Leak Stereo 20 - Resurrected!

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Leak Stereo 20 - Resurrected!

Postby BudP » Fri Feb 26, 2010 1:43 pm

Several years ago I was asked to look into fixing a non-working 1961-vintage Leak Stereo 20 amp for a co-worker. Not liking my estimate of what it would cost to re-cap it and replace a couple bad output tubes, she said to just junk it. I had already determined that the transformers were OK, so I thought I'd just hang on to it to use them in other projects.

After recently seeing some write-ups on this amp, and what they go for on ebay when the rare one shows up, I decided to see if I could bring it back to life rather than cannibalizing it. Replacing all the electrolytics was rather straightforward, as was replacing the missing 100-ohm 3w resistor used as a "fuse" in the power supply HV filter (designed to melt the solder and fall out if excessive current is drawn). Replacing a few bad tubes completed the repairs. I hooked up a couple speakers and fired it up, plugging in a Strat clone directly to one of the RCA input jacks.

To say that I was amazed by what it sounded like is an understatement! While the amp has no volume or tone controls, I found the guitar controls were adequate for that purpose. I had assumed I'd need to run the guitar through a preamp, but apparently the Leak has sufficient gain that one isn't needed, yielding plenty of volume with the level set to 3-4.

Now I'm torn between leaving it in its pristine (overhauled) condition, maybe adding some volume/tone controls, swapping out the RCA input jacks for standard 1/4-inch phone jacks, and replacing the screw-terminal speaker connectors with modern binding posts to have a slick dual-channel, two-guitar amp...maybe in a 2x12" cab with each speaker connected to the respective output...hmmmm......

Any recommendations or suggestions?

Bud
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Postby battradio » Fri Feb 26, 2010 2:45 pm

Sell it it to some who will love it for what it is and take the profits and buy a guitar amp .
Mark
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Postby Greg Smith » Mon Mar 01, 2010 11:06 am

+1 on the last post. DON'T start modifying a well-known vintage piece like a Leak Stereo 20. It has far more value to you in its original condition.

Either use it as a hi-fi amp or sell it on ebay, where they seem to be fetching over $1000 these days. With that money, you could buy a guitar amp (or parts for a new build) that's far better suited to your needs than a modified hi-fi amp.

...that's my .02
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