Balance Guitarworks / Ballantyne Amplification

Balance Guitarworks / Ballantyne Amplification Repair and maintenance of stringed instruments and associated hardware

Balance Guitarworks is a repair shop specializing in, but not limited to, guitars, bass guitars, amplifiers and related gear. Over 25 years' experience in guitar construction, setups, refrets, headstock repairs, electronics modifications, amplifier building and repair and effects pedal building and repair. By-order reproductions of the '68 Marshall JMP 50 with switchable tube / diode rectifier circuit - the best components meticulously hand-wired to put the tone of legends at your fingertips.

2nd of 2: the 18-watt amp
11/14/2025

2nd of 2: the 18-watt amp

11/14/2025

Two builds completed this week, a Deluxe Reverb and an 18-watt tremolo amp. I was surprised how good the Seymour Duncan JB in my Floyd-equipped shredder sounds through the Deluxe.

The 5F6-A Bassman build is complete, bona-fide and dead-quiet at idle. It’s similar to a JTM-45, but different enough th...
09/03/2024

The 5F6-A Bassman build is complete, bona-fide and dead-quiet at idle. It’s similar to a JTM-45, but different enough that it could be argued they’re not redundant. Alas, I’m out of space…

I just finished this strip-and-recover of a 1972 Hiwatt 4x12 cab, and it was a real bo**er. After much sweating, frustra...
07/25/2024

I just finished this strip-and-recover of a 1972 Hiwatt 4x12 cab, and it was a real bo**er. After much sweating, frustration and grumbling, I think the owner is gonna be pretty happy with it. It’s an expensive job, but it’s a vintage piece and probably got a nice bump in value having the correct material back on it. Having casters on a 130 # cab will be a nice change, too.

The JTM-45s are a popular choice for my people, and for good reason. If you can’t get it done with one of those, you jus...
07/02/2024

The JTM-45s are a popular choice for my people, and for good reason. If you can’t get it done with one of those, you just plain can’t get it done.

PSA / rant for tube amp enthusiastsWhen a company makes the claim that their products are excellent, I expect them to ba...
06/15/2024

PSA / rant for tube amp enthusiasts

When a company makes the claim that their products are excellent, I expect them to back it up with performance that meets my high expectations. Unfortunately, this company has continually failed to meet my expectations, let alone impress me.

I was trying to determine why a brand new piece of high-end gear wasn’t working on its first use no matter what I did. Then I looked through the vents in the top of its cabinet and immediately knew. This is what I found when I removed the top cover; this tube has lost its vacuum. When I removed the defective tube and turned it over to see what brand it was, I was not only not surprised, but immediately irritated.

Note the slogan you see on the box in the third pic - every time I see this, I always say aloud, “mediocrity with every decibel.“ When I’m doing repairs for people and replacement tubes are required, I actively avoid JJ. I would encourage you to do likewise.

HORRIBLY overdue post on the bass I built last summer. This was very much a collaborative design and its owner's assessm...
06/15/2023

HORRIBLY overdue post on the bass I built last summer. This was very much a collaborative design and its owner's assessment is, "it's the monster we hoped it'd be." The finish is several coats of boiled Linseed oil topped with beeswax for a little more protection. With this finish, the wood is sealed from the elements and won't crack, but string vibration isn't damped, so it feels VERY alive. This bass does the piano-string thing and the player can get a great deal of sound variety from right-hand position alone.

I’m kinda pleased with how this one turned out. I believe it was getting its trial by fire today at the Iowa state fair.
08/21/2022

I’m kinda pleased with how this one turned out. I believe it was getting its trial by fire today at the Iowa state fair.

Had a nice rainbow starting until the red JTM-45 went to its new home today.
04/29/2022

Had a nice rainbow starting until the red JTM-45 went to its new home today.

Drew - 1, excessive inrush current - 0. The new build is almost ready after waiting over four months for transformers.
04/23/2022

Drew - 1, excessive inrush current - 0. The new build is almost ready after waiting over four months for transformers.

A beautiful old amp I recently had the privilege of assisting Lockdown Guitars with. It was a bit scary under the hood f...
03/25/2022

A beautiful old amp I recently had the privilege of assisting Lockdown Guitars with. It was a bit scary under the hood from prior work that had been done, and much scarier before 20 years’ worth of mouse p**p and atmospheric gras du was scrubbed away - not my job, thankfully. Mounted back in its freshly renovated home and blowing out through its 55 year old speakers, it just sounded ridiculous!

It's soon to be all about that bass.
03/22/2022

It's soon to be all about that bass.

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3930 S Drumm Avenue
Independence, MO
64055

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