I have a peavey combo amp, and as of just recently, the sound cuts out for no apparent reason. I have found, after a few times of this happening, (and getting a bit upset!), that a well placed rap on the top of the amp will sometimes make it come back on. It cuts out whenever it wants though, so it's not reliable for me to play live anymore. The few wires I can see in the back all look fine to me. Would it be wise to try to open it up & go digging around in there? It's an older amp, so I wouldn't spend too much to get it fixed. Any suggestions?
"The only way I know that guarantees no mistakes is not to play and that's simply not an option". David Hodge
What kind of amp a tube or solid-state?
Wouldn't hurt to take a look inside, look for something that doesn't look right, like something burned or lose soldier joint. Anything may give you a clue. If its a tube amp then it may need new tubes.
Be sure to unplug the amp, and be careful for any large capacitors they will still hold a charge for sometime after the amp has been turned off.
Joe
It's a solid-state amp. I'll see if I can open it up & see anything unusual looking. It's been un-plugged for a few weeks, but I'll still heed your warning about the capacitors! Thanks.
"The only way I know that guarantees no mistakes is not to play and that's simply not an option". David Hodge
Take your time look for any loose wires, how is the speaker wired direct or is there a 1/4" plug going into a jack. Kind of sounds like a cold solder joint, thats where a solder joint gets a crack or come loose.
Does it make any hum or crackling sounds when it was on. maybe the speaker has seen its better days. I have a couple amps I over pushed the inputs and two that I had connected to a 4x12 cabinet running them to hard and now they cut out when I push them to hard.
They still work at low volumes but what fun is that, No Power Saturation.
joe
No, it sounds great, when it gives me sound anyways! I pulled it apart & looked like you suggested. I didn't see anything that looked wrong. All the wires I could see looked like the soldier points were ok. No loose wires or anything that looked burned. Hmm... It does have a 1/4" plug in the back for the 2 scorpion speakers. Never really noticed it before, but it looks like there are 2 places to plug the speakers in. One says "2" & has a little symbol after it that looks like a little speed bump or something! (sorry, I know nothing about electronics!) Then there is another plug-in right next to it that says "4" & has the same symbol after it. It says "speakers" above both plug-ins. In between the 2 plug-ins, there is a symbol that looks like a capitol "N" with an arrow on it pointing up. The speakers were plugged into the first plug-in with the "2" by it. Don't know if any of this matters. Maybe it's got gremlins!
"The only way I know that guarantees no mistakes is not to play and that's simply not an option". David Hodge
Boy do I feel like a dork! I just went to the Peavey web site & searched for the manual for my amp. Can you believe it was made in 1982?! Anyways, it said about the speaker jacks, it shopuld be plugged into the "4 ohms" jack. (Little speed bump thingys!) ::)
"The only way I know that guarantees no mistakes is not to play and that's simply not an option". David Hodge
Glad you may have figured it out and it was something easy. This how you learn more about the equipment you use. Trial and error.
Good luck playing and have fun
Joe
