Leslie 22H Amplifier Rebuild

The Leslie Amplifier with a Hammond Organ creates one of the most iconic sounds in music. These beautiful instruments were created back in the 40s, 50s, and 60s and some even earlier. It takes a lot of care to keep these works of are running and sometimes components need to be rebuilt. I am always under the philosophy of keeping the original design and not changing the circuit from its original design unless there has been updates and improvements by the manufacturer listed in the service manuals. This allows the player to experience the original sound and what the designer intended the instrument to sound like. Above this paragraph you can see before and after photos of the rebuild.

What constitutes as a rebuild? Generally, a rebuild involves replacing components like capacitors, power resistors, tubes, relays, trim pots, and most of the time transformers. The reason I do not always replace transformers is because, outside of the power tubes, they carry the most cost. So, if a customer wants to rebuild to a certain budget, we try to accommodate.

When do I need to rebuild? A rebuild is usually a good idea when you are starting to have frequent component replacement on your amplifier. For instance, you normally start to see this in capacitors, especially electrolytic capacitors. You may also start having issues with component specs. As you play the amplifier and as time goes by electrical components start to drift out of spec. For example, the cathode biasing resistor on the 6550 amplifier tubes should read around 150 ohms give or take 10%. The resistance over time can change and this would cause the biasing of your 6550 to potentially run hot. This can cause all kinds of issues.

How much does an amplifier rebuild cost? If everything in the amplifier was replaced, you could be looking at around $1200 or so. Sometimes, though, you do not need to replace every component in the amplifier. It just depends on your budget and how bad of shape the amplifier is in.

If you have a Leslie Amplifier you would like rebuilt just contact us below. We would love to help!