc. It's also good to get an electricians screwdriver since you using metal screwdrivers on an amp that has current flowing through it can be dangerous. Becareful and don't touch anything else other than those trim pots and the bias prongs. Good luck if you should decide to go the "do-it-yourself" route.
Oh, I live in southern california, too, so I know what the job market is like. Best of luck there too.
Remember, you do not need to bias the amp if you are changing out preamp tubes. You do need to always bias the amp when changing power tubes. Once it has been biased, it's also a good idea to occasionally recheck the bias since you may get a little bias drift from time to time. You can get a decent multimeter at places like Sears, home depot, lowe's, etc. It's also good to get an electricians screwdriver since you using metal screwdrivers on an amp that has current flowing through it can be dangerous. Becareful and don't touch anything else other than those trim pots and the bias prongs. Good luck if you should decide to go the "do-it-yourself" route.
Oh, I live in southern california, too, so I know what the job market is like. Best of luck there too.
DSL troubles
New Member
Thanks MOTM, and happy Holidays!
DSL troubles
New Member
First of all, Merry Xmas to you all!!
Update on my poor DSL 100.
Found an awesome amp guy to bias/ fix the 16 Ohm jack. in facet he did it all for 26 bucks! This guy makes awesome amps (Welcome to Surreal Amplification).
He told me that two of the power tubes were running ruper hot, and the other two were running super cold.
He told me that it sounds better, but the bass is still kind of muddy. (not tight). Does this mean my output transformer is shot? Could my power tubes be ruined? What could go wrong with this amp to make the bass so muddy? Can anyone recommend any mods that I could have him do to make the amp sound better? I like more of the Plexi tone...although, I do love the 800s/Jubilee sound too. I just want this thing to sound good!! A good clean tone is the most important thing to me I guess. The guy at FJA mods does some killer work. I must have watched his DSL videos on youtube 100 times. From what I have read, this amp has been very problematic in general... I wish I would have bought something else looking back in retrospect.
Update on my poor DSL 100.
Found an awesome amp guy to bias/ fix the 16 Ohm jack. in facet he did it all for 26 bucks! This guy makes awesome amps (Welcome to Surreal Amplification).
He told me that two of the power tubes were running ruper hot, and the other two were running super cold.
He told me that it sounds better, but the bass is still kind of muddy. (not tight). Does this mean my output transformer is shot? Could my power tubes be ruined? What could go wrong with this amp to make the bass so muddy? Can anyone recommend any mods that I could have him do to make the amp sound better? I like more of the Plexi tone...although, I do love the 800s/Jubilee sound too. I just want this thing to sound good!! A good clean tone is the most important thing to me I guess. The guy at FJA mods does some killer work. I must have watched his DSL videos on youtube 100 times. From what I have read, this amp has been very problematic in general... I wish I would have bought something else looking back in retrospect.
You're in California I would send it to Wilder Amplification. He is here on the forum. I'm sending mine to him Monday for some tweaks I want done.
http://www.wilderamplification.com/
FJA does great mods and I recommend Jerry's work for sure. Mine is FJA modded. That being said I really like what I'm seeing from Jon Wilder and he is closer to me so I can save in shipping right off the bat. I've seen his builds and he is meticulous, creative and seems to be brilliant with amps. I will know for sure soon enough and I will pass along my experience with him.
DSL troubles
New Member
Thanks man! I gave the head to the guy from surreal amplification already. What are you getting done to it, and how much is it going to cost? I dont want to put to much money into this head...I might as well just buy something better if its going to cost me 400 bucks to sound good. You can get the dsl 100 on ebay for 600 bucks!
I am going to get a relay switch mod done so I can run the amp using a resistor or choke. I also am going to have the PT(power transformer)upgraded to a Mercury Magnetics. My OT is already upgraded to a MM. Then Jon is going to trouble shoot a problem I have at high volume which we think the new PT may solve...going to see what the C12 cap mod sounds like. I'll let you know how much after we are done.
Now I plan on keeping this amp in the family and pass it down to my kids so I don't mind getting it tweaked here and there. I won't be selling it. Like you I enjoy Plexi-ish tones so down the road I will have an amp that delivers those tones. I know what the DSL can and can't do after all the tweaks I've been through with tubes, speakers, fiddles and mods. I still dig the tones I get from it very much and its stay'n with me.
I would keep him in mind for future work cause he builds amps, mods and repairs them. He is located in Northern Cali.
DSL troubles
New Member
How much are the transformers and choke for the dsl 100? I read a thread about a guy here that makes the trannies, how do they compare to the MM tranny? Next amp I get will be a hand wired 100w plexi clone
DSL troubles
New Member
How much are the transformers and choke for the dsl 100? I read a thread about a guy here that makes the trannies, how do they compare to the MM tranny? Next amp I get will be a hand wired 100w plexi clone
Since you have a 100watter it will be prolly $50 more on the OT and PT. So I would estimate $250/OT and $300/PT. Choke around $100. Jon Wilder is an MM dealer so he can give you correct pricing. PM him.
You can see what Jerry at FJA charges for these items except he doesn't have the PT listed.
DSL troubles
New Member
$650 !!!! Good lord! The amp is only worth 600 bucks!!! The dsl is to Marshall what as vista is to Microsoft. They need to get rid of all the computer motherboard looking parts and get back to the roots of amplification!! I got this amp for $ 1000... For another 600 bucks I could have got a hand wired
Similar threads
