[brownw10]

Hello all.

Thanks for the replies - I should have thanked you earlier but had a bit of a 'domestic energency' that got in the way of a mere 'hobby' ...

Anyway - the cover did cone off - a slip of card around the socket helped ease the case over it.

Beautifully made inside but not the easiest to work on - I had a service manual but it was a little unreadable in places ... but that's part of the challenge.

Anyway, checked the various voltages and found an electrolytic had dead shorted pulling a supply rail down - not too surprised and it only goes to show they can fail even if they (presumably) haven't had too many hours on them. I replaced all 3 in the meter itself - the others are all tants and polystyrene so I left them alone - and it at least got the needle moving but rather erratically.

So, I dissembled the preamp nose section and found a 4th electrolytic that looked like it was leaking slightly - there was a slight bit of corrosion where it touched inside of the case.

Replaced that - and it all came good !

Thanks again to all who replied !!

W.

Just to add.

Martin - yes - that was exactly the problem. I really didn't want to even scratch the paint around the connector but, as I said, a small piece of card helped slip the case over.

David - yes - I was extremely careful when dismantling it - towel on the table, screws etc in small plastic tubs, and a little bit of thought before I did anything. I can understand why they're so expensive even now - it is beautifully built.

The final 'fix' was to give the case a going over with leather cleaner and light tan boot polish - I'll post a few pics when I have a chance !!