2004 Cornford Hurricane

Cornford amps were made in England and were most popular during the 2000’s as part of the boutique tube amp renaissance that started early in that decade and that continues today. Although the owner died and the company ceased to be afterwards one of the lead designers Martin Kidd went on to start Victory Amps, which continues to make high quality boutique tube amps that have become all the rage amongst tone aficionados. These amplifiers are made in the English tradition and style of Vox amps, with hand-wired circuits on distinctive terminal boards, Celestion speakers, and in this case - a mix of 12AX7 preamp tubes coupled with EL84 power tubes.

This amp came in to my shop in original electronic condition, but making very little sound. This one needed a complete restoration including a cap job, new effects loop jacks, cleaning, and a re-tube. This amp is only 20 years old, but the customer wanted to get ahead of any major problems starting and for it to have the reliability of a daily driver. Electrolytic capacitors only have a shelf life of 30 years max anyways, and although this restoration was a little early it was not uncalled for as I have seen these types of caps fail after as little as ten years.

The radial capacitors in the power/filter supply were replaced with upgraded temperature rated CE brand electrolytic’s. All bypass caps were replaced with high quality Vishay brand units. Two resistors in the cathode and effects-input positions were replaced with 1/2 Watt Carbon Film units in the process of other maintenance. New Cliff brand 1/4" Jacks were installed for the effects loop as the originals were no longer making good contact and had become corroded beyond repair. The input jacks were cleaned and re-soldered and were able to be reconditioned. A new 3 Prong AC cord was installed to replace the one present - the old one was an English plug and therefore it was taken out and setup for US outlets.

The amp was completely re-tubed with the following compliment: V1 = JJ E83CC, V2-V3 = JJ 12AX7S, V4 = EHX 12AX7, V5-V6 = JJ EL84 Matched Pair. I picked out this lineup specifically for this amp to give the best balance of tone, reliability, and low noise. The Cathode Bias was set to %99 Class AB Plate Dissipation with a B+ of 393VDC All pots, and jacks were cleaned with De-Oxit and all hardware was tightened. Amp now works correctly - all symptoms were resolved.