I've been playing Riveras for decades and have always thought they were extremely well made. That said, since I've been watching your channel and some others, I have searched for Rivera repair videos. There are virtually none. This is maybe the first one on this site, which says a lot. They are a great company to deal with. I bought a KH Reverb 55 years ago used with a known problem for a great price. I called Rivera, explained that I bought it used and they offered to fix it (for a reasonable fee.) When they received my amp, the tech called me and told me it was one of the first of the model and that they have since upgraded the design. He said if I wasn't in a rush, he would rebuild the amp to the new design and custom tweak it for me for free if he could do it on his time. . He just wanted it to be up to date.. He voiced it, tubed it and specced it to my asking and charged me only for parts. This kind of service on a used product is remarkable and why I will always have at least one Rivera in my stable.
I had the exact same cap failure on a Rivera fifty-five twelve last year. Also all electrolytics changed. There was like a million of them. Total pain in the butt. Every cap was glued to the board. That looks to be the same board. Have fun with that.
What a timely video. I have a Rivera 30 12 that has a good bit of hum and definitely two bad filter caps in the 35V DC supply. If the owner wants you to re-cap, it would be fantastic if you could film that part and any other diagnostics and repairs you do. As another commenter mentioned, there are very, very few videos on Rivera amps out there right now.
Yes , getting a schematic of Rivera amps isn't straight forward . Several of my local techs won't work on them because of this . I diagnosed and fixed my own problem of no channel switching , by tapping the vacuum reed switch with a pencil until it activated . No issue since and that was 9 years ago .
Loved my Rivera Hundred Duo Twelve, LDRs were it's ultimate demise and my local tech refused to work on it, he said the switching network was so unnecessarily complex he had no patience to work on it.
As someone else has mentioned those epoxy encapsulated RIFA X cap's are notorious for blowing. The epoxy cracks with time/heat, lets in moisture, boom! They are a "change on sight" component. Presume it was there to reduce diode switching noise and was probably not rated for the voltages possible across that HT winding. Also noticed the HT isn't fused but it looks possible to fit a 6.3mm fuse holder. I protect all my HT supplies with a fuse before the bridge rectifier.
Rivera is a well made amp. Given time even the best amp will eventually give up the ghost to a component. As you stated, getting to those parts is a large part of where repair costs come in. Naturally it's worth any time and costs to get it back to its old self. We will be patiently waiting for that repair video coming soon.
My father in law is a big Rivera fan. He has a couple of Super Champs from the early 80’s and a really cool Pubster 25 with the EVM10L speaker. That amp with the EV is very impressive!
@@stevemineer2857 No he didnt, the Harvard Reverb II and Twin reverb II were not his designs. There were Rivera era amps and then were Rivera designs amps.
Was that a RIFA branded cap? Many of those fail in old equipment. If you see a RIFA cap, you might consider replacing them as a preventive measure. Especially when there are small cracks in the casing.
I’ve had two Ds and one TW on my bench. Just before I started doing videos. But why should I mention it? Car mechanics don’t see a lot of Bugattis either.
@@PsionicAudio, given that you had a Rivera show up after you had mentioned it I just thought it might be an easy way to get one on your bench for a video. Sorry, weak humor
Not sure what happened to my comment. I was editing it and it was gone. At 0:29, it looks like what's left of a RIFA cap. They tend to short, so they should be replaced on sight. A quick web search will show I'm not alone in that opinion.
G'day mate quick question, i was always cover my amp after use vox ac15cc1. However is it ok to just give it a blow out with an air hose every now and again to rid it of dust? Thanks for the vids mate they are great!
Maybe vacuum. Not around it to pull air. Not force dust in place s cover is great also then a sheet over that . I have vibroking. Over 25 years looks brand new. Sparkling. New. Newer than amps in stores. It’s odd how the sheet over the cover keeps everything out
Well it not a zobel circuit or snubber since there is no resistor. strange give it location . voltage rating on B+ cap shold be 1200 volt plus x1 of 1500v would due with the requisite resistor.
@@PsionicAudio smoothing cap before the diode bridge with a value of .1 do not see the value in that . very little damping of the ringing in the bridge . Without the resistor it uses power for no reason .
This is the first video of yours I've watched where the camera doesn't seem to be in a good place. I still enjoyed the content, but it was hard to see what was going on.
Sorry, I kinda forgot it was doing a pretty boring static shot. I usually maintain some level of visual interest but I got distracted by, you know, trying to find out what was wrong. ;)
![Megan Thee Stallion - Neva Play (feat. RM) [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/TpYTyAaTRts/mqdefault.jpg)
About 2:09 some graphic overlays left over from the Matchless video pop up. Sorry about that.
Dang it! I was going to troll you with comments on those but you beat me to it. :)
@@jbolt247 haha me too, it did make me giggle
I think the videos should definitely just say *SHRANK* in them somewhere for no reason from now on.
I've been playing Riveras for decades and have always thought they were extremely well made. That said, since I've been watching your channel and some others, I have searched for Rivera repair videos. There are virtually none. This is maybe the first one on this site, which says a lot. They are a great company to deal with. I bought a KH Reverb 55 years ago used with a known problem for a great price. I called Rivera, explained that I bought it used and they offered to fix it (for a reasonable fee.) When they received my amp, the tech called me and told me it was one of the first of the model and that they have since upgraded the design. He said if I wasn't in a rush, he would rebuild the amp to the new design and custom tweak it for me for free if he could do it on his time. . He just wanted it to be up to date.. He voiced it, tubed it and specced it to my asking and charged me only for parts. This kind of service on a used product is remarkable and why I will always have at least one Rivera in my stable.
