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AG700 - Clipping like crazy!
- Thread starter CatDaddyOTB
- Start date
I remember pre-Korg when you'd get kind, thoughtful responses from Aguilar reps. No more!!! The response (or lack thereof) was one of the final nails in the coffin for me. Definitely not impressed with the new vibe/aesthetic/offerings from Aguilar, and I couldn't be happier with my EICH T-1000. Best of luck to you my friend!!
Thank you both. My AG700 is toast. The "smoke escaped the box" the other night during a show. Preceded by clipping, and I always run my gain down at zero. I got six good years out of it so I probably shouldn't complain, but the clipping issue has always been prevalent.
I'm currently working through Korg. They gave me two local DC/Baltimore area authorized repair centers, one of which isn't accepting any new work due to being backlogged. Silly me, had hoped I could just send it back to Aguilar in New York to get it fixed. Sigh...
I'm currently working through Korg. They gave me two local DC/Baltimore area authorized repair centers, one of which isn't accepting any new work due to being backlogged. Silly me, had hoped I could just send it back to Aguilar in New York to get it fixed. Sigh...
- Feb 12, 2006
- 60,988
- 5
- 220,786
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
I'm going to take advantage of this post if the OP doesn't mind since it's related.
Today, while rehearsing with the AG700 and one Orange OCB112 cab 8 Ohms (I used to play with a couple) along with a Sire V3, I had a terrible experience playing. At a very moderate volume (about 30%) and the gain almost rolled all the way down the lower notes produced a strong pop and rattling sound that looks more like an explosion, as if a speaker cone was broken, but only with those lower notes on the fourth string. When I cut the bass frequencies in both amp and bass, the issue disappeared, but I lost all the body in the sound. Deep button disengaged and no effects, by the way.
When I got home, I tested it again, and the same thing happened. Then, I decided to press the -10dB pad (never used with this bass), and the problem was completely gone, I could crank up the volume and bass gain as much as I wanted, even to an extreme level.
From this, I can infer that too much signal was hitting the power amp, so there was no clipping in the preamp.
Has anyone experienced this with this or any other amp? It could be same kind a saturation on the power amp? This is the first time I've encountered something like this.
Today, while rehearsing with the AG700 and one Orange OCB112 cab 8 Ohms (I used to play with a couple) along with a Sire V3, I had a terrible experience playing. At a very moderate volume (about 30%) and the gain almost rolled all the way down the lower notes produced a strong pop and rattling sound that looks more like an explosion, as if a speaker cone was broken, but only with those lower notes on the fourth string. When I cut the bass frequencies in both amp and bass, the issue disappeared, but I lost all the body in the sound. Deep button disengaged and no effects, by the way.
When I got home, I tested it again, and the same thing happened. Then, I decided to press the -10dB pad (never used with this bass), and the problem was completely gone, I could crank up the volume and bass gain as much as I wanted, even to an extreme level.
From this, I can infer that too much signal was hitting the power amp, so there was no clipping in the preamp.
Has anyone experienced this with this or any other amp? It could be same kind a saturation on the power amp? This is the first time I've encountered something like this.
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The EQ is very reactive on the AG700 and I think some people tend to overwhelm the preamp. When I 1st got my AG700 V1, I used the "magic buttons" all the time but I later discovered that they may be too much boost with a high output bass. I now tend to use them sparingly in lower volume situations and rather depend on the 4 band EQ in louder scenarios.
I think it's a great amp!
To add to this thread, I have also recently acquired the original AG700. I’m seeing the same issue. It doesn’t matter how low the input gain is there is only about 50W (guessing) worth of output I can get out of it before clipping sets in. Yes I have tried all the tricks to rule in/out any other parts of the signal chain. I’m guessing this is either a common fault with this amp or a design flaw. So far this has been fine for practices but it probably means this head is not gig worthy.
Sorry to hear of the 700 issues. I’ve got an AG500SC that’s been my main gig rig until recently as well as the rehearsal space rig. It did have a ground issue several years ago. As I recall, it was making a popping noise. I was able to send it to them in NYC, which was great. They got it back to me in a week or so better than before. Otherwise, it’s been rock solid going on 10 + years now and I got it used from GC.
Yes it is like a pop when the clipping kicks in. I can reproduce this with a passive bass directly into the amp. It sounds like this is something that is repairable, I’ll look at ways to send it in for repair. It is certainly motivating me to find another amp head as a backup which is probably my next move.
