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  • bass amp problems


    hi

    i'm asking this for my bass player. the situation is the following: a couple of weeks ago we went to our rehearsal space, plugged everything in, and started playing. in the middle of the first song, our bassists amp basically shuts down. you CAN hear a sound, but it's terribly distorted and REALLY quiet....with the volume full up. so far, so good. now, we stopped that rehearsal. one week later, when we wanted to rehearse again, our bassist brings another amp (the original one is broken, remember?), plugs in....and EXACTLY THE SAME HAPPENED. he plugged his bass in, played a note, everything alright. he played another one, and thats it, terribly distorted LOW volume sound. he said that two days ago he played a gig with this exact same amp, with no problems.

    another strange thing is, that occasionally the amp switches to "normal"....and works perfectly, but only for a couple of seconds, then it will shut down again.

    both amps are solid state, so it cant be tube failure.


    i dont know which exact amps he plays (i think his main one is a hartke combo), but they are both 100w and 200w combo amps. but i can ask him if you need to know the exact model

    so, does anyone have an idea what the problem can be?
    maybe a bad power supply? although we've already rehearsed dozens of times in the exact same room, with no problems, i think it is because of the power, because my (tube) amp is way more noisy when rehearsing than at home or in other rooms in general. (the hiss is louder btw, no humming or other kinds of noise...and it's pretty much dead quiet when switching to the clean channel...the lead channel IS noisier than at home, though). but really, i'm neither an amp tech nor do i know much about electronics in general....i'm just guessing [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

    it's a pretty shitty situation, though, because he doesn't have other amps than those two, and rehearsing without a bass player is no fun (and he is a great songwriter btw), so it's really limiting our band.

    anyways, thanks in advance
    fragle

  • #2
    Re: bass amp problems

    It could quite possibly be a power problem. I have a Randall bass combo that had the exact same problem, but I never determined the cause. However, I have had power problems kill other amps before.

    The good news is that it was only a $100 repair. The bad news is...well, that it was a $100 repair!
    sigpic

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    • #3
      Re: bass amp problems

      mh...is there a possibility that this kind of bad power supply can damage my amp, too? if so, i think i'll get a power conditioner ASAP...repairs suck [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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      • #4
        Re: bass amp problems

        I would recomend getting a power conditioner either way..specially if your playing out (bar wiring sucks..always)

        Ox

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        • #5
          Re: bass amp problems

          which one do you recommend? the only power conditioner i know is the 19" furman rack thingy...but that's total overkill. doesnt it have like 12 power outs on the back?
          i'd only use one or maybe two, no more.

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          • #6
            Re: bass amp problems

            They make floor ones you could pick up at Bestbuy or a store like that. If you dont have money flowing have the bass player go in on it with you (and who else uses eletric outlets)

            Ox

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            • #7
              Re: bass amp problems

              Are his pickup's active? When the battery in my bass starts to die, something similar to that happens. Volume gets low and it almost sounds like the speaker is blown.
              "told you guys that spandex, hairspray and makeup on guys was a bad idea, and now look what happened - you all turned into women." - Newc

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              • #8
                Re: bass amp problems

                yes, his pu's are indeed active. good idea man, i'll tell him to check his batteries.

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                • #9
                  Re: bass amp problems

                  Glad to help a fellow bassist in need out. Hopefully that's all it is.
                  "told you guys that spandex, hairspray and makeup on guys was a bad idea, and now look what happened - you all turned into women." - Newc

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