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Laney Pro-Linebacker PL100 Twin

Started by GuitarLord66, September 27, 2010, 11:20:37 AM

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GuitarLord66

Hey guys :)

My school had this old amp that was never used and well I talked my way into them giving it to me :D
When I got it, it was in terrible shape, the front grill was all bent and a spider was in it :/ and the whole thing was rusty, see below



So I went ahead and took it apart, straightened the front grill out, removed the spider... lol, and the front panel, all the knob details were coming off so I designed an entirely new layout on Photoshop, printed it on 3 pieces of paper, cut them out, and sanded back the panel. Put a coat of acrylic lacquer on the panel, placed the paper where it had to go, the lacquer acting as a glue, then lacquered over it about 5 or 6 times, letting it dry in between then let it dry for a few hours. At the same time sanded back the grill and the speaker holders underneath it and they got a fresh spray of black paint. I re wired the speakers also with home theater system cutoffs dad found at work. I also hand brushed every screw on the amp at least 6 times to get a decent coat of paint on them as well.

Heres what it looks like now -



As you can see it came out a hell of a lot better, but I have one problem, a lot of the pots are scratchy when I turn them, how can I clean pots? other than that the amp is awesome and has currently replaced my Peavey Bandit 112 as my main amp :D

DJPhil

#1
Quote from: GuitarLord66 on September 27, 2010, 11:20:37 AMAs you can see it came out a hell of a lot better, but I have one problem, a lot of the pots are scratchy when I turn them, how can I clean pots? other than that the amp is awesome and has currently replaced my Peavey Bandit 112 as my main amp :D

Nice work, that looks really good!

There's a couple of ways you can go with the pots. They do wear out over time, so even if you get them nice and clean they may still be really noisy. Ideally you'd replace them, but that can be a lot of work, especially if they're soldered into a board instead of free wired. If you just want to clean them and see how it goes you can use 90% isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol), or a professional cleaner like CRC CO (much easier to get in AU than Deoxit, check Dick Smith or Jaycar). The further you take apart the pot the better the job you can do. I usually desolder them and open them up if possible, then I can clean the resistance strip directly. Be sure not to leave any lint behind, and don't remove too much material from the resistance strip. See 'The Secret Life of Pots' for some details on large pot construction, those are probably constructed in a similar manner in a plastic case. It's possible that they can't be opened, and also possible that they're sealed. If so you'll have to replace them.

Hope that helps. :)

Guitarist

I'm with DJPhil, You can try to clean them. Often times with older pots, cleaning just isn't enough, you have to replace them. If you can open them, you may be able to bend the wiper a little to apply more presure but if it is scratchy after cleaning it likey needs replacement.

GuitarLord66

Ok thanks guys :)
The pots are ok when I get them where I want them but there just scratchy to turn, I'll try cleaning them soon :)

phatt

I'd be finding out if the pots are available *Before* Attempting any ressurection.

The Peavy stuff I've worked on have imperial pots (Not Metric) and fancy brackets soldered to the board. I can't get replacements for them where I live.

They are often a pain to get out/off the PCB so if you break one,,what then? cry.
A scratchy pot at least still works :tu:
Just my thoughts on it

Nice recondition job BTW,
Phil.

GuitarLord66

Oh I forgot to mention a few of the pots have a pull option that turns on whatever it says such as "pull full" on the treble pot. When removing the knobs I accidentally pulled out the whole shaft... and I dont know how to fix it...

phatt

Ouch,, Yep I'm not suprised,, I did that with a Fender Performer. :-[
Welcome to the world of cheap plastic crap :(

you can get them back together but it's delicate work.
you have to re punch the end again to spead it tight into the plastic holder.

If I remember correctly you are in Australia?
The Alpha Pots sold by DickSmith and Jaycar will fit into a lot of peavey Amps but they are metric and Peavy use Imperial shafts and knobs and such won't fit so you will need to adapt stuff.

The One thing I hate the most is trying to fix or replace pots.
I wish the world used standard stuff it would make life so much simpler.
Phil.

GuitarLord66

Yeah I live in Australia and this is a Laney amp, not Peavey. Its a pull knob to activate "bright" on the second channels gain, which I don't intend to use, at the moment I just push the shaft in and turn it, it works but it falls out easily, I will replace all the bad knobs eventually just have so many side projects going its crazy...

phatt

Whoops,, Laney,, Peavy,, darn they sound the same. :-[
Yep pot's can be a nightmare to get the same ones.
Phil.

J M Fahey

All these amp makers which end in "..ey" make the world so confusing !! :loco
They should all be shot. :trouble