Kevsy71 Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 I have an early GP11 with the extra XLR input. Whilst the regular jack input works fine, I just get a faint hum when plugging either a Wal or a mic into the XLR. Possibly a loose connection - it's mounted on the front, can anyone please recommend how to access it? Is it simply removing the back and sides of the case, or should I be unscrewing everything from the front (including the EQ sliders)? Many thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 Was referred to this site recently where they have all the manuals, etc (everything except rack ears basically). https://www.britishaudioservice.com/trace-elliot-parts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevsy71 Posted August 16, 2017 Author Share Posted August 16, 2017 Thanks TheGreek - they have the Series 5 manual but not the early XLR one. Looks like I can go in from the side so will give that a go and post the results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevsy71 Posted August 17, 2017 Author Share Posted August 17, 2017 OK, after opening the case and giving the connectors a good clean with WD-40 contact cleaner, I get a signal, albeit quite crackly. Seems to be the female XLR connector itself causing the crackles, because the jack input is soldered to the rear tabs of the XLR and there's no noise when playing through the jack. Now to find a thin pipe cleaner to scrub away the remaining crackle! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertbass Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 WD 40 is not a contact cleaner, it's a penetrating oil and lubricant. You need a can of Servisol which is a contact cleaner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbird Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 [quote name='bertbass' timestamp='1503060776' post='3355408'] WD 40 is not a contact cleaner, it's a penetrating oil and lubricant. You need a can of Servisol which is a contact cleaner. [/quote]wd40 do make a contact cleaner but servisol is the best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevsy71 Posted August 20, 2017 Author Share Posted August 20, 2017 [quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1503090147' post='3355708'] wd40 do make a contact cleaner but servisol is the best [/quote] Yes, sorry - that's what I meant, the WD-40 'Specialist fast drying contact cleaner' variant. A good scrub has made things a bit better, but I suspect its the wobbly rear tab (the one nearest in the photo, with the loose glue) that is causing the hum problem/lack of volume. May need to swap out the whole connector, and maybe try and somehow save the green input socket 'cos it looks cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Bay Posted August 20, 2017 Share Posted August 20, 2017 [quote name='bertbass' timestamp='1503060776' post='3355408'] WD 40 is not a contact cleaner, it's a penetrating oil and lubricant. You need a can of Servisol which is a contact cleaner. [/quote] Not to be pedantic but the original is not a penetrating oil either, it is often used as such but does not have the 'creep' of something like Plusgas. It's a water dispersant (hence the WD prefix) and lubricant. But now wd40 is used as a brand and comes emblazoned across a wide range of products. I am not sure what is in modern contact cleaners, I still have a can or two of the old stuff which is much better but does contain some nasty stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 I may have an unused panel mount XLR connector you can have, probably Neutrik. Is it male or female? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 I love the way BCers come to the rescue - the required part for free? Wouldn't happen in the "real" world. Nice one MBA 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevsy71 Posted August 21, 2017 Author Share Posted August 21, 2017 (edited) [quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1503318761' post='3357126'] I may have an unused panel mount XLR connector you can have, probably Neutrik. Is it male or female? [/quote] That's very kind, thanks MoonBassAlpha! It's female. But let me see if I can get the old one off first, as it appears to be involve much shenanigans to remove - will let you know after back from holiday mid-Sept. Cheers! PS Just spotted that's my 200th post, quite fitting that it should involve a 'thank you' to a member of this wonderful community Edited August 21, 2017 by Kevsy71 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 (edited) The Xlr looks to be riveted on; you'll need to carefully drill out the rivets. Probably best to replace the rivets with screws, using shakeproof washers, when putting in the new socket. Edited August 21, 2017 by Dad3353 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBunny Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 [quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1503352793' post='3357597'] The Xlr looks to be riveted on; you'll need to carefully drill out the rivets. Probably best to replace the rivets with screws, using shakeproof washers, when putting in the new socket. [/quote] My thoughts exactly. Hopefully a reasonably easy job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBod Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 I used to think the rivets holding the TE XLR sockets in were a bit daft. But recently I had to take out the same Switchcraft XLR from one of my SWR's (to do up a grub screw). Yes, it had two screws holding it in but they were very short self tappers, into a very thin metal panel so had about 3/4 of a turn to get a grip. Now the rivets don't seem so bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmckeran Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 sorry to ressurect an old thread. I have seen people struggle with this issue elsewhere on the web, so I may as well chip-in here to save others hours of needless work. The XLR input on these Trace Elliot amps is wired-up different to a normal XLR input for mics etc. So check how your cable is wired and see if it matches what is inside the amp. I believe the ground still goes to pin 1 but the signal is carried on pin 3, not pin 2 as is normal. A lot of karaoke-type mic leads which have an XLR on one end and a standard jack on the other, wire pin 1 and 3 together as ground, and use pin 2 for the signal, so if you are using one of these leads then nothing will be getting into the amp. I don't know why Trace Elliot wired-up their amps this way, but they did. