I’ve put word in to George Metropoulus not heard anything back as his components are downright scary in my opinion. I too will miss Classic Tone. Here is my first high gain build that I sent to Mark Cameron upon his urging over four years ago for a second one off for my second son and I will never see it again. Same shit different pile but the story. CT Iron:
Yes, that is to say the 10+ Metropoulos iron amps I spent 12+ hours each modifying sound consistently superior harmonically to most post 1981 or later Marshall’s to include re-issues. Now that is my opinion. “Scary good indeed”. Perhaps I should have said “Consistently Superior” as to Voltage Supply & Output Harmonic Richness. I trust my ears. Why else do we care who produces transformers? As for me I’m not a fan of Merc Mag. If you get the wrong OT your Marshall tends to sound like a Mesa etc... Just my $.02 David
my beef with mercury is the outrageous prices and not listing transformer specs/datasheets on their site. unless i'm getting a really good deal (~$50 per) i ain't gonna buy something without technical information telling me what it is
Aside from Mercury, who else is out there that sells good transformers for a decent price? I am literally just getting into amp repair (as a hobby) and was happy that I could get replacement parts at a decent price. The first amp I'm repairing needed a new OT and the ClassicTone was literally $100 less than MM.
Power transformers I don’t worry about so much as long as the voltage falls within spec. I’ll put Transformers it’s all about total quality and it’s simple, the cost will have to be passed on to the consumer. David
@KraftyBob Hammond makes some nice transformers. check out antique electronic supply I've wanted to try heyboer and merrin but they don't seem to be as easily sourced
I'm doing this a little different in that I'm not working on customer amps per se as I'm not that experienced so I don't want to work on someone else's gear. I'm looking for amps online that need repair, fix them and then re-sell them so it's not like I can call a customer and ask them if they want to put the money into it. But this allows me to get experience and hopefully make a buck or two in the process. Eventually when I get comfortable enough doing this then I'll advertise my services. But for now I have to look at this as the cost of learning. (but hopefully not too much of a cost )
I JUST saw this. That blows completely. I have bought quite a few of their products....they are/were all excellent and priced very reasonably. This is sad.
this is how i mostly make a living. i try to stick to whatever is comparable to the original transformer if they need replaced (most of the time it's recap, proper 3 prong grounded mains, remove death cap, etc). having to replace transformers gets costly quick and unless you're getting an incredible deal generally not worth it
Well, ya got: Triad https://www.triadmagnetics.com Heyboer https://www.heyboertransformers.com/tubeamps.shtml also sourced through MojoTone! Edcor https://www.edcorusa.com Usually at least a couple/few week lead time. Almost as "pretty" as the overpriced Mercury stuff, at prices similar to Classic Tone. MPS/Musical Power Supplies https://www.musicalpowersupplies.com The way the website is laid out, as well as it's interaction with their fleabay store is a little wonky, but good products and support with nice pricing. Hammond http://www.hammondmfg.com Fairly well regarded. Merren http://www.merrenaudio.com Modulus Amplification https://modulusamplification.com Not sure who makes them, but they have a fairly wide variety of units with their logo, much like Mojo Tone provides. Mercury https://www.mercurymagnetics.com I think there are a couple other manufacturers, but can't currently recall them. And yeah, it sure does suck to see Magnetic Components/Classic Tone go the way of the Dodo birds and dinosaurs, as their products were good and website was very convenient! It would be cool if some savvy entrepeneur could buy and run the operation! Sad Days Indeed! Gene
I received the official email from ClsssicTone today, the doors shut in early November. No new orders are accepted Going Out Of Business After 10 years of producing ClassicTone transformers and 78 years of manufacturing, Magnetic Components is announcing the permanent closure of our factory in early November. This notice is much shorter than we had anticipated. This is a result of COVID and a recent and serious supply chain issue that has developed. Overall, in the last 4 years we have seen a large decline in the tube amp transformer market. At the same time, we experienced unprecedented increases in all costs necessitating us to make this tough, final decision to close. We have decided to shut down voluntarily and before the business situation potentially gets worse. We want to close our third-generation USA-based company with dignity and honor. We are no longer accepting new orders directly. ClassicTone tranformers are available now only from our resellers while supplies last.
You guys are full of good news. I have used Classictone on a few amp builds and they always sound awesome. I just ordered 2 from triode right now, I may order a couple more maybe I can get a few before the stock runs out.
Pacific Transformers still makes great stuff. There's also Magic Parts and CE Distribution that carry Pacific Transformers still.
The ClassicTone 40-18087 is a fantastic OPT for a pair of 6V6's. Why can't you use it in your Tweaker 15? As for CT closing, yeah big bummer. Their 40-18054 45/50 watt PT's and 40-18025 50watt OPT's were my go to iron. Hammond has just released a power transformer (290 MAEX) with the same specs as the CT 40-18054, so thats cool. I've found all the Hammond iron to be of very high quality, but I find their OPT's to sound a bit on the modern side. Good sounding for sure, but not always what you want. Feels like the bandwidth is a little wider than the Classictone stuff. For Heyboer, Amp Parts direct is the best source. Only issue is if you want the ultimate 100watt C1999 OPT, as far as I know you have to go through Metro to get George's specific self-leaded C1999 clone.
Thanks for the info. It turns out that OT should work with my Tweaker 15 and there’s probably something else also wrong with the amp as I know the original OT is definitely bad. I was doing the work on my office desk and it’s just too messy so I’ve decided to clean up my basement and setup my workbench (it’s been sitting there since we moved). Once I get that done I’ll work on the amp again as I need to signal trace the problem with my signal generator and oscilloscope. Thanks for your post.
