Hi, this is my first post in this great forum. It's wonderful to see some serious dedication to SS amps, for some are truly great sounding machines.
Such as, imho, the Fender Stage and Pro 185. At Harmony Central the old Stage 185 is one of the highest rated Fender amps which doesn't surprise me. I owned one for 6 years and it suited especially my strat perfectly. The 185 amps produce a lush, roomy and warm sound that is very different from say the smaller Deluxe 112 plus that I play in my study. That one is cardboard in comparison to the 185.
A few months ago I exchanged the Stage 185 for a Pro 185 (same amp, but 212 instead of 112) cause I needed its extra power for the kind of gigs I do. Same sound, even more room in it, very happy with it. Until a few days ago the amp got in big trouble, which gave me the blues.
I have some questions that maybe someone here will be able to answer. While I was playing (clean channel, volume at 5, overdrive from the old Boss OD-1) a loud buzz started to come out of the amp, and the distortion of my sound wasn't part of the OD settings. I switched the amp off, let it rest for a while, switched it on, everything seemed to be OK. But after some playing it all started again. And now when I switch it on the very loud buzz is immediately there, also with the volumes or all knobs at zero; no turning of knobs makes any difference. When I plug in my guitar it produces sound, all knobs work as they should, BUT the sound is nastily distorted and barely audible because of the buzz. The buzz seems to react to certain frequencies, such when I play G's... which puzzles me.
So yes I am a total noob when it comes to amp technics. I wish to have the amp repaired, but not at any cost since it's an already old beast from the early eighties and also since my budget is currently limited. On the other hand I never heard a solid state amp produce the lush and rich sounds that these 185's are capable of. I'd love to keep it as my main amp, even though it is VERY heavy.
To cut a too long story short, these are my questions:
- could it be that it's just filter caps or bad soldering that causes the very loud buzz? Or do the symptoms indicate that the trouble is more serious?
- can filter caps etc be replaced by someone who has no access to genuine Fender parts for this amp?
- is there a danger already that there is DC tension on the speakers? is the distorted sound maybe an indication of that?
- will it be normally be a lot of work (ie expensive) to repair an amp like this, is it worth it?
- is there such a thing as a life span for solid state amps? In the HC reviews people will tell you that the 185's are built for eternity, but can it be that after almost 30 years they simply tend to fall apart?
Many questions, I know, so many thanks in advance for answering some of them.
(btw I have the amp's manual and schematics for those interested)
Such as, imho, the Fender Stage and Pro 185. At Harmony Central the old Stage 185 is one of the highest rated Fender amps which doesn't surprise me. I owned one for 6 years and it suited especially my strat perfectly. The 185 amps produce a lush, roomy and warm sound that is very different from say the smaller Deluxe 112 plus that I play in my study. That one is cardboard in comparison to the 185.
A few months ago I exchanged the Stage 185 for a Pro 185 (same amp, but 212 instead of 112) cause I needed its extra power for the kind of gigs I do. Same sound, even more room in it, very happy with it. Until a few days ago the amp got in big trouble, which gave me the blues.
I have some questions that maybe someone here will be able to answer. While I was playing (clean channel, volume at 5, overdrive from the old Boss OD-1) a loud buzz started to come out of the amp, and the distortion of my sound wasn't part of the OD settings. I switched the amp off, let it rest for a while, switched it on, everything seemed to be OK. But after some playing it all started again. And now when I switch it on the very loud buzz is immediately there, also with the volumes or all knobs at zero; no turning of knobs makes any difference. When I plug in my guitar it produces sound, all knobs work as they should, BUT the sound is nastily distorted and barely audible because of the buzz. The buzz seems to react to certain frequencies, such when I play G's... which puzzles me.
So yes I am a total noob when it comes to amp technics. I wish to have the amp repaired, but not at any cost since it's an already old beast from the early eighties and also since my budget is currently limited. On the other hand I never heard a solid state amp produce the lush and rich sounds that these 185's are capable of. I'd love to keep it as my main amp, even though it is VERY heavy.
To cut a too long story short, these are my questions:
- could it be that it's just filter caps or bad soldering that causes the very loud buzz? Or do the symptoms indicate that the trouble is more serious?
- can filter caps etc be replaced by someone who has no access to genuine Fender parts for this amp?
- is there a danger already that there is DC tension on the speakers? is the distorted sound maybe an indication of that?
- will it be normally be a lot of work (ie expensive) to repair an amp like this, is it worth it?
- is there such a thing as a life span for solid state amps? In the HC reviews people will tell you that the 185's are built for eternity, but can it be that after almost 30 years they simply tend to fall apart?
Many questions, I know, so many thanks in advance for answering some of them.
(btw I have the amp's manual and schematics for those interested)