Elfring Vintage Amp Repair & Overhaul

From repair to complete overhaul of vintage guitar amps

The real enthusiast will recognize it immediately: such a beautiful vintage tube amplifier with such a
specific edge, bell, shime, air or bottom. They determine your sound, a sound that only such an old
amp, an amplifier with a soul, can deliver.
But even such a beautiful old tube amp has parts that can expire or wear out and of course you don’t
want hums, whistles or motor boats or an amplifier that just doesn’t sound like decades ago. If you
think that your vintage guitar amp can no longer deliver the optimal performance, it’s time to go to
Elfring.
Elfring Amps & More does not only design and build tube amplifiers and cabinets. We also have over
15 years of experience in repairing, modifying and restoring guitar tube amps and speaker cabinets.
And over the years, we’ve specialized in repairing and overhauling vintage guitar amps and cabs. So
do you want to bring your original Vox AC30 from the 70s or Marshall JCM800 from the 80s back to
original condition? Then you have come to the right place at Elfring Vintage Amp Repair & Overhaul.

Vintage Amp Repair

We repair and overhaul guitar tube amplifiers that are built really old school. Think of old Marshalls such as the JTMs, JMPs or JCM 800s, all old Fenders from the time of Leo Fender himself, Vox amplifiers up to and including the Dallas Industries period, but also other brands from the 50s 60s, 70s and 80s

Vintage Amp Overhaul

Maybe your tube amp has been running longer than you? Then it is wise to think about an overhaul, or an amp overhaul. It is possible that your amplifier still works fine, but due to its age it needs an overhaul. To prevent irreparable damage, we recommend that you have vintage tube amplifiers overhauled as a preventive measure. This prevents your vintage amplifier from losing its characteristic sound forever, for example due to a burnt out end stage or a melted power transformer.

Elfring Vintage Amp Overhaul can be done in three ways:

  • A complete historically correct overhaul => we use as many New Old Stock materials and components as possible. We also remove modifications and adjustments made over time. Cosmetically, we leave the original upholstery and hardware intact as much as possible.
  • Total Overhaul => hereby defective materials and components are replaced by modern equivalents. Cosmetically, the housing of your guitar amplifier is made completely neat again. If the cabinet is completely worn, it is reupholstered.
  • Mechanical overhaul => defective materials and components are replaced by modern equivalents. Your vintage tube amplifier will be technically repaired, but we do not perform any cosmetic procedures. A spot, tear or dent here and there also gives an amp some mojo 😊

We always check all amplifiers that we take care of for electrical safety. So you know that you can continue to play on your old amplifier with peace of mind.

Vintage Cab Overhaul

You may also have the matching cabinet with your vintage Fender Bassman head. A nice set, but the speaker cabinet also needs a makeover.
We repair the woodwork of speaker cabinets and repair and/or replace the Tolex covering and the speaker cloth.
Hand in your tube amp together with your cabinet and we’ll make sure your set looks like new again. We call it Vintage Good Looking. With a little luck, the set can now be in the living room! 😊

Elfring guarantees!

What do you get when we repair or restore your vintage tube amplifier:

  • A top amplifier that looks fantastic again and can last for years to come.
  • 3 months warranty (excluding tubes, transformers and cosmetic damage).
  • 1 month warranty on the tubes.
  • Elfring Overhaul sticker & certificate.

We do what we are good at

And what we like! That is why we have really specialized in vintage tube amplifiers and cabinets in terms of repairs and overhauls. Because we put all our time and love into this, we, unfortunately, do not have time for overhauling bass amplifiers, hi-fi amplifiers, transistor (guitar) amplifiers, and hybrid amplifiers.
For more information or to make an appointment, please contact us.

What does an ‘Overhaul’ actually mean?

To give you an idea of ​​what we do when we overhaul your amplifier:

  • A complete cap job. This involves replacing all electrolytic filter and bypass capacitors and any faulty or suspected tone and coupling capacitors.
  • Replacing all tubes
  • if necessary- the power cable.
  • Replacement or repair of all defective, noisy, worn or suspicious switches, connectors, controls, tube sockets and other parts subject to wear.
  • Cleaning of all tube sockets, jacks, controls, connectors and switches.
  • Checking and replacing out of tolerance and noisy plate and grid resistors.
  • Checking the reverb tank and cables.
  • If necessary, straightening the chassis.
  • Replacement of missing or damaged hardware and fasteners.
  • Checking the loudspeakers and loudspeaker wiring, maintenance if necessary.
  • Checking the electrical safety, maintenance if necessary.
  • An overhaul is of course completed with extensive testing of the amplifier.