| Guitar / Bass Amplifier Clinic Information |
The idea behind these amplifier clinics came from my memory of the McIntosh clinics for audio
equipment that was held in the 1960's at a few high end Hi-Fi stores when I was growing up.
Marantz and McIntosh were two of the leaders at that time in the high end audio world.
You could bring any amp to these clinics, which were sponsored by the store where the clinic was
being held. Your amp or receiver was put on test equipment, and you learned how your particular
piece of gear performed. They would tell you how much power your amplifier produced, This is
where I first learned the McIntosh amplifiers with their 0.5% distortion at their rated output
compared to amplifiers from Pioneer at the time, with their 0.1% distortion, because the Pioneer
had their specs at 1000 Hz only, and not across the audio bandwidth. I also learned that 0.5%
distortion could not be heard, and that RMS power, IHF power, and Peak power, were quite
different.
Guitar and bass amplifiers are different animals, but the concepts of the free amplifier clinic were
carried forward, and today I am pleased to be in a position to perform these clinics with the
sponsorship of the stores that are happy to support these clinics for their valued clients.
equipment that was held in the 1960's at a few high end Hi-Fi stores when I was growing up.
Marantz and McIntosh were two of the leaders at that time in the high end audio world.
You could bring any amp to these clinics, which were sponsored by the store where the clinic was
being held. Your amp or receiver was put on test equipment, and you learned how your particular
piece of gear performed. They would tell you how much power your amplifier produced, This is
where I first learned the McIntosh amplifiers with their 0.5% distortion at their rated output
compared to amplifiers from Pioneer at the time, with their 0.1% distortion, because the Pioneer
had their specs at 1000 Hz only, and not across the audio bandwidth. I also learned that 0.5%
distortion could not be heard, and that RMS power, IHF power, and Peak power, were quite
different.
Guitar and bass amplifiers are different animals, but the concepts of the free amplifier clinic were
carried forward, and today I am pleased to be in a position to perform these clinics with the
sponsorship of the stores that are happy to support these clinics for their valued clients.
| Upcoming Clinic Details as of 05/14/04 |
This 5/15/04 event is not a planned clinic. It is more of an amp tryout for a fellow where he will be
playing about a half a dozen different Dr. Z Amps and some THD, GT, Marshall, Fender, Victoria, and
other amps.
This was sort of a last minute thing so if you know me and have my contact info to catch me in the next
24 hours or so you can perhaps be included.
This will be on Saturday morning and run a lot of the day. 10:00 - 10:30 am or so is the start. Fplks
that have been to my clinics in the past or who are clients know where I hold these.
playing about a half a dozen different Dr. Z Amps and some THD, GT, Marshall, Fender, Victoria, and
other amps.
This was sort of a last minute thing so if you know me and have my contact info to catch me in the next
24 hours or so you can perhaps be included.
This will be on Saturday morning and run a lot of the day. 10:00 - 10:30 am or so is the start. Fplks
that have been to my clinics in the past or who are clients know where I hold these.
| FREE GUITAR AMPLIFIER CLINIC AND AMP DIAGNOSIS The next planned clinic will be held at: Guitar Amplifier Blueprinting You need to contact me for details - appointment only Contact me at 1-800-459-5687 (Groove Tubes) ask for Myles. Those from past clinics have my personal phone number, and you can feel free to call me there. The clinic hours will be from 10:00am to ??? on XXXXX to be announced. This will be an informal clinic where you amp will be checked for power output and proper operation. The bias will be checked at no charge. To test your amp for power and performance, it must have an 1/4" female speaker jack that can be configured for 8 ohms. Vox AC-30's can be tested in some areas without this setup. There will be no charge for this amp checkup. THIS IS WHERE DR. Z MAZERATI AND CARMEN GHIA OWNERS CAN GET THEIR FREE TUBE KITS COURTESY OF DR. Z AND TRUETONE MUSIC IN SANTA MONICA FEEL FREE TO BRING MORE THAN ONE AMP. This clinic like the last, will be by appointment only with limited space as before. I would like to keep this to less than ten folks, so this will be on a first request basis. I ask for folks to be on time, as this seemed to benefit all. I will have speaker cabs at the clinic, and you may bring your own cabs if you wish also. On guitars ... feel free to bring your own, or you may use any of mine. At the clinic you will learn the following about your amplifier: 1. Clean power in watts 2. Maximum power in watts 3. Noise floor - if your capacitors are good or starting to go bad, and this uncovers some other potential problems. 4. Transformer testing of the power and output transformers and rectifier section. 5. Output tubes checked for matching and wear. 6. Phase inverter checked for balance. A card will be given if requested, with the results, which if you are thinking of selling your amp to another person, a store, or on E-Bay, will help attest that your amp is in good condition. This is for working amplifiers only. This is not a repair service. If your amplifier has had problems, please let them know on your appointment, as the maximum output tests cannot be done. This will put too much of a strain on old or mis-adjusted amplifiers. The stores that host these clinics put up their own space, time, and resources. The spend about $50.00 per amp checked, and do not charge the owner of the amp, so you may want to thank them for holding the clinic, and maybe buy some strings or something .... in the case of some of these stores, maybe a great guitar or amp ! |
 | |  | |  |
| For photos and fun details from these clinics, just click on the bottons above for more info |
Click here to return to the main page