Sonny Junior One Transformer upgrade
Hey Skip, I have a Sonny Junior One. I have swapped out the power resistor and changed the rectifier to a 5u4. I have read of a transformer upgrade from David Allen that may give you 10 to 15 percent more punch. Would you recommend this upgrade and how easy is it to do myself?
I talked to Sonny a while back and he said that yes, the David Allen transformer swap is a good one. If you can do a good job on the soldering, you could do it yourself.
I still stand by my earlier answer to this question (no surprise!), but I had my foot in my mouth on this particular swap!
Skip Simmons
Just wanted to throw my 2 cents behind Skip's wisdom - I have a lot of people ask me if they should have me install different transformers, speakers, tubes, etc in the Kalamazoo amps they're buying from me. My answer is absolutely NO. A Kalamazoo has awesome tone when it is simply working properly (most of them aren't by now unless they've been gone through by someone who knows the amp.) My advice is to start with the amp in stock form and make sure it is operating to its full potential. THEN, if you are looking for something specifically different, find out what mods might accomplish that. I've never had someone come back to me once they've received their amp saying they wanted it to be any way other than it already is, which is magical.
In this case the OT swap was an upgrade that Gary O. himself offered for more power, much like upgrading your 410SJ to a Super Sonny.....I do agree about keeping the original parts in the Kal though!
Hello John- Well no, I would certainly not recommend it.
First, a great amp like that Sonny cannot be "upgraded." Sonny Jr., a guy with a lot of experience and who actually knows how to play harmonica, has spent a lot of time making that amp sound great using the best parts.
Second, I'm sure you could make some solder joints and keep the color-code straight, but I'll bet you do not have enough experience to KNOW that the work has been done properly and how it affects the actual performance of the amp. Of course, changing the transformer will decrease the value of the amp....
If you want to "upgrade" some piece of junk from China, have fun, but don't mess around with something that is already great. I recently had someone ship me a 1966 Super Reverb all the way from Hawaii. It was his first vintage amp, and after a few hours on the internet, he had decided that it was absolutely essential to buy (and install!!) "upgraded" power, output, choke, and even reverb transformers. Then he sent it to me because it sounded lousy. I had to explain to him that none of the Super Reverbs played by the masters from the 60's and 70's had "upgraded" transformers, and that I couldn't make his amp sound like Rick Estrin's without putting all the real transformers back in it. I bet he spent at least $600 on the "upgraded" transformers alone.
In the old days, our dads told us not to talk to strangers, and warned us that when an older kid wanted to trade his nickel for our dime because the nickel was bigger, not to fall for it. Take hype on the internet with a grain of salt.
Skip Simmons
Skip Simmons Amp Repair