dave_bass5 Posted November 13, 2016 Share Posted November 13, 2016 I got to the gig last night and plugged all my gear in. That being a passive Fender, GK800 head, Line6 transmitter/receiver, Darkglass VMT and Vanderkley cab. Amp came on, all the right lights came on (its supposed to show if there are any issues) but no sound. Receiver was indicating a signal from the bass. Un plugged everything and just used a lead to the head. Still nothing. There was a slight hiss from the tweeter but nothing else. Changed the speaker lead, no difference. After about 15mins it all came back to life and worked perfectly the rest of the night. Other than checking inside the cab i changed as much as i could and none made a difference. If it was a cable inside the cab i would have expected intermittent cut outs but i had no issues at all. Anyone have any ideas what i an check? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted November 13, 2016 Share Posted November 13, 2016 Could it be the old send-return loop disconnect problem. If the loop is never used, sockets can get a bit oxidised and disconnect the return signal from the preamp, so the quiet hiss you hear from the tweeter is just the quiescent noise from the power stage with no input attached. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted November 13, 2016 Author Share Posted November 13, 2016 (edited) Hmmm, I hadn't thought of that. The amp is only about 7 moths old and is kept in the house so i dont think it could be that. I will put a jack plug in them and see if there is an issue there. Good idea. Come ot think of it, this happened a couple of gigs ago as well. That time i put it down to the PSU lead from my 1 Spot causing this. Im now thinking its wasnt that at all and the only reason things started working was because of the time i took to fault find. Edited November 13, 2016 by dave_bass5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twincam Posted November 13, 2016 Share Posted November 13, 2016 If it works fine every time at home then could it not be its slightly sensitive to the power supply quality? so to say. And for some reason if the power supply monitoring/section etc is advanced then the not as optimal supply from the socket is making it act up. I've seen myself some amps not liking certain places and heard about similar stories. All the amps had a bit more advanced/monitored power supply sections. Maybe a power supply conditioner in that case may help, if indeed that's the issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted November 13, 2016 Author Share Posted November 13, 2016 (edited) Thanks. That would make sense if it wasn't for the fact that, according to the manual, the light around the power switch changes to red if the amp detects an issue. In this case it stayed blue to indicate all was good. At no point was the amp turned off or reset. I should have tried but didn't. At one point I did strike the strings really hard and got a grunt out of the amp. Then nothing for a few more mins, then perfect for the 2 1/2 hours that we played. Edited November 13, 2016 by dave_bass5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twincam Posted November 13, 2016 Share Posted November 13, 2016 [quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1479057560' post='3173603'] Thanks. That would make sense if it wasn't for the fact that, according to the manual, the light around the power switch changes to red if the amp detects an issue. In this case it stayed blue to indicate all was good. At no point was the amp turned off or reset. I should have tried but didn't. At one point I did strike the strings really hard and got a grunt out of the amp. Then nothing for a few more mins, then perfect for the 2 1/2 hours that we played. [/quote] It could of been a marginal issue that made the system go a bit funny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Starr Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 You could try feeding a signal straight[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] into the fx return next time the fault materialises ideally from something like a Sansamp with a bit of gain. This would tell you whether the power amp section is still working. It probably is because of the hiss but worth a check, apart from the fx loop problem i can't suggest anything simple as a solution. Intermittent faults are the worst.[/font][/color] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazzbass Posted December 6, 2016 Share Posted December 6, 2016 [quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1479047692' post='3173500'] Could it be the old send-return loop disconnect problem. If the loop is never used, sockets can get a bit oxidised and disconnect the return signal from the preamp, so the quiet hiss you hear from the tweeter is just the quiescent noise from the power stage with no input attached. [/quote] would it do any harm to always have a patch lead connecting the send and return jacks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted December 6, 2016 Author Share Posted December 6, 2016 Thanks guys. Ill give the patch lead idea a go if it happens again. Ive not gigged since i started this thread but have been occasionally testing the rig out at home and so far its been 100%. Id like to think it was something at the venue but that could mean it can happen again and I have no idea why. Ill also be taking my old Markbass F1 to gigs from now on, just as a precaution. Next gig is this Friday so we shall see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muppet Posted December 6, 2016 Share Posted December 6, 2016 Cold? Condensation etc? I had an amp that started fine but wouldn't work (on purpose) until conditions were right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted December 6, 2016 Author Share Posted December 6, 2016 I very much doubt it was that. Ther weather was quite mild and the club wasnt hot when we arrived. As ive said above this head is supposed to show if there's is any issues by changing the blue on light to red. This didn't happen and that's what's confusing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huge Hands Posted December 6, 2016 Share Posted December 6, 2016 When it powers up normally, is the light red, and then go blue, or is it normally blue all the way? Perhaps the power stage does not get turned on until it is happy, but it is not showing you this if the light is always blue? May be a sticky relay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertbass Posted December 6, 2016 Share Posted December 6, 2016 I use a Peavey power amp that I have to point a fan heater at for a few minutes to get it working at this time of the year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted December 6, 2016 Author Share Posted December 6, 2016 [quote name='Huge Hands' timestamp='1481017264' post='3188920'] When it powers up normally, is the light red, and then go blue, or is it normally blue all the way? Perhaps the power stage does not get turned on until it is happy, but it is not showing you this if the light is always blue? May be a sticky relay? [/quote] The light normally flashes red for a split second as its powering up, then blue. It did this each time i turned it on and off. You could well be right about the false indicator, i hadn't thought of that. Ive never had any issues with climate change as far as my gear goes. Even my basses stay in tune no matter what the weather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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