Is playing an amp like exercising it?

**EarlBrother** · 03-25-2017, 09:37 PM

It has been 20 years or better since i really played this amp.A few minute here and there at low volume.Its the 80s Poly mini brute IV.I brought it back up from storage a year or so ago and again play for a bit not happy turn it off.Did most of the suggestions to resurrect it.Still not happy.So today i had a chance to play it higher volume adjusting at the guitar then turn it down and up at the guitar back and forth for a couple hours.With in the last 20 minute it started sounding warmer, clearer, fuller.Like it was starting to return to its youth.A Ponce DeLione postulate. Its not there yet but is this the beginning of an exercise program for this amp?

**sgosnell** · 03-25-2017, 10:05 PM

My guess is corrosion, and the connections/pots are slowly getting better through it. I'd first check the speaker connections.

**cosmic gumbo** · 03-26-2017, 02:17 AM

I call a priest when I need to exorcise my amp.

**Thumpalumpacus** · 03-26-2017, 03:00 AM

If I wanted to exercise my amp I'd put it on a leash and take it to the park.

Unless it was a Twin, of course. Too late, I reckon.

**goldenwave77** · 03-26-2017, 07:26 AM

Not unusual for filter caps (capacitors) to dry out, and go bad...sometimes they leak.

PS: Read this too quickly. Polytone is SS amp, therefore no filter cap worries.

"Never mind"
---Emily Latella

**Max405** · 03-26-2017, 09:07 AM

I think you are onto something. The older circuitry, magnetic properties and an old speaker might need a few reps to get broken back in. There is a lot of stuff going on inside that little powerhouse of an amp.
They are great amps though. I still wish to one day, make a half open back for the one I have and see if it warms it up a bit for home use.. Those amps are made for the stage, without a doubt.
Joe D

**Cavalier** · 03-26-2017, 01:21 PM

Originally Posted by Thumpalumpacus

If I wanted to exercise my amp I'd put it on a leash and take it to the park.

Unless it was a Twin, of course. Too late, I reckon.

I have a Twin and find I exercise with it pretty frequently, I especially enjoy the stairmaster routine.

It is good for an amp to be played regularly.

**Franz 1997** · 03-26-2017, 02:21 PM

What you describe is probably the filter caps 're-forming' themselves; in other words, getting back their filtering capacity, which degrades over time if not used. Polytone filter caps degrade over time just like any other SS amp, although they don't get cooked by heat as in a tube amp.

That said, if you care about it, 30+ year old caps definitely need checking to see if they are leaking, as noted above. They make a real mess if they blow..but they may well be fine; my last 80s poly had caps that tested OK.

**GNAPPI** · 03-26-2017, 03:46 PM

If you believe such things, Avatar speakers sells a speaker I think they call hellatone which are nothing more than a Celestion model that its suspension has been artificially "exercised" (not exorcised) with a low freq wave for some hours. The principle is kinda like the tonerite for the guitar.

Unfortunately reforming old electrolytic caps with the normal working voltages will more than likely finish what aging has started. Reforming if tried is usually done with a low DC voltage and over a time the DC is raised to working voltages. Old electrolytic caps should be replaced, there's no good reason to keep old caps in an amp. It's not like guitar buyer who insist just about EVERYTHING be original, new caps add value to an old amp... if properly done.

**ccroft** · 03-26-2017, 04:57 PM

I have recent experience with similar. I decided to get my '91 Mesa 22+ back into rotation after not using it for at least 20 years. First thing I did was take it to my amp guy for check. He said all good... no reason to replace caps or anything else.

When I got it home I wasn't happy with the sound. Decided on new speaker. When I pulled the old one I noticed a considerable deposit of dust and... grime I guess you'd call it on the bottom half of the cone. Kinda fuzzy. I don't think that was helping tone a lot.

Anyways, exercising the amp is way better than letting it sit for extended periods. It'll come back to life. Just wanted to mention speaker gunk as I hadn't read anything about that. In my case I didn't have a slip cover so the speaker grill was exposed to all kinds of things and plenty got to the speaker cone. I have a dust cover now...

**Gitfiddler** · 03-26-2017, 07:12 PM

Old amps, old electronics in general, like old players, need to be exercised once in a while to avoid technicians...or physicians.

