help with a really old Peavey head?

[BeardMachine]

I've been offered a Peavey Musician 400 Series head for almost nothing.

As awesome as it is for old it is and the shape it's in cosmetically, I may not be able to afford a "paperweight" (for lack of a better word).

It powers on and there's definitely a signal, but it's total fartsville at any volume. I don't mean "classic fuzzy tone" but probably damage your speakers-bad. Aside from how unpleasant it is.

So if I know it's salvagable (and at what cost), I'd love to keep it and bring it back to full life. But if it's gone, I'm gonna have to let it go.

I'd have pics up but I'm having pic-sending issues with my phone.

Any help or advice in any way would be very much appreciated, as I'm sure if I could afford to just take it to someone here in town, I would.

 

[bassmanrocke]

This is a longshot, but sometimes simply cleaning the pots and input/output jacks will help. Buy some contact cleaner(make sure it says plastic safe), remove all the knobs and spray in the pots by the shaft,turn the shafts two or three times, Wait a few minutes then repeat the process. Also spray inside any and all input/output jacks. Work the connections with a cord and repeat. Give it about 5 minutes so all the cleaner can evaporate and check it out. It may make no difference at all, but at about $7 and twenty minutes of your time it is worth a try.

*** make sure the amp is unplugged when doing this.***

 

[BassmanPaul]

This is a longshot, but sometimes simply cleaning the pots and input/output jacks will help. Buy some contact cleaner(make sure it says plastic safe), remove all the knobs and spray in the pots by the shaft,turn the shafts two or three times, Wait a few minutes then repeat the process. Also spray inside any and all input/output jacks. Work the connections with a cord and repeat. Give it about 5 minutes so all the cleaner can evaporate and check it out. It may make no difference at all, but at about $7 and twenty minutes of your time it is worth a try.

*** make sure the amp is unplugged when doing this.***

This does not clean the pots too well. It does however, wash out the lubrication from the pots shaft. The pot will eventually seize.

You need to open the amp and direct your spray into the openings by the connection strips.

Paul

 

[bassmanrocke]

The vast majority of contact cleaners also contains lubricant. In fact, the longer the contact cleaner is worked into the pot the more effective it becomes. Every tech I have ever met frequently applies contact cleaner to the shafts of pots with great effectiveness. It is true that it is possible to clean pots from inside the amp, I didn't think it was a good suggestion considering the difficulty and potential dangers of opening up an amplifier.