gk backline 600 started smoking

jaxstarke · #1 11-06-2010, 07:06 AM

was at practice yesterday and my GK backline 600 just started pouring smoke out of the top. still turns on and everything but i'm scared to plug back in. am i screwed? brand new head, maybe 2 months old.

lbwdog · #2 11-06-2010, 07:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaxstarke

am i screwed? brand new head, maybe 2 months old.

Two months old?
IN W-A-R-R-A-N-T-Y?

craig.p · #3 11-06-2010, 07:23 AM

Yep, +1, piece o' cake. Wish all amps failed within the warranty period, and at rehearsal rather than on stage. Count your blessings.

What were the circumstances, if I may ask? Was the amp being overdriven/distorted? What cab(s) was it connected to? I'm interested because I was contemplating buying one somewhere down the road.

shoot-r · #4 11-06-2010, 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lbwdog

Two months old?
IN W-A-R-R-A-N-T-Y?

Big +1...
When any manufacturers head releases the "magic smoke" and is almost new, I'd leave it off and unplugged, (don't want to blow the speakers too,) and use your warranty.

jaxstarke · #5 11-24-2010, 10:25 AM

running thru a GK goldline 4x10. i believe it was the cooling fan that blew out. no overdrive. that head has the most horrible sounding overdrive so i never use it. fan just completely stopped working but the head still works fine.funny thing is that it doesn't get nearly as hot as it used to. fans are cheap and easy to replace. was on another forum and they had a few posts about the fans are notorious for going kaput.

jaxstarke · #6 11-24-2010, 10:27 AM

@ craig p.---if you do decide to get one i would suggest a good EQ to go with it. it's pretty flat sounding outta the box.

craig.p · #7 11-24-2010, 11:10 AM

Thanks, Jax, I'll consider that. I was sort of hoping the tone controls would more or less mimic the ones on my MB200, and would give me roughly the same sound, but maybe not. Guess I'll just have to see. I can always stick my BDDI in front of it or in the effects loop.

I'm a little disturbed at this fan-related issue, though. I thought the bugs would've been worked out of this model by now.

scottbass · #8 11-24-2010, 11:21 AM

DO NOT accept a repair - make them replace it under warranty. Who knows what damage could have occurred during the smoking incident? Just because it works fine now doesn't mean it will continue working fine with a new fan. There could be latent damage that will manifest itself in 2 weeks, 2 months, or 2 minutes after the warranty expires.

jaxstarke · #9 11-25-2010, 04:52 AM

@ craig p. has decent lows and mids but if you slap-n-pop the high-end just isn't there. i just crank the low and highs and still have to do the same with the EQ i have running with it. @scottbass-gonna get in touch with GK soon and see what the deal is. i don't wanna not have an amp for 2-3 months. just wondering how long it would take to get a replacement. i gotta play me some bass......every day. lol

craig.p · #10 11-25-2010, 06:37 AM

Jax, thanks for the details on the tone. I'm all bass and mids (no slap), so I'll probably be okay.

You said the amp "doesn't get nearly as hot as it used to." I've been trying to make sense of that, and the only thing I can think of is that it's probably running a lot hotter internally -- it's just that the heat isn't being exhausted now because the fan's not working. If so, that's not good.

I have a new BL600 still in the box but I'm going to be a good boy and not pop the shipping tape before Christmas. When I do, though, I'm going to pull the cover and scope out that cooling system for sure, including cable routing and connectors. Also whether the fan and temp sensor are something that could be swapped out by the owner, if GK Service would agree to send out the parts. (I've done this with PC and server components -- saves the boys in the shop a lot of time+logistics). This fan related problem could even be something in the power supply giving up, which would account for the smoke. In other words, could be there's one PS output devoted exclusively to fan power, it burned up, and the fan+sensor are still okay. I've worked on literally thousands of servers and mainframes, and I've never seen a fan sensor go south. As for fans, any time one of those has gone south, it's been one with sleeve bearings, and you typically find fans with bearings like that in systems that are built to a price point. But I've never seen a dead fan smoke -- they've always just stopped spinning because the motor can't overcome the ever-increasing bearing drag.

The up side of a two year warranty is that there's a two year warranty. The down side is that I can't mod the cooling system until late 2012. But there's always the option of plopping a muffin fan down on top of the top vent. (I assume air flow is up through that vent.)