CHRISDABASS Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Hey Ive recently been having some issues with strange popping/crackling sounds coming from my amp/cab and i wondered if any of you could help me with it? I use an Aguilar AG500sc and a Hartke 410 at first i thought it was my bass so i check the input and all the wires in the bass and all seems fine, also yesterday i used a different bass and the problem was still there. so.... i sat close to the speakers with my bass's volume down and watched the speakers moving intermittently all by them selves!! very odd!! i use good quality cables bought from our very own OBBM and i use a monster speaker cable so at the moment its either the cab, the speaker cable or the head (i hope not) By the way the amp doesnt seem under powered in anyway and doesnt seem to suffer a loss of tone or anything, just every once in a while (usually only noticed between songs) it has this annoying popping sound! any ideas??? im gonna do some further investigation one night this week when i can try the head with my other cab! Cheers in advance for any helpful suggestions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOD2 Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 It's most likely to be the amp - but checking it with another cab will confirm this anyway. Also try swapping every lead - power lead included - just to rule these out. It could be that the control pots need cleaned. With the amp switched off, turn all the pots from min to max and back several times. Then switch on and see if this has helped at all. If it has helped but the noise is still there you'll need to clean the pots. To do this you'd need to open up the amp, locate the control pots and squirt a little contact cleaner (e.g. Super Servisol) inside the pots, then operate the pots fully a few times. If this procedure makes no difference then it could be a faulty component (a failing capacitor can cause this sort of noise) in which case an amp tech would need to look at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHRISDABASS Posted November 2, 2009 Author Share Posted November 2, 2009 [quote name='BOD2' post='643498' date='Nov 2 2009, 03:48 PM']It's most likely to be the amp - but checking it with another cab will confirm this anyway. Also try swapping every lead - power lead included - just to rule these out. It could be that the control pots need cleaned. With the amp switched off, turn all the pots from min to max and back several times. Then switch on and see if this has helped at all. If it has helped but the noise is still there you'll need to clean the pots. To do this you'd need to open up the amp, locate the control pots and squirt a little contact cleaner (e.g. Super Servisol) inside the pots, then operate the pots fully a few times. If this procedure makes no difference then it could be a faulty component (a failing capacitor can cause this sort of noise) in which case an amp tech would need to look at it.[/quote] Thats great very informative thanks very much mate! i'll give that a try Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHRISDABASS Posted November 2, 2009 Author Share Posted November 2, 2009 Right So i did as you said with each pot, changed the cab for my DB210, swapped every lead including the power cable and turned the amp back on! i noticed that the gain pot is slightly noisy when moved while the amp is on, this could be something to do with the problem so ive ordered some of the contact cleaner you mentioned! im now sat in the living room with the amp on with all the controls at 12 oclock (would be very loud if i played anything) im gonna leave it on for an hour or so to see if any noises appear ahhhhh just as im writing this its made some noise!!!!!! like a build up of almost static then a sudden POP!! it did this a few times i turned it off, changed the speaker lead then tried it again It did the same!! So it appears to be the amp! any advice on where to send it? or should i have a word with Darren at the Bass Merchant where i bought it from around 12 months ago? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOD2 Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 There's a thread on "amp techs" pinned to the top of this forum. Have a look there to see if there are any local recommendations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHRISDABASS Posted November 11, 2009 Author Share Posted November 11, 2009 Quick progress report! i sent the amp back to the bass merchant, they tested it including having it running through some cabs in the shop for a few days and they couldn't find anything wrong with it! so i asked Darren to send the amp back to me along with some new cables just to cancel them out! got it back yesterday, plugged all the new cables in and it still makes the weird noises every now and again! interestingly it only seems to happen when either of my sadowsky's are plugged into it! it wouldn't make the noise with the fender plugged in or if there was no cable plugged into the input. hmmmmm The fact that it happened with both basses and both my cabs led me to believe it was the amp! Could there really be something wrong with both basses?? if so what could it be? any ideas? it could also be just coincidence that it doesn't happen on the Fender because sometimes it can be at least an hour before the noise appears while other times its a few minutes! There seems to be no logic behind this at all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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