NO Literally , my Clarus was smoking and stopped working!

The other night I was at a rehearsal and I plugged my clarus into my cab as usual and then the wall. It made a wierd sound so i plugged it in another socket and then turned it on. No wierd sound so before I started playing I went into the hall to get a soda. I came back and found the clarus smoking and really hot. I unplugged it and am afriad to use it.
I called rick at AI and sent it down for repair. I will hear about it next week.
Anybody ever have a similar experience?

Brandon

I had a bag end 1 X 15 catch on fire at a gig once. The shop I bought it from replaced it.

My old Ampeg B1 once got hot enough to burn me, and trip the thermal switch. Turns out the power was wonky on that particular stage.
I remember the drummer saying, 'your playing wasn't really that hot."

I burned up two, yes two Harke 112 cabs in the space of 3 days. When I returned the second one I demanded a GK 410 in return cause I didn’t want to wait for another factory replacement. Funny part was when I returned the second one I help the sales guy carry the cab into the storage room, the storage room was full of burned up Harke cabs and combos. I guess they finally got the bugs out of those aluminum cones. I was in a metal band at the time and both times the speakers caught fire the audience thought it was part of the show :cool:

I set my Strat on fire on stage at Woodstock one year. It was bitchin'

NO Literally , my Clarus was smoking and stopped working!
That's what all musicians do when they go on break. Don't worry about it ;)

NO Literally , my Clarus was smoking and stopped working!

The other night I was at a rehearsal and I plugged my clarus into my cab as usual and then the wall. It made a wierd sound so i plugged it in another socket and then turned it on. No wierd sound so before I started playing I went into the hall to get a soda. I came back and found the clarus smoking and really hot. I unplugged it and am afriad to use it.
I called rick at AI and sent it down for repair. I will hear about it next week.
Anybody ever have a similar experience?

Brandon

All amplifiers are powered by Magic Smoke. If the magic smoke somehow leaks out of the amp it will stop working.

I'm sure Rick will pump some replacement Magic Smoke back into the amp and it will be fine again.

That's what all musicians do when they go on break. Don't worry about it ;)

It's a darn good thing I wasn't drinking milk when I read that ;-)

All amplifiers are powered by Magic Smoke. Some musicians are too.

:D

Well it turns out, I some how blew the power transformer in my Clarus IIR Series 1 . Pretty crazy. I sent it down to AI and Rick Jones took care of it. He said he had to make a few modifications and sent it back . Free of charge!!! I love those guys! I wish all company's were that good.
Brandon

Where do you score that magic smoke :cool:

Where do you score that magic smoke :cool:

Must be an orchestral player ;-)

Must be an orchestral player ;-)

That's a myth! Don't ask me how I know....

Must be an orchestral player ;-)
So that's what orchestral players mean when they say that the orchestra has a new score.

Mine is not smocking. But i find my clarus + getting quickly hotter than my Coda II. I ask Rick and it seems to be normal : more power in same box.

But your story afraid me a little now . I will unplug it during tasting my beer or wine in the future ;).

So that's what orchestral players mean when they say that the orchestra has a new score.

That would be the new member of the Viola section.

Did you find out why the transformer blew? I also have a Clarus and do not want to release the magic smoke.

Was the amp overloaded? Switched to the wrong voltage inadvertantly? Just a worn-out piece?

Thanks in advance!

ian

No, I don't ask too many questions as I probably wouldn't understand anyway. Rick took good care of me when things when wrong though, so I don't worry.
B

The magic smoke escaped my Clarus on Friday night. I've tried calling AI several times but haven't yet connected with anyone. It's an old model--the original Clarus--so I'm hopeful that they can put the smoke back in. I love this amp.

Mine was old too. I am sure they will be able to help. Rick is a regular smoke magician.

Rick received my Clarus on Monday. I got it back fixed on Thursday. Outstanding service!

It sounds like they are trying to pack too much power into too small a box. They sound like standup guys on service, but there are two things you can do on the prevention side.

1. Make sure it is getting ventilation. Don't set it on a soft case, which could block air from getting in the bottom, and don't set charts on top of it. Common sense, but not obvious to all.

2. Open it up once in awhile and vacuum out the dust. I've opened up burned amps which had a thick layer of crud covering the vital organs. Undesirable.

Bad line voltage can also burn a power supply, but there's not much a gigging musician can do about that.

It sounds like they are trying to pack too much power into too small a box. They sound like standup guys on service, but there are two things you can do on the prevention side.

1. Make sure it is getting ventilation. Don't set it on a soft case, which could block air from getting in the bottom, and don't set charts on top of it. Common sense, but not obvious to all.

2. Open it up once in awhile and vacuum out the dust. I've opened up burned amps which had a thick layer of crud covering the vital organs. Undesirable.

Bad line voltage can also burn a power supply, but there's not much a gigging musician can do about that.


all good advice. i have one more bit to add: when using this amp outdoors, keep it out of direct sunlight. later, ron

+1 AI's Customer Service is excellent.

I once saw the magic smoke escape my EA iAmp 500 when I was playing a horrible club in Nashville. It was after this gig that I bought a voltage regulator.