HH IC100 Amplifier Combo Service

She looks good early version with solid shelf under amp rather than aluminium stripShe looks good early version with solid shelf under amp rather than aluminium stripSemi open rear (later ones were closed cab) what is the band name marked over.. four letters?Semi open rear (later ones were closed cab) what is the band name marked over.. four letters?Nice fine Celestion G12H speakers with a simple HH sticker over them and they sound great!Nice fine Celestion G12H speakers with a simple HH sticker over them and they sound great!Slightly differnet colour plastic on this one.. must check date codesSlightly differnet colour plastic on this one.. must check date codesNice leg feature for using the combo as a monitor!Nice leg feature for using the combo as a monitor!Great foot switch for Reverb and TremoloGreat foot switch for Reverb and TremoloLovely side lit control panel. She sould great with a Les Paul soooo T.Rex!Lovely side lit control panel. She sould great with a Les Paul soooo T.Rex!Top out ready for service.. one or two new pots requiredTop out ready for service.. one or two new pots requiredGut shot.. Torroidal and power amp board and pre ampboard at the frontGut shot.. Torroidal and power amp board and pre ampboard at the frontInteresting mass of contact adhesive not holding the cap on well ;-)Interesting mass of contact adhesive not holding the cap on well 😉Could not resist cleaning the HH label off to see which Celestion speaker it really is.. and a G12H 30 watt! I lost 5 watts taking the label off!Could not resist cleaning the HH label off to see which Celestion speaker it really is.. and a G12H 30 watt! I lost 5 watts taking the label off!DSC_7809Interesting differences. The silver dome is a bit more custom for HH I believeInteresting differences. The silver dome is a bit more custom for HH I believeG12HG12HG12HG12H4th May 19734th May 1973Dust coverDust coverYou can see through it!You can see through it! Grey cover from late 73Grey cover from late 73Interesting different dust cover on the HH branded one. Though I think there is still a Celestion label under the HH oneInteresting different dust cover on the HH branded one. Though I think there is still a Celestion label under the HH one20th December 197320th December 19732 Carvin 100 Watters to put in these are 8 Ohm so togeterh will give 4 Ohms ideal for the amp2 Carvin 100 Watters to put in these are 8 Ohm so togeterh will give 4 Ohms ideal for the ampFitted! look good in black!Fitted! look good in black!Back on ready to try!Back on ready to try!Bottom of the combo with damaged (worn out..) CastorsBottom of the combo with damaged (worn out..) Castors Bottom cleaned and New Black Castors fitted!Bottom cleaned and New Black Castors fitted!All cleaned up and sounding great!All cleaned up and sounding great!New knobs.. not the same style but I think look good (originals hard to come by)New knobs.. not the same style but I think look good (originals hard to come by)Copper coloured knobs look good with this old a,p IMHOCopper coloured knobs look good with this old a,p IMHODSC_7977After playing for while with the Carvin speakers I decided the original ones were a better match for the amplifier, though a bit light on wattage they had survived since the 70s so should be able to take it!After playing for while with the Carvin speakers I decided the original ones were a better match for the amplifier, though a bit light on wattage they had survived since the 70s so should be able to take it! Nice IC100 by HH from 1973 purchased at a really low price. These are great amps with a fantastic sounding built in Sustain or fuzz circuit. Using op amps she sound unique. This one was fitted with 2 x G12H speakers from Celestion.. but these are a bit low rated for the 100 Watt amp (and looks like one was replaced in late 73 (my guess is one blew). I replaced the speakers for some higher wattage ones that can take the power and also gove a 4 ohm impedance which will get the best out of the amplifier. Cleaned up the cab put new cups on the 4 chassis securing screws (these were missing). She is sounding great, the Trem and Reverb are excellent, sounds very good for an early IC amp. Anyone have one of these that is not working I would love to work on her, I have full schematics for the whole range.

14 thoughts on “HH IC100 Amplifier Combo Service

  1. Hi Guitar Tech Dude Man!

    I just blew my HH ic100s. It was given to me by an uncel that passed away, so this amp means a lot to me. I am an Engeneer in the field of electronics, so fixing it up won’t be a problem. However I can’t find the shematics for the amp. If you could e-mail them to me, it would mean a lot to me!

    Greetings from germany!

    • I have schematics from MAJ Electronics and have promised not to pass them on as the IPR belongs to them. They charge 9.99p for the schematics just search MAJ Electronics on Google and you will find them.

      Regards Stewart

  2. Man! I’m in need of help! I think I found one of these in the street! But it looks to be in a re-furb cab. How do you take the Chassis out of the wooden cab? Like, where are the fixing screws?

    • There are normally 2 screws on either side of the cab in the centre of the amp section. But on some there are 4 screws on the top of the cab holding the amp in.

  3. Grr. After seeing your photos I think I have a “frankenstein” IC100 combo.
    Your speakers are side by side, mine are offset. It’s badly in need of an engineer – leaky transistors and/or caps, all castors were replaced with rubber “feet”. Most of the corner caps are gone. And to top it off – the cat pee’d on the grill last week. The nearest repair guy is like 250 miles away.

    I paid way overprice for it – I tried re-selling it but couldn’t even at stupid low price.

    But…your pics have given me some hope, maybe I need to get it sorted.

    • Yep I have got some pretty shabby looking HH gear going again 😉 If you can get it to me I will look at it and let you know if it will be a major cost. They are lovely amps!

      • I’m just north of Dublin, I spoke with Mick from MAJ last year, and he gave me the number of a guy here, but it’s a three hour drive to get to him – and with a ^200lb amp, just to find out it’s going to cost the earth to repair, is sort of a pain!

        BTW – I think you have inherited Mick’s “CT”
        See – “PLEASE read the next paragraphs VERY carefully:” http://www.majelectronic.co.uk/index.htm

    • The model with offset speakers is a later version – from memory I’d say from 1974/5 or thereabouts. I had one but it didn’t sound as good as the very early original version I bought in ’71 or ’72.

      • Yes earlier versions had better speakers and a plywood case so did have a better sound. Also the power amp was tamed a bit in the later ones. There was also another version the IC100L which was dreadful and did not bear any relationship to the IC100 or IC100S which preceded it. But that was later in 1977 as far as I remember.

  4. ive got one of these amps in perfect working order had it for 30 years they are brilliant so take the time to get it repaired and you will really be glad you did it hh fan number1.

    • I have it working really well now… I have had a few pass through my hands and it actually sports a 1976 amp in the combo now but same IC100 model. Much improved sound over the 73 circuit. Love the IC100 over the VS Musician which I have now also fixed a lot of.

  5. I’ve got one of these in excellent condition with the footswitch. But I never thought of it as a ‘proper’ HH ic100. My other HH i.c.100 is a bigger combo and much louder. The classic HH ic100 look The speakers are 2×12’s in a closed cab whereas in this one they are 2×10’s celestion greenbacksin an open cab and both rated 35 watts each making 70 watts. The amp is rated on the label as between 75 and 100 watts. So I never understood why HH used underpowered speakers? Lovely sound though, especially with the sustain switched on. Beautiful sweet compressed sound. How do you date them? They are as different as chalk and cheese. MAJ electronics seem to make no mention of this smaller combo

    • I think that is a very rare beast as it was not made for long I believe.. Can you send me some photos?. Generally though the drivers from Celestion said 35 watts they were specials for HH that can take 50 Watts a piece IMHO. My work email is stewart.palmen@smpartizan.com for sending the pics. Cheers Stewart

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