Amp question...

Hey all,
I've got an old Peavey Bandit (I bought it around 1993) that I use as a practice amp. About a year or so ago, it started doing something strange. While playing, the sound would completely drop out or would just barely be audible. There are 3 things I can do that sometimes will bring the sound back. This problem happens on both the clean and distorted channels.

1. Flip the power switch off and back on.....sometimes this will work and the amp will be fine for a while.

2. (very strange) Turn the volume all the way up and play a chord. This will bring the volume back up suddenly. It's like the volume needs to be primed or something......

3. Bang on the top of it. This makes me think there is some kind of short somewhere. I don't hit the top of it hard, just enough to give it a soft jolt.

When the sound drops out, it usually will do it slowly, not a sudden drop. I really don't want to spend a lot of money fixing it, but it does come in useful as a practice amp. Anyone know what might be going on?

Dude anything that make you hit your amp is bad, take it ti a reputable service centre !

Nah, it's more fun to hit it. It's not really worth anything to me, just basically wanted to know if anyone has seen or heard of this before....

Most of these small solid state amps are basically throwaways, getting one serviced will probably cost about as much as it's worth, it seems like after about 5 or 6 years they just start to fade away, they aren't built for the long haul, so when the flipping,banging,etc stops working for you, go find another one for the next 11 years.....................

Originally Posted by: pstringMost of these small solid state amps are basically throwaways, ... they aren't built for the long haul, so when the flipping,banging,etc stops working for you, go find another one for the next 11 years.....................

[font=trebuchet ms]... or you find an old Ampeg G-18. I have two of them from the 80's, and they sound great![/font]

I have an SS-70C myself, still in great shape, I'm not knocking all solid state amps, I think some of them are great, Vox Valvtronix line especially, but most of the entry level practice amp stuff I see is in the throwaway category, I am glad that they do offer these amps though, so the average kid can afford something to get started with..............

Truth be told that the average starting kid probably couldn t make a good amp sound good when starting. So i second crappy amps for beginners. Also crappy amps, allbeit crappy, can sound ok in the hands of a professional. Ok....not great. Ahhhhh fond memories of my Fender frontman....*tear falls down 1 cheek

Yeah, the Peavey Bandit is a crap amp, I thought it was great when I was a beginner though. I'd look like a fool to even compare it to my Marshall, so I'm going to leave it at that. Ever since I discovered tube amps in the mid-90's, solid-state amps do nothing for me. I just use the Bandit on occasion for practice out of convenience. Even my almighty Line6 PodPro is crap. They promise the warmth of tubes in a software package, but it has no warmth. All the models sound solid-state......I don't get all the hype over Line6's products. They are way overpriced for what they promise. Just my opinion of them though......

Originally Posted by: JFRICKYeah, the Peavey Bandit is a crap amp, I thought it was great when I was a beginner though. I'd look like a fool to even compare it to my Marshall, so I'm going to leave it at that. Ever since I discovered tube amps in the mid-90's, solid-state amps do nothing for me. I just use the Bandit on occasion for practice out of convenience. Even my almighty Line6 PodPro is crap. They promise the warmth of tubes in a software package, but it has no warmth. All the models sound solid-state......I don't get all the hype over Line6's products. They are way overpriced for what they promise. Just my opinion of them though......

Virtually all make this sort of statement, but the reality is that it is solid state and its typical circuitry versus tubes and their typical circuitry. It is possible to make a great solid state amp just as it is possible to make a bad tube amp. The problem that the solid state designers have had over the years is that they did not know what in a tube amp was important to the musicians and being annointed by acedemia, they were not very interested in listening to musicians either.

As far as your amp's problem goes, the more likely problem is that there is a connection somewhere that has gone sour. If the amp uses IC sockets - they corrode over time. Peavey uses tin coated connectors - they too corrode. Since both of these are sliding contacts, they will clean themselves with a little help of moving the connectors in and out - just make sure that if you pull a connector or IC out that it goes back in the same way. Of course there is contact cleaner available at Radio Shack and some electronics stores. Spray some on the contacts to help clean them.

I had a board once upon a time that had a joint that looked good but when I touched with an iron, I found that the solder had been completely disconnected from the printed circuit board by corrosion. So I cleaned it up and resoldered the joint. Of course, some care should be taken while doing this sort of thing - power cord disconnected and good soldering technique...

Have a great day, Eric Pritchard, Pritchard Amps, www.pritchardamps.com

[font=trebuchet ms]Musicians tend not to be very technical, so another source of info is a very welcome additon![/font]

Originally Posted by: ekpVirtually all make this sort of statement, but the reality is that it is solid state and its typical circuitry versus tubes and their typical circuitry. It is possible to make a great solid state amp just as it is possible to make a bad tube amp. The problem that the solid state designers have had over the years is that they did not know what in a tube amp was important to the musicians and being annointed by acedemia, they were not very interested in listening to musicians either.

As far as your amp's problem goes, the more likely problem is that there is a connection somewhere that has gone sour. If the amp uses IC sockets - they corrode over time. Peavey uses tin coated connectors - they too corrode. Since both of these are sliding contacts, they will clean themselves with a little help of moving the connectors in and out - just make sure that if you pull a connector or IC out that it goes back in the same way. Of course there is contact cleaner available at Radio Shack and some electronics stores. Spray some on the contacts to help clean them.

I had a board once upon a time that had a joint that looked good but when I touched with an iron, I found that the solder had been completely disconnected from the printed circuit board by corrosion. So I cleaned it up and resoldered the joint. Of course, some care should be taken while doing this sort of thing - power cord disconnected and good soldering technique...

Have a great day, Eric Pritchard, Pritchard Amps, www.pritchardamps.com

Well, when I said the Bandit was a crap amp, that's an opinion. When I say solid state amps are crap, that was another opinion. I personally have never had any "great" tones from a solid state amp. Maybe there are some out there that do give good tone, but I don't have the convience of being able to go out and try out every model of amp.

Thanks for your input on what may be wrong with the amp, but that's a little too technical for the everyday guitar player to dive in to try to do. I think I'll just throw the Bandit out the window, maybe destroy it at a show for a laugh....