Carvin R1000 Bass Amp Poroblem

[Ryan Gough]

I'm having a repeat issue with my Carvin R1000 Bass amp and need some advice on how to fix it. I bought the Amp used and it worked great. I had no issues with it. I joined a band and our practice space became our singers basement. After a few months I started to notice that when I turned the amp on it seemed to hesitate for a few seconds before I had sound. This hesitation progressed into minutes. Then it got to the point that it would take up to 15 minutes before I had proper sound. I would have some sound, very distorted and very low, it would also move up and down in volume but never as loud as it should be. Then all of a sudden it would be a nice clean sound at the proper volume. Almost like it needed time to warm up. I bought a new tube and changed it but that didn't fix anything. I bought a can of Deoxit and since I didn't know what the problem was I cleaned everything. Something I cleaned was right because it fixed the problem. That was about 6 months ago. Now the amp is doing it again. I'm going to clean it again but I was wondering if this is going to be an on going problem or if there was something else I could be looking for as a permanent fix. I don't like that I'm having to clean this repeatedly but I don't know what else to do. Any help will be appreciated. I really don't know what to do.

[loudthud]

There is some kind of intermittent connection somewhere in the amp. I could be on a circuit board, on a cable that goes between circuit boards, or in one of the input, output or effects loop jacks. Spray the jacks and run a plug in and out of the jack several times. Have you tried giving the amp a good smack with your fist?

Try to isolate the part of the amp that has the bad connection. Does the amp have a tuner output? Does that go bad or work normally when the amp is mal-functioning? Try plugging your instrument into the Effects Return jack. The volume will be low but does it operate differently when the amp is mal-functioning? There is an Effects Send. Does it operate differently when the amp is mal-functioning? You'll need another amp for this. Tried a different speaker jack?

The next step is dangerous. You'll need some kind of insulated probe to poke around inside the amp while it's on. A wooden chop stick is a good choice. Don't use a screw driver! Push gently on circuit boards and wires in the amp while it's mal-functioning to see if you can find a component or area that seems sensitive to a push or vibration.

[Ryan Gough]

Thanks for the information. This is a bit over my head. Im going to take it to a shop from here and have them work on it for me.

Thanks