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Ashdown troubles...... help please.

Bassbubble11

Bassbubble11

Apr 15, 2010
1,255
936
Long Island, New York
#1
Hello folks, I have an Ashdown Electric Blue 180-15 combo amp that has recently started crapping out.

When I plug in and turn it on it works fine. After a few minutes it starts crapping out. At first it will start to sputter a little bit. What's strange is that if I pluck the string lightly I will get nothing but if I dig in it will work. After awhile longer it starts not working at all.

There is a VU meter for the input level and there is also a knob to control the input level. They are working fine. I am getting input to the amp whether it is outputting or not.

I tried changing the speaker outputs (there are 2) and the same thing happens...... it craps out.

Does anyone have any Idea what could be the cause of my problems?
 
#2
bad power supply caps or faulty component that heats up quickly and starts to drag down the supply voltage as it heats up. so far a quick read on the net said op amps start to fail. still works at startup then slowly or quickly dies. bad op amp starts to heat up and drags 15 volt supply rail to 3volts.
 
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#3
Thanks for the reply BogeyBass. I guess I need to bring it to an amp tech. Sounds like an expensive fix. I wonder if it is an easy diagnosis for a tech to do.

It's not an expensive amp but it sounds great and is much easier to drag around than my other amp (especially at small gigs).
 
#5
I narrowed it down to the speaker. I yanked the head out of the cab hooked the speaker up to another head.

After a playing for a few minutes......... same thing.

The speaker does sound a little scratchy from the get go and then it just stops working.

Could the speaker or a component of the speaker be broken/blown? Should I just replace the speaker?
 
#6
Bassbubble11 said:
I narrowed it down to the speaker. I yanked the head out of the cab hooked the speaker up to another head.

After a playing for a few minutes......... same thing.

The speaker does sound a little scratchy from the get go and then it just stops working.

Could the speaker or a component of the speaker be broken/blown? Should I just replace the speaker?
Click to expand...
too bad it wasn't an OPamp, that would have been a cheap fix.

You can usually get the speaker reconed for half what a new one costs. Done right it is essentially a new speaker as all the moving and soft parts are replaced.
 
#7
Downunderwonder said:
too bad it wasn't an OPamp, that would have been a cheap fix.

You can usually get the speaker reconed for half what a new one costs. Done right it is essentially a new speaker as all the moving and soft parts are replaced.
Click to expand...

Do speakers act the way I am describing when they need to be reconed?

I just don't want to get it reconed to find out it is something else that is wrong with the speaker.
 
#8
Bassbubble11 said:
Do speakers act the way I am describing when they need to be reconed?

I just don't want to get it reconed to find out it is something else that is wrong with the speaker.
Click to expand...
very little can go wrong with a speaker without it becoming a recone situation. The way they are put together makes partial disassembly a non starter. Certainly scratching followed by stopping qualifies. I suppose a tinsel lead could be coming loose but unlikely.
 

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