I'm new to playing bass (3 months) but old (53) so not to naive/stupid but anyways I bought a Acoustic combo amp 6210, 600 watts, used/good condition. I thought it was a good deal, but shortly maybe 2 hrs tops it starts cutting out, a little then a lot to where now it barely plays. So the lights come on and all is normal its like the mute button is messing up but its not, I've jiggled everything. Here's what I do know, I'm so green I didn't know there was a difference between input and speaker cables and used input cables for everything for the first 2 hrs I used the amp. What should I do, is this a boat anchor or is it worth getting looked at? Any advise would be great, Thanks, Redline
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Acoustic amp cutting out
- Thread starter RedlinrGM
- Start date
Is it getting hot ?? does it come back on after cooling off ( 30 min or so ) YEs instrument cables are NOT speaker cables use speaker cables for speakers . It could be shutting down because over heating try wiggling all switches.
- Feb 12, 2006
- 61,010
- 5
- 220,847
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
Return it, presuming you bought it with at least some form of warranty.
Poking around isn’t going to fix it, and will give the seller a (good) reason to assume you screwed it up attempting to do something you shouldn’t.
Poking around isn’t going to fix it, and will give the seller a (good) reason to assume you screwed it up attempting to do something you shouldn’t.
The amp in question is a Guitar Center Acoustic brand; in particular it's a 2 x 10" combo with a 600 watt Class D amp section.
GC Acoustics have a five year warranty but I don't believe they have ANY kind of factory service program. The idea was if the amp failed you took it back to GC and they gave you another amp.
Well the problem these days with that scenario is the brand is circling the drain. Current bass amp product is limited to two Class D heads and five of the older, non-class D combos, and a conventional (non-neo) 4 x 10" cabinet.
I bought one of their Class D heads a year ago (a B300HD) because the price was crazy good; $200.
At the time I was interested in picking up one of the neo single 12" cabs to go with the head but they seemed to not be available. I emailed Acoustic a couple of times and was told the neo cabs were all gone with no plans to replace them. All they had left was the non-neo 4 x 10". I see now even the 1,000 watt Class D head (B1000HD) is no longer available for the past six months or so.
To summarize the OP is kinda boned, it will be hard to get the amp checked out or serviced and even if he had bought it new, then he would have to get GC store credit or accept one of the non-class D combos.
I'm not particularly concerned about my head (it has been solid so far) but if it fails, it goes in the trash.....I didn't pay much for it and realized at the time I was buying into a dead/dying brand.
I suspect once GC gets rid of the existing stock the brand will quietly slip under the waves....
Analogeezer
Didn't the amp come with the stock speaker cable?
Yes using an instrument cable (shielded) could have caused the problem, if you try an actual speaker cable and it still does not work.....well you have a boat anchor.
I say this because the GC Acoustic brand is circling the drain, even if you had bought new with a warranty that amp is no longer in production so they could not replace it with a like amp.
To my knowledge there is no authorized service for GC Acoustic brand stuff, you just took it to the GC and they gave you a replacement.
What did you pay for it (if you don't mind me asking)? If it was cheap enough you might have a tech look at it but if the problem is major, parts and even a schematic out of Acoustic will be a problem.
Sorry this CL purchase bit you, better luck next time.
Analogeezer
- Feb 12, 2006
- 61,010
- 5
- 220,847
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
You need to find a real, qualified tech to sort this out for you.
At the same time? So you had the internal speakers of the amp running and an external cabinet hooked up to it?
What kind of cabinet was the second cabinet, do you know the impedance of that cabinet?
I looked it up and the internal speaker load of your combo is eight ohms, but the amp is rated to only go down to four ohms.
If your external cabinet was a four ohm cabinet (it SHOULD say on the back) then you took the amp below four ohms and yes after two hours it would damage the amp.
While not optimal lots of people have plugged shielded instrument cables into speaker jacks for years, sometimes it works ok, sometimes not.
But I am betting your problem was more an impedance load too low for the amp section to handle.
Analogeezer
Probably not worth the trouble, here it is right from their own FAQ:
Can I get replacement parts for my Acoustic amplifier?
Replacement parts are not currently offered for our amplifiers.
