Took my amp out of storage and it's FUZZING!

[ARMANii]

Hello all!

I've had a GK Backline112 sitting aside for like 2 years. It worked perfectly before putting away. Plugged it in, fired it up, and it's rattling and fuzzing all nasty. Any suggestions as to what could be wrong, or how to fix it?

[MONOLITHLOUD]

There are a few questions to be taken into consideration here before we can determine what is wrong with your amp:

1. How much moisture was in the storage space?
2. Does the speaker appear to be intact? Does it appear to be dry rotted?
check around the surround and see if it is intact.
3. Does the amp have an external output jack? try it into another speaker if the speaker is questionable.

Many times when you store an amp dust builds up inside the unit: pots could dirty, effects loop jacks (if there are some) could be dirty. There could be signal or coupling caps that have dried out. There could be bad solder connections.

Does the amp crackle on its own (without signal)? If it does, give it a strong bump on top with your fist. Does this change the noise?

If it does, then you have either dirty pots, input or output jacks, effects loop jacks or just a bad solder connection.

[madmatt]

Originally Posted by ARMANii

Hello all!

I've had a GK Backline112 sitting aside for like 2 years. It worked perfectly before putting away. Plugged it in, fired it up, and it's rattling and fuzzing all nasty. Any suggestions as to what could be wrong, or how to fix it?

Sounds like you do not have to invest in that Bass Big Muff now.

Ok but seriously, I have never heard many good things about the Backline stuff. I have no idea what is wrong with yours.

[craig.p]

Yeah, basically you're going to have to pull the thing apart and check EVERYTHING. Loose/corroded contacts, connectors, jacks (don't forget the NC contacts on the effects-in jack, if such a jack exists), pins, etc. Disconnect anything and everything that's disconnectable, check for crud, clean up, and reassemble. It's very easy work, but boring and tedious.

[OneWayPunk]

Does the amp have an effects loop?
If so try running a jumper cable between the two jacks. The switch inside the effects loop jacks get dirty over time and can cause all sorts of sound problems.
If that works clean the jacks with a good contact cleaner like DeOxit and a Q-tip.

[BassmanPaul]

Leaving any amp unpowered for two years will lead to trouble as you have discovered. Dust and moisture settle on pot elements making them noisy. Electrolytic caps degrade making them leaky. Contacts on switches, connectors and relays corrode degrading performance. If you need to store an amp, try and power it up for a few minutes every couple of weeks or so.

[Wes Whitmore]

I stored a cast iron tablesaw in a metal storage facility when I moved out of my old house. Not temp controlled at all. It was an inside hallway unit though. There was enough moisture to cause the iron to rust on the surface.

I would clean the instrument input and efx loops first with a little brush, then dive in deeper if needed. It's an easy start and doesn't cost much. You can try to isolate it to the amp, or a particular section of the amp if you are lucky. Other than that, off to the shop it goes...

Wes

Wes