Repair of solid state guitar amp

[j]

I have a little Fender 30 that's been slammed around a lot (I like crashing the reverb spring

)... anyway, it doesn't work too well anymore - there's a constant hum and one of the inputs doesn't work at all. All the sites I can find are trying to sell repair services, and from what I hear it probably wouldn't be worth the money to fix the amp. I'm pretty handy with a soldering iron, so I thought I'd crack it open before giving up. Does anyone know of a site or somewhere I can get info on what I need to look for in there?

 

[Matt]

random idea J - you could take it in to one of those repair places, see what they think.

You may get an answer to the effect of 'sounds like your X is shot' at which point you both agree that its not worth replacing on a litle old amp like this, and you walk away knowing which part needs to be replaced.

Then - to eBay with you...

 

[Stax]

http://www.fender.com/support/amp_schematics/

 

[Violinist]

Originally Posted by j

I have a little Fender 30 that's been slammed around a lot (I like crashing the reverb spring

)... anyway, it doesn't work too well anymore - there's a constant hum and one of the inputs doesn't work at all. All the sites I can find are trying to sell repair services, and from what I hear it probably wouldn't be worth the money to fix the amp. I'm pretty handy with a soldering iron, so I thought I'd crack it open before giving up. Does anyone know of a site or somewhere I can get info on what I need to look for in there?

go to www.guitargeek.com

It's like styleforum for guitars.

If someone there doesn't know how to fix it, it can't be done.

 

[Get Smart]

if it's solid state, you're probably gonna be out of luck getting it fixed. The problem is most likely in the circuit board, which would need to be replaced completely.

I used to post quite a bit on the Harmony Central forum, which is a vast resource of geek info on guitars and amps and from my memory among threads like yours, the general consensus was any repair wasnt going to be worth the cost

 

[freakseam]

the problem hasn't been identified, so i wouldn't presume the worst case and that whatever is the problem commands abandoning the amp. the hum might be resulting from the broken input, a loose wire solder joint. check all the obvious wires. you might want to check your guitar connections, too.

 

[fareau]

Originally Posted by j

I have a little Fender 30 that's been slammed around a lot (I like crashing the reverb spring

)... anyway, it doesn't work too well anymore - there's a constant hum and one of the inputs doesn't work at all. All the sites I can find are trying to sell repair services, and from what I hear it probably wouldn't be worth the money to fix the amp. I'm pretty handy with a soldering iron, so I thought I'd crack it open before giving up. Does anyone know of a site or somewhere I can get info on what I need to look for in there?
Have you checked out www.harmony-central.com? Very cool website with all sorts of information for musicians; certainly worth a look since I think they have various fora and links pertaining to guitar/amp repairs. Edit: Woops, I see that Get Smart already mentioned the website...

 

[MCsommerreid]

Hum on a solid state would be a loose input or other wire. From what I know of solid state audio if the circuit board had went the thing wouldnt work at all.

IMO not really worth fixing. Solid state amps are cheap, and abundant.

 

[j]

Well cheap is relative - I can't find another one of the same amp for less than about $100 in working condition. Messing with it a bit though, it may very well be just the input(s) or even the cable, so I'll open it up when I get a chance and take a look in there. Thanks for all the links.

 

[Mr. Checks]

I would add the Fender Forum (not the company site) too; I used to post there a lot and those guys know everything about Fenders

 

[ComboOrgan]

There are two problems I always check out myself before sending stuff to my repair guy. They're both relatively common, and can be easy to fix

1. Check any point-to-point connections for loose solder joints.

Cheaper new amps tend to have very little point-to-point wiring. Instead, the knobs and jacks are probably just attached to a circuit board. Still, you can look for point-to-point connections between PCBs, or to-and-from the reverb.

2. Check for blown capacitors.

They're the most likely single component to fail. Look for capacitors that have a bubble in their casing, or are otherwise misshapen or discolored. If the capacitors are surface-mounted (as most inexpensive electronics are), you probably don't want to attempt a repair unless you have experience with SMT.