The day I cleaned my Markbass...

[blackmail man]

Today I decided to do a little spring cleaning (yes, it's spring here) and one of the jobs was cleaning the dust out of my amp, and the sticky beer rings off the top :P
I was very surprised how quickly an amp can fill up with dust! I've only had this amp for maybe 8 months, bought it new, and there was plenty of dust in there!






It's a fairly simple job, and takes very few tools I should add in here a note of warning:
Many components in here will hold a great deal of charge, so as with electrical equipment, be careful what you touch!There's not really any need to touch anything in here with your bare hands, so don't :P
Also, companies can be quite picky as to who delves inside their product, so doing this could void your warranty.

All I used was a soft bristle paint brush, a can of compressed air, a screw driver and a damp cloth.


Use the screw driver to pop the top plate off your amp, being careful to use the right size driver (so you dont strip the screw heads)
Keep those little screws in a safe place (a little container)


Use the brush to gently dislodge the dust from the main parts (heat sink, inside of the chassis etc.)

Be careful when brushing the power transistors as they often have heatsink grease on them, which will get all over your brush and you might smear it everywhere :P

Work your way from the most closed up part of your amp back to the cooling vents/fan. Basically work in reverse from how the dust came in!

As you dislodge it, use the compressed air to blow it out, making sure you get right in the corners, over the PCB's and between the fins of the heatsinks.

I've heard people say to be careful of spinning the fan with the compressed air (not really sure why) so after giving it a brush down, I held the fan still with the end of the brush while I gave it a blast with air.



Once the inside is clean, give the lid a wipe down with a damp cloth, maybe even a bit soapy, just to remove any beer gunk that the drummer put there (obviously it wasn't you :P)

Pop the lid back into place, and start putting the screws back in. Be careful not to strip the thread, and the easiest way to make sure is this: place the screw in the hole and turn BACKWARDS until you feel it drop down a bit. That means it's sitting in it's thread properly, so now you can start screwing it down.

Once that's all done, use your brush to give the front and back panels a dust down, as it can get quite dusty between the knobs.


Now sit back, admire your nice clean amp and feel good about the world

[bass4worship]

Thanks...

[Definitely]

^ Lol I was thinking the same thing

[Jim Carr]

Does it still power up?

[blackmail man]

I dunno. I didn't try. This is just for decoration :P

[JimmyM]

Good call...gotta blow out the dust bunnies.

[vin*tone]

I carry a samurai sword for when people get near my amp with a beer. It's not a freakin coffee table. }:-<

[rodl2005]

Me too! Ever since our sax player spilled a beer into my old Vase bassman 100 in the '80's & it turned into a Dalek in self destruct mode pretty lights tho

[Avezzano]

I carry a samurai sword for when people get near my amp with a beer. It's not a freakin coffee table. }:-<

ditto!!!

I was always screaming and giving evil eyes at my drummer because he was used to put brushes, beer and whatnot on top of my Polytone!!!! One time he even spilled beer on the amp!!! It is an instrument at all the effects (my instrument, I would add!), not a nightstand or a coffee table!!!

The thing started to get worse when I bought my Nemesis NC210P: what a big surface to be used... "for a picnic"!!! So I built a little wooden tool-block to have the amp inclined some 30 degrees and the issue was cleared by itself...



P.S.: Uh, I was forgetting! Another thing that is reallly effective is the standar vacuum cleaner! Just put its nose around and it will suck the dust...

[haens]

Originally Posted by blackmail man

I've heard people say to be careful of spinning the fan with the compressed air (not really sure why)

Because the fan is made to rotate only in 1 direction and while it still can easily rotate in opposite direction, it is not good for the ball bearing or some other part inside of them so you can destroy them by doing this.

[SBsoundguy]

I'm guilty of putting my drinks on my SKB rotorack. My equipment is always safe though thanks to it.

[Kirk P Brosius]

Hey blackmail (and all),

I've watched, in horror, as disaster has set in many times during my musical career! As a result, I've learned the following:

"NO LIQUID ON 'LETRONICS, EVER"!!! You can quote me.

Later, Kirk

[jgroh]

My LMII has a beer ring or two I admit =) but I it stays nice and clean since I put it in its snuggie-like bag. I throw it on my back like a backpack, grab my bass in one had and my SVT210AV in the other and 3am load outs are eazy G!

[Joe Louvar]

Originally Posted by vin*tone

I carry a samurai sword for when people get near my amp with a beer. It's not a freakin coffee table. }:-<

+1

[BassmanPaul]

You should never use compressed air unless you are under a vacuum hood. Wearing a face mask is also very important. The crud that gathers inside an amp is made up from dust, mites, dead skin cells (not just yours), mould, animal hair, perhaps asbestos from some of the dives we visit and much more. You should not breathe the stuff. Compressed air just makes the stuff airborne. A vacuum cleaner is a much safer tool to use. Use the crevice tool for a more concentrated air flow with a soft new paint brush to eject the more stubborn stuff.

Never ever put beer on top of your amp!!!! A spill could well ruin it and damage your speaker cones if it gets them wet enough.

[will33]

Meh, I put my beer on my amp all the time, never ended up inside of it.

Notice I said MY beer, nobody elses. If it ends up on the inside, it's my fault, nobody elses....hasn't happened yet.

[smcgov]

Originally Posted by BassmanPaul

You should never use compressed air unless your are under a vacuum hood. Wearing a face mask is also very important. The crud that gathers inside an amp is mad up from dust, mites, dead skin cells (not just yours), mould, animal hair, perhaps asbestos from some of the dives we visit and much more. You should not breathe the stuff. Compressed air just makes the stuff airborne. A vacuum cleaner is a much safer tool to use. Use the crevice tool for a more concentrated air flow with a soft new paint brush to eject the more stubborn stuff.

.

good stuff to know, I'd never even thought of that.

I'd like to add, it might be beneficial to spray the pots with some deoxit gold while you've got the hood up.

[Hopkins]

Originally Posted by BassmanPaul

You should never use compressed air unless your are under a vacuum hood. Wearing a face mask is also very important. The crud that gathers inside an amp is mad up from dust, mites, dead skin cells (not just yours), mould, animal hair, perhaps asbestos from some of the dives we visit and much more. You should not breathe the stuff. Compressed air just makes the stuff airborne. A vacuum cleaner is a much safer tool to use. Use the crevice tool for a more concentrated air flow with a soft new paint brush to eject the more stubborn stuff.

Never ever put beer on top of your amp!!!! A spill could well ruin it and damage you speaker cones if it gets them wet enough.

Come on man, gotta give that immune system something to practice on so it stays sharp.

[Bassamatic]

This is a really good idea. The amount of dust that builds up is surprising, and the dust acts as a heat blanket, preventing the parts from cooling properly.

You need to do this with your computer also once a year. I take mine outside and use my air compressor to blow it all out.

[BassmanPaul]

Originally Posted by smcgov

I'd like to add, it might be beneficial to spray the pots with some deoxit gold while you've got the hood up.

Don't fix what ain't broke. If the pots are quiet and operational they need nothing to be done to them. Some contact cleaners other than Deoxit can actually damage the pots permanently.