Maxcat Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 I need to bounce this off you guys. Playing towards the tail end of our first set last night my amp volume suddenly dropped to next to nothing. I couldnt adjust mid song so plugged away till the end. Before the next number, I tried to get my volume back by increasing the Master (on reflection not a good idea as there was obviously something amiss). The amp went wild when I played a note with the clip light doing sixteenths and a terrible distorted fast clip like sound at full volume. I wasnt running the amp above half volume if that. We stopped the set early and I tried to trouble shoot. Checked the 9V batteries in the Bongo (full charge) and all pedals powered. Power to the amp and both cabs connected. On plugging direct into the amp it worked fine so suspecting the pedal board, I played the next set direct to the amp. Ive just set up this morning to try and figure out what is wrong and unfortunately EVERYTHING works as advertised. So Im now thinking that its going to happen again mid set and I dont have a back up head. My set up is as follows Bongo HH into DHA VT2 OD into Tonebone Bassbone. Loop to Stereo Memory Man, OC2, EBS Autowah, Boss SYB3, Boss PH3 back to bassbone. Then output to BBE OptoStomp Compressor to GB Shuttle6.0 running at 4 Ohms into a GB 210T and 112Neox. Im a bit stumped TBH The only thoughts I have are 1. I had to run a 6 socket single power lead from the DJ booth which powered all my gear and the PA(I had an RCD to my gear). Could the venue have dirty power that got past my RCD? 2. The only pedal that was live in the chain was the DHA but it was in bypass. Is the valve on the DHA or the Shuttle on the way out which may explain the drop in volume? Any thoughts or troubleshooting tips would be most welcome Cheers Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_D Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 I cant give you any advice about what may be the ptoblem but I will say you are better taking it to a pro for a once over. I played a few gigs with a questionable amp. Wasnt sure if it would make the whole gig and because of that I was continually on edge waiting for it to go as I had no confidence in it. Those few gigs were crap for me as I just wasnt on form because of it until I got a backup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHA Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 [quote name='Maxcat' post='622373' date='Oct 10 2009, 12:22 PM']I need to bounce this off you guys. Playing towards the tail end of our first set last night my amp volume suddenly dropped to next to nothing. I couldnt adjust mid song so plugged away till the end. Before the next number, I tried to get my volume back by increasing the Master (on reflection not a good idea as there was obviously something amiss). The amp went wild when I played a note with the clip light doing sixteenths and a terrible distorted fast clip like sound at full volume. I wasnt running the amp above half volume if that. We stopped the set early and I tried to trouble shoot. Checked the 9V batteries in the Bongo (full charge) and all pedals powered. Power to the amp and both cabs connected. On plugging direct into the amp it worked fine so suspecting the pedal board, I played the next set direct to the amp. Ive just set up this morning to try and figure out what is wrong and unfortunately EVERYTHING works as advertised. So Im now thinking that its going to happen again mid set and I dont have a back up head. My set up is as follows Bongo HH into DHA VT2 OD into Tonebone Bassbone. Loop to Stereo Memory Man, OC2, EBS Autowah, Boss SYB3, Boss PH3 back to bassbone. Then output to BBE OptoStomp Compressor to GB Shuttle6.0 running at 4 Ohms into a GB 210T and 112Neox. Im a bit stumped TBH The only thoughts I have are 1. I had to run a 6 socket single power lead from the DJ booth which powered all my gear and the PA(I had an RCD to my gear). Could the venue have dirty power that got past my RCD? 2. The only pedal that was live in the chain was the DHA but it was in bypass. Is the valve on the DHA or the Shuttle on the way out which may explain the drop in volume? Any thoughts or troubleshooting tips would be most welcome Cheers Don[/quote] If the DHA was in by-pass then nothing to do with the valve. Could be a duff cable? Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBod Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 I'd look at jack sockets first (bass and amp, and any pedal links) particularly on the bass - wiggle it side to side, pull slightly (!) and listen for noises. Then check the instrument cable? Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dread Bass Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 Sounds like a nightmare that mate. I always worry that will happen to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxcat Posted October 11, 2009 Author Share Posted October 11, 2009 Well Ive checked out all the leads, jacks and power supplies and it all works fine. Even ran it for 2 hours to see if anything was overheating. Everything works fine. Thanks for the input guys. guess Ill just have to hope it was a one off. That and get a back up head just in case. cheers Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Heeley Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Does it have thermal cut-out protection? Maybe that fired in after being played at full stretch for a whole set? Was it loud, was the amp very hot? If you ran it for 2 hrs without a load on it then the thermal cut-out would not necessarily activate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxcat Posted October 12, 2009 Author Share Posted October 12, 2009 [quote name='Al Heeley' post='624172' date='Oct 12 2009, 04:03 PM']Does it have thermal cut-out protection? Maybe that fired in after being played at full stretch for a whole set? Was it loud, was the amp very hot? If you ran it for 2 hrs without a load on it then the thermal cut-out would not necessarily activate.[/quote] Thanks Al. Thats something to think about. I need to find out if the shuttle has a cut out. I wasnt excessively loud but the amp had been on for about a couple of hours and played for an hour of that. Didnt seem massively warm, but I was in a bit of a flap by that stage. Ill check it out. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.T Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 I had a similar(ish) problem and it turned out to be a cracked solder joint. Jack socket to PCB in my effects unit. It was one of those anoying intermittent faults, and I spent ages chasing it. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxcat Posted October 13, 2009 Author Share Posted October 13, 2009 [quote name='Mr.T' post='624736' date='Oct 13 2009, 09:50 AM']I had a similar(ish) problem and it turned out to be a cracked solder joint. Jack socket to PCB in my effects unit. It was one of those anoying intermittent faults, and I spent ages chasing it. Good luck![/quote] Thanks mate. Hope its not that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxcat Posted October 17, 2009 Author Share Posted October 17, 2009 Just a little postscript for those interested. Played a gig lst night with the same setup and experienced not a hint of a problem. Stumped but happy at the same time. Must have been the venue. Cheers Don Oh its pushed me into getting a backup head tho so I have a little visit planned to Carvin in LA next week to look at their BX500. With gig bag it comes to under £300 so I might be tempted. I like new toys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.T Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 Sounds like a valid enough reason to buy a 'spare' amp.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witterth Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 I had similar issues once (during the summer of this year) and despite help from BCers ( you know who you are,& thanks ) havent resolved it yet! Amps/cabs can just make life hard. next buy is gonna be a combo!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanOwens Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 I had a similar issue (volume drops) when I added a DHA to my chain. I contacted Dave and he suggested a wire may be grounding. I dismantled, electrical-taped the offending wire and had to problem since!! Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxcat Posted October 19, 2009 Author Share Posted October 19, 2009 [quote name='DanOwens' post='629949' date='Oct 18 2009, 11:32 PM']I had a similar issue (volume drops) when I added a DHA to my chain. I contacted Dave and he suggested a wire may be grounding. I dismantled, electrical-taped the offending wire and had to problem since!! Dan[/quote] Thanks mate. Thats interesting. I will check that out. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Telebass Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 Also, your RCD won't have any effect whatsoever on the quality of your power feed - it's just a safety trip. Unless you're using something way more complex than a basic RCD...And, although it may sound wrong, if you are using a power conditioner, this can sometimes do horrible things to your sound. They tend to work fine for guitar amps and the like, but the instantaneous current demands of a high power bass amp can be interfered with. This is why, for bass amps, it's always ideal to plug your amp (and your RCD) straight into the wall socket if at all possible, using the heaviest mains cable you can. I'm assuming amps of 500W output or more; lesser output powers will be affected less. I'll admit, I thought this was garbage, but switched to a heavy, hand-built (by me) mains lead. On gigs where you're winding it up a bit, it does seem to keep things smoother! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxcat Posted November 1, 2009 Author Share Posted November 1, 2009 Good advice mate. I was going out of the wall into a 4 gang then out of that to a 6 gang with Rcd. It sounds like I need to revisit that set up. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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