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Ampeg SVT II (non pro) 1991
- Thread starter GeezerB
- Start date
could be many things
try the simple stuff first
stick a patch cable in the preamp out/amp in jacks
try cleaning them with contact cleaner maybe
this amp doesn't have any protection so it's probably not actually shutting down? you just losing signal?
try plugging your bass into the amp in jack in the back when the amp start acting up...this will tell you if the problem is in the preamp or power amp section
does it play fine after you turn it off then turn it back on or flip it to standby?
two other things that caused this problem for my svtII (the jacks in the back were once) was a bad preamp tube and then the connector that plugs in to one of the boards coming from the preamp board. the plug had to be re-worked.
btw i could always get sound from the power section when it was acting up so i knew it was something related to the preamp or signal from the preamp...
try the simple stuff first
stick a patch cable in the preamp out/amp in jacks
try cleaning them with contact cleaner maybe
this amp doesn't have any protection so it's probably not actually shutting down? you just losing signal?
try plugging your bass into the amp in jack in the back when the amp start acting up...this will tell you if the problem is in the preamp or power amp section
does it play fine after you turn it off then turn it back on or flip it to standby?
two other things that caused this problem for my svtII (the jacks in the back were once) was a bad preamp tube and then the connector that plugs in to one of the boards coming from the preamp board. the plug had to be re-worked.
btw i could always get sound from the power section when it was acting up so i knew it was something related to the preamp or signal from the preamp...
Might be a tube, might not be. There are ways of checking your tubes, such as subbing out a known working tube of the same type until you find a culprit, but if it works 5 minutes and stops, I'd suspect something else. Best to always take a tube amp into your local tech when you buy one used anyway, just to give it a bill of health.
There are no 'best'. There is best to you and best to me, etc… How about some Sovtek's or JJ's or Tun-Sol's? Fun thing about tube amps is that you can experiment and in doing so alter your sound slightly and in some cases greatly. A side note, I have always found Groove-tubes a bit too hot with their 6550 sets (overdrive at 3!). GEs would be and have been great when I had my 72' SVT but they seem super expensive nowadays. I used GE's back in 1991.
