Korg Multi Effects help

[zeppelinfreak]

So a while ago, I had the Korg AXB 3000? The big red one with 4 pedals. So one day, I plug it in, and it starts making this really loud whine, and it starts going up (like a flanger), and I knew it wasnt good, so I unplugged it as fast as I could. And then when I tried to plug it back in, it wouldnt turn on.

I saw it sitting down in my basement this morning, and I finally got the hindsight to ask about it here!

So I was just wondering, is it fixable, if it is, can I do it myself, and if I cant, how much would it cost to fix.

Note that when I got it, I was 12 and was cocky enough to not get the warranty, so I think customer service is out of the question.

[bongomania]

If you are positive you are using the correct power supply for it, and you are positive there is nothing wrong with the wall outlet you're plugging into, then the Korg is probably toast. Failures like that IME usually involve IC chips burning out or other issues that are not easy to fix. OTOH it could be just one specific chip, or one component that sacrificed itself before it could damage the chips, so you could be lucky. It is probably not something you can fix yourself. Most repair shops charge between $30 and $75 USD per hour ($45 per hour is pretty common) and there is usually a one-hour minimum just for them to look at at. If they are able to identify the problem in one hour, then order in the correct replacement chips (I'm guessing at that), then put it all back together, you might be looking at as little as $80 total (ballpark). If it takes them longer to diagnose, and several different parts got damaged, especially if the circuitboard is all micro-components where they'd probably have to order a whole new motherboard, you could be looking at $200, $300, something like that.

In your position I'd take it in and tell the guy "look, I don't really want to spend a lot of money on this. If it looks like this will cost more than X amount, stop working on it."

[zeppelinfreak]

Originally Posted by bongomania

If you are positive you are using the correct power supply for it, and you are positive there is nothing wrong with the wall outlet you're plugging into, then the Korg is probably toast. Failures like that IME usually involve IC chips burning out or other issues that are not easy to fix. OTOH it could be just one specific chip, or one component that sacrificed itself before it could damage the chips, so you could be lucky. It is probably not something you can fix yourself. Most repair shops charge between $30 and $75 USD per hour ($45 per hour is pretty common) and there is usually a one-hour minimum just for them to look at at. If they are able to identify the problem in one hour, then order in the correct replacement chips (I'm guessing at that), then put it all back together, you might be looking at as little as $80 total (ballpark). If it takes them longer to diagnose, and several different parts got damaged, especially if the circuitboard is all micro-components where they'd probably have to order a whole new motherboard, you could be looking at $200, $300, something like that.

In your position I'd take it in and tell the guy "look, I don't really want to spend a lot of money on this. If it looks like this will cost more than X amount, stop working on it."

My luthier (does electronics too) charges by the job, not the hour. Which is very nice. I was using the power source that came with the board, and Ive tried other power sources in other outlets to see if it would work. No luck. I guess Ill just see if I can get it fixed?

But theres absolutely no way I can fix it myself?

[bongomania]

How the hell do I know? I'm not there looking at it. You open it up and tell me whether you can fix it.

[zeppelinfreak]

Originally Posted by bongomania

How the hell do I know? I'm not there looking at it. You open it up and tell me whether you can fix it.

Cause I dont really have a lot of experience with the inner workings of pedals, and even if I did open it up, I wouldnt even know what to look for.

[bongomania]

That pretty much answers your question.

[zeppelinfreak]

Originally Posted by bongomania

That pretty much answers your question.

So as someone who is well learned in the world of effects, if you were to open the board up, what would you be looking for.

[uaudio]

I think what Bongo is trying to say is, it might be more expensive to fix then to just replace. They are like $200 brand new. A digital multi effects is a signal processor. It essentially is a computer running some software. Diagnosing it on the internet is nearly impossible. And if you open it up your best case scenario is you see the circuit board all fried, which will be easy to diagnose, but result in the same replacement.

Not saying its impossible to fix, just probably time consuming.

Take it to your guy, but understand its not your typical 'guitar electronics' like pickups or pots. Be prepared for him to say he doesn't know how to fix it.

[zeppelinfreak]

Originally Posted by uaudio

I think what Bongo is trying to say is, it might be more expensive to fix then to just replace. They are like $200 brand new. A digital multi effects is a signal processor. It essentially is a computer running some software. Diagnosing it on the internet is nearly impossible. And if you open it up your best case scenario is you see the circuit board all fried, which will be easy to diagnose, but result in the same replacement.

Not saying its impossible to fix, just probably time consuming.

Take it to your guy, but understand its not your typical 'guitar electronics' like pickups or pots. Be prepared for him to say he doesn't know how to fix it.

No, the guy really is also an electronics dude. Like, he actually fixes pedals and amps. Not just pups, and wiring in guitars and such.

But as a learning experience, what should I be looking for as I open the board?

[ashtray]

Look for something that looks fried. And watch out for very small pieces, stuff spring loaded in to place, etc that could fall off as you try to open it up. It's quite possible you unscrew everything and it still doesn't open b/c maybe *maybe* there's some pieces that snap together. But knowing if they snap together, or are glued, or maybe you missed one screw... well - that could mean the difference in ever getting it back together again.

I'd look for a used one on ebay or something if you still want the same model. There's a new small unit out now for like $50 at Musicians Friend made by Korg I think. Probably won't sound good, but I was thinking of picking it up just to mess around with the effects at home.

[zeppelinfreak]

Originally Posted by ashtray

Look for something that looks fried. And watch out for very small pieces, stuff spring loaded in to place, etc that could fall off as you try to open it up. It's quite possible you unscrew everything and it still doesn't open b/c maybe *maybe* there's some pieces that snap together. But knowing if they snap together, or are glued, or maybe you missed one screw... well - that could mean the difference in ever getting it back together again.

I'd look for a used one on ebay or something if you still want the same model. There's a new small unit out now for like $50 at Musicians Friend made by Korg I think. Probably won't sound good, but I was thinking of picking it up just to mess around with the effects at home.

When you say fried, do you mean like, literally? As in burnt and melted?

[uaudio]

The only possible way you could diagnose it yourself is to actually see something broken off the board, or charred - like it shorted out. But where does that leave you? Replacing the unit.

If it was me, personally, I'd do what Bongo said. Take it to the guy. Tell him to take a look. Have him give you an estimate to FIX it. If it was more than like $50, I'd probably think it was good money after bad, and wind up staying far away from low end multi effects units for the rest of my life.

[zeppelinfreak]

Assuming it cant be fixed, whats a good replacement?

Keep in mind, pedal boards arent crucial to my tone, and I can play without them. But I like being able to switch tones without playing with my eq, and I use the amp modeling a lot.