Hi all,
I have a Carlsbro Hornet 45 Lead Combo which I bought second hand in 1986. It may not be the world's greatest amp but it has served me well and been rehearsed and gigged with countless times and I rather like the sound of it as part of my set-up. It has been trouble free all this time other than the reverb tank breaking a few years ago but I replaced that and it was fine.
The amp has always been loud with plenty of headroom; historically I have run it in a band situation with both Gain and Master Volume both on around 5 (half way). My Overdrive sound comes from a pedal and when bypassed these levels have always given me a clean tone with just the slightest bit of edge.
After a period of non-use, however, I came to try it recently and found a problem. The sound is now distorting with very low gain settings (1 and above). The distortion is "raspy" (for want of a better description) and has some unpleasant harmonic overtones.
This is what I have done so far:
Carried out a visual inspection of all the components. Nothing is obviously damaged, blow, broken or burnt.
Cleaned all of the pots and sockets - the issue remained.
Tried the amp using headphones - the same issue can be heard via headphones so I am thinking it's unlikely to be the speaker.
I am now at a loss of what to try next. I know I'm lucky for the amp to have lasted this long and I could replace it but I do like the sound of it and would prefer to keep it in service if at all possible as long as it is economically viable.
I am OK with a soldering iron and mechanical repairs but not adept with electronics although I have access to someone that is, albeit they are not an amp specialist.
Any advice or recommendations as to what might be the problem / fix would be appreciated.
I have a Carlsbro Hornet 45 Lead Combo which I bought second hand in 1986. It may not be the world's greatest amp but it has served me well and been rehearsed and gigged with countless times and I rather like the sound of it as part of my set-up. It has been trouble free all this time other than the reverb tank breaking a few years ago but I replaced that and it was fine.
The amp has always been loud with plenty of headroom; historically I have run it in a band situation with both Gain and Master Volume both on around 5 (half way). My Overdrive sound comes from a pedal and when bypassed these levels have always given me a clean tone with just the slightest bit of edge.
After a period of non-use, however, I came to try it recently and found a problem. The sound is now distorting with very low gain settings (1 and above). The distortion is "raspy" (for want of a better description) and has some unpleasant harmonic overtones.
This is what I have done so far:
Carried out a visual inspection of all the components. Nothing is obviously damaged, blow, broken or burnt.
Cleaned all of the pots and sockets - the issue remained.
Tried the amp using headphones - the same issue can be heard via headphones so I am thinking it's unlikely to be the speaker.
I am now at a loss of what to try next. I know I'm lucky for the amp to have lasted this long and I could replace it but I do like the sound of it and would prefer to keep it in service if at all possible as long as it is economically viable.
I am OK with a soldering iron and mechanical repairs but not adept with electronics although I have access to someone that is, albeit they are not an amp specialist.
Any advice or recommendations as to what might be the problem / fix would be appreciated.