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Hi there everybody! I am a brand new member of this forum and I'm hoping you guys could help me out. I have a Crate GFX 212 combo amp, and after a few minutes of playing, the volume level drops to almost nothing. I really haven't played through this thing much at all myself, (being a drummer and all) but my brothers used to come over and jam and would insist on cranking my amp to ear-splitting volume. I'm just wondering what could be the cause of the problem. Could it be the outputs, or maybe a transformer? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I don't want to pay a lot of money to fix this thing if I can do it myself. I just need a bit of guidance. Thanks in advance!
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First things first. It has an FX loop, plug a cable from the out to the return. Does that help? I'll wait while you try that.
Does it respond to percussive diagnostics? Jiggling plugs? Jiggling controls. Otherwise pestering the amp?
Crate is a product of SLME, Ess Ell Emm Eee is an old American Indian phrase that means "not enough solder." Crate repairs almost always involve taking them apart, cleaning jacks, connectors and controls, resoldering the bad bits and reassembling. I can't guarantee that this is your problem, but it is about as sure a thing as is possible. Expect to pay 1.5 - 2 hours labor at whatever the going rate is in your neighborhood if this is outside your expertise. -
Okay, I just tried messing with some of the suggested things, and they did not help. I'm starting to lean toward a bad power transformer, as it takes a few minutes to heat up and then the volume cuts out to almost nothing. Except for about the worst 60hz hum I've ever heard from a guitar amp. I mean some seriously loud hum. Could it be that transformer, or does it sound like maybe something else to you?Comment
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probably not a transformer.
probably a bad solder connection....the thing to do is pull the chassis, speaker connected, plug in your guitar, and start poking on all the components and solder joints with a wood or plastic probe, to see if you can find the bad connection. (ie. Ronsonic's "percussive diagnostics")
probably not a transformer. did i say that already?Comment
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It is possible for power to cut out after a few minutes there are thermal protection devices both internal to the tranny and on the output transistors. But, I'm back to "is it really getting hot or is that a theory?" Is the heatsink hot? Transformer? Chassis? what is getting hot? Here's why I'm like this. If the problem were the transformer itself it would probably not work at all and you'd be blowing fuses and circuit breakers. If something else is wrong then it would take a few minutes. If an amp breaks bad and starts dumping DC on the output it will make a full volume buzz and try to eat a speaker. This would be a worst case sort of problem and rarely develops over time.Originally posted by drumdude View Post
I am pretty sure that this is going to belong on somebody's bench. Where are you located and let's find you a tech.Comment
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I am in the wonderful (not!) town of Moberly, Missouri. About 30 miles north of Columbia, the home of the Missouri Tigers. I have a friend that is an electronics tech, or whatever you want to call it. He worked on my TV a few years back. I would assume that he would know how to work on a solid state amp, but please do refer me to someone just in case. There is a shop in Columbia that has a guy that works on amps. It used to be called the Blue Guitar, but I think it has changed ownership recently. That is the only place I can think of to take it if need be. If you guys can come up with any other options, I'd sure appreciate it. Thanks! You guys sure do know a lot about this stuff. I started to get into electronics as a kid, but then I discovered the world of machine tool technology and got into that instead. Now I do a lot of really cool tool and die work, but I wish I had gotten some electronics education as well. Oh well, it's never too late to learn something new. I'm only 32. Thanks again!Comment
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