Does anyone know this amp (Guyatone EX1)?

[Boss Man Zwiebelsohn]

Picked up an almost mint (including the original cover) Guyatone EX1 solid-state amplifier for 30 EUR. Only thing I need to do is use a little WD-40.

[wintermoon]

WD-40 for what

[Boss Man Zwiebelsohn]

WD-40 for what

Contact spray for the pots.

[wintermoon]

Contact spray for the pots.

I wouldn't recommend WD-40 for pots, use Deoxit.

[garybaldy]

I wouldn't recommend WD-40 for pots, use Deoxit.

WD 40 do a switch/contact cleaner as well as the one you shouldn't use!

[Boss Man Zwiebelsohn]

I wouldn't recommend WD-40 for pots, use Deoxit.

Thanks for the tip, I'll do a research if it is available in Germany.

[Boss Man Zwiebelsohn]

WD 40 do a switch/contact cleaner as well as the one you shouldn't use!

Is this the "good one"?

[garybaldy]

Is this the "good one"?

I think so but I only know English, sorry.

[Boss Man Zwiebelsohn]

Thanks for the tip, I'll do a research if it is available in Germany.

Which one is the one you would recommend?

DeoxIT D-Series page with shop | CAIG

[Boss Man Zwiebelsohn]

I think so but I only know English, sorry.

Could you show me a link to the product you buy?

[wintermoon]

CAIG DeoxIT D-Series Contact Cleaner & Rejuvenator with Adjustable Low-Med-High Straw | Musician's Friend

[Boss Man Zwiebelsohn]

CAIG DeoxIT D-Series Contact Cleaner & Rejuvenator with Adjustable Low-Med-High Straw | Musician's Friend

The link does not work and leads to a Hiwatt amp. Is it the D5?

[wintermoon]

The link does not work and leads to a Hiwatt amp. Is it the D5?

Link works fine on my end, you're just in the wrong country
But yeah the D5

[JazzNote]

I use first a product called Kontakt60 to dissolve, then Kontakt WL to clean. The cleaner is important to get rid of the dissolvant which otherwise might destroy the component i want to clean (switch or pot or whatever). These are available here in Switzerland, not sure about Germany, but i think the Reichelt company is in Germany.

https://www.reichelt.com/ch/de/konta...7&gad_source=1

https://www.reichelt.com/ch/de/konta...7&gad_source=1

[Boss Man Zwiebelsohn]

Link works fine on my end, you're just in the wrong country
But yeah the D5

I checked CAIG's German distributors. The D5 with the adjustable straw costs around 24,-- EUR + 3 EUR shipping which is almost as much as the amp cost me ...

[Boss Man Zwiebelsohn]

I use first a product called Kontakt60 to dissolve, then Kontakt WL to clean. The cleaner is important to get rid of the dissolvant which otherwise might destroy the component i want to clean (switch or pot or whatever). These are available here in Switzerland, not sure about Germany, but i think the Reichelt company is in Germany.

https://www.reichelt.com/ch/de/konta...7&gad_source=1

https://www.reichelt.com/ch/de/konta...7&gad_source=1

Thanks for the recommendation and yes, they are German.

[sgosnell]

For noisy potentiometers, the first thing I try is turning the knob back and forth rapidly through the noisy area, for some time. That can clean the pot enough sometimes. It's the cheapest and easiest thing to try. I use more invasive and expensive options only if necessary.

[Boss Man Zwiebelsohn]

For noisy potentiometers, the first thing I try is turning the knob back and forth rapidly through the noisy area, for some time. That can clean the pot enough sometimes. It's the cheapest and easiest thing to try. I use more invasive and expensive options only if necessary.

That is what I tried first of course.

The weird thing is that the woman I bought the amp from got it in her youth (from an aunt IIRC who insisted that she should play modern music)
together with an EKO cobra II guitar (of which I found a paper label on a thread in the back of the amp) but she preferred classical guitar and flamenco and only used the amp five times or so so the speaker of that amp from 1979 is probably not even broken in. But she always kept amp and guitar until she recently thought that finally someone should use them. (The guitar was already sold a few weeks ago.)

The amp does not have a single scratch, the cover is in perfect condition, but the electronics seem to have aged since 1979 (45 years!) and some things are not working properly, e.g. the spring reverb. But the amp has an 12" speaker and is very warm sounding and well suited for jazz. So there is some work to do for me (or if necessary an electronics expert) and I am looking forward to the result.

[sgosnell]

There is almost certainly a lot of corrosion in those pots being that old and never used. Just remember, when you put 20-odd Euros into the Deoxit, you'll still have only about 75 Euros total into the amp, and it will be usable. Or you could replace the pots entirely, for near the same cost, if you do it yourself and have the soldering equipment and skills. Cleaning the connections will probably restore the reverb, also.

[wintermoon]

Turning the knobs back and forth repeatedly sometime works for a temporary fix but the static will return sooner than later.
Best to get just a touch of lube in there as well which Deoxit 5 contains but not so much to goop things up that some other "cleaner/lubes" contain which will attract dust and dirt, the enemy of potentiometers.