Older Peavey TKO 115 - Scratchy speaker noise???

[mexicanyella]

So how did this turn out? I have a TKO/Scorpion (teal accent stripe era) that I like a lot, Scorpion included. Have you slid the chassis out of the cabinet yet? Peavey uses white plastic multi-wire connectors (I think they are called "molex connectors") that sometimes need to be unplugged, sprayed with Deoxit, and plugged back in. Plus you can get a better shot of Deoxit into the pots from the backside. Don't worry about the carbon tracks...deoxit the hell out of them.

I just got a Peavey Special 150 guitar amp as a trade for a pedal I didn't use, and it had multiple scratchy/intermittent issues, including the molex connector to the reverb tank being really dirty and loose. Doing what I describe above fixed all of it except the broken hi-gain input jack. Well worth the effort, and more useful to me than the pedal it replaced! You have no reason to feel bummed about getting a Peavey TKO for $30!

 

[Joe Nerve]

I had a TKO that was a workhorse, for 25 yrs. or more. I pounded the hell out of that, left it in the trunk of my car for years on end, played 4 gigs a week with it for several years... I LOVED that amp, and then it started getting that scratchy thing it sounds like you're talking about. Mine was however electronic, had nothing to do with the speaker. Or at least it didn't seem to. It kind of crackle, and eventually started cutting out. I sprayed all the knobs, and even brought it to a tech who couldn't figure out what was going on. Eventually it started cutting out just a bit too much, and I had to let it go. Volume would jump all over the place too... ahhh, love those old Peaveys

Anyhow, I'd have a go with Deoxit. That does seem to be a miracle worker. Hope you resolve your problems, whatever they are.

 

[Irish Luck]

I pulled the chassis out, and I'm thinking it's the pots. I need to replace the post gain pot anyway. The shaft is broken off. So I'll do both and see how it works. The pots were $2.00 so it's not a big loss if that doesn't solve it. But I'm almost positive that will do the trick.
I'll post again once I get them in the mail and have replaced them.
In the meantime I guess I could use Deoxit on the pot and see what happens. Couldn't hurt since a new pot is on the way. I wouldn't have to worry about Deoxit causng damage to the pot. It's going in the trash soon anyway. I thnk I'm just going to replace the pots myself. I've practiced desoldering, removing, then re-soldering the pot back onto a PCB that is from an old junked amp. Not as hard to do as I thought. So I'm going to go for it myself. I need to learn anyway. And if it turns out that the problem is not the pot, then I'm only out a few bucks.

I'll let ya know how it goes.....
Peavey is super slow with shipping, but I can't complain since they don't charge shipping costs at all.
So it may be a week or more before I get them.
Thanks so much for everyone's input.
This is a great forum. Cool and helpful people here. No negativity at all!! That's a first for web forums!
I'm definitely going to like it here...that's for sure.

 

[klokker]

I had a TKO that was a workhorse, for 25 yrs. or more. I pounded the hell out of that, left it in the trunk of my car for years on end, played 4 gigs a week with it for several years... I LOVED that amp, and then it started getting that scratchy thing it sounds like you're talking about. Mine was however electronic, had nothing to do with the speaker. Or at least it didn't seem to. It kind of crackle, and eventually started cutting out. I sprayed all the knobs, and even brought it to a tech who couldn't figure out what was going on. Eventually it started cutting out just a bit too much, and I had to let it go. Volume would jump all over the place too... ahhh, love those old Peaveys

Anyhow, I'd have a go with Deoxit. That does seem to be a miracle worker. Hope you resolve your problems, whatever they are.

I used to play through an old TKO 115 that was in our rehearsal space. I agree those amps are bullet proof, it was beat to hell and just sounded great. Once in a while it would give out a big POP and then be fine for a while. Great amp and worth a little spray or whatever to make it a little less scratchy. And if you can't fix it, its probably fine just the way it is.

