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Yorkville BLOC80B: noises that should not be there

GretschWretch

GretschWretch

Supporting Member
Dec 27, 2013
12,449
25,120
East Central Alabama
#1
I've been using my amps after leaving them dormant for far too long, and one of my BLOC80Bs has developed "rogue noises," specifically a sustained hum (not buzz) and a continuous pop-pop-pop-pop-pop. The amp still works, but it cannot be used in performance until these noises are removed. Any ideas on what could be causing them?
 
#5
GretschWretch said:
My own (highly uneducated) guess is that a component is failing. But determining which one, and how to check for it, is beyond me.
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To me, that guess would be WAY down on the possibilities list, and then there's the guess of which component... ;)
 
#7
GretschWretch said:
Which suggests I may need to find a VERY good service tech or else just sell the amp, which I have considered. It's right at the brink of the max weight I want to schlepp, but I love the tone.
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I may not (or most likely not) be a bad part, but as a general comment, the most qualified techs are usually less expensive overall because they have the tools and experience to fix things right the first time. This is not a difficult amp to repair, a few parts are obsolete, but it's also very old and even today's less expensive models like the Rumble 100 or 200 combos are light years ahead of your amp in terms of performance and weight. You might want to factor this into your decision, because you might find that you don't have to spend much more than the cost of repair to buy a new Rumble 100 with a warranty.
 
#8
If you’re in Canada call Yorkville and ask for the service dept. and see if these are still supported. I recently sent in a customer’s dead Bloc 40 sold in 1993 and it came back as good as new. 905-837-8481.

Your local L&M can do the paperwork and shipping for you at no extra charge if you prefer. You will be asked for a $200.00 deposit to cover the repair cost with the balance coming back to you if it’s less which it likely will be.
Good luck.
 
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#9
Roland GR 88 said:
If you’re in Canada call Yorkville and ask for the service dept. and see if these are still supported. I recently sent in a customer’s dead Bloc 40 sold in 1993 and it came back as good as new. 905-837-8481.

Your local L&M can do the paperwork and shipping for you at no extra charge if you prefer. You will be asked for a $200.00 deposit to cover the repair cost with the balance coming back to you if it’s less which it likely will be.
Good luck.
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Thanks for the tip, but I'm not in Canada. Try Alabama.
 
#11
agedhorse said:
I may not (or most likely not) be a bad part, but as a general comment, the most qualified techs are usually less expensive overall because they have the tools and experience to fix things right the first time. This is not a difficult amp to repair, a few parts are obsolete, but it's also very old and even today's less expensive models like the Rumble 100 or 200 combos are light years ahead of your amp in terms of performance and weight. You might want to factor this into your decision, because you might find that you don't have to spend much more than the cost of repair to buy a new Rumble 100 with a warranty.
Click to expand...
This is good advice and I certainly will consider it. My most recent gigging amps are two BLOC80Bs and a Polytone Mini-Brute II. All have sat dormant for too many years and therefore all may have "malfunctions." The Fenders I certainly will look into, especially since I have an authorized Fender dealer within 30 minutes of my house.. My "large venue" amp is a Rumble 500, but it too has not been fired up for too long. This being said, getting both a Rumble 100 and a 200 would give me an amp for small, medium, and large venues.

I am curious about these more modern class D amps with a neodynamium speaker cabinet. Those seem to be "It" now with regard to getting both power AND light weight. But I know that on TB, if I ask about those I am going to get dozens of different opinions.
 
#12
GretschWretch said:
This is good advice and I certainly will consider it. My most recent gigging amps are two BLOC80Bs and a Polytone Mini-Brute II. All have sat dormant for too many years and therefore all may have "malfunctions." The Fenders I certainly will look into, especially since I have an authorized Fender dealer within 30 minutes of my house.. My "large venue" amp is a Rumble 500, but it too has not been fired up for too long. This being said, getting both a Rumble 100 and a 200 would give me an amp for small, medium, and large venues.

I am curious about these more modern class D amps with a neodynamium speaker cabinet. Those seem to be "It" now with regard to getting both power AND light weight. But I know that on TB, if I ask about those I am going to get dozens of different opinions.
Click to expand...
I have been designing with class D and Neo technology for over 20 years, it is very much a practical solution for size and especially weight decreases.
 
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