Hartke 3500 problem

[Uprzykrza]

First time posting on this forum, so - hi and welcome all.

Now for a description of my problem. I own a Hartke 3500 bass head, which I use with a VX410 column. A couple of days ago when I played on it, sometimes the sound would get fuzzy and crackling for a couple of seconds, then getting back to normal. I changed cables and instruments, checked cable inputs on the guitars and amp, but none of these actions seemed to help. It only happened ever so often, but yesterday, while I was playing, suddenly the amp got quiet and the fan on the back went to its maximum speed (the amp didn't turn off). I turned the amp off and checked the radiator on the back and it was very hot. I left it for about 2 hours to cool down and turned it on. Now the amp plays very quiet, and the sound is like overdriven all the time.

What part of the amp could become damaged? What is it, that possibly caused it and is it possible to check it and perhaps fix it by myself (i.e. identify and replace the damaged component)?

[Enzo]

Well first, try a DIFFERENT speaker cord, and make sure it is a real speaker cord and not just a guitar cord. And also try playing the head through a DIFFERENT speaker cab.

If the amp tries to play into a shorted load or cord, it will surely overheat and act as described.

Of course there are other possibilities.

[Uprzykrza]

Well first, try a DIFFERENT speaker cord, and...

...and that solves the problem. Really. The speaker cord was shorted. Thanks, Enzo and sorry for being an idiot and posting before checking such an obvious thing.