I'll ask you straight up, if your shop was a general shop and not restricted to repairing specific brands (I believe you only do authorized service for Genz-Benz based on your sig), would you take on the repair of an amp for which the company did not offer parts?
They suggest contacting them about service or repair but I seriously doubt they have an actual service department and if they did? Well no parts so what exactly would they do?
Welcome to the modern world where a lot of newer gear is like TV's; you just throw it away when it is broken, no parts, no support, no service and techs will not want to touch the stuff.
Analogeezer
There is plenty of service out there. You're not helping here.
Did you READ my post #12?
DIRECT from the Acoustic Amplification website FAQ:
Can I get replacement parts for my Acoustic amplifier?
Replacement parts are not currently offered for our amplifiers.
If service is out there, but they can't get parts then what exactly do they do? They charge the checkout fee (which they are entitled to for doing the checkout work) and give it back to the customer.
A lot of shops have a "no Behringer, no Mackie repairs" for this exact reason.
Gear repair joints are dying off, that is the reality. A lot of modern gear is not worth repairing and even if you can get the parts, the parts and repair exceed the value of the unit.
The only COMPETENT Shop left in the large urban area I have to go to for gear service? They actually pay the bills by doing restoration and repairs on high end stereo stuff and vintage receivers. I had the owner actually tell me he would have to close the business if they only had to depend on repairing music and PA gear.
Twenty years ago there were 7 or 8 shops around that repaired music and PA/recording gear. Now it is down to two and one of them sucks badly.
I'll give you an actual example of gear not worth repairing: I bought a BRAND NEW TC Electronic M-One XL effects processor. Paid $350 for it. Used it for two lightweight gigs (ran sound for a coffee shop duo) and used it at my house a handful of times.
Then one day I went to cut it on and it would not boot up.
Took it to THE local shop which is authorized service for TC. I was told it needed a new circuit board (the existing one had a crack), which was $175, and the cost of the repair was $125. Even in MINT condition (which it was) it was worth $200, $250 tops.
In terms of resale value, GC Acoustic stuff is down there with Behringer, which is why the guy bought a $600 combo for $250. Now it's broken and if it turns out to even be fixable (doubtful with no parts support) the cost of repair will equal or exceed the value of the amp.
Analogeezer
You are in SoCal, so SURE there are a plethora of shops around to go to. Not sure where the OP lives but my closest shops are 65 miles away, in a large urban area of around 3 million people and there are now only two of them, and one totally sucks.
Hell in SoCal I bet you can even still find someone to fix a TV LOL
Analogeezer
Yes at the same time, the amp was plugged into itself and the other output jack on the back of the amp I plugged it into a 8ohm 15'' Acoustic cab. From what I understand would give me the full 600 watts. I just mentioned using an instrument cable instead of a speaker cable because its the only thing I thought I did wrong. Now finding out its probably not the reason its cutting out. It looks like maybe the seller somehow knew it was going bad and sold it. live and learn it was $275 and I still have the cab. I just put another head in it, but I'll only buy quality brands form now on. I did call Acoustic and they don't repair the amps. I was just asking because I'm new to the sport and didn't know if these amps where disposable or maybe someone had the same problem. Thanks for the input I now know better. Redline
- Feb 12, 2006
- 61,010
- 5
- 220,847
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
A qualified service tech would likely have no problem repairing this even if some parts are no longer available. It's customary for the company not to provide commonly available parts, and a good tech will have access to a variety of suitable parts and vendors.
I only service Genz Benz these days, my choice.
I have an Acoustic B100C.
I bought the B100C because when I got started in the 70s, Acoustic was one of the "in" brands. Acoustic went out of business. I don't know the origin of the current company, but I read multiple places it is not the same company from my youth. Getting back into bass last year - for "grins and giggles" - I was looking for something on the cheaper side.
Per posts above, repair options do not seem favorable.
I bought the B100C because when I got started in the 70s, Acoustic was one of the "in" brands. Acoustic went out of business. I don't know the origin of the current company, but I read multiple places it is not the same company from my youth. Getting back into bass last year - for "grins and giggles" - I was looking for something on the cheaper side.
Per posts above, repair options do not seem favorable.
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