Should I buy a TR100 with issues?

[gibsonlp]

Hi guys,
Someone here in Israel is selling a Rickenbacker TR100 amp, it's ultra-rare here in Israel (probably the only one...) and I am of course thinking about buying it even though I don't need another guitar amp...
Cosmetically the amp looks great, it just needs some cleaning.
The problems it has (that I could spot) :

1. It Hums when everything is on 0, the hum doesn't get stronger when the volume goes up (power caps?)
2. It wobbles the sound every once in a while, what I mean is that lets say that I play a single note and let it run - I'll hear some artifacts coming and going, hard to describe the artifacts but it sounds a bit like chorus coming and going or reversed phase in an offset playing along for half a second here and then.
3. It sounds very distorted on both channels, it simply doesn't sound clean at all.

The seller wants 1K NIS which is about $272, I don't mind investing up to this amount in fixing it but I don't want to buy a "project".
Any suggestions?
Does anyone who have this amp or ever serviced this amp know what could cause these issues?
How does this amp sound when it's fully functioning? does it worth to trouble??

Thanks in advance.

[admin]

Gil: Do you know anything about the climatic conditions in which this amplifier was stored? I sounds like a project to me.

[gibsonlp]

Israel is mostly hot and try so I guess these are the conditions,
The owner just flew for 3 months to India for a trip, I can ask him more when he returns.
I wonder if this amp is good enough to invest money and time in it, never read any reviews of the TR100.

Thanks.

[admin]

Gil: You may find the following links helpful from the RRF archives.
TR-100a
TR-100b
TR-100c
TR-100d

[grazioso]

approach it as spare cab purchase . the amp can be probably fixed - the question remains is it worth the trouble...?

[admin]

Dusan: You raise a good point. Gil you did not say whether it was a combo model or the head/cabinet model. I was thinking combo.

[gibsonlp]

Peter: thanks for the links and the mail with the review, I read them all and still couldn't decide
It is a combo indeed.

Dusan: That's my question, if it's good enough to spend extra time and money fixing it...

I think I'll just contact the seller once he returns and ask him to fix them amp if he wants to sell it to me.

[grazioso]

Peter: thanks for the links and the mail with the review, I read them all and still couldn't decide
It is a combo indeed.

Dusan: That's my question, if it's good enough to spend extra time and money fixing it...

I think I'll just contact the seller once he returns and ask him to fix them amp if he wants to sell it to me.

exactly, if you don't like the sound it is pointless...gotta hear it first... it shouldn't be that expesive fix unless it is trasformer gone bad...

[tracy]

Even if it's a transformer, it's a doable deal. Give the seller my info. I'll fix it for him. With shipping and the price of scarce parts, it's probably a budget buster, but what the heck, it's a TR-100. Y'only live once.

[gibsonlp]

Shipping?
From Israel to the US and back???

[bartyclue]

The way you describe it.. it sounds like microfoning.(sp??) New tubes and possibly caps should fix it right up.

[jps]

microfoning.(sp??)

Microphonics.

[tracy]

Once had a guy send me a 4-10 Bassman from Australia! Just the chassis of course for a total overhaul. But seriously folks, it's not unusual to get a scarce Ricky in from just about anywhere. Some of the transistors are starting to get a bit pricey (supply and demand), but for the most part they're all restorable. And worth the effort.

[gibsonlp]

The way you describe it.. it sounds like microfoning.(sp??) New tubes and possibly caps should fix it right up.

This is a Solid State amp

Once had a guy send me a 4-10 Bassman from Australia! Just the chassis of course for a total overhaul. But seriously folks, it's not unusual to get a scarce Ricky in from just about anywhere. Some of the transistors are starting to get a bit pricey (supply and demand), but for the most part they're all restorable. And worth the effort.

Okay, I'll talk to him when he gets back. Thanks!