 

[mexicanyella]

Without derailing things too much, I have found that the Scorpion-equipped TKO does very well at pulling double duty as a bass and electric guitar amp. The active shelving/graphic EQ, bright switch and Scorpion speaker combine to make plenty of "bright" available, if you need it. No reverb, but apart from that it's a pants-flapping twang machine for guitar or 6-string lap steel once you get a handle on how the EQ works. I was so tickled to discover that that I kind of derailed myself...I'm pretty new to bass playing and it's time to plug my bass back in and get back to learning.

 

[tjh]

I have a couple Peavey Minx, one is corner ported, not sure of the driver, and one is sealed, with a 10" Sheffield ... I also have a Peavey Basic 112, sealed with a Sheffield 12" ... the Basic 112 usually sits at our practice space unless I need to grab it for something else, and it is not uncommon for it to go several months without being used, especially through the winter ... I usually end up having to Deoxit the pots at least once a year, it starts to get scratchy too ...

 

[Irish Luck]

Well, I put the chassis back in the cabinet after giving the pre and post gain pots a good cleaning eith the Deoxit.
It's the first time I've ever used it, so I followed the directions on the can exactly. I waited about 30 minutes then plugged her in and....no sound at all.
I turned the preamp pot back and forth (with headphones plugged in so it didn't come on suddenly at a high volume and blow the speaker, or a window) then all the sudden, some crackling, some bass sounds coming through, then it was back on! But, it had the same scratchy sound to it at first. So I kept rotating the knob back and forth, then within a minute, it sounded clean and sounded perfect. I played my bass for about 30 minutes and it sounded like it used to, no scratchy sound at all.
Maybe it fixed it? I'm not getting my hopes up yet. But I am happy the sound came back on I just am crossing my fingers that it stays like this and no repairs are needed. I do have bad luck...that's why my user name is what it is. So we'll see. i'm glad I tried the Deoxit though. With nothing to lose since new pots are already on their way. Hopefully they won't be needed and I can put them in my instrument repair toolbox in case I ever do need them. Hopefully not!!
mexicanyella - I've heard they sound good when used as guitar amps. I was talking to an amp tech last year, and when I told him I have Peavey Renown 2x12 with Scorpions and a TKO115, he said it would sound awesome if I linked the Renown to the TKO for some extra bottom end for the guitar. He said turn the TKO up just enough to where you can't really quite notice the TKO is on, but you'll notice it if it's turned off. Which is exactly how I control the volume of my subwoofer for my home stereo. I'm finally going to try that. I'll bet it sounds awesome!

tjh - When you mentioned you have to Deoxit once a year because it gets scratchy, do you mean the pots are scratchy when turned, or it sounds scratchy when you play through it? I've had plenty of scratchy pots over the years, but they only sounded that way when I turn them, I've never had one affect the sound when I'm not toucing them though. I hope that's the problem, just the pot. Even if it needs replacing, that's fine. I would sure be bummed though if I replace them and it doesn't fix the problem. The amp "repairmen" in my area are crooks. They charge incredibly high prices and never seem to fix anything.
If any of you are in Northern California and can recommend a good amp tech, please let me know!

I can't wait til tomorrow to fire it up and hear a pure clean speaker tone....that would sure make my day.
Thanks for all the help and advice. It sure helps!

 

[tjh]

tjh - When you mentioned you have to Deoxit once a year because it gets scratchy, do you mean the pots are scratchy when turned, or it sounds scratchy when you play through it? I've had plenty of scratchy pots over the years, but they only sounded that way when I turn them, I've never had one affect the sound when I'm not toucing them though. I hope that's the problem, just the pot... [/QUOTE]

Both .. it actually affects the sound as well as scratchy pots when turned ...

 

[T_Bone_TL]

This is a great forum. Cool and helpful people here. No negativity at all!! That's a first for web forums!
I'm definitely going to like it here...that's for sure.

