Problem with Ampeg B1RE

[the_castratos]

I own a Ampeg B1re 300w bass and when i play it sounds good until all of the sudden it gets kinda quiet and distorted.and if you tap it goes back to normal but after 10 or 15 seconds it does it again. i thought it was the input or output jacks but i checked them and theyre fine i was wondering if anyone has any ideas.

[Enzo]

Does it have an effects loop? Or a power amp in jack?

Yes, I see a power amp in jack and a preamp out jack. Plug a spare cord into the preamp out jack, and plug the other end right back into the power amp in jack. If this restores the sound, service or replace the power amp in jack.


Hitting the amp makes this work again, that means there is a loose conncection. If it is not the jack itself, look at the solder under the jack. The check the solder for all the jacks and all controls

[the_castratos]

i tried what you said and it didnt work...i tried plugging in through the effects return and it does it.... through the power amp in and it does it....if i use the XLR out to my recorder while its distorted it sounds clear through that. so that would mean its the outputs right? but it does it wheather i use the 175 or the 300 jack. its driving me crazy!!!!!!!! it did this right out of the box...but it was refurbished and if i returned it i would have had to pay for shipping there and back and then pay another $70 for a new one!!!

[Enzo]

Where did you buy it and was there any warranty?

I'd be looking closely at the solder in the power amp circuits. All the large power resistors in particular, and check out the speaker relay/ MAke sure it has good solder and try tapping right on it to se if it is the weak link.

[Twist]

Is this one of those models with a headphone jack ? Some of these jacks interupt the speaker signal with a shorting jack. Even if it's seldom used the high speaker level can burn the shorting contacts and cause intermittent signal loss.

[the_castratos]

no it doesnt have a headphone jack...i bought it from musicians friend which when it didnt work were no help. The nearest service center is about 5 hrs away so id have to send it.. i was hoping i could fix it my self to save money but unfortunately the last electronics class i took was about 7yrs ago(amazing how quickly you forget). does anyone know where i can get a online schematic?
this board is a whole lot of help and i just found it on accident!!!!!!!

[mikescott]

I'm kind of shocked musicians friend has left you out in the cold on this one. We used to buy almost all our band gear through them and they always tooks things back that failed or if we wanted to get something a little different they would let us trade out. This was around 7 yrs ago so maybe their customer service has changed.