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Double Bass Acoustic Image amp repair

J

JBarz

Supporting Member
Mar 6, 2015
1,970
3,272
#1
Welp, dang it, I guess I'm the first that needs to figure this out now that we're on our own for AI amp repair... Any help at all would be super appreciated.

I let my AI Focus 2 (second generation) get over-heated last night - thermal overload, oh no!

After I opened it up last night and let it cool down, everything seemed alright. Worked ok this morning briefly, then all of a sudden crapped out.

Now, when I turn it on I hear a "click" every 6 seconds or so and it won't 'turn over'.... The light is on and power is flowing, but something ain't right.

I'm sure it's an easy fix, like just a bad cap or something, but upon visual inspection everything seems ok.

Anyone have any sage wisdom? @FUCHSAUDIO, feel like being the defacto legacy bass amp repair guys?
 
#2
JBarz said:
Welp, dang it, I guess I'm the first that needs to figure this out now that we're on our own for AI amp repair... Any help at all would be super appreciated.

I let my AI Focus 2 (second generation) get over-heated last night - thermal overload, oh no!

After I opened it up last night and let it cool down, everything seemed alright. Worked ok this morning briefly, then all of a sudden crapped out.

Now, when I turn it on I hear a "click" every 6 seconds or so and it won't 'turn over'.... The light is on and power is flowing, but something ain't right.

I'm sure it's an easy fix, like just a bad cap or something, but upon visual inspection everything seems ok.

Anyone have any sage wisdom? @FUCHSAUDIO, feel like being the defacto legacy bass amp repair guys?
Click to expand...

Hey @zootsaxes , we'd certainly be up to take a look. It's frustrating to me that (just like with Walter Woods, Howard Dumble and Polytone), the Acoustic Image folks have no interest in letting someone take care of their legacy. If they were willing, we would take this on. It's easier with documentation, but if you want to ship it in, we'll have a look. That's how it started with the other amps, and we had good luck with them.
 
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#4
Sorry to see/hear this, zoot, but I guess maybe this might help get the ball rolling on an issue that a lot of us are sure to face going forward.

I appreciate that Rick Jones' estate might need time to consider options for the intellectual property that Rick left behind. But supporting the AI user base is something that Rick -- almost above all other manufacturers -- took seriously and, I imagine, took pride in. It'd sure be nice if that vibe could "live on," somehow.

I'm sure we'd all be grateful for ongoing support of some kind.
 
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#5
I'm pretty sure it'd make everyone's jobs easier if they released the repair schematics for the gear online. Eventually, at any rate. I had kinda hoped to up my game and learn how to repair this one myself, but without any sort of road-map, I lack the experience to track down the faulty 2c piece. It's in the power amp section (preamp is fine), and it might have been from a frayed speakon cable shorting out. I'm pretty sure Fuchs'll do me right - I'm going to ship it out next week. Rick had 'modernized' it a couple years ago, so it's shouldn't be too bad.
 
#7
Both fuses look good. I was really hot and bothered by that magic amp crapping out yesterday, but now I'm not too worried about it (thank goodness!). To be honest, I've been looking for an excuse to buy one of the last NOS big bad Clarus amps with the dual parallel inputs from Gollihur's. I thought I had missed my window, but I called and they had just got a shipment of 5 more in moments before. I took the hint from the conscious universe and shan't look back (until it's time to pay the credit card bills -- PS, don't tell my wife!). I figure if something has that much power to turn my world upside down by crapping out, I need to have a back-up, anyway. Now, time to hustle up enough work to justify the expense.
 
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#8
I was doing the exact same thing, looking at the 2 channel Clarus! I have one of the last Clarus SL1 channel amps, and am thinking of trying to blend in a mic, but my new Yamahiko pickup arrived yesterday and going on today with Joey Naeger, so I'm going to see where I land with this first, since so many people are happy with using this pickup by itself!
Please report back on your new AI amp!
 
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#9
I feel fortunate my Coda 2 channel has been a reliable partner for the last couple of years. When I got it, it blew me away with the sound it produced both for electric BG and acoustic upright and I just recently changed the Speakon cable connector and had it serviced by Ric a month or so before he passed. Crossing my fingers it lives on for a while longer. It has a 2001 build date and now that I’m retired, I want to keep my sign that says, “Work for plane tickets” instead of “Work for new amp”.
 