Thank the mods. The troublemakers get warned, and then they get the ban hammer - temporary or permanent as befits the case.

 

[Irish Luck]

Well, I'm bummed.
I fired it up today and no sound.
It sounded good yesterday. I'm getting tired of spending my time fixing these old amps instead of spending my time actually playing.
It's strange and I can't figure it out. Bummer is that I just got my new pots in the mail today, and it's defnitely not the pots.
Here's what happened....
I turned it on and wanted to try it with an EQ I have used before through the preamp send/return circuit. Turned it on and played it for 5 minutes and it was ok, I didn't notice anything. So I grabbed my Boss multi fx and was going to try playing through it for 30 minutes or so to see how it went.
So I unplugged the EQ from the preamp send/return and plugged into the Boss in front of the amp then from the Boss into the input jack. Turned it on, and no sound.
F**%!!! I was pissed!! I knew it wouldn't last.
So I plugged th EQ back in the preamp send/return and there's sound again. Turned it off and try the regular input with no EQ and no sound! I tapped the end of the jack on my hand a few times, and pop.....the sound came on. Turned it on and off a few times and it kept working. Plugged the EQ in again and it worked. Just to test what happens when I unplug the EQ again. And I guessed right, no sound! This time it took forever to ge the sound back on again, and when it did come on the speaker sounded horrible.

So that's a pretty puzzling problem, and I really don't want to throw good money after bad and have a tech try and find the problem. When i do that, I spend $100+ at the least, and I never get it fixed. They just tell me "well...it might be this, might be that but I don't know". I'd probably end up with a service bill way over $200, and still have an old amp that's just waiting to die on me. Like the rest of 'em I have. I'd sure like something dependable for a change.
I spend 90 percent of my "music time" with a soldering iron in hand instead of my bass or guitar.

I love my Peaveys, but they are all showing their age and I'm getting very tired of fixing them...really tired. It sucks all the fun out of playing when I'm constantly troubleshooting some problem. And I'm the type that finds a problem and CANNOT just be patient and find out what's wrong at another time. (ask my wife, it drives her NUTS!!!...and not in the good way) She's all pissed off at me now for spending all this time in the garage trying to fix the amp and then the studio testing it, and then coming in the house and posting here. She doesn't understand that part of me. Not super supportive to say the least.
If a problem happens at 9:00 pm, I'll be in my garage with my drill driver going, my dremel, soldering iron, whatever....until midnight. Then I can't sleep, I keep thinking, maybe it's this or maybe it's that. And I'm not a tech. I suck at troubleshooting, obviously. I try to fix it myself because I have little money. (I'm disabled from a spinal injury and can't work much) So I am always tryng to keep these old Peaveys going since I have little money to spend on fixing them or getting something that actually works. I thought this was the speaker, turns out the speaker is fine, then I thought it was the pots, nope. I give up! Really, I give up... I have no idea what's going on here.
I refuse to spend any more than $50 on this amp. I'm just so tired of these old amps I have breaking down. And nobody is going to fix it for $50. I guess I have a new coffee table, or oversized paperweight.

I'm thinking of just getting another so I can stop screwing with them and finally play!! That would be such a nice change. Play my bass? Wow, that would be fun!
I've spent so much time lately, and it's all for nothing. So sorry for venting, I'm just really bummed and frustrated.
With pretty limted funds I wouldn't be able to get anything more than a practice amp. That sucks.

I saw an Orange Crush 20B on Craigslist for $100, and was thinking of grabbing that. But 20 watts???? Ick.
I don't know what to do now that this problem has turned into a huge pain in the ass that I would have to take to a tech and spend some serious bucks on it.
Any ideas about what's possibly going on with this amp guys?

