Guitar amp acting strange please help?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jangles642
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Jangles642

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Ok so I bought a used amp (Rouge GS-100. I know it sucks, but I'm on a budget). It worked for a bit, but now when I turn it on and play, it is very quiet...like abnormally 'I can barely hear anything' quiet. It's quiet UNLESS I turn the volume all the way up(still quiet at this point) and strum real hard. At this point it crackles a bit and then "kicks in" and has normal very loud volume. I can turn the amp back down and play on it normally. It will stay like this for maybe 20 minutes, then it dies again. If I repeat the "kick start" process, it will start working again.

What the hell is going on here???? Help would be greatly appreciated...I'm playing live on Thursday, and it would suck to be one amp short!
 
Well...it ain't got tubes, so it's not that. :D

Mmmm...could be a number of things with a SS amp.

Start by cleaning all jacks, pots, switches....with some deoxit, and work them clean... and see if that helps any.
Check all the connections, including amp-to-speaker.
If none of that helps or turn up anything, you should just take it in for service, unless you have experience with troubleshooting amp components and know your way around the boards.
 
If a good cleaning doesn't fix it then it really wouldn't be worth spending any more money trying to repair the thing. If the problem is in the preamp then you may still be able to plug a distortion pedal or multi-fx into the effects return and just use the power section.
 
Thanks for the suggestions so far. Here is an update. So I tried to run my FX to the FX return, but I still encounter the same problem. Also, I get the same problem through my headphones when they are plugged in to the amp. This leads me to believe that the problem does not lie in the speakers.

I want to open up the amp and look for bad soldering or loose connections and whatnot. Is this a good idea? What safety precautions do I need to take. Are there capacitors that need to be discharged or anything?

Thanks again for the help!
 
Rogue Amps! Volume pot is the problem. They're a lot like the pots used in Crate Amps. I've got a 90's hybrid GXT 100 that started doing that. Thought it was the preamp tubes going microphonic on me. Changed those-replaced them with fresh TAD 12 AX7-C's and still had the same problem.

Started wiggling the pot shafts as I played around with the amp and found that it would clear up. Long story short, sprayed with deoxit, spun 'em back and forth for a while and voila'.....worked perfectly. I know they have to cut some corners to make a profit but, they could at least install better quality pots. The GXT I have is a a hell of a musical powerhouse. The last of the "made in America" Crates. But to be hampered by a $4.00 pot to save a $1.50.....that's a load of crap.
 
Check also transistors. In many cases the problem is with them. If one dies from all then the amp starts to work quite!
 
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