CHAMP ELECTRONICS -" THE VALVE AMP
HOSPITAL"
NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND
SERVICE & MODIFICATION OF A
TRIUMPH
"LEO" COMBO AMPLIFIER
Hello everyone. This little
Triumph Leo was sent to me by Paul,
from
Dorset, England. Most of the time with these small 4 - 5 watt amps, I
generally change almost everything, as there there isn't that much in
them anyway. If I didn't do that, the time spent "fault tracing" would
probably take longer than simply "getting-on" and changing all the said
components! Also, the end results are always
superb!!
In Paul's letter
included with the amp he stated that it just wasn't working right and
needed some TLC (tender loving care). Paul had also asked if it was
possible to have it kitted-out with NOS (new old stock) Mullard's, of
which I was more than pleased to do for him.
This Leo amp has exactly
the same circuit as the B&N Crown featured
a couple of years
ago on my site, but with a much better layout than the Crown.
I did make a couple of
very
useful modifications which do not change the performance whatsoever but
do indeed add a little more flexibility to the unit. One mod was to
remove the
6.3 volt heater chain from one side, being on ground (earth), and then
fitted a pre-set "humdinger" (like on most Fenders). This cures some of
the "gritty buzz" quietly heard in the background of amps like this
where the heater supply is grounded on one side, rather than in the
center. The other was to fit an internal 20-turn Cermet pot on the
tremolo depth. On this model, the depth is set by a fixed resistor; not
necessarily everybody's "cup-of-tea", so with this addition it can be
set to ones preference!
Once finished it
sounded........well.......I think I'll let Paul's e-mail describe the
completed work:
"Hi
John. I received my
little LEO amp today, and just like a kid at Christmas I tore open the
packaging and plugged her straight in! Well, what can I say!? What a
transformation! All the nasty hiss has completely vanished, and the hum
is barely noticeable, plus it is so much LOUDER!!!! than it was (I
can't believe it's only a 4 or 5 watt amp!). I can only describe the
sound as "Sumptuous" and the tremolo (or should that be Vibrato?) is
perfect. So I can only say Thank You!, not only for the excellent job
that you did on it, but also for going that extra mile with the
addition of some really great little modifications, which has given me
far greater control over the sound. (This little amp was definitely in
the right hands!).
I will be
in touch
soon!.... : )
All the best. Paul"
When I rung Paul to
tell him that his little baby was finished and that I would now be
sending
it back to him, he explained that he had just been in a recording
studio all that evening putting guitar tracks down for Jet Harris' new
album. (Jet Harris was the original bass player for Cliff Richard
& the Drifters, later changed to the Shadows, and he then went
on
to further success as the 60's duo Jet Harris and Tony Meehan). As it
happens, I know Jet quite well and have worked with him a few times in
the past. It's a Small World, eh!
Also Paul tells me that
he intends to use the little Leo on some of Jet's tracks too. When the
album is finished and he let's me know which tracks and on what parts,
I
will post the information herewith.
Cheers to you all, John.
LINKS TO THE ABOVE:
The Jet Harris Website: http://www.jetharris.biz/index.htm
The Jet Harris MySpace Site: http://www.myspace.com/jetharris
Paul Rumbles Squire JV Website: http://www.21frets.com
Paul Rumbles My Space Site: http://www.myspace.com/paulrumble
Extract from the 1974 Bell's Music Catalogue.