Woes of the Band

[Garrdor]

So,

I'm in this terribad band here in Medford. ZOMG im one of those 20 year old d-bags who are like 'uhh yea im in a band, im so kewl'. Who would've known? You can check us out at http://www.myspace.com/heymomimarealrockstar!!!

(or http://www.myspace.com/sinkthemissouri)

Well anyways, I'm poor as hell. I borrowed this guy's little Berhinger V-AMPire 2x60 head. We turned it on last night and there was this loud "POP!" noise and smoke/stinky shit kinda came out of the 'output' jacks in the back. Im sure this is the proverbial 'OMG my AMP BLEW' Marty McFly bullshit. Anybody have any experience with this sort of stuff? Any ideas what it could be that would blow up and need replacing? I've searched throughout google for 'blown amp' 'guitar amp repair' etc. I can't find ANYTHING very helpful at all. I mean, fuses blow all the time when theres a power surge. Im hoping this is the case. Im really careful with other peoples stuff, and I never max out the gain or the volume on this rig.

The head still turns on, you can still hear out of it. It just sounds like how it would if you turned it ALL the way down. There's no zero point on the master volume setting. It just gets very very low.

HALP!!! I NEED HALPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! plz. B-rantz = fountain of knowledge. I know there's some gear-junkies that have some imput.

oh, and have fun listening to our terribad recordings. Vocals, WRU?

[Partha]

Sorry, man, I got nothing.

[Klast Brell]

I work for a company that makes surge strips. My job is partially involved with the connected equipment damage claims department. As such I've gotten a peek inside a fair number of blown electronic bits. I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination. I know just enough to be dangerous. But here is what I think.

I think you blew a transformer.

1 Most fuses don't smoke when you pop them.
2 Transformers have coatings that can smoke when the transformer blows.
3 Transformers step up and step down power.
4 To make speakers louder you have to increase the electricity going to them.
5 Your volume is really low as if the transformer is no longer stepping up the power.

That's my reasoning anyway. I think that to fix it is going to require a little skilled use of a soldering iron. Your best bet is to find one of those TV repair / electronics repair shops. Find one that is really dirty and has an old guy behind the counter that looks like he's been running that business since he took it over from his father in the 60's. He will be a true artist of the craft, and he'll charge you a lot less than some other place.

[Ddrak]

All electronic equipment is manufacturers with an amount of smoke inside it. It's the smoke that makes the magic to make it work. What you have here is a classic case of "letting the smoke out". It will not work until you can find someone to put the smoke back in.



Dd

[Turaylon Soulshadow]

It's a sign from the heavens...only use Marshall amps.

Edit: Peevey isn't half bad, either. Just don't ever get an amp made by Fender, Jackson, or Ibanez, because they are crap.

[Garrdor]

Oh man, you said it.

I borrowed my friend's Marshall MG100 or whatever to record. It's said to be a cookie cutter amp... but I was pretty impressed with the punch. It totally cut through our fuzzy madness we use with the Line6HD150. Even with gain and overdrive cranked, it was crisp enough to hear any sort of articulation.

So... update:

My stepdad took a look at the Berhinger head. He literally opened it up and found what was wrong right away. Blown transistor. Can't find it here in town, so he's gonna have to order it off the net. It was, in fact, the output transistor.

[Turaylon Soulshadow]

It may be one of their more generic models, but it still runs between $400 and $500 unless you manage to find one on sale, and compared to high end equipment from some other companies it blows them out of the water.

[Klast Brell]

How much will the repair be?

[Garrdor]

Looks like around $40.

Kinda sad, given there's another Behringer V-Ampire head for $100 at the pawn shop right now.

[Klast Brell]

$40 ain't bad. Could have been a lot worse.