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#13
I doubt that Walter Woods would have built his amps if he needed to make schematics and service hints available to the public.

But to have them from the beginning at a notary who needs to open them up if servicing has stopped for more than a year would be a solution for that.
The problem is that no one can check in advance if the papers at the notary are really the correct schematics and servicing information for that device.

Larger companies typically make schematics and service manuals available for repair companies on request for a fee.
In Germany there was the ‘Schaltungsdienst Lange’ in Berlin (if I remember correctly) for that.
 
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#15
Sean Riddle said:
I do hope Rick Jone’s family will at least make the repair schematics available for reference. My Clarus SL-2 and Doubleshot are doing great and I plan on keeping them for a long time, so hopefully us AI users and will have the ability to get our gear repaired in the future.
Click to expand...

I reached out them, hoping for a positive response.
 
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#16
Matt Power said:
I know you already have your amp design set up at Fuchs Audio....AI has their wonderful HP filter. Are you ever considering implementing one onboard your new units?
Click to expand...

Funny you should mention it. All four models have a phase-correct, sharp cutoff HPF that kicks in at 18 hz. Drops like a stone below that. Minimal cone motion when the amp is driven hard.
 
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#17
I heard back from the Fuchs people, who were awesome. They basically said that the amp is essentially 'fuch'd' (they make the puns too easy) as it is. A bunch of little components and parts need to be replaced. It can be repaired, but it is cost prohibitive - essentially totaling the amp. They wanted to waive the bench fee and only charge me for return shipping, but I'm going to see if they wouldn't mind charging me a little and just marking the pieces that need to be replaced on the schematic (that AI provided! Apparently they're going to release them all on the internet. Best case scenario!). I might try my hand at DIY repairing it to cut costs. I've made some microphones and preamps and recapped stuff, but that's the extent of my limited skills with a soldering iron and multimeter, so here's to hoping it's within my skill-set. I do love a good passion project.

But, let me reiterate : the Fuchs folks are super cool and I very much appreciate their help. Thanks guys.
 
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#18
JBarz said:
I heard back from the Fuchs people, who were awesome. They basically said that the amp is essentially 'fuch'd' (they make the puns too easy) as it is. A bunch of little components and parts need to be replaced. It can be repaired, but it is cost prohibitive - essentially totaling the amp. They wanted to waive the bench fee and only charge me for return shipping, but I'm going to see if they wouldn't mind charging me a little and just marking the pieces that need to be replaced on the schematic (that AI provided! Apparently they're going to release them all on the internet. Best case scenario!). I might try my hand at DIY repairing it to cut costs. I've made some microphones and preamps and recapped stuff, but that's the extent of my limited skills with a soldering iron and multimeter, so here's to hoping it's within my skill-set. I do love a good passion project.

But, let me reiterate : the Fuchs folks are super cool and I very much appreciate their help. Thanks guys.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the nod. We did our best. We actually now KNOW what's wrong, but like any repair if the repair would likely exceed replacement and/or the present value of the unit, it doesn't pay. It's an interesting switch mode power supply and class-D amp design. One channel of the two (it's a bridged mono configuration), is toasted. Many of the parts are smaller than a grain of rice, and although we do repair some SMD stuff, again, time and part cost made it non viable. My guy had it figured out in a few minutes, but gave it last rites even quicker...lol.

I will give a shout-out to Chris (Rick's son) from AI. He sent schematics quickly, and that's to be commended.
 
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#19
FUCHSAUDIO said:
Thanks for the nod. We did our best. We actually now KNOW what's wrong, but like any repair if the repair would likely exceed replacement and/or the present value of the unit, it doesn't pay.
Click to expand...
We’ll, that’s sort of the thing for some of us, it’s a hard amp to REPLACE. The S4+ has the best sound with my mic of anything I’ve played through, even using the EDB-2 with the Woods (which is non functioning now). So having it cost more to repair than buying another class D that doesn’t have the features or the sound isn’t really a deal breaker…
 
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#20
For Andy Fuchs:
I am heading out Nov 12 as the house bassist for a Princess cruise ship...I would love to take one of these along for the ride for that gig! Is delivery possible by then?
Also, regarding the HPF...awesome to know it is onboard, but a HPF that is player-variable would be awesome! My Clarus is always set around 38 hz, but sometimes I have to vary it slightly.
I DO love the look of and the quality of the components of the new Fuchs gear!
 

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