Any suggestions on an amp that I could afford and be satisfied with? There's a SWR LA15 100 watt on CL for $100, an Acoustic B100 for $120 obo, and a Carvin combo for $150. That's about my limit, $150. I know, that's probably just replacing junk with more junk huh?
I contacted the guy with the Orange, and he's moving, so if I decide on that I would have to go grab that in a day or two.
Here are the links, looks like the Carvin got sold already.
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Any opinions on grabbing that $100 Orange 20B? Or any of the others?
Am I just desperate to get something that works by thinking of getting any of those?

Hopeless....

 

[arai]

Have you tried just a jumper lead between the send and return?

 

[Irish Luck]

No, I was thinking about that but didn't know if that was safe. So I just take a patch cable and plug it in to send and return? That's ok to do?
Have any idea why this needs to have something plugged into that to have any sound output?
The speaker still sounds crunchy and crackly though. And it's not the speaker. I swapped the Scorpion that was in it and put in a Carvin. The Scorpion sounds perfect in another amp. And the Carvin sounded perfect in that other amp too. So why the cracking and loss of sound?

 

[alaskaleftybass]

Sorry, Grasshopper but that old feller is probably ready for retirement. Thus the $30 pricetag.
Your best bet is the Acoustic 100B. Built like tanks and heavy as one. Not to be confused with the original Acoustic Control Corporation but designed as introductory amps for young and economic musicians. I owned that one for a while and it was a nice workhorse.

As I am an avid Peavey Made in USA collector, I suggest you look for more Peavey's in your area. Good luck, and keep your chin up! Things will work out for you if you keep soldiering on!

And keep fiddling with your TKO! You just might solve the puzzle! Those are fine amps and I've rarely heard of them totally failing!

 

[arai]

No, I was thinking about that but didn't know if that was safe. So I just take a patch cable and plug it in to send and return? That's ok to do?
Have any idea why this needs to have something plugged into that to have any sound output?
The speaker still sounds crunchy and crackly though. And it's not the speaker. I swapped the Scorpion that was in it and put in a Carvin. The Scorpion sounds perfect in another amp. And the Carvin sounded perfect in that other amp too. So why the cracking and loss of sound?

It's safe and some there could be a problem with one of the contacts in your effects loop, it's relatively common . Put some cleaner in there and push in and out a jack a number of times to give it a good clean

 

[Irish Luck]

Thanks alaskaleftybass - that's why I'm so bummed. I love these old US made Peaveys. I refuse to give up on it, but have very limited knowledge of electronivs. I can solder and swap out parts and make footswitch pedals, but that's about all I know how to do. I'm learning though. A year ago I paid a crooked amp tech a lot of money to have my footswitch input jack replaced. I got burned by him (he didn't replace it) and that's when/why I learned to solder. I bought the $2.00 part and did it myself, then made myself a footswitch, even hand-hammered an old stereo casing into the footswitch enclosure on an anvil. My very first footswitch was for a little 15 watt Peavey Decade amp. I made it out of an old skateboard wheel from one of my old boards. I've since made three for friends that saw mine and had to have one
I'll post a photo of it. It's pretty unique, and cool since I used to love skateboarding before my injury. I'm kinda proud of it since it was my first pedal I made, and there's probably not another one like it. I get a lot of cool comments about it.
So I was just tinkering with the TKO 5 minutes ago. (see what I mean about troubleshooting past midnight, I can't help it) I can't let it die. I just love the old US made Peaveys. I figure for $30 at least I got a perfectly working 15" Scorpion, and that's well worth $30. I'm crossing my fingers that someone reads this thread and says "oh that happened to my amp, it was just the......." (insert easy solution here)
Thank you for the support.

And thank you too Arai - tried the effects loop and had no luck. Only the preamp send/return gets her going. Seems like that's an indicator of something...I just have no idea of what it's an indicator of! I wouldn't mid having to keep the EQ plugged in to make it work, but that noise in the speaker is awful sounding. It comes and goes. I just wish it would go! Thank you for your help.

