# elk twin amp 50 head and matching 2x12 cab



## siamesedream (Apr 25, 2009)

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i have i believe a 1964-67 elk twin amp 50 head and matching 2x12 cab. i aquired it about 4 years ago from a friend who wasnt using it anymore. it has been retubbed and serviced and sounds amazing. probably one of the best sounding amps i have used. the tone is unmatched. problem with it is after it is on for a while it starts to make some hissing and ocassional popping sounds. the tech who cleaned it up said something about the oil filters may need to be replaced for this problem. not sure about this as i am a guitar player and not an amp tech.when you are playing you dont notice the sound until you either stop or are playing lightly. what might this sound be caused by and is it fixable. what is the deal with elk amps. very little info on the net but they seem to be little hidden gems from anyone who has one in working order.i also have a non working elk amp 45 head. looks exactly the same as the 50. are these amps rare? and are they worth anything?


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Welcome to the forum...hope you enjoy and post often.

I am not a tech, I am just interested in electronics.

The "oil filters" your tech was referring to are likely filter capacitors ("caps"). Some of these are made with oil as part of the "guts" of the cap. They do require changing as they "dry out" with age and use. They are easily available in several types and price ranges. 

I'm not sure if just doing a cap job will solve all of the amp's problems...your tech will help you with this.

We have several members of this forum who are amp techs and/or amp enthusiasts and amp builders...hopefully they will be able to tell you more about Elk amps.

Cheers

Dave


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## Wild Bill (May 3, 2006)

siamesedream said:


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> i have i believe a 1964-67 elk twin amp 50 head and matching 2x12 cab. i aquired it about 4 years ago from a friend who wasnt using it anymore. it has been retubbed and serviced and sounds amazing. probably one of the best sounding amps i have used. the tone is unmatched. problem with it is after it is on for a while it starts to make some hissing and ocassional popping sounds. the tech who cleaned it up said something about the oil filters may need to be replaced for this problem. not sure about this as i am a guitar player and not an amp tech.when you are playing you dont notice the sound until you either stop or are playing lightly. what might this sound be caused by and is it fixable. what is the deal with elk amps. very little info on the net but they seem to be little hidden gems from anyone who has one in working order.i also have a non working elk amp 45 head. looks exactly the same as the 50. are these amps rare? and are they worth anything?


Elk was a Japanese company back in the 1960's. They tended to copy Fender a lot. Not surprisingly, since Fenders sound good then so do Elk amps!

The filter caps in the power supply may indeed have to be changed. As Dave said, they dry up over the years. You can tell when they've started to go 'uz there's a bad hum that just gets worse and worse till you can't play over it or stand it anymore. The only cure is to replace them. That's a tech's job for sure. The high voltages involved can hurt you BAD if you don't know what you're doing!

However, hiss and spit noises are different. These usually come from bad resistors. Your Elk is likely old enough to have used old-fashioned carbon comp resistors. Although the hifi guys seem to think they have some magical tone enhancement qualities (never proven technically of course but then most hifi guys never open an electronics book) but the truth is that they were the greatest hiss and spit generators ever invented!

I always suggest that they get replaced with modern film resistors, which are MUCH quieter! At least the plate resistors, which are the most problematic.

It sounds like your amp just needs some TLC. After that many years, we all do!:smile:

As far as value, I've never known anyone who would pay anything special to collect them. I'd check on Ebay to see if there are any completed listings for some price comparisons. Just because an amp is old doesn't automatically make it valuable. An old Fender or Marshall is valuable because they sounded great and a LOT of guys bought them!

How many guys bought an Elk? I'm not saying its not worth checking out but I'm glad it's you spending the time at it and not me. I've had a couple come through my shop. The owners always found them cheap and were happy to use them for what they are - great sounding amps!

:food-smiley-004:


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