**EarlBrother** · 03-26-2017, 08:13 PM

Well i decided to look at the speaker.Took the diamond tolex off and the screen thats tact to the front of the speaker and the cone has a very straight deliberate clean line with like a sealent or clear adhesive type along its edges.The line goes from the center to the outer end. Is that how this speaker was made?It looks like its by design.I will post photos but i want to look at the rest of the insides thru the back and maybe take photos if antything looks not right.I will be carefull!Thanks for the laughs!

**EarlBrother** · 03-26-2017, 10:07 PM

Is playing an amp like exercising it?-img_7540-jpg

Is playing an amp like exercising it?-img_7548-jpg

And look an open back Polytone!!!

**Cavalier** · 03-27-2017, 01:27 AM

Looks tidy, play for 2 hours and call in the morning.

**Little Jay** · 03-27-2017, 04:24 AM

Brilliant anwers here! (And some also very witty! :-D )

In this case I would say filter-caps indeed. But what sometimes gets overlooked is that a speaker is made of paper, and paper absorbs moisture. A speaker cone that's moist reacts different is my experience. Amps that live in basements or high-humidity environments do not sound 'crisp' (duh...). What helps in that case is to put those little bags with silica-gel close to the speaker and put the cover on. To my astonishment the impact is quite big!

**KirkP** · 03-27-2017, 04:26 AM

That looks like normal speaker cone splice.
I'm skeptical that "exersizing" the amp is making it sound better. If electrolytic filter caps are the issue, reforming them involves slowly bringing the voltage up. You don't need to play through it for that.

**Little Jay** · 03-27-2017, 04:30 AM

Brilliant answers here! (And some also very witty! :-D )

In this case I would say filter-caps indeed. But what sometimes gets overlooked is that a speaker is made of paper, and paper absorbs moisture. A speaker cone that's moist reacts different is my experience. Amps that live in basements or high-humidity environments do not sound 'crisp' (duh...). What helps in that case is to put those little bags with silica-gel close to the speaker and put the cover on. To my astonishment the impact is quite big!

**EarlBrother** · 03-27-2017, 05:08 AM

Looks like my like button is asleep.Thanks every one!!

**Alter** · 03-27-2017, 09:20 AM

having had a couple of old amps resurrected, i strongly advise having a knowledgeable technician look into an old amp. Otherwise, even if nothing blows, you might just not be getting the best sound out of it.

**sgosnell** · 03-27-2017, 10:53 AM

The speaker looks normal to me. You might try wiggling all the connectors, or even disconnecting, inspecting, and reconnecting them. It's easy to get a poor connection over long periods of disuse, which can be fixed by some mechanical action. Do that with the amp turned off and unplugged.

**EarlBrother** · 03-27-2017, 05:45 PM

Thanks again everyone! sgosnel a pawn shop i visited let me take home a Fender rumble 75 to see if it worked for me.He said there was a loud hum happening.There was awful.So unpluged i went in and straightened a few little thingies that were leaning and wiggled afew other things.Put it back together and it worked beautifully!!I kept it for another 2 weeks hum still gone but it wasnt what i wanted.But he was happy and i was appreciative for the loan.

**EarlBrother** · 03-27-2017, 09:27 PM

Well i took my flashlight and examined every little thing and everything is really clean.I have said in other posts its got low miles and actually it sat in a back room in the house 90+ % of its history.With me.I am playing it in a small carpeted room at practise volume.So i will be taking it out for test in a smallish concert hall and a vacant banquet room to let her shine.I hope.Surely its not me or my guitar thats the problem.I really got to get that practise amp i've been goin on about.Sorry.

**Jonathan0996** · 03-27-2017, 09:56 PM

It's good to clean all the contacts with an old amp like that. If you get a can of DeoxIT, you can spray it onto a 1/4 inch plug and plug it in and out of all the jacks several times. You can also check the speaker connection. That's usually all you need to do to restore an old solid state amp like that.

Amps tend to sound better to your ear after you've listened to them for a while, so there's always that effect to consider. On the other hand, you might have found the sweet spot if you were playing with the tone and volume controls.

That said, if you like the amp, that's all that matters. Clean it up, play through it and enjoy it. It's always nice to rediscover an old jewel.