Receivers/Amplifiers

This section describes some things to watch for when buying vintage receivers and amplifiers.

Smell (tobacco, mustiness)

I can’t get the smell of tobacco out of a unit very well, and it can make it harder to clean switches reliably. If you don’t mind the smell it may still work out for you though.

I have a very hard time working on units that have been in musty or moldy environments, and am sometimes not able to work on them at all. I seem to be particularly sensitive to certain kinds of must or mold. I’ve found some mold cleaner that allows me to work on some units I haven’t been able to otherwise, but it is important to look out for this when buying as this is an added expense and it may never be perfect.

Broken Switches

I normally can’t find replacements for switches or pots that are physically broken. The only hope is usually to watch ebay for the right part to show up. It is very difficult if not impossible to make new parts fit.

Missing Knobs

If you are missing a knob I will probably tell you to keep searching ebay every now and then and hope something comes up. I don’t have a special secret source for these parts. Maybe you can find something that will work well enough, but it might not look quite right. Don’t buy a unit missing knobs expecting to find them easily.