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Damaged - or something else?

Johnny5

Johnny5

Mar 5, 2006
374
1
Calgary, Canada
#1
I played an outdoor gig yesterday and my rig was doing something it has never done before. It would cut out for a split second and I'd get no sound, then it'd come back on like nothing happened, at the original volume. This happened a few times, probably a dozen in total, hardly noticeable I was told from people in the crowd, but I still don't like it. I was up at the mic most of the time so I couldn't really look back to see if the power LED light was going off, so I'm not sure if it had something to do with the power source which the sound people supplied (which was one of those portable generator type things you can buy at a hardware store, but the PA system and my friend's guitar amp were fine, I was the one having problems). I thought it might be my patch cord so I changed it, but it kept happening. Maybe it's the pre-tubes? Or maybe my head doesn't like being transported on it's side? (I have it in a 3 space Gator rack wedged quite nicely in my trunk) I investigated it further when I got home but it seemed to be fine - no cutting out, but then again I was at home practice volume, not anywhere near as loud as gig volume.
Any ideas?
BTW - I play an SVT3-Pro through a 4 ohm Avatar B410 Neo.
Thanks in advance.
 
#2
Johnny5 said:
I played an outdoor gig yesterday and my rig was doing something it has never done before. It would cut out for a split second and I'd get no sound, then it'd come back on like nothing happened, at the original volume. This happened a few times, probably a dozen in total, hardly noticeable I was told from people in the crowd, but I still don't like it. I was up at the mic most of the time so I couldn't really look back to see if the power LED light was going off, so I'm not sure if it had something to do with the power source which the sound people supplied (which was one of those portable generator type things you can buy at a hardware store, but the PA system and my friend's guitar amp were fine, I was the one having problems). I thought it might be my patch cord so I changed it, but it kept happening. Maybe it's the pre-tubes? Or maybe my head doesn't like being transported on it's side? (I have it in a 3 space Gator rack wedged quite nicely in my trunk) I investigated it further when I got home but it seemed to be fine - no cutting out, but then again I was at home practice volume, not anywhere near as loud as gig volume.
Any ideas?
BTW - I play an SVT3-Pro through a 4 ohm Avatar B410 Neo.
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Disclaimer in advance: This is NOT Ampeg bashing.

Could it be thermal shutdown? What was the temperature like? Could your instrument, chord, or pedals be involved? :cool:
 
#5
Disclaimer: Not Ampeg bashing either.

I had a Ampeg SVT-3 Pro with the exact same problems, it'd just cut out sometimes for no reason and kick back on. The only thing I could ever attribute it to is possibly what T-bird said non constant voltage. Sometimes I'd have the problem but then switch to a different outlet or something and it'd go away.
 
#6
Jim Carr said:
Disclaimer in advance: This is NOT Ampeg bashing.

Could it be thermal shutdown? What was the temperature like? Could your instrument, chord, or pedals be involved? :cool:
Click to expand...

It was festival weather I guess, not blazing hot but not chilly, just the usual spring weather. Pretty much room temperature.

Who knows, it could be my bass, I don't think it was my cables because I changed them part way through the set and it kept happening. I didn't use pedals for that gig because there was literally no room (tiny stage, I almost fell off a few times, haha).

It's such an odd thing to happen because my gear never acts up. On one hand I've been transporting my rack/head on it's side in my car, and on the other the extension cord I was plugged into was coming from a crappy little generator. It could be any number of things, or nothing at all. :scowl:
 
#8
I found and fixed that exact problem in a client's active bass. The problem was the battery connector cable not having enough slack to pull the battery all the way out of the box to get a solid connection. One of the two connectors was not snapped in, and only making proximity contact.

I opened the electronics box, snipped the cable tie, and unwound one more loop to allow the battery to come out of its box farther. This let me apply sufficient pressure to get both connectors fully seated.
 
#9
bgavin said:
I found and fixed that exact problem in a client's active bass. The problem was the battery connector cable not having enough slack to pull the battery all the way out of the box to get a solid connection. One of the two connectors was not snapped in, and only making proximity contact.

I opened the electronics box, snipped the cable tie, and unwound one more loop to allow the battery to come out of its box farther. This let me apply sufficient pressure to get both connectors fully seated.
Click to expand...

:eyebrow:
My P Bass isn't active, it's just your run of the mill Highway One. I was actually thinking of getting new cables anyway, so I might as well. The one I'm using right now that connects my head to my cab is a pretty decent 1/4" Monster cable. The one that connects my bass to my head is a piece, that's the one I'm going to replace.
 
#10
Maybe the portable generator was not supplying enough power.
It is possible that your amp requires more power than the PA and guitar amp.

Also, possibly the generator was putting out low voltage and the PA and guitar amps were OK with it, but it tripped your amp's protection circuits.
 
#11
Count one more vote for the generator. Small portables have terrible regulation. Almost anything can momentarily lug one down to the point of having really strange effects on electronic gear. Was anything else being powered by this generator? Or was it exclusive to the stage? Something as small as a smoothie mixer at an outdoor bar can momentarily cause all kinds of havoc.
 

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