Jeff at Fraunkensteen here. I have the schematics if you are still looking. All the best.
I had the exact same cap failure on a Rivera fifty-five twelve last year. Also all electrolytics changed. There was like a million of them. Total pain in the butt. Every cap was glued to the board. That looks to be the same board. Have fun with that.
What a timely video. I have a Rivera 30 12 that has a good bit of hum and definitely two bad filter caps in the 35V DC supply. If the owner wants you to re-cap, it would be fantastic if you could film that part and any other diagnostics and repairs you do. As another commenter mentioned, there are very, very few videos on Rivera amps out there right now.
Yes , getting a schematic of Rivera amps isn't straight forward . Several of my local techs won't work on them because of this . I diagnosed and fixed my own problem of no channel switching , by tapping the vacuum reed switch with a pencil until it activated . No issue since and that was 9 years ago .
Magic smoke...?🤣🤣🤣😎👍
More alchemy on this board 👍
Loved my Rivera Hundred Duo Twelve, LDRs were it's ultimate demise and my local tech refused to work on it, he said the switching network was so unnecessarily complex he had no patience to work on it.
As someone else has mentioned those epoxy encapsulated RIFA X cap's are notorious for blowing. The epoxy cracks with time/heat, lets in moisture, boom! They are a "change on sight" component. Presume it was there to reduce diode switching noise and was probably not rated for the voltages possible across that HT winding. Also noticed the HT isn't fused but it looks possible to fit a 6.3mm fuse holder. I protect all my HT supplies with a fuse before the bridge rectifier.
Rivera is a well made amp. Given time even the best amp will eventually give up the ghost to a component. As you stated, getting to those parts is a large part of where repair costs come in.
Naturally it's worth any time and costs to get it back to its old self.
We will be patiently waiting for that repair video coming soon.
I'm a fan of motorboating on the lake. In an amp, not-so-much.
My father in law is a big Rivera fan. He has a couple of Super Champs from the early 80’s and a really cool Pubster 25 with the EVM10L speaker. That amp with the EV is very impressive!
Ive got two Champ IIs but not 100% sure Paul had any input on these, but they sound great
@@shckltnebayI believe all the Fender II amps are Riveras.
@@stevemineer2857 No he didnt, the Harvard Reverb II and Twin reverb II were not his designs. There were Rivera era amps and then were Rivera designs amps.
Smart!!!!
This happened to a Rivera Knucklehead 100 a friend loaned me. Big pain in the ass to get fixed.
Hope he fixes it because I wanna see how it turns out.
What wattage bulb do you use in your current limiter for an amp of this size? Just curious. Excellent video (as always)!
ninja boost. nice.
If you're going to build an amp with PCBs, especially one to be carried around, don't put the tube sockets on the board!
Was that a RIFA branded cap? Many of those fail in old equipment. If you see a RIFA cap, you might consider replacing them as a preventive measure. Especially when there are small cracks in the casing.
You should mention how you never see a Dumble or a Trainwreck.
Because nobody actually owns those amps. And the guys that do, never play them.
I’ve had two Ds and one TW on my bench. Just before I started doing videos.
But why should I mention it? Car mechanics don’t see a lot of Bugattis either.
@@PsionicAudio, given that you had a Rivera show up after you had mentioned it I just thought it might be an easy way to get one on your bench for a video.
Sorry, weak humor
Not sure what happened to my comment. I was editing it and it was gone. At 0:29, it looks like what's left of a RIFA cap. They tend to short, so they should be replaced on sight. A quick web search will show I'm not alone in that opinion.
I saw it before you edited it. I'll be putting in a much higher quality Class X cap. Pending client approval for a recap.
@@PsionicAudio Excellent. I just wanted to point out something else to look for in future (non-smpking) amps.
G'day mate quick question, i was always cover my amp after use vox ac15cc1. However is it ok to just give it a blow out with an air hose every now and again to rid it of dust? Thanks for the vids mate they are great!
Should be fine. Just make sure you aren't blowing dust into the pots and tube sockets. Be judicious.
Just be aware of possible moisture in the air.
Maybe vacuum. Not around it to pull air. Not force dust in place s cover is great also then a sheet over that . I have vibroking. Over 25 years looks brand new. Sparkling. New. Newer than amps in stores. It’s odd how the sheet over the cover keeps everything out
Well it not a zobel circuit or snubber since there is no resistor. strange give it location . voltage rating on B+ cap shold be 1200 volt plus x1 of 1500v would due with the requisite resistor.
It's a smoothing cap across the HT primaries. Not really needed IMO but it was there so.
@@PsionicAudio smoothing cap before the diode bridge with a value of .1 do not see the value in that . very little damping of the ringing in the bridge . Without the resistor it uses power for no reason .
It’s a .01uF. So it’s not doing much good, but sometimes it explodes.
So, cool cool cool.
@@PsionicAudio my guess voltage spikes .
This is the first video of yours I've watched where the camera doesn't seem to be in a good place. I still enjoyed the content, but it was hard to see what was going on.
Sorry, I kinda forgot it was doing a pretty boring static shot. I usually maintain some level of visual interest but I got distracted by, you know, trying to find out what was wrong. ;)