Rikki_Sixx Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Hi all, forgive me if this kind of thing has been asked but I've not found any solutions - possibly searching for the wrong phrases! I dug out my old practice amp yesterday, but straight away the static and popping was overwhelming. The merest touch of the volume pot causes very loud popping and there is a constant loud crackle. I've uploaded a video to YouTube to try and demonstrate, but it seems very quiet in the video. Please excuse the terrible quality, I was trying to do it while keeping the dog at bay! https://youtu.be/H8XCSHcjOIs I've tried a few input cables and several power cables. I know the bass works as I used it last weekend. The amp is a Laney Hardcore Max (HCM30B) and hasn't been plugged in or turned on in around 3 years. The problem also happens when nothing is plugged in. I'm not using any pedals, just bass to amp. Any suggestions would be much appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Turn the power off then twiddle all of the knobs and sliders for a few minutes. That should clean any accumulated muck off the tracks. If that doesn't work give them a squirt of switch cleaner (aka electrical contact cleaner) such as Servisol, and do the twiddling trick again. If that still doesn't work you may have to look at replacing the pots Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 (edited) If it's constant background static and popping when you aren't even touching the pots it might be something else. Dodgy flux capacitor wotsits or flaky thermionic isolation valvotrons perhaps. Edited November 17, 2015 by dannybuoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Assuming that it's not damp from storage (a day or two at room temperature should sort that) it sounds like it needs someone who knows what they are doing to take a look inside Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 (edited) First stop - the pots themselves. For cleaning I'd recommend you take a look at the Caig DeOxit products. If they are accessible and you're handy with a soldering iron then I'd suggest to consider replacing them. The pots fitted will almost certainly be carbon track types but if you can get the same value / taper / size with either Conductive Plastic or Cermet tracks then they will l;ast longer. If the pots don't fix the problem then I'd suspect any electrolytic capacitors in the signal path - small metal cans on the pcb - as they are the most likely to fail with time. This can then lead to dc voltages on the controls and noise when pots are moved. Edited November 17, 2015 by rmorris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikki_Sixx Posted November 17, 2015 Author Share Posted November 17, 2015 Thanks so much for your responses, you were right on the money with the volume pots! The amp has been stored in my spare room over the years but has gathered a fair bit of dust. Some knob-swiveling sorted things right out, and it works great! I'll keep an eye on the dust, as I didn't realise it could get into the pots and wreak havoc. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Yay! Another win for Basschat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 Nice cheap repair I'm glad it wasn't anything more serious Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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