aw crap. i think i fried something

T

toobalicious

New member
in my 266xl compressor. i had both channels chained together in series--- now 1st channel doesnt seem to... um... compress, but does distort with higher signal levels. doesnt matter how the controls are set. also, it cleanly passes signal below a certain volume threshold. channel 2 seems unaffected. i was using this with my GK 700RB, in the effects loop. there was no sign; it worked, then it didnt. i can solder, but i am not exactly an electrical engineer. any cursory thoughts on what happened? it isnt particularly valuable, but in this bush economy, i cant replace it right now.
ugh.

a
 
heya. thanks for reply. channel 2 is all good--- in fact i used it during rehearsal tonight. channel 1 is fuxxord. about 5% of the time, it "almost" wants to work right (at least, the gain reduction LEDs come on, and the compressor briefly "functions". the gate still works on 1, but doesnt seem as "smooth" (for lack of a better adjective) as 2, or 1 previously.

sucks---- i dont know of anyone local to consult. living in a smallish city has plenty of drawbacks.

a
 
Alright. Begin with the simple stuff. Try cleaning out your jacks. If you aren't too remote for a Radio Shack grab yourself some tuner/contact cleaner and spray some into your jacks. Then work a plug in and out of those same jacks several times. Now spray each again for good measure.

Next I would open the box up and look for where the signal jacks are attached to the circuit board. While viewing the bottom of the circuit board insert a plug into each jack and watch carefully for movement of the jack's mounting pins on the board. This would indicate a broken solder joint. Easy to fix by touching the connection briefly with a soldering iron.

Hope that helps.
 
Just curious - when you say "chained in series" do you mean one channel running into the other? To what purpose? :confused:

And keep in mind I'm a drummer, so type slowly. :D
 
yeah--- probably wouldnt hurt to try cleaning the jacks. the jacks "seem" solid, and signal never cuts out. i will have to wait for sunday to pull it out and open it up. been meaning to pick up some deoxit for several months now, as another amp has flaky power tube sockets that i hope will be corrected by cleaning/retensioning. hmm... in fact, maybe i will try XLR jack today at rehearsal--- i can send from the DI, but i am pretty sure ill lose the tone controls (sigh). i am thinking that the "post" setting is also post effects loop. ive got one of those converter dealies somewhere, but where?

mad audio:
yes, that is exactly what i do (well, did). i would set the first compressor at around 2:1 with 3 dB or less reduction, save for slaps and/or pops. then into the second channel, which i use more like a peak limiter, but with a fairly low ratio (like 4:1) and fast attack and release. it makes the compressor pretty transparent, but quashes the big transients and keeps distortion at a minimum. many (maybe most) compressors seem to sound best when the reduction is is at a minimum, especially cheap ones like this 266XL. at high ratios particularly, the signal will distort quite noticeably with big transients. of course, i cant afford the nice shit like a lot of folks here.

a
 
ok... it is just as it appears. the 2-5% of the time that the compressor tries to work, bypass does as youd expect. when it isnt working, bypass does nothing. i suppose that switch will be another thing to check. it really "feels" like something took a dump inside.

BTW, cleaning jacks did not help, but i havent opened it up yet. save for a broken solder joint or something obvious, there is an even-money chance i wont know what i am looking at anyway.

sigh.

if there is a bright side, it is that there are a lot of better choices than the 266xl, so there is always that. too bad i cant afford any of them right now.

i borrowed a truck to move some stuff this weekend--- a '95 3/4 ton chevy 4x4 with 454 and 33 gallon tank--- put $100 in the tank and it STILL wasnt full. frankly, i dont see how folks are making it, stimulus check or not. i know visa is loving my ass right now. :o

a
 
toobalicious said:
ok... it is just as it appears. the 2-5% of the time that the compressor tries to work, bypass does as youd expect. when it isnt working, bypass does nothing. i suppose that switch will be another thing to check. it really "feels" like something took a dump inside.
Click to expand...

Good logic. The bypass switch was my next suspect. I tend to look for the sources of mechanical failure before I start probing circuits. In the Navy I found that 90% of the time avionics equipment suffered damage due to the extreme vibrations found in a fighter jet. Audio gear is also subject to mechanical wear and tear, especially if gigged.

BTW, cleaning jacks did not help, but i havent opened it up yet. save for a broken solder joint or something obvious, there is an even-money chance i wont know what i am looking at anyway.
Click to expand...

At least you made the effort instead of dumping it in the trash or using it for target practice.


sigh.

if there is a bright side, it is that there are a lot of better choices than the 266xl, so there is always that. too bad i cant afford any of them right now.

i borrowed a truck to move some stuff this weekend--- a '95 3/4 ton chevy 4x4 with 454 and 33 gallon tank--- put $100 in the tank and it STILL wasnt full. frankly, i dont see how folks are making it, stimulus check or not. i know visa is loving my ass right now. :o

a
Click to expand...

Another $75 on what you paid for gas and you could get a FMR RNC which is a good upgrade to your DBX.

Look on the bright side, at least you still have one working channel. The way you are using the compressor in a series cascade I would imagine that you don't need a full compliment of controls on them both. With that in mind maybe consider trying to nab a used DBX 163X on Ebay for $30 - $40.
 
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