Self Medicating > General DIY

Recondition Scott StereoMaster 344 amp

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bluisana:
I have been searching around this site for some time now but this is my first post.  I bought a custom console kit (Barzilay) from the early 60's this weekend.  The cabinet is incredible.  It has 2 custom made speakers JBL 001 system driven by a Scott StereoMaster 344 Amp (Nuvister tunner).  Carlman took at look at it for me yesterday and is suggesting that I buy a reconditioned mcintosh for the system.  I am a gluten for punishment and short on dough at the moment.  I am thinking about trying to recondition the scott myself.  Right now it does power up and play but there is a fair amount of distortion.  It makes horrible poping and scratching sounds when you turn the bass knobs.  I am not even sure where to begin other than cleaning all of the connections and looking for any old caps to replace.  What are the general guidelines (if there are any) for troubleshooting something like this? 

richidoo:
Nice find!! Can't wait to hear it. Maybe post a picture of the console???

For this kinda stuff vintage restoration or just basic repair and tune up on a budget, Alex Lok is the man. He can align your FM section also. He has done work for me and Nick.
http://theanalogstore.com

The noisy pot can be cleaned, that is easy and you should clean them all, it is normal maintenance item. Just readup on how to do it at Caig and pick the right chemical.  PS electrolytic caps might need to be replaced for safety. Others electro caps too, depending on budget and how tweaky you are feeling, but not as important as PS. If you bring it by to the next G2g Sol can look at it and advise what further you can do. He can also bench test it for you or do repairs, he has a lot of restored vintage stuff in his house. Carl has his email or PM me.
Rich

bluisana:
I will post some pictures as soon as I get some freetime.  Carl has already directed me to Alex.  I will probably end up taking it to him once I get a few paying projects off of my plate.  I hope to get to this in the next month or so but it is going to be tough.  I just wanted to start gathering info on the best way to troubleshoot this beast. 

richidoo:
You can clean the pots easily yourself. Since that is the primary problem you are hearing now, you might be satisfied with that alone for now. I got some Caig products delivered today and read through the lit they sent, they make a lot of cool products. DeOxit Fader Lube cleans pots. Read how here:
http://store.caig.com/s.nl/it.I/id.52/.f?sc=17&category=-117

Carlman:
I have a can of Radio Shack tuner cleaner you can have.. It needs a spray nozzle, though.  If it were me, I'd replace the caps I could see and recognize with good quality like-values and do a thorough cleaning of the contacts and pots first.  If that doesn't work, then go to a specialist.

This particular unit has a lot of oxidation on the input jacks.  I think there is some potential.  The thing is, it's just a drop-in receiver with a tuner and phono pre built-in... So, I was thinking it'd be easier to buy a working McIntosh receiver that I know Alex already has... with the the money it'll take to fix the Scott.  Alex may even have a reel-to-reel you can add. ;)

I can help out if needed, just let me know.

-C

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