Soldering Push on Connectors

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jamison162
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Soldering Push on Connectors

Post by jamison162 » Fri Feb 25, 2011 3:37 pm

My speaker push on connectors (spade type) were getting loose due to the many speakers I've demo's over the past 4 yrs. So, last night before rehearsal, I actually soldered the speakers in. Whoa, what a difference. At practice, my RV50 sounded better than it had in a while. Louder, a little more punch and low end - which honestly had tapered off to where I had been thinking of taking it in to get checked out. I gotta say though, believe it or not, soldering in the speakers really did make a difference. Not a different amp, and the tone didn't drasticvally change, just the output more or less. I was even getting some nice feedback which I have been missing for a while now.

All of that to get to this: Has anyone thought about or actually soldered all of the push on connectors inside the amp. PCB points, grounds, etc?? I've seen this mentioned somewhere before, maybe here or another forum about amps in general. I can't imagine this doing anthing but improving signal flow and contact.

Thoughts?
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a.hun
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Re: Soldering Push on Connectors

Post by a.hun » Fri Feb 25, 2011 10:20 pm

jamison162 wrote:Thoughts?
Try a forum search for 'spade' (as in 'spade connector') and my name. I've been going on about them for ages. Not that I particularly like them or anything... :wink:

Damn right. Apart from any reliability issues (especially on speaker outputs) the sonic difference with hard soldering can be really dramatic.
Just one example:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=39999&p=482850&hili ... de#p482850" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Just solder it = the way it should be.



Andy.
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misterMagoo
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Re: Soldering Push on Connectors

Post by misterMagoo » Wed Mar 09, 2011 8:34 pm

I've thought about soldering spade connecters inside my amp as well. I think all the ones in the RV50 are easy to get to. I never did it though so I can't tell you how it would work out. If you do it update us.
-Joe
My mother wears army boots.

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RV50 mkI
AC30 combo

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a.hun
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Re: Soldering Push on Connectors

Post by a.hun » Wed Mar 09, 2011 9:30 pm

Don't bother soldering the spades. Just clip them off and solder the bare wires!

Lose those spades!


Andy.
aNDyH. :wink:

Ever tried to outstare a mirror?

In the bathtub of history the truth is harder to hold than the soap, and much more difficult to find!

OrangePaul
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Re: Soldering Push on Connectors

Post by OrangePaul » Fri Mar 11, 2011 3:04 pm

Sound connections (no pun intended) are just as important (if not more so) as cable quality I've found in my experience.
I rewired my Marshall 1x12 cabs years ago and yes I'd lose the connections altogether as the spade crimp onto the wire wont be doing much for the sound either.
Taking my old vintage orange 4x12 cab apart recently I wasn't surprised to find that already had point to point wired Rola Celestions :wink:
Paul.

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jamison162
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Re: Soldering Push on Connectors

Post by jamison162 » Fri Mar 11, 2011 10:54 pm

a.hun wrote:Don't bother soldering the spades. Just clip them off and solder the bare wires!

Lose those spades!


Andy.
I didn't say it, but that's exactly what I meant. Getting rid of them altogether and soldering the wire itself (ala point to point).
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Bentfinger
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Re: Soldering Push on Connectors

Post by Bentfinger » Sun Mar 27, 2011 4:33 am

Ist thing that I did when I had my rv50c was to solder the speaker wires and route the reverb cables away from the speakers. Same with my ppc 212. Be careful not to unsolder the braided coil wires, and also not to drip solder on the speaker cones..
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misterMagoo
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Re: Soldering Push on Connectors

Post by misterMagoo » Mon Apr 04, 2011 12:19 am

Jamison, have you ever done this? I was looking at my RV50's guts and there are a TON of connectors in there that would be getting soldered. I don't know if I feel like doing all that work :?
-Joe
My mother wears army boots.

