F.A.Q. on Parts Availability from Various Manufacturers

Years ago, amp manufacturers were eager to support their products with parts, schematics, and repair assistance.

These days, not so much.

As the service manager at Fender told us a couple of years ago, "Our investors don't want us to sell parts.  They want us to sell amplifiers."  And that applies to many other manufacturers as well.   More and more amplifier manufacturers are no longer privately owned companies, as they were in the days when Leo Fender ran Fender and Jim Marshall ran Marshall.

The concept of "disposable" electronics is not new.  It started about 25 years ago, when prices on VCRs, CD and DVD players, and televisions started dropping dramatically, due to manufacturing moving from Japan to China.   Today, you don't see TV repair shops in your town like you used to.   Most everything today in consumer electronics is disposable.

So, how does this affect guitar amplifiers and other electronic musical equipment?   Keep reading:

There are a few rules to keep in mind:

1.  If an amp or other electronic musical gear sells for less than around $500 these days, it is considered "disposable".   That includes all brands of amps.
2.  Beyond that threshold, some brands have parts that are either unavailable or notoriously difficult to source.
3.  Some manufacturers are reluctant to release schematics or technical data.
4.  Complete circuit boards are rarely available as replacement parts any longer.
5.  For more specific information about the good, the bad, and the ugly, see below:
Brand Comments
Acoustic The "new" Acoustic company is owned by Musician's Friend and Guitar Center.  That brand is only sold new by those two companies.    No parts or service manual availability at all - they are disposable.   The original Acoustic company went out of business in 1985.   For a reverb tank cross-reference for Acoustic amps, see this section:   https://amprepairparts.com/reverb.htm#guide
Aguilar Amplification Aguilar Amplification, a bass amplifier manufacturer, was founded in 1995 by Dave Boonshoft and Alex Aguilar in New York City.  Aguilar was acquired by Korg USA in 2020.   For parts, contact Parts Is Parts at https://www.partsisparts.net/catalog/aguilar
Ampeg Ampeg has been owned by so many different companies over the past few decades, it is hard to keep up.   Founded in 1947, it was a standalone company until 1967 when it was purchased by Unimusic.   In 1971, it was sold to Magnavox.   In 1980, Ampeg became part of Music Technology, Inc (MTI).    MTI went bankrupt a few years later, and Ampeg was bought by St. Louis Music in 1986.   LOUD Technologies (the corporate name for Mackie Sound Reinforcement) bought St Louis Music in 2005 and took over Ampeg as well as Crate Amps.   They soon moved Ampeg manufacturing to China.   In 2018, Ampeg was purchased by Yamaha, who owns them today.

