I have an original 3020 amp, bought a few years before I was born by my Dad. It's in good condition, I even have the original box and styrofoam! Recently though, it has started to show its age with a few minor faults. If I don't use it for a while, a week or so, It takes a good couple of minute to warm up before it will produce any sound. Is this a problem? It dosn't really bother me, as I use it nearly every day, but is this an indication of an impending failure? The other problem is all the knobs, volume, tone, balance crackle quite severely. I can fix the problem by turning it off and twisting them loads but I wouldn't mind a more permenant solution. Could i dismantle it and clean the contact surfaces with contact cleaner? (I'm fairly competent with electronics, I regularly dismantle decks, unsolder replace pitch sliders, etc) or would it be worth just having it professionally done? Also I wouldn't mind cleaning the layer of dust out of it. Any thoughts onthe best way to do this? Compressed air? Or could I get away with a soft paintbrush or somthing? The amp as well as being essential for my daily entertainment also hold sentimental value, so I would appreciate any help gettin it back in tip top condition. =)
Because I'm not able to check out the condition of your amp,so it is quiet hard to know what the hack is going on.All I can tell is that it is definitely sick!But don't be worry,i have seen the schematic of it and found out that most electronic parts are easily available.What really scratch your head are the tone control knobs!!!!The volume(with loudness tap) and balance is not a problem(regarding replacement)as long as you don't mind about 'originality'.The bass and treble on the other hand,are variable resistors with "center -short" and "center-open" features.So you really need someone who is an expect in audio elctronics.