 

[alaskaleftybass]

Thanks alaskaleftybass - that's why I'm so bummed. I love these old US made Peaveys. I refuse to give up on it, but have very limited knowledge of electronivs. I can solder and swap out parts and make footswitch pedals, but that's about all I know how to do. I'm learning though. A year ago I paid a crooked amp tech a lot of money to have my footswitch input jack replaced. I got burned by him (he didn't replace it) and that's when/why I learned to solder. I bought the $2.00 part and did it myself, then made myself a footswitch, even hand-hammered an old stereo casing into the footswitch enclosure on an anvil. My very first footswitch was for a little 15 watt Peavey Decade amp. I made it out of an old skateboard wheel from one of my old boards. I've since made three for friends that saw mine and had to have one
I'll post a photo of it. It's pretty unique, and cool since I used to love skateboarding before my injury. I'm kinda proud of it since it was my first pedal I made, and there's probably not another one like it. I get a lot of cool comments about it.
So I was just tinkering with the TKO 5 minutes ago. (see what I mean about troubleshooting past midnight, I can't help it) I can't let it die. I just love the old US made Peaveys. I figure for $30 at least I got a perfectly working 15" Scorpion, and that's well worth $30. I'm crossing my fingers that someone reads this thread and says "oh that happened to my amp, it was just the......." (insert easy solution here)
Thank you for the support.

And thank you too Arai - tried the effects loop and had no luck. Only the preamp send/return gets her going. Seems like that's an indicator of something...I just have no idea of what it's an indicator of! I wouldn't mid having to keep the EQ plugged in to make it work, but that noise in the speaker is awful sounding. It comes and goes. I just wish it would go! Thank you for your help.

Cool pedal!

 

[arai]

Awesome wheel pedal!
By effects loop I did mean the send/return on the amp, its the same thing.

 

[Irish Luck]

Thanks guys!
Arai - I wasn't sure. It has both....an effects send/return and a preamp send/return.
Thanks again, I'm going to try the jumper first thing in the morning.

 

[T_Bone_TL]

There are switch contacts on the jacks ("switching jacks") that normally pass the signal from the "send" to the "return". In reality, I think it's only on the "return" jack (so you can "send" somewhere and still use the internal amp, too.) They can get cruddy, or weak (springs) or actually break, even. Using a cable to patch between them bypasses the need for a switch, and is perfectly safe. Using deoxit to clean them will help, if it's only dirty contacts. On my TNT130 I use a short patch cable to make the crossover act as an internal HPF (I patch from high out to power amp in, since the labels on this one's "effects loop" are "Preamp Out" (I don't use that, it is not affected by the crossover) and "Power Amp In." You should be able to download the manual and circuit diagram from Peavey; I think this leads to it.

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That does seem to have a separately buffered "effects send/return" while what most amps do is use the "pre out/pwr in" as the "effects loop." You can see the switch that is almost certainly your problem on the "Pwr In" jack. Replacing the whole jack is another option, and not expensive if you DIY. Given the age of the amp and possible corrosion issues, you could do worse than to replace all the jacks and pots, for well under the cost of a different old amp. Consider it as "rebuilding" the amp - you see the same thing with old cars - if you drive them until something breaks, and fix it, something always breaks. If you take them in the garage over the winter and rebuild them, you get rid of most of the things that would have broken next. It costs a little more, but there's a lot less frustration with breakdowns. For a complete rebuild, you might also replace all the electrolytic capacitors

Also - don't let an amp destroy your marriage, eh?

 

[Irish Luck]

tjh - When you mentioned you have to Deoxit once a year because it gets scratchy, do you mean the pots are scratchy when turned, or it sounds scratchy when you play through it? I've had plenty of scratchy pots over the years, but they only sounded that way when I turn them, I've never had one affect the sound when I'm not toucing them though. I hope that's the problem, just the pot...

