My amp quit working and that makes me a sad panda.

azfryguy · #1 03-07-2011, 01:29 PM

It is a combo 2x10 Kustom 600 watt Groove bass amp. Last night I was at band practice and it just died . There was no loud pop or crackle its as if someone just turned it off. I took it home and tried through different outlets,chords and basses and still no sound. The head has an off/on and clip led light and those are both on. If I hit the strings hard it says it is clipping but no sound to the speakers. What are some common soultions for this problem? I am very mad at this P.O.S amp and want to get rid off it for a new one.

craig.p · #2 03-07-2011, 01:56 PM

Try powering up WITHOUT a speaker connected, and see if the amp powers up normally, on the chance that one or both the speakers in the cab got toasted and are now presenting the "wrong" impedance to the amp. (I know... Kustom says this is a discrete output stage, but they still might be doing an impedance sanity check at power-up.)

If that doesn't work, and assuming it's past its warranty period, about all you can do is pop the head out of the cab, pull the cover, and look inside its guts for any plugs/connectors that might've come unseated. It actually wouldn't hurt to unplug and plug back in every connector you can find, one at a time.

If still no joy, then I think it's time for a tech to look at it. Or if you don't think the amp's worth the potential repair cost, you could leave the Kustom head out of the unit, get a cheap used head, and run that into the internal speakers. This is assuming the speakers are still good and DIDN'T cause the Kustom head to fall on its face, which may or may not be the case.

BillyB_from_LZ · #3 03-07-2011, 03:52 PM

I looked at the manual online...is the Mute switch pushed in?

Have you tried using a short instrument cable to jumper the effects send and return jacks? Sometimes those things get dirty/corroded and interrupt the signal.

Do you use a footswitch with your amp for mute/solo? I once had a Hartke HA4000 that had weird issues with the mute function and traced it down to a dirty footswitch jack.

azfryguy · #4 03-07-2011, 06:02 PM

haha no It was not the mute haha funny story about that though for a different day. I have not used the switch cause it just garbage. I pulled out the head and looked and nothing looked fried or broke every connection was tight but my brother said he will look at it he is an airplane mechanic

BillyB_from_LZ · #5 03-08-2011, 06:36 AM

Have you tried jumpering the effects send and return jacks?

Have you tried it with another speaker system?

Since it's a combo, did you look at the speaker wiring within the cabinet to see if a quick-connect terminal (or similar) worked itself loose?

Also, try running a 1/4 in. plug in and out of the footswitch jack a few times...

Can you post a photo of the inside of the amp chassis?

odie · #6 03-08-2011, 06:45 AM

Did you check the fuse on the amp? Did you try a different power outlet?

Downunderwonder · #7 03-08-2011, 07:00 AM

Either the cable or the bass is where I'd be looking first. I'm no electrical engineer.

tdub0199 · #8 03-08-2011, 07:03 AM

sounds like a fuse....

BillyB_from_LZ · #9 03-08-2011, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by odie

Did you check the fuse on the amp? Did you try a different power outlet?

The drawing of the rear of the amp in the manual shows a circuit breaker...and he wrote that LEDs do come on, so it's not the main overcurrent protection.

One of the reasons I asked for a photo of the chassis was to see if there are any internal fuses...