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 (edited) 9 hours ago, dmckeran said: sorry to ressurect an old thread. I have seen people struggle with this issue elsewhere on the web, so I may as well chip-in here to save others hours of needless work. The XLR input on these Trace Elliot amps is wired-up different to a normal XLR input for mics etc. So check how your cable is wired and see if it matches what is inside the amp. I believe the ground still goes to pin 1 but the signal is carried on pin 3, not pin 2 as is normal. A lot of karaoke-type mic leads which have an XLR on one end and a standard jack on the other, wire pin 1 and 3 together as ground, and use pin 2 for the signal, so if you are using one of these leads then nothing will be getting into the amp. I don't know why Trace Elliot wired-up their amps this way, but they did. Thanks for posting. Doesn't affect me but useful information in general. The 'Pin 3 = Signal +' convention is/was (?) I believe used by Shure Microphones ? But a Shure Mic XLR output will likely be balanced so the only issue would be polarity reversal. As you point out - if you unbalance the signal at one end then you have a problem as you are 'grounding' the only signal. The 'proper' AES way is, of course.: X(1)= Screen (and it should go directly to (metal) chassis but that's a slightly different subject) ; L(2) = 'Signal +' (ie the signal - original polarity) ; R(3) = 'Signal -' (ie the signal - opposite polarity). Now 'balanced' outputs may not have signal on both pins 2 and 3 if they are 'Impedance Balanced' or 'Ground Cancelling' so they will also have a problem with non-standard wiring. Personally I'd recommend rewiring to standard if practicable. Obviously it's a lot easier if connections are wired (just swapping over two wires) rather than on a PCB (where you'd need to cut and patch tracks). But then you'd be able to plug in anything - mics or other 'balanced' or unbalanced sources - and it should all work. On another point from the thread - I'd recommend Caig DeOxit products for contact cleaning etc. Basically remove oxide with DeOxit stuff. And remove grease/oil contamination with Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA - but not the sort that comes in cans/bottles 🙂 Edited January 10, 2021 by rmorris misspelling / typo 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimike Posted January 11, 2021 Share Posted January 11, 2021 checked my old trace preamp today and only two of the pins are used, on the xlr input. might be worth checking if yours is the same. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris Posted January 12, 2021 Share Posted January 12, 2021 5 hours ago, Chimike said: checked my old trace preamp today and only two of the pins are used, on the xlr input. might be worth checking if yours is the same. Yeah - XLR simply sometimes used as a more secure physical (unbalanced) connection wrt a Jack. eg Hohner B2A etc. Although as I see it it sort of depends if you'd rather pull your amp/stack over rather than have your bass unplugged ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted January 12, 2021 Share Posted January 12, 2021 16 hours ago, rmorris said: Although as I see it it sort of depends if you'd rather pull your amp/stack over rather than have your bass unplugged ? It's a Trace Elliot - pulling it over is only an issue if you are Geoff Capes... The XLRs on my GP11 are screwed on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris Posted January 15, 2021 Share Posted January 15, 2021 On 12/01/2021 at 16:30, Stub Mandrel said: It's a Trace Elliot - pulling it over is only an issue if you are Geoff Capes... The XLRs on my GP11 are screwed on. Ha! From the photo I'm thinking it's just the head so could be pulled over quite easily although it'd probably just pull a jack plug out ? Still funny though 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBod Posted January 15, 2021 Share Posted January 15, 2021 I did ask Mark Gooday about the XLR input on these, and he said they just thought it was a better connection than a jack, it wasn’t supposed to be balanced etc. At the time, a few basses (Jaydee, Wal even some Westone versions) were including an XLR output. Alembic had always used a five pin version, but that was a more complicated arrangement involving power for the on board preamp. It was trend that didn’t take off. I did see recently that the new version of Ashdown’s 12 band amp has an XLR input, so it’s still there...but not in green. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartelby Posted January 20, 2021 Share Posted January 20, 2021 On 15/01/2021 at 08:23, BassBod said: I did see recently that the new version of Ashdown’s 12 band amp has an XLR input, so it’s still there...but not in green. That's a balanced XLR input (as was the XLR on the MK-500 and JJB-500). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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