Crack open an Ampeg b2re?

[JoeDissolvo]

Hey everybody.

Ive got a b2re with an input jack goin' out. Tried it with different basses/cables, and quite often signal just gets cut. Dont know why, and its annoying.

After a little resaerch, Ive narrowed it down to the input jack. Now, How hard is it to open one of these up so i can get to the input jack and possbly fix the connection? I know theres screws or something on the sides, and the top possibly, but Ive never seen one fully opened up.


Thanks for any help.

[BassmanPaul]

If you don't even know how to open your amp you have no business going inside it. Take the amp to a tech for repair. If you don't know what to look for yuou could well make a $50 repair a $500 one.

[parsons]

Originally Posted by BassmanPaul

If you don't even know how to open your amp you have no business going inside it. Take the amp to a tech for repair. If you don't know what to look for yuou could well make a $50 repair a $500 one.

He's not saying he doesnt know how to open the case. He is asking after he gets the lid off, how much of a pain in the ass it would be to replace the jack. And if he is learning to tinker this isnt the worst amp to learn on since if he ruins it, a used one can be had from this forum for under $200 shipped. No $500 repairs here, you could buy two of them used and new speakon cables to go with.

Ill say this, alot of amps have PCB mounted input jacks now that arent hard to desolder and replace but the problem is sometimes you have to remove the whole damn amp just to get access to the solder connections.

Ive never had to replace mine because its my backup and doesnt get much use. I would open mine up and check for you but I dont have the head here, its at the practice spot.

The best thing would just be to crack the case open and look for yourself. If you dont feel comfortable taking the amp completely apart to access something dont do it.

[anderbass]

I agree with Paul, but once you got inside you'd find your input jack was similar to this: http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=090-970



It'll have several connections soldered directly to a printed circuit board like shown near the upper left corner of this pic:


Once you got it all apart you might find one of the soldered connections failed and just needs to be touched up but unless you've done this type of work before its really easy to damage the traces on the board when attempting to replace components.

Short of going to a tech, I was thinking an inexpensive option for you could be plugging in a short male to female cord like this: http://www.kvconnection.com/product-p/k-42f42rt-6i.htm And then using a wire tie to secure it to your amps front grab handle. This way as you move around while playing you wont be tugging on the input jack and disturbing the connection. You might find simply running your guitar cord though your cab or rack cases handle before plugging into the amp would get you by for awhile too. (I always do this anyway to reduce the risk of ever damaging input jacks or their connections in the first place)

[jlt5x]

I replaced a bad jack that was cutting in and out on a b2r. Cost me about 35 bucks. Much cheaper than trying to figure it out myself...

[JoeDissolvo]

i know what Im doing once i get it open, I just didnt know if it was worth the hassle or my time. I replaced on on an old Acoustic head I had, but that was alot more simple then this, I bet. I know what Im doing around electronics, I just dont have that much experience around bass heads.

[mrkreuzschlitz]

It's electronic board soldering. I had to do it to replace the connector on my X2 wireless last minute, and from someone with hand tremors, it was a completely nerve wracking experience. If you wanna take a chance, make sure you use a solder pump, it makes all the difference. Try to practice on an old PC board or something before you do, just take parts off and back on, but if you dissemble it and take it to a tech, it'd be an easy fix that most likely won't cost too much.