Silliest/Dumbest thing you did lately on an amp.

[timrichter9]

Just a light post here. I am putting new speakers in my mid-'64 Twin Reverb and got them in and bolted down (16 washers, lock washers and 5/16" nuts).
After I got it together, (but thankfully before I wired the speakers together and to the plug pigtail), I turned it upside down and noticed a rattle.

Apparently when I pulled the speakers out, I hadn't noticed a nut sitting on the little "shelf" that was the speaker hole cutout. When I bolted them in, I had trapped a nut in the space between the grillcloth and the speaker cone...

ARRRGGGHHH.

Not too bad but it wasted about 10 minutes and made me feel foolish.

Anyone else want to tell on themselves for a fun, non-technical, silly thread?

[defaced]

Grabbed my scope before I went to work today (Tek 466, so a big honkin boat anchor) and as I was lifting it off the bench, it caught the cord to my prototype amp knocking all of the things on my bench, and the few things on top of the amp, onto the floor. Just by the skin of my teeth did I miss sending the amp to the floor, which certainly would have taken out the two KT-88s. This is why I nearly religiously unplug everything from open amps, but silly me didn't do that last time I powered up the amp.

[Justin Thomas]

Working on a speaker cab. A few hours later, need to make a call. Where the hell is my phone? Ask my friend I live with to call me... why is that speakercab ringing? Take apart speaker cabinet. No more cell phone in shirt pocket whole working on amps. Dumb, I know.

I can relate to power cords wreaking havoc...

Justin

[bob p]

I'm lucky that I haven't made any huge mistakes, but I seem to make the same stupid little mistakes over and over again. Like soldering up a cable with a plug on the end, and once I've finished, realizing that I forgot to slide the screw-on cover up the cord before I got started. So I get to take it all apart and start over again. D'oh.

[imaradiostar]

When I was first tinkering with amps I was working on am amp built the iron from a music man HD65- one of the high voltage class C ones. I installed a standby switch on the front panel instead of the rear where they usually are. At some point while working on the amp it was plugged in and possibly turned on and I wrapped my finger around the edge of the chassis and got quite a zap. I was rewarded with a hole burnt into my finger and that lovely burning flesh smell.

I'm luck I didn't die.

Jamie

[timrichter9]

I'm lucky that I haven't made any huge mistakes, but I seem to make the same stupid little mistakes over and over again. Like soldering up a cable with a plug on the end, and once I've finished, realizing that I forgot to slide the screw-on cover up the cord before I got started. So I get to take it all apart and start over again. D'oh.

I do this twice a year at least!

[DrGonz78]

Recently I was putting new speaker grill cloth on an old 70's Peavey combo amp... Anyhow I am about to the point where I would commit to stapling the whole thing up on the remaining 3 sides. I look through the grill cloth from the front of the baffle and realize that all the black painted wood was looking pretty nasty. All the wood had started to crumble away and thus removing the black paint that was on it. It looked like utter crap!! So, pull out a bunch of staples and spray some black primer, all set. Got it all back together. Now time to put on the metal aluminum side panels and realize my staple gun is no match for this job. Quick thinking I start grabbing out the left over staples from the trash and start hammering them into the old holes. It worked out well in the end but I should have noticed that nasty wood flaking away and should have realized my staple gun was not made to penetrate solid aluminum.

[Enzo]

I did something REALLY stupid just yesterday... I disagreed with my wife.

[Resonator Guy]

Other than buying too many old Gibson amps, the dumbest thing I have done recently occurred when recapping a MOT magnatone. I was bending the new cap lead into a tight u before soldering when I clipped the lead off right near the cap. I had reached for my small pliers and grabbed my small cutters instead. Good thing I don't do surgery.

[Jazz P Bass]

I forgot my wife's birthday.
Can I stay at your place for a couple of days?

[Chuck H]

I forgot my wife's birthday.
Can I stay at your place for a couple of days?

Hoowah! Your only recourse is to treat her to a night out and watch a "chick flick" with her. Happily. And then insist that you don't want anything for your B-day. Using the excuse that your too stressed about finances to enjoy any gift. That'll throw her off into thinking that your just too stuck in current financial issues to have remembered. This will only work if your not "fat" (tall cotton) right now. Oh... Get her a belated birthday card and some flowers. This part is important... Not a pre written card, but a blank card with some sort of image she'll appreciate as the graphic. Then write to her as eloquently as you can muster. Explain that all the pre written cards just seemed too trite and you REALLY wanted her to know how YOU feel about her.

I actually haven't forgotten my wife's birthday. But I've made equally profound errors. If you don't squelch this NOW you'll pay for it forever Not trying to wiggle you out of it because you should be excused. More like, I love my wife even though I'm poor at multitasking and fail to prioritize correctly. Good luck.

[Enzo]

Happy birthday to my love
My wife, my life, my turtle dove
I love you more each day it seems
I love you more than pork and beans.


There, she'll like that.

[Chuck H]

OK... In keeping with the thread, here is my personal best amp goof...

I was working on an old Traynor. The fiber circuit board is insulated from the chassis by a blank board beneath it (like old Fender types). On this amp the circuit board warped snug against the bottom, blank board and the blank board was snug on the chassis. In an attempt to minimize amp vibration transfer to the circuit board I jammed a hunk of automotive vacuum line between the boards. It turns out that automotive vacuum line has enough carbon in it to conduct electricity!!! This phenomenon only worsened the more the tubing conducted until it began to heat up and smoke. By the time I realized what was going on a butt load of carbon had atomized into the chassis space and impregnate the wax on the fiber board. The whole circuit board became slightly conductive. I had to replace it. Along with most of the components. Word to the wise: Automotive vacuum line is conductive.

[Enzo]

I've done my share of soldering a plug on a cable only to find I forgot to put the plug cover on the wire first, we've all done that, I am sure.

And I have installed the bias filter cap backwards, I know I am not alone there either.

I had a guy bring me an amp once running a little hot, needed the bias adjusted, otherwise worked fine. It was a Seymour Duncan amp as I recall. Leaving it running, I went to pop the lid off and adjust it. The top screws screw into threaded inserts in the chassis top. The last screw came out and when it did, the threaded insert fell away loose into the works. It blew the power amp - smoke. With the guy watching me do it. I then had to rebuild the thing - lots of transistors - at no charge.

I no longer disassemble amps while the power is on.

[Jazz P Bass]

Reinstall the preamp board.
Tighten down all of the nuts.
And...
One of the indicator led's is not poking through.
Grrr.