Intermittent fault on my Ampeg amp head

[Conan]

Hi all.

I have a problem with my Ampeg SVT-200T solid-state amp head. The volume drops away to almost nothing, and the sound fed to the speakers is very distorted. The only thing that seems to sort it out (God knows why!) is if I whack the input volume/gain up full and play a loud note. That clears it for a while, but then the problem comes back after a certain period of time.

The amp is probably about 20 years old as this model was only made for a limited period of time. I got it second-hand about four years ago, so I have no idea about whether it had any mechanical problems in the past. I have not gigged it regularly or played it at high volume in the time I have had it.

Can anyone suggest what the problem might be? Or suggest a good amp tech in the north-east of England? I have heard that Ampeg's service charges are pretty steep...

Thanks in advance for any responses.

[Conan]

Anyone experienced similar problems on ANY amp? :wacko:

[chris_b]

You've got a failing component. I reckon a full service is what you need.

[Conan]

That's what I feared. Roughly how much would I be looking at for a full service? There's a local guy that I've used before who is good (and cheap!) but he doesn't have much experience with Ampeg gear...

As I said, its a pretty old amp and not really worth all that much (maybe £250 tops) so maybe its time to cut my losses and upgrade to something more modern? I do like its sound though....

[chris_b]

Unless it's a transformer, the major cost of repair will probably be labour. Old Ampegs are generally very reliable and if you like the tone, I'd get an estimate at least. Repair is your cheapest option.

I'm assuming these guys are near you, but this recommendation was made in another topic:
Barry Cameron (www.cameronelectronics.co.uk) or Jez Arkless in Bedlington: 01670 829891.

[Conan]

[quote name='chris_b' post='811224' date='Apr 19 2010, 12:26 PM']I'm assuming these guys are near you, but this recommendation was made in another topic:
Barry Cameron (www.cameronelectronics.co.uk) or Jez Arkless in Bedlington: 01670 829891.[/quote]

Cheers for that! Not sure where Barry is, but Bedlington is only a few miles up the road.

[Phil Starr]

[url="http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/columns/gear_maintenance/a_guide_to_fixing_intermittent_faults.html"]http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/columns/gea...ent_faults.html[/url]

This article may help but tracing down faults like this often take time. It could be anything from a dry joint finally starting to fail to a capacitor becoming leaky. Just make sure you give your repair man as many details as possible.

[Conan]

[quote name='Phil Starr' post='811392' date='Apr 19 2010, 02:51 PM']This article may help but tracing down faults like this often take time. It could be anything from a dry joint finally starting to fail to a capacitor becoming leaky. Just make sure you give your repair man as many details as possible.[/quote]

Cheers. I'd already eliminated the leads and guitars as sources of the problem. I am no electrician - so it's off to be serviced!! Just hope its not to expensive...

[BigAlonBass]

If you're taking it to Jez to get seen to, don't worry about expense. He's one of the guys who DOESN'T take the p*ss when it comes to pricing. He did my old Trace amp last year, and I got it back quickly, working perfectly, for a VERY reasonable price.


(It cost more for the flipping Diesel to get to his place-He's miles away from me.)

[goingdownslow]

Does it have a pre-amp pwr-amp in/out or effects send and return?
Try linking them out with a patch lead. The switch contacts sometimes get dirty in them.