As far as parts, the older parts can be hard to source due to the ever-changing ownership and demise of former companies.   If you cannot find what you are looking for on our Ampeg webpage, check at www.fliptops.net.
Ashdown Manufactured in England, sourcing some Ashdown parts is difficult.  Contact us for parts availability.
Behringer Founded in Germany, but moved production to China many years ago.   Now a part of Music Tribe.   Parts are difficult to source, and due to their low selling price most Behringer products are considered "disposable".
Blackstar Founded in 2007 in the UK by ex-Marshall employees, Blackstar amps are designed in the UK and the USA, but are now manufactured  in China.  Contact us for parts availability.
Bogner Founded in Los Angeles in 1989 by German native Reinhold Bogner.   They are still in business, making 3 models of amps.   However, parts are impossible to obtain.    The Bogner Amplification website has been down since 2022.
Carvin Carvin was founded in 1946, and for many years made guitars and amplifiers.  For about the past 10 years, they have focused on producing only speaker cabinets, line arrays, in-ear monitors, wireless microphones, and a few pedals.   Their guitar amp line is no more.   Therefore, parts are very difficult to source.
Crate Like Ampeg, Crate was part of the deal when LOUD Technologies bought St. Louis Music in 2005.   LOUD Technologies didn't pursue producing Crate Amps after the ownership change; rather, they simply sold the amplifier stock that had been previously produced by SLM and then let the brand die away.   By 2009, Crate was declared to be a dead brand.  For remaining parts, visit our Crate/Ampeg page here.  There is a new website called www.crate-amplifiers.com, but it is an AI-generated clickbait scam to generate visits and make money for the owner through ads.   Crate is not back in business.
Diezel A small amp manufacturer in Germany who builds high-end amplifiers.   Some parts may be obtained by contacting the company in Germany directly:  https://www.diezelamplification.com/contact/   For a reverb tank cross-reference for some Diezel amps, see this section:   https://amprepairparts.com/reverb.htm#guide
Dr. Z Founded in 1988 by Mike Zaite ("Dr. Z") in Cleveland, Ohio, Dr. Z operates on a policy that amps should be shipped to their factory for all repairs (both in and out of warranty).   As stated on their website, they do not offer any parts.
Eden Electronics Eden started in Minnesota in 1976, but became part of US Music Corp in 2003.   In 2011, Eden became part of Marshall, and production was shifted to England.   In 2021, Eden was sold to Gear4Music.   Today's products are all inexpensive (under $500) and built in China.    No parts support for the former Eden products such as the World Tour series.
Egnater Amplification Egnater was founded in Detroit, Michigan by Bruce Egnater, formerly associated with Randall Amps.   Early models were built in Detroit, but production was soon moved to China.   The company was dissolved in 2021, so parts are not generally available.
Epiphone See Gibson.   For a reverb tank cross-reference for Epiphone amps, see this section:   https://amprepairparts.com/reverb.htm#guide
Fender Fender is the iconic brand of American guitars and guitar amps.  Of all of the amplifier brands, Fender is still the brand with the greatest parts availability.  We carry a wide selection, starting from our Fender page.   However, not every product that Fender has launched is repairable.   The smaller and less expensive amps such as the Mustang series, G-DEC, Rumble, etc do not have parts support from Fender.   The earlier models of solid state amps from the 80s, 90s,and 2000s have some parts availability, but it is limited.   Tube amps from the 50s through today generally have good availability of most parts.
Gibson Classic manufacturer of iconic guitars, but Gibson (& Epiphone) always seemed to come up short against the likes of Fender and Marshall.   Parts can be very scarce.  For a reverb tank cross-reference for Gibson amps, see this section:   https://amprepairparts.com/reverb.htm#guide
Hiwatt Hiwatt started in England in 1966, founded by Dave Reeves.  It was a British design from the ground up, not just a Marshall copy.   After Dave Reeves' untimely death in 1981, the Hiwatt company fell apart.   The name has been revived by BritAmpCo, but they of course do not support vintage Hiwatt amps. 
Hughes & Kettner Founded in Germany in 1984, the company was acquired by Musichaus Thomann in May, 2025.   Contact Hughes & Kettner directly for any specialized parts, at https://hughes-and-kettner.com/contact-product-support/
Johnson Amplification Johnson Amplification was a subsidiary of DigiTech by the Harman Music Group, which manufactured and sold amplifiers using a design by John Johnson.   Johnson ceased operation in July 2002 and is no longer manufacturing these products, however their amplifiers remain quite popular in the after-market.   If you consider buying a Johnson amp, be aware that there is no support nor parts availability.
Kustom Amplification In the 1960s, Kustom Amps were born in the little town of Chanute, Kansas by Bud Ross.   The concept included "tuck and roll" upholstery reminiscent of classic cars.    The amps were all solid state, and utilized a system of standard PC boards (preamp, EQ, effects, power amp, etc) which were plugged into long multi-contact sockets inside the amps.   In this way, the same preamp or EQ board could be utilized in multiple amp models, cutting down on production costs.   Kustom died out in the late 1970s, but the name was revived again about 20 years ago when Hanser Holdings in the Cincinnati area reintroduced Kustom to the marketplace.    As with many amps, Kustom amps today are built in China, but some parts for the new models are available from Hanser Holdings.   Contact customer service at 859.817.7103 to inquire about parts availability.  For a reverb tank cross-reference for Kustom amps, see this section:   https://amprepairparts.com/reverb.htm#guide
Laney Amplification Another of the British amplifier companies who started in the heyday of the British Invasion.   Laney was founded by Lyndon Laney in 1967 in Birmingham, England.   The amps are still being produced and have a loyal following, but like most British amps - parts are not available from the company.  For a reverb tank cross-reference for a few Laney amps, see this section:   https://amprepairparts.com/reverb.htm#guide
Line 6 Line 6 was a pioneer in amplifier modeling.  Founded in 1996 in California, Line 6 became part of Yamaha in 2013.   They sell some parts on their website:   https://shop-us.line6.com/hardware/parts-and-accessories/?page=1    You can call them at  (818) 575-3600 to inquire about other parts.  Complete boards are not available to consumers.
Marshall Amplification Marshall was founded by Jim Marshall in Bletchley, Milton Keynes, England in 1962.   During the 1960s and 1970s, Marshall grew in popularity among rock musicians, and the "Marshall sound" became a standard of rock music.  For 50 years, Marshall was the gold standard in British amplifiers.   In addition, Marshall was, like Fender, very good about supplying parts for their amps.   Sadly, Jim Marshall passed away in 2010.   After that time, Marshall started to struggle a bit.  Jim's family ran the company for awhile, but eventually sold it to Zounds, Inc of Sweden.    It was at that time that parts support shut down.   In 2025, the company became part of Hongshan Holdings of China.  There is still no parts support from the company at this time.    We carry many parts used in Marshall amps (jacks, pots, capacitor kits, hardware, etc) because we buy directly from the companies who supply Marshall.    However, some exclusive Marshall parts are unfortunately no longer available.   See our Marshall parts page here.
 

