Bass amp smells like burnt plastic?

[000laius]

A friend of mine came to me the other day a bit worried because his amp was smelling of burnt plastic. He said it doesn't always happen so I asked him questions. I really don't know if this is a bad thing or not.

Here's the info I have:
This is from a fender rumbler 210 combo. It is fairly new.
The smell is of burning plastic and some of his bandmates sometimes think it smells like rain or moist dirt.
It doesn't always happen and it doesn't seem to be connected with volume since its been played at higher levels with no smell at all. It is usually played with vol. at 12oclock same setting on the bass vol (active bass).
The surrounding is at normal temp usually 70 degrees unless there's a lot of people then it's higher but as far as I've noticed, it has no affect the amps performance.

 

[B-string]

May just be burn off of various solvents and compounds used in manufacture.

 

[beans-on-toast]

Some amps smell when they are new. There is fresh glue and vinyl on the cabinet which can smell. This might be what you are noticing. In a case like this, it would smell all the time although heat from the amp could make it worse. I had a Marshall combo that had a black sealant painted on the inside of the cab that had a pungent chemical like smell for a few months till it cured. Chances are the smell will go with time.

If the smell is strong and you think that something is burning inside the amp chassis, you should have someone check it out as there could be a problem with the amp.

 

[BassmanPaul]

If it's fairly new then there should be a warranty. If this is causing the owner concern he should take it in and have it looked at under that warranty. New equipment can have odd smells as Mr B opined.

 

[JohnMCA72]

Any concern, & under warranty - take it in & be sure! If there's nothing, then there's nothing. If there's something, get it taken care of before it costs you.

 

[ezstep]

^^ Take it in and let them look. If nothing else, you will have documented that something might have been wrong.

 

[000laius]

Thanks all. I'll let him know it's probably nothing but he should get it checked for assurance.