Peavey KB 60 Help!

My Peavey KB 60 is not sounding right on my Roland JV-1010 sound module. The highs on the EQ from the Roland JV-1010 to the amp are ear splitting! And the bass is powerful, but so loud at a low level it is inaudible. And I CANNOT find a middle ground with my EQ settings! When I 1st got this amp, the amp sounded great! But now the piano sounds dull, flat and the highs on the keyboard are loud and distorted, and it almost sounds like when I play with both hands, the audio dampens a bit, as if it is too much for the amp too handle. And the volume is at a low setting! So I will buy the Peavey Funk Out cleaner. Please tell me, by these photos attached. What to clean with it!!

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I don't know that anything in particular needs cleaning. But I would determine if the piezo was working or not, and if working that it sounds good. In fact I'd probably connect the amp chassis to some other speaker to determine if the chassis had the issue or the speaker.

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Originally Posted by Enzo

I don't know that anything in particular needs cleaning. But I would determine if the piezo was working or not, and if working that it sounds good. In fact I'd probably connect the amp chassis to some other speaker to determine if the chassis had the issue or the speaker.

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"Piezo"? What is that? And I have no other speaker to try it with!

Piezo is short for piezoelectric, as in that piezoelectric tweeter in the corner of the front. The blue and yellow wires are the main output from the amp chassis down to your woofer. From there, the red and black wires go up to your piezo.

Piezoelectric is the more scientific term for what used to be called "crystal." A cheap crystal microphone was one that used a piezoelectric crytal to generate signal when you sang at it. Cheap phonograph cartidges were crystal types.

PLug a CD player or something into the amp and just play some music through it. The woofer sound will be obvious, but you can put your ear to the tweeter and hear if sound is coming out. Or roll a magazine up into a tube, hold it to your ear, and listen to the tweter through that. It will act like a doctor's stethoscope to hear what is coming out.

THis whole piezo thing is just a simple initial test. It it has a crtacked crystal inside or has stopped working, you will want another, and they are vimple to change with four screws.

ALWAYS ALWAYS note which wires go where if you disconnect anything. I have been working on amps over 50 years and I STILL always draw a little diagram of wire colors or numbers whenever I pull them off. Just as soon as I tell myself "Oh I'll remember", the phone will ring and my wife will have a flatr tire, and off I go, only to return and "Hmmm, what goes where???"

You got no other speaks? That's too bad. I'd try the amp through a PA cab or the speaker from a different combo if I had it. And the opposite too. I;d play some other amp through that speaker setup. we always disconnect amp and speaker before connecting eithre to other things.


I'll have to go fetch the schematic for that one, but I will assume it has FX loop jacks or maybe insert jack. Those can get dirty and affect sound quality.

Are you able to solder parts on and off the circuit board, and have you a meter that you know how to make readings with?

Oh my goodness! Well 1st things first.

1. Thanks for the Piezoelectric lesson, lol. :)
2. Just plug a CD player in one of the inputs of the Peavey and play music out of it? If so, I have. None of the EQ settings make it sound good. It sounds terrible. Don't even use the MID. That sounds like crap. My 40w Logitech speakers sound better than that peavey! :(
3. I am not that advanced when it comes to musical electronics. I have a degree in computer technology, but not electronics :( I just have and know about audio. Like that the Peavey KB 60 takes 1/4 inch jacks. And if needed, I could plug my 3.5mm headphones (with the use of a 3.5mm to 1/4 adapter) into the amp. But I am not gonna even go near the wires. I will probably sell the amp.
4. Like I said, I am retarded when it comes to ANY SERIOUS electrical stuff. So no on the soldering. lol.
5. Meter? For what? Refer to number 4 if you wonder why I am confused. lol ^

OK, if you studied computer technology, then you should follow that troubleshooting is just a systematic way to isolate the problem to a certain section. Just as a computer system might use substitution to determine if a problem was in the powr supply, the video card, the I/O card, the hard drive, or whatever.

So that was what trying other speakers was for, just as sticking a different hard drive into a computer would tell you if that was what had been wrong.

These amps can sound pretty good when they work right. Yours has something wrong, but we don;t yet know where. If it is beyond your tech skills to go further, no shame in that. I will admit that I know darn little about computers.

If you want to try cleaner, well why not? Can't hurt. About the only places I can think that would do this are the jacks like Effects return, Power Amp In, or Insert. WHichever ones of those you may or may not have on that model. Other than that, your problem will be electronic in nature, or a bad speaker/piezo.

Ok then. My problem was that I don't have another "hard drive" per say, to test things on. All I have is a Peavey KB1 as my backup amp. I will probably sell this Peavey KB 60 and buy a Behringer Ultratone K1800FX, 180 watt amp. My only concern, is that I want clean, unaltered sound. Look below at all the EQ effects! :(

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If you like the Peavey KB60, why not take it to a tech & get it repaired?
You will not get very much for a none working amp.
As to buying a Behringer anything, well..........

I do not know who I would take it to!

Where are you located?

