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Tech 21 Trademark Amps...Does The Reverb Tanks On Those Nearly ALWAYS Die?


crunchee

Question

In the last couple of months, since I found here on the HFC that Tube/Valve prices had shot up dramatically, I've been looking for a Tube/Valve amp substitute.  I've had no luck in finding  a 'Red Stripe' Peavey 'Transtube' model Bandit amp in my local area, but I have found a couple of Tech 21 Trademark 10s at local pawn shops, and so far they seem to sound pretty good to my ears for being a 'grab 'n' go' solid-state utility amp, plus they have the ability to plug into a larger extension speaker cabinet if the stock 8" speaker isn't enough. :rolleyes:  Problem is, those amps that I did find and tried out had non-functioning reverb, though everything else worked fine.  I did a Google search, and it seems that online experience with dead reverbs on Tech 21 Trademark 10s (and maybe the larger models too) is apparently frequent and common, with a seemingly higher incidence of this happening than any other amp I know of with a reverb tank (Tech 21 Trademark amps used a real reverb tank, and not digital reverb effects); and in most cases they simply need a new reverb tank, which runs about $40~$50 Bucks each.  Is that usually all there is to it, to get one of these amp's reverb function up and running again, or is there more to it than that; and is there other issues with those amps and/or the reverb too, besides being at least ten years old?  TIA!  :)

P.S.  Trademark 60s didn't seem to be mentioned nearly as much as having this issue, while my Google search turned up several (and frequent) mentions of this happening to the Trademark 10s and 30s...is it because they're smaller amps with small reverb tanks?  Tend to be thrown around more roughly than the Trademark 60s or larger amps?  Also, from what I've found online, apparently Belden bought out Accutronics and moved reverb tank production from the US to South Korea several years ago with a resulting drop in quality, so some people say online.  True or false?

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MyTM60 has been with me for a long time.  Tried to sell it, but played with it and it’s the one piece of gear that has stuck with me the longest.  No issues with the reverb tank.  Rock solid piece of gear.

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Anecdotally, I had a brand new TM60.  The reverb tank died after a few months.  They sent me a replacement immediately, and all was well for the six more days I owned it.  
 

I didn’t know I wasn’t alone with this.  

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I've been lucky with a T10 and two T60s over the years that are still humming right along.  I have heard of the issues, but T21 has always been great to deal with for any service needs I've had.

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I can't remember, is the TM60's reverb tank a small tank in the chassis instead of a large external tank in the bottom of the combo box?

Relevant if the former ... because I bought a minty Roland Jazz Chorus 120 in an ATA flight case very cheap two years ago because the reverb didn't work and its owner feared it needed major work. I bought it, pulled the chassis out and one of the chassis tank's connections had bounced loose. Plugged it in and it has worked perfectly since.

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