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RV50 mkI
AC30 combo

Hot tamale.

http://lifereformatted.wordpress.com/
Check out my blog - adventure, travel, and the meaning of life.

a.hun
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Re: Soldering Push on Connectors

Post by a.hun » Mon Apr 04, 2011 8:42 am

misterMagoo wrote:Jamison, have you ever done this? I was looking at my RV50's guts and there are a TON of connectors in there that would be getting soldered. I don't know if I feel like doing all that work :?
I know. It is a pity, but that is one of the main sorts of assembly technique where a modern Orange differs from an older amp or from something like Matchless / Bad Cat / other hand soldered 'boutique' amps.

Luckily it isn't quite so vital for most connections as it is for speaker ones, but soldering them all would still likely improve things both sonically and in terms of long term reliability.

Up to you really. A tech could advise if any were better left alone or if they should just all be blitzed. Personally I wish Orange would go the extra mile and stop using them. But it would inevitably put up the price and to be honest apart from speaker crimp connections, (which can and sometimes do cause problems), I don't think I've heard of too many actual Orange reliability problems due to them yet. Probably be a different story in 20 years though. I have no problem at all with high quality PCB construction (which non Custom Shop Oranges have always used over the years), but yeah, those connector clips could definitely go.


Andy.
aNDyH. :wink:

Ever tried to outstare a mirror?

In the bathtub of history the truth is harder to hold than the soap, and much more difficult to find!

a.hun
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Re: Soldering Push on Connectors

Post by a.hun » Mon Apr 04, 2011 8:51 am

a.hun wrote:I don't think I've heard of too many actual Orange reliability problems due to them yet. Probably be a different story in 20 years though.


Andy.
Hah, I spoke too soon. From the very next thread I just opened this morning... :!: :twisted:
misterMagoo (http://forum.orangeamps.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=44004 wrote:I had a similar problem in my amp when I first got it. The reverb worked sometimes but not all the time. When your reverb is on but not working, pound your head with a closed fist. (The amp, don't knock yourself out now!) Can you hear the springs rattle? If you can hear the reverb when you slam on the head, that means the input is problematic, but the reverb output is fine. My RV50 had a loose connection at the input. One of the spade connectors was just hanging there! Once I reattached that I never had a problem again.
Nuff said really... :roll:


Andy
aNDyH. :wink:

Ever tried to outstare a mirror?

In the bathtub of history the truth is harder to hold than the soap, and much more difficult to find!

misterMagoo
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Re: Soldering Push on Connectors

Post by misterMagoo » Mon Apr 04, 2011 4:19 pm

Yeah, haha, way to miss that one!

But seriously, that is one of the reasons I'd like to do it. I don't know if the connector was never clipped on properly or if it vibrated loose, I'm guessing the former, but it still plays a role in my consideration.
-Joe
My mother wears army boots.

Image
RV50 mkI
AC30 combo

Hot tamale.

http://lifereformatted.wordpress.com/
Check out my blog - adventure, travel, and the meaning of life.

dreamdistortion
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Re: Soldering Push on Connectors

Post by dreamdistortion » Thu Aug 18, 2011 11:07 pm

Bumping an old thread, but I thought I'd share my experiences. I've had two cabs that initially came with these connectors and they caused me major grief until I figured out what the problem was (the spade connectors!). I thought my amps were broken in both cases, first a 1964 Tremolux and most recently my Retro 50. Symptoms included weak signal, harsh distortion, and brittle, thin tone. I cannot recommend soldering your speaker wire enough!

baytamusic
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Re: Soldering Push on Connectors

Post by baytamusic » Mon Aug 22, 2011 6:41 pm

My cab is all soldered. I have old Rola Celestions and the don't even have the tabs for spade connectors, so I guess it forced me to do it right!

bclaire
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Re: Soldering Push on Connectors

Post by bclaire » Mon Aug 22, 2011 10:05 pm

dreamdistortion wrote:Bumping an old thread, but I thought I'd share my experiences. I've had two cabs that initially came with these connectors and they caused me major grief until I figured out what the problem was (the spade connectors!). I thought my amps were broken in both cases, first a 1964 Tremolux and most recently my Retro 50. Symptoms included weak signal, harsh distortion, and brittle, thin tone. I cannot recommend soldering your speaker wire enough!
I would recommend this as well. I don't think that push-on connectors have any right being in speaker cabs...

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