Mesa/Boogie Ltd

 

 Mesa/Boogie was founded by Randall Smith in 1969 in Petaluma, California, and remains there to this day.   Mesa was purchased by Gibson in 2021, marking the first successful time that Gibson was ever involved in producing "real" guitar amplifiers for the professional musician.  Randall Smith retired from the company in 2024 at the age of 78.     Parts are generally available.   The downside of working on Mesa/Boogie amps is the difficulty in removing the PC boards due to extensive overlay wiring, and the plentiful use of switching relays in the design, making trouble-shooting a bit difficult.   For parts, see our Mesa/Boogie page.
Orange Founded by Cliff Cooper in London in 1968.   Gibson owned the company briefly from 1993-1997, but Gibson-produced amps were not commercially successful and Cliff Cooper regained control in 1997.   For a selection of parts, see our Orange Amp page.
Peavey Electronics Peavey was founded by Hartley Peavey in 1965.  Peavey's original plan to keep prices low was a production concept known as "vertical integration".   This means that the manufacturer owns the majority of the facilities needed to build the products, all the way back to the raw materials.   In the early days, for example, Peavey owned sawmills so that they could produce their own lumber for cabinets, rather than buy lumber at a higher price from a middle man.   Peavey also produced their own speakers, rather than purchase Eminence, Celestion, or JBL speakers.   Over the years, however, competition from Chinese-produced music products required Peavey to also start producing their products in China.   Parts have always been available from Peavey, although after Hartley Peavey retired a few years ago some parts are not as readily available as they once were.    Our Peavey parts page is here.
Randall Amplifiers Randall was founded in Irvine, California in 1969 by Don Randall, a former Vice President and General Manager of Fender.  Don Randall owned the company until it was sold to US Music Corp in the mid-1990s.   Early Randall models were all solid-state designs.   Later, in cooperation with Bruce Egnater of Egnater Amplifier fame, some tube models were designed with modular circuitry.  Mike Fortin of Fortin Amplification also worked with Randall from 2011 until 2015.  Today, Randall amps are all manufactured in China.   Meanwhile, US Music Corp became Jam Industries (now called Exertis Jam), and still owns Randall.    Parts for Randall amps are difficult to source.   You may contact the company by filling out the online inquiry form here:  https://www.randallamplifiers.com/contact-us/   For a reverb tank cross-reference for a few Randall amps, see this section:   https://amprepairparts.com/reverb.htm#guide
Roland Corporation Roland was founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka, Japan in 1972.   Over the years, Roland has produced electronic keyboards, guitar amplifiers, and effects units.   They also own the Boss brand of guitar effects pedals.  Among electronic musical equipment manufacturers, Roland is the most unique in that all of their parts such as jacks, pots, etc are uniquely designed and produced so that no other standard part will fit.   Even their jacks have a unique thread for the nuts, so that the nut must be sourced from Roland.   In addition, they will only sell parts to their authorized service centers - no exceptions.    Non-Roland service shops and consumers cannot purchase parts from Roland.   For a reverb tank cross-reference for Roland amps, see this section:   https://amprepairparts.com/reverb.htm#guide
Sunn Musical
Equipment Company		 Sunn was founded in 1964 by the Sundholm brothers, Norm and Conrad.   Norm Sundholm was the bass player for the Kingsmen, of the song "Louie, Louie" fame.   Norm found that his bass amp was not loud enough to fill large concert halls as the Kingsmen started a national tour after the success of Louie, Louie.   Together with his brother Conrad and the design skills of David Hafler, they started building Sunn amplifiers.   Fender acquired Sunn in 1985, with the intent of continuing to build Sunn amps along with Fender amps in the Lake Oswego, Oregon Sunn factory.   Fender shut down the Sunn operation in 2002.   In 2023, Sunn Musical Equipment Company was revived again in the facilities of Mission Engineering of Petaluma, California.   Classic reproductions of former Sunn products are being produced.   Stay tuned for parts availability.  For a reverb tank cross-reference for a few vintage Sunn amps, see this section:   https://amprepairparts.com/reverb.htm#guide
SWR Sound Corporation SWR was founded in 1984 in Sylmar, California by Steve W. Rabe, whose initials form the name of the company.   Steve Rabe had previously worked at Acoustic Control Corporation.   As times were getting tough at Acoustic, Rabe decided to form his own amplifier company.   Steve Rabe sold the company to accountant Daryl Jamison in 1997, and Jamison then sold the company to Fender in 2003.    Fender made SWR amps until 2013, when SWR production ceased.    We offer some limited SWR replacment parts, including reverb tanks, cabinet hardware, fans, and schematics.  For a reverb tank cross-reference for a couple of SWR amps, see this section:   https://amprepairparts.com/reverb.htm#guide
  To be continued ...
 

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