Brand new rig turned to smoke

[TheFantod]

i was using a basic 1/4"...

Yikes, if you are referring to a standard instrument cable, that's very likely the problem.

Head/cabs require dedicated speaker cables, not instrument cables. Speaker cables are designed to transmit high power & low impedance, kind of the opposite of instrument cables. Using an instrument cable would most likely make the head overheat, as there's nowhere for that power to go.

There are lots of horror stories about heads getting fried by using the wrong cable. Basically, the wrong cable gets fried, the amp has no speaker load to push all that power, and the amp gets burned out. Hopefully your repair bill won't be catastrophic.

Sorry to break it to you.

 

[Rockman]

great idea ! buy a $500 scope to see what the problem is, then take it to get repaired

Oooh where can I find a reliable useful scope for 500??

 

[bongomania]

Oooh where can I find a reliable useful scope for 500??

Well, of course the other guy was being sarcastic, but you can get a very decent Rigol digital scope for under 500. Check out www.tequipment.net

 

[grendle]

For that application there are several scopes available. Tektronix is king , but there are even pc add ons that use your pc or even your iPhone as a scope now. There's a neat handheld out there that's inexpensive as well.

If your just hunting signals ultra accurate isn't really an issue. All scopes are +/- 1 minor division anyway , but the volt meter functions aren't so good in any of them (as far as DMM's go).

 

[atomicdog]

I have to say that I am not impressed by the SVT's construction.

 

[Alex1984]

I wouldn't blame it on the head just yet. According to my tech, the SVT's mostly good aside from the separate pre and power sections being hard to take apart for repairs.

Anyhow, can you take a picture of the cable? Was the cable hot at all?

 

[bongomania]

I have to say that I am not impressed by the SVT's construction.

Err, it's only the #1 most used backline head in the world, ever. If the construction was poor or unreliable that would not be the case.

Of course they have had some bad years, and not everything that Ampeg has labeled "SVT" is in the same category as the classic all-tube head.

 

[JimmyM]

Err, it's only the #1 most used backline head in the world, ever. If the construction was poor or unreliable that would not be the case.

Exactly. There's nothing in the construction of the SVT that is poor or unreliable.

 

[dbase]

Does Ampeg have a built in smoke machine ...that would be cool.

 

[anderbass]

Its an SVT II non pro

This model had some defects that Ampeg addressed in factory updates. If you search this thread: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/ampeg-svt-ii-appreciation-thread-303286/ for posts from my amp tech (timv) you'll find some important info your amp tech might need.

 

[Jerrold Tiers]

It might be better said that the updates generally made the unit more bulletproof against defective tubes....... but.............

I have a couple sequential service notes on items that may very possibly have been responsible for the smoke..... It is the same update referred to in the above post.

 

[aborgman]

great idea ! buy a $500 scope to see what the problem is, then take it to get repaired

$500 scope? This is freaking audio.

You can pick up a 100MHz analog Tektronix scope for $30-$50 on ebay.

...and it's a good thing to have around if you're into electronics at all.

 

[anderbass]

10-4 Jerrold, your right