thefrights
Joined: Mar 03, 2014
Posts: 20
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Posted on Mar 03 2014 09:01 AM
I've had this old indestructible Laney (UK made) PL50 reverb amp for years now, but since I've had it, the reverb dials have never added any reverb to the amp sound.
I started taking it apart yesterday to find out if there are any parts that might need replacing etc, but gave up after about an hour.
I think it's time to contact Laney to see if they have any ideas... in the meantime if anyone here has some insider knowledge they'd care to share, let me know.
The amp is like this one:
image
Oh and it's survived being in a flood already (although the reverb has never worked) - build like a submersible (reverb?!) tank!
Cheers, Jim
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crumble
Joined: Sep 09, 2008
Posts: 3158
Guildford England
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Posted on Mar 03 2014 10:07 AM
Jim. I doubt many on the forum know much about Laney Amps. There's not a great deal of interest in solid state besides Quilter: http://www.quilterlabs.com/
Most of the guys here are into Fender tube stuff or occasionally Vox AC30.
I did once ask about Laney: Here
Also, my research tells me Laney Amps are good rugged and reliable tools, the LC-30 112 and VC models have a brilliant clean channel similar but not quite Vox AC30 performance.
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thefrights
Joined: Mar 03, 2014
Posts: 20
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Posted on Mar 03 2014 10:18 AM
Thanks for chiming in Malc, yeh it's not your classic amp of choice for surf twangyness, but for good clean tones and overdrive/fuzz it's delivering pretty well at the moment.
We actually compared it side by side with a Fender 100W reverb amp and at 50W, the Laney just had more bite to it which is perfect for the sound.
Would be great to get the reverb module working though...
I've contacted Laney so will wait to hear back and update when/if I get a response. 
Cheers, Jim
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LeeVanCleef
Joined: Oct 05, 2011
Posts: 744
France
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Posted on Mar 03 2014 02:06 PM
thefrights wrote:
yeh it's not your classic amp of choice for surf twangyness, but for good clean tones and overdrive/fuzz it's delivering pretty well at the moment.
That's all that matters. Everything else is gear snobbery. 
As for the reverb issue, that could come from a number of causes. There are a couple of things you can do for now:
- Check the cables that go from the amp chassis to the reverb pan. Move them around a bit with the amp turned on and the reverb pot on 10. It could be a bad connection. Also, check the rca plugs that connect these cables to the pan for oxidation or dirt and clean them if necessary.
- With the amp still on and the reverb pot still on 10, either give the amp a good shake or knock on the reverb pan until you hear the springs rattle inside. Whether or not you hear a loud "reverb crash" coming from the amp's speaker may help to rule out possible causes.
— Old punks never die... They just become surf rockers.
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thefrights
Joined: Mar 03, 2014
Posts: 20
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Posted on Mar 03 2014 02:35 PM
Thanks for the tips LeeVanCleef I'll run some tests when I get a chance... agree, well said as you can probably tell, never been one for gear snobbery here.
Cheers, Jim
— The Frights Youtube
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thefrights
Joined: Mar 03, 2014
Posts: 20
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Posted on Mar 04 2014 08:47 AM
For anyone interested or with similar issue, I have had a response from the Laney technical support:
Hi Jim,
Thanks for the enquiry,
It will either be the reverb can or the phono lead connecting it to the amp.
You can do a continuity check on the lead or buy a new one as they are very cheap.
The reverb can can also be measured, it should read approx 20 ohms on the send and 200 ohms the return.
Hope this helps
Regards
So now time to try and break in carefully disassemble and find what lurks beneath... did I mention this thing is built like a WWI tank ?!
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thefrights
Joined: Mar 03, 2014
Posts: 20
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Posted on Mar 04 2014 10:51 AM
After taking the head section out, I think I may have found the culprit.
Phono jack leading to the reverb dial is not giving a reading and has been resoldered in the past... time for a re-resolder and see if that fixes it. 
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thefrights
Joined: Mar 03, 2014
Posts: 20
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Posted on Mar 05 2014 08:54 AM
Located the spring reverb yesterday at the base of the speaker - seems ok as I've managed to get it working intermittently. Waiting for a new cable and hopefully that should permanently solve it.
BTW, if anyone is wondering, Laney's aftercare customer service has been top notch and the engineer I've been dealing is called Dave... when I opened the amp up, there was a sticker which said: checked by: Dave Date: 20 March 1991. Turns out it is the very same Dave I've been dealing with in technical support 23 years later!! 
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crumble
Joined: Sep 09, 2008
Posts: 3158
Guildford England
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Posted on Mar 05 2014 09:57 AM
Ha! Good story about Dave! Glad to hear you're getting the reverb sorted.
I sometimes walk to a local car boot fair for some Sunday morning exercise, I once found a pristine Laney combo which I'm guessing as a PL 100 Twin (although I remember it as having a silver control face and grey vinyl covering) £30! ka-ching! But it was so heavy I could hardly lift it an inch from the ground - 25KG (52 pounds weight!) so I had to walk away.
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thefrights
Joined: Mar 03, 2014
Posts: 20
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Posted on Mar 06 2014 08:21 AM
Well pleased to say the "verb" is back in the Laney PL50 Reverb amp and all it took was a $2 phono cable in the end... loving the sound with the Kay K2 great surf tones, I'll try and do a demo if anyone's interested?
@Malc - you could have opted for the carry home, would have boosted your Sunday exercise regime and been the bargain of the century - not even any fuel to pay!! haha
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crumble
Joined: Sep 09, 2008
Posts: 3158
Guildford England
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Posted on Mar 06 2014 08:45 AM
No wonder they call them solid state.. Boom Boom.
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LeeVanCleef
Joined: Oct 05, 2011
Posts: 744
France
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Posted on Mar 06 2014 02:55 PM
Glad to hear you could fix the reverb 
— Old punks never die... They just become surf rockers.
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thefrights
Joined: Mar 03, 2014
Posts: 20
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Posted on Mar 07 2014 04:41 PM
@ Malc - haha
@ LeeVanCleef - thanks man - it's sure made a huge difference and the Laney reverb combined with the K2 pickups is pretty nice to my ear - definitely got that dirty vintage surf vibe going on. 
— The Frights Youtube
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maximumsurfandroll
Joined: Nov 16, 2013
Posts: 182
Edinburgh, Scotland
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Posted on Mar 11 2014 02:57 AM
Good to hear you got it fixed up. There's a Laney Linebacker Reverb 65 I've been using lately in our practice space, and it delivers on that clean twang no problem. I saw one on EBay for £25 last week, might pick one up some time to have around...and also practice my weight lifting 
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