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major svt 4 pro problems!!!

R

rcroach

Dec 21, 2010
17
0
#1
i got a ampeg svt 4 pro about 5 years ago for christmas and have had major problems with it for the last 3 years. im actually on my second one after ampeg agreed to replace the first one free of charge as it was under warranty. my current svt 4 makes this clicking sound when i turn it on. the signal cuts in and out as it is making this rapid clicking noise. it first started doing it at a gig we had outdoors in late fall about 3 years ago. i gave it to my local music shop for repairs and they in turn sent it to a authorized ampeg repair guy. after about 3 weeks the guy called me and said my amp had "catastrophic" failure but he didnt tell me what exactly it was that failed. i then called ampeg and they sent me a brand new one. the new one after about 6 months started doing the same thing at another gig we had. when it first started my drummer reached over and slapped the top of it and it started to work again. for about 3 months you could slap it and the clicking would stop but now it "clicks" constantly and is completly unplayable. i gave it to a neighbor that has been working on musical equipment for about 20 years to see if he could repair it. he actually thought he had fixed and gave it back to me. it worked for 2 practices then i took it to another gig and it started doing the same damn thing as soon as i turned it on. needless to say i had to borrow another bass players amp from one of the bands we were playing with that night. i dont have enough money to buy another amp and have since resorted to using the amp on my fender combo to power my mesa 8x10 at practice and at gigs. my band is becoming increasingly less patient with me, someone please help me. thank you and god bless, AARON.
p.s - have a merry christmas!!!
 
#3
Sounds like tehre is some sort of DC offset problem that they are having these days.....

The clicking would probably be the output relays, that are there to save the speakers from damage if the amp goes DC etc. The only part that I can figure would cause that is the DC detector.... but not if both channels are doing it... it's unlikely both are bad in same way at same time.

It's possible the real problem is in the 15V power supply, IF both channels do it at the same time. Maybe nobody looked there.

The good news is that once ID'd and fixed, the amp should work well. You need a somewhat creative and intelligent tech.... who has the schematics. (if you need them, I have PDFs.)
 
#4
if u have the schematics that would be awesome. ill be doing some searches to see if i cant find them myself, if not ill be sure to hit you up. speaking of relays, that is exactly what my guitar player said he thinks it might be. the one thing i havent done with the amp is actually send it back to ampeg. ive sent it to a local guy here who is supposedly authorized to repair them and ive sent it to my neighor. im willing to pay for the repairs i just dont have enough to buy another amp. the svt 4 is awesome and ive always enjoyed the tone ive been able to get from it. thank you for the replies. god bless
 
#5
A bassist brought me a Peavey Combo 300 several years ago for repair with the same description of a problem. I found one of the wire leads from a torroid coil inside the amp was fractured and was creating the problem. I resoldered the coil and the amp has been good ever since.
 

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