Guitar Gear Forum

Engl have been using surface mount components in some of their amps for a while and nobody noticed

There is nothing wrong with SMD if it is done properly. You can really improve the noise floor and get a better layout if the engineer is smart with it. The components that are the culprit for failing are going to be through hole regardless, such as the the coupling caps, as nobody makes 630V SMD film caps. Similarly, the filter caps are going to be through hole too. It's quite common for some through hole components to actually be SMD parts with leads soldered on and a case added

Ironically, in some instances SMD is easier to service if you have the right tools. A quick kiss with a hot air gun or a tweezer iron will have an SMD resistor off the board without having to remove the PCB.

I design stuff for work and it's nearly all SMD. I'm actually tempted to see just how much I can miniaturize a preamp with SMD on a two layer board for shits and giggles

zozobra wrote: ↑Tue Jan 28, 2025 8:39 pm Ironically, in some instances SMD is easier to service if you have the right tools. A quick kiss with a hot air gun or a tweezer iron will have an SMD resistor off the board without having to remove the PCB.

Sounds like you have a new job to add to your portfolio: Fixing amp boards with SMD. I would not want SMD in an amp, as next to no one would be able to realistically fix it without it costing an arm and a leg more than what it'd already cost if it weren't SMD.

I'm just surprised this hasn't happened sooner, especially with amps becoming more complicated and feature rich. It'll be PCB Vs turret all over again

Amps at the end of the day are not very complex circuits. You can build one in your garage with basic tools and knowledge. I have a friend who an engineer in the aerospace industry and he designs everything with SMD these days. And that's stuff that makes an amp look like a toy in terms of complexity.

zozobra wrote: ↑Tue Jan 28, 2025 10:05 pm I'm just surprised this hasn't happened sooner, especially with amps becoming more complicated and feature rich. It'll be PCB Vs turret all over again

Sounds like it already is.

FWIW, regardless of SMD or not, since you pointed it out earlier, I’d probably grab an Engl Artist to get some Aldrich tones vs the Blackstar. And that’s not based on construction. Or brand quality. I’ve played an Artist before and would take that over a Blackstar any day.

One thing that's definitely worth noting is that getting your own PCBs made is incredibly cheap now, which has hugely changed things at the hobbyist and small production run levels. This shit was prohibitively expensive 10 years ago. Now I can get 5 250x70mm 2 layers boards shipped from jlcpcb for under £20 and going to 4 layers isn't such a big jump either. That's so kind blowingly cheap that it's not really worth considering staking a turret board anymore beyond it being an aesthetic choice. A good iron and a hot air station will run you less than £100 in total these days too (seriously, just buy a pinecil iron. It'll be the best $25 you'll ever spend on tools) which makes doing small packages through hole and SMD stuff pretty attractive and you can see this permiate through a lot of the amp building groups, especially high gain design circles. With this the next generation of techs are going to be comfortable with this kind of work. Hell, there are folks offering drop in boards for the Marshall origin to turn it into a whole bunch of different amps

i do kind of dig this, OD2 has kind of a unique thing going on.

RaceU4her wrote: ↑Wed Jan 29, 2025 3:23 am i do kind of dig this, OD2 has kind of a unique thing going on.

I dig it too and knowing blackstar resale value, if the amp is 1400 new it will be about 7 dollars in the used market, ebt accepted
So I might pick one up

Guitarbilly wrote: ↑Wed Jan 29, 2025 3:35 am

RaceU4her wrote: ↑Wed Jan 29, 2025 3:23 am i do kind of dig this, OD2 has kind of a unique thing going on.

I dig it too and knowing blackstar resale value, if the amp is 1400 new it will be about 7 dollars in the used market, ebt accepted
So I might pick one up

i could see it fitting with what you do, and ill give you $10 when you want to sell it lol

The clean tone that this guy dialed in is the auditory equivalent of dog poop on a stick waved around at nose height.