# SS ref 405 amp repaired



## 07azhhr (Dec 28, 2011)

Recently my SS ref 405 amp was sent to TrickyRicky to be repaired. It was having a problem with all channels cutting out. I had thought that it was the slide switches since these amps are known for the slide switches to be an issue and I could get the channels to come back on from time to time while playing with the switches. 

I contacted TrickyRicky (Ricardo) to see if he would be able to repair my amp. I toold him what the issue was and was adamant about getting the slide switches replaced no matter what. He bared with me on that and suggested that they might not be the issue. I told him I want them replaced (for that issue) and for him to go thru it and replace anything else while he was in there. We came to an agreement of him looking the amp over and I sent it out to him. 

He received it on 1/10/13. He contacted me that evening to tell me that he received it and had bench tested it already. He confirmed the cutting out issue but informed me that it for sure was not the slide switches and that he had already cleaned the switches and pots and got them back to feeling normal again when you slide the switches and turn the pots. He also informed me that he discovered that there were many solder joints for the FEB boards and rcas that were bad. He then went on to let me know that he was sure it was not the switches and why and when they should need replacing which in this case was not now. I was now on board that the switches did not need replacing. He did replace some caps for the FEB boards. He also took the time to polish off the oxidation that had built up on the rca jacks. 

He kept me in the loop every step of the way. I asked him to keep the amp as long as needed just to make sure that the switches did not actually need replacing as I was still concerned with them due to the 20 year age of the amp and all th reports of them going bad. He kept it a couple days longer and ran it hard to make sure it was good. 

I received the amp on 1/28/13 so the turn around time was 2 weeks minus shipping. 3 weeks with shipping is not bad in imo. Some of that time was me wanting it to be ran thru the ringer so it might have been able to have been a couple days quicker. But either way I was happy and had my amp back in a short amount of time. 

I finally installed it this week and it no longer cuts out. I am very happy with this whole expirience and will remeber Ricardo for any future amp repairs. He was very helpful and very communicative. 

Thank you again Ricardo.


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## bkjay (Jul 7, 2009)

Good post. Nice to know,I also have SS amps that may need looked at in the future.


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## 07azhhr (Dec 28, 2011)

Glad to possibly help.


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## Old Skewl (May 30, 2011)

Glad to hear Ricky got your amp straightened out. Always nice to have some reputable and experienced forum members around to keep our old amps alive. I'll add Ricky to the Rolodex!! LOL!


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## 07azhhr (Dec 28, 2011)

What are you trying to say? It sounds like you are suggesting that I should not have bothered to post my expirience since it wasn't a complicated one. Hmmmm. I do not see anywhere that I stated that he was the only one anyone should use or anything like that. I simply stated my expirience. 

Price will vary based on repair amount so I do not think that is truely relavent here.


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## 07azhhr (Dec 28, 2011)

cajunner said:


> feel free to ask the mods whatever you want, and if they comply with your requests based on merit, I have no problem with it.
> 
> I didn't make a post in your review thread to suggest anything, and wasn't making a judgment call on the validity of your repair.
> 
> ...


Sorry Caj. It was my first reaction to what I read and I was actually coming in here to edit my response. 

The factual aspect of the severity of the repair is and was completely relevant. I see your tendency to alude to certain things but not willing to take resonsibilty of such when you get called out on it and I just did not want this thread to get side tracked with that kind of stuff. 

Thank you for not taking my knee jerk reaction and running with it. 

Please keep posting relevant info .


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## TrickyRicky (Apr 5, 2009)

Thanks for the review/feedback. I wish they all would take the time to leave a feedback... 

If i would of replaced the switches as the owner asked, that wouldn't have solve the issues. Again thanks for the feedback.


I've recently repaired a few slash jl's (shot fets in both ps and outputs, rectifiers, gate resistors), a brax that had a broken trace and all ps fets also shot, a legacy (yeah a cheap crappy legacy for a friend....) Had broken traces. Those are just the recently ones, I've done a few for members here...they just never bother to leave a feedback, nothing i could do there.


Don't get me wrong, i haven't fixed any holes in pcb like am sure others have had to. But am willing to learn...but am not going to learn on someone else amp so i don't attempt to repair those...yet.


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