Best brand of power transformer to get

[Guitar-Sam]

I'm gearing up to buy a PT for my road side find, a 1980's Dean Markley CD-60.Its going to a tech friend to be diagnosed. I have a feeling he is gonna say PT as it pops fuses on power up even with the tubes pulled.
I contacted Ultrasound amps who reissued the Dean Markley CD-60.They said the reissue PT does not work in the 80's CD-60 and recommended a PT for a Fender Hotrod Deluxe.
What is the best brand of tranny to get? I see the original Fender part is like $60 and Mercury Magnetics one is like $185,is the Mercury that much better?? How bout other brands Classic Tone perhaps? I see Hammond has one near the cost of the Fender original one.
All recommendations are welcome as I've never swapped transformers befor and don't know what is good, bad or ugly.
BTW The amp has 2x 6L6 and 3x 12ax7 for tubes.

[Guitar-Sam]

OK I know I'm asking the Marshall guys about a somewhat rare oddball amp that I don't even have a baseline sound for. Kinna like asking the Ford guy what heads to put on a small block chevy .
I know that the hotrod deluxe tranny will never sound the same as the amp originaly did, which I have also never heard in the first place.
But "IF IT WERE YOUR AMP" what would you do for a power tranny being as the original is no longer made. Is there a "better" brand of hotrod deluxe PT to go with?? Or would you go another direction all together?

[mightymike]

I would just get the Classic tone in this situation. They're as good as those other choices at a decent price. No way I would pay $185 on this.

[Lefty Lou]

Nobody here has mentioned Heyboer, are they exempted from the list of tranny manufacturers?

[mightymike]

Heyboer is a good choice too.

[ezs]

Make sure the mains filters or rectifier aren't shorted first. Disconnect at the rectifier and see if it blows fuses then. If so, toast.

[Lefty Lou]

Granger amps did an OT shootout which was pretty interesting in that (2) out of about 5 transformer companies used paper wound transformers (Heyboer and Classic Tone). To my ears it proved what I've always believed about paper wound transformers (THEY SOUND GREAT!). I used to own a Fender Tweed Vibrolux amp that had stupendous tone which I always attributed (at least in some part) to the vintage paperwound transformers, and the shootout seemed to verify this point, even though many others including Mercury Magnetics would tend to strongly disagree.

I know we're talking about PT's here and not OT's however knowing what I know now, my choice would STILL be Heyboer or Classic Tone for a PT for your Dean Markley CD-60.

[Big Mike]

PT...Whatever gets the voltage right. I'm not a big believer that the PT influences the tone as long as the voltages are equal.

Now the OT, that's a different stiory. Built 2 amps with almost identical specs. Same ish voltage on the plates.
one Chris M one Classictone...****** spanks it. But The CT one sounds good...it's weather or not the upcharge is worth it for % of improvement.

IMO the CM is...but so's george's recipe HB over the CT's.

[Lefty Lou]

PT...Whatever gets the voltage right. I'm not a big believer that the PT influences the tone as long as the voltages are equal.

Now the OT, that's a different stiory. Built 2 amps with almost identical specs. Same ish voltage on the plates.
one Chris M one Classictone...****** spanks it. But The CT one sounds good...it's weather or not the upcharge is worth it for % of improvement.

IMO the CM is...but so's george's recipe HB over the CT's.

Of course I'd give a big thumbs up for CM's transformers, but now were talking overkill. A CM tranny in a Dean markley amp is like putting a Hemi in a Volkswagen Beetle. Many here will say that PT's aren't as important to the sound as OT's are. However try this, take your vintage tweed Fender amp and put a stock modern PT replacement in its place and come back and tell me it makes little to no difference in your sound.