Triadelphia, WV

Dealer & Service Center Locator

Thank you so much. I will be making plans to visit my nearest repair center and see if they can repair my amp. Thanks again man. What is your take on the Behringer Ultratone K1800FX if things go south?

Let me put it this way.
I would take the Peavey in for repair in a heartbeat, knowing that the factory itself is behind me.
Parts, tech support and a well built product.
The chance of repairing it is 100%.
None of that applies to the Behringer.

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Originally Posted by Jazz P Bass

Let me put it this way.
I would take the Peavey in for repair in a heartbeat, knowing that the factory itself is behind me.
Parts, tech support and a well built product.
The chance of repairing it is 100%.
None of that applies to the Behringer.

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I have a little gut feeling that my local servicer (TRIV'S ELECTRONICS) might not be able fix it. And I say that because the amp is really old. But I will call them on Monday. It's only a 1 hour drive to there. I hope they can fix it at a cheap expense. Considering everything works, just the sound and EQ is a bit nasty. You think I might have to pay them like $200+?

The KB60 is a rugged, standards based amp that used commonly available parts. It can be repaired by almost any competent tech and should last for years of trouble-free operation. Get it repaired, a very old KB60 will outlast a new Behringer K1800FX. 20 years from now the KB60 could still be repairable because of using standard electronics parts. Most newer amp with modern features will not be repairable in 20 years or even 10 because they depend on custom limited production ASICs and programmed processors that are only made as long as the production run lasted. Anything that derives it sound from digital circuits is useless when the manufacturer runs out of old stock of single source parts. Think of them as they were designed to be, to be disposable, lots of functionality will they work and landfill when they don't. Home many parts are available to repair your 6 year old cell phone is a good way of putting it into perspective.

I would be surprised if there was a labor charge of more than one hour bench time, probably $65-75 for labor plus whatever the parts might cost.

Here is the schematic.
Take it with.
These amps are really (relatively) easy to repair.
The trick, as mentioned by Enzo, is to 'isolate' the problem.
That can be accomplished by using the external jacks.
Pre EQ Patch: the signal coming to this jack can be monitored to see if the initial amplifying stage is good.
(a signal can also be inserted here to bypass the front end of the preamp)
Preamp Out: signal send to another amp: if that sounds good, then the preamp is good.
Power Amp In: a separate signal source is utiized to drive the KB 60 power amp section: if that sounds good, then the power amp is good.
There are Ic chips on the circuit board.
They require a steady + & - 16 volt supply.
It must be free of any Volts Ac ripple.
This can be measured once the amp is opened up.

Ok then. Thank you.

I'm a bit confused, Triv's is not a Peavey repair center but a TV repair place in Pennsylvania? I thought you were in Triadelphia?

According to Peavey's website, it is a Peavey Certified service repair center and according to the website it is the closest one to me.

Ok, sorry, I didn't see them under Peavey service at first. You seem concerned that they may not be able to fix it. I see they are primarily a TV repair place. The second nearest place to you (Tonetronix) deals with music equipment, so they may have more experience with instrument amps. May be call them both and see what their rates and turnaround times are like.

Well, don't think of it like I may be thinking it to be unfixable, my mindset is on it's age. I feel they may not be familiar with 80/90's amps. But, I'll just wait and see. I've tried calling them. No one answered. I'll try again later.

There was a feedback that I read about Triv's.
"Hard to reach."
Apparently that is true.

I'm not surprised. And usually, establishments like that have a voicemail setup. There place has a robot saying I have reached the number and to leave a message at the beep. None of: "You have reached Triv's Electronics, please leave a message!" It makes you feel like your calling someones house!

Well, nevertheless. I did still pay $20 for the Peavey Funk Out Cleaning spray. So according to the pictures I posted on my OP. What do I apply the cleaner on?

Age is no issue for a technician. You may think of this amp as old, but 1980s and newer amps are hardly old. I work on amps from 1938 if they come through my door. That is older than I am, though not by a lot.

Just contacted Triv's. There is a $20 service fee along with the cost of repairs. I have a feeling I might have to walk in there with at least $100. The guy said I would have to leave the amp there? As if it would take a few days?

I just contacted Triv's. There is a $20 service fee along with the cost of repairs. I have a feeling I might have to walk in there with at least $100. The guy said I would have to leave the amp there? As if it would take a few days?

I try to accommodate out of town customers, but most shops can't drop what they are doing and do while-you-wait repairs. But it is reasonable to expect them to be able to plug it in while you are there and at least assess what they think is the problem area.

I just hope I can afford this repair and still have some money left over from my check! Hell, I hope I have enough on my check for the repair itself! LOL!

I have just successfully applied the Peavey Funk Out cleaner. And the JV-1010 is tolerable on it now. I might as well upgrade to the XV-5080. But thank you all for your help!

I have just now successfully applied the Peavey Funk Out cleaner. And the JV-1010 is tolerable on it now. I might as well upgrade to the XV-5080. But thank you all for your help!

I have just successfully applied the Peavey Funk Out cleaner. And the JV-1010 is tolerable on it now. I might as well just upgrade to the XV-5080. But thank you all for your help!