Both .. it actually affects the sound as well as scratchy pots when turned ...[/QUOTE]
tjh - So it will actually affect the sound when you're not even touching the knob? The "scratchy" sound coming from mine is mainly during the deacy of the note...and it has that same sound of a dirty pot, but I'm not touching it. I've had a lot of sratchy pots but never had one that affected the sound when played. Thanks! That gives me some hope that replacing the pots will help.

There are switch contacts on the jacks ("switching jacks") that normally pass the signal from the "send" to the "return". In reality, I think it's only on the "return" jack (so you can "send" somewhere and still use the internal amp, too.) They can get cruddy, or weak (springs) or actually break, even. Using a cable to patch between them bypasses the need for a switch, and is perfectly safe. Using deoxit to clean them will help, if it's only dirty contacts. On my TNT130 I use a short patch cable to make the crossover act as an internal HPF (I patch from high out to power amp in, since the labels on this one's "effects loop" are "Preamp Out" (I don't use that, it is not affected by the crossover) and "Power Amp In." You should be able to download the manual and circuit diagram from Peavey; I think this leads to it.

Invalid Link Removed

That does seem to have a separately buffered "effects send/return" while what most amps do is use the "pre out/pwr in" as the "effects loop." You can see the switch that is almost certainly your problem on the "Pwr In" jack. Replacing the whole jack is another option, and not expensive if you DIY. Given the age of the amp and possible corrosion issues, you could do worse than to replace all the jacks and pots, for well under the cost of a different old amp. Consider it as "rebuilding" the amp - you see the same thing with old cars - if you drive them until something breaks, and fix it, something always breaks. If you take them in the garage over the winter and rebuild them, you get rid of most of the things that would have broken next. It costs a little more, but there's a lot less frustration with breakdowns. For a complete rebuild, you might also replace all the electrolytic capacitors

Also - don't let an amp destroy your marriage, eh?

I was joking (for the most part) when I mentioned my wife gets mad at me. I would never let an amp get between us. We've been together 20 years this summer. She just wants me all to herself, not sharing me with an amp!

T_Bone_TL - Thank you for all that information. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around all of it. Like I mentioned, I'm pretty new to working with electronics. Some of what you said I understood, some I didn't. I guess my main question is how does the preamp loop (or the effects loop) and the two jacks for those affect the main instrument input jacks? Does it actually switch off those main inputs? I understand how switching jacks work, like an effect pedal or endpin jack on an acoustic/electric. The TRS input jack connects the TS jack ring and sleeve together when a TS jack is inseerted. And the ring and sleeve together creates a switch when iserted that gives power to turn on the pedal or in an acoustic/electric...the onboard preamp. So the "Power In" jack is faulty and causing the amp to be silent by not switching properly? Am I understanding that correctly? Or am I way off?
And do you think if I replaced the "Power In" jack my loss of sound problem will go away? And then replacing that volume pot will make the scratchy sound go away? It makes sense to do all the jacks and pots.at once. But would only want to if I'm going to be able to continue using this amp. (I really hope I can!) I wouldn't want to if it's going to keep having problems. But it sounds like you're thinking that the 'pwr in' jack is causing that problem? I'm still trying to figure out how to properly read schematics and actually gather information from them. Sometimes I can, sometmes I can't. That one is a tough one!
I would gladly spend the time/money needed replacing the jacks and pots if it would fix these two problems!

But then the whole other issue with the sound cutting out is just strange. I plugged in and fired it up today without anything in the send/return loop and there was sound again....she's a finicky amp isn't she? So sometmes it works and sometimes it wants something plugged in to the loop. I made a short little jumper cord today. Thank you for that tip!

You guys rock!! This forum is excellent. I said it already, but needs repeating because I'm so used to negativity and nobody offering any help in most forums. So I don't bother joining. But I kept finding answers to my questions here that I would Google, so I finally joined. Glad I did!
You guys are just awesome. Someday I hope to be on the other end....offering my advice and knowledge instead of always asking others for it.