peavey cs-400 repair

[zook250]

hi all. ive searched around but i cant find any information on the capacitors on a cs-400, i think they may be the problem.

when i power up the unit , channel 1 clips immediatly. with nothing plugged into the input. even when the p.a speakers are unplugged the clip light is still on.

any ideas on what may be causing this. the unit is a very old, steel front, tank style, and i have had some caps replaced about 10 years ago but i cant remember the symptoms.

how can caps be tested to find if they are at fault? i have limited electronic experience , but i can change caps if i knew which ones were bad.

thanks

 

[Flatpicker]

Just guessing, I'd say the cap’s are your problem, but again, I'm just guessing. Those 400s are so old that by this time, I'd probably change them all.

Before you go spending all that time and money on such an old worthless amp, you can find much newer, lighter weight, and better power amps on eBay for around $150 - $200. Good caps aren't cheap and replacing them will be a pain. If it was an old Macintosh, I'd say go for it, but an old 400 just wouldn't be worth all that trouble and expense, IMHO.

 

[Cave Dweller]

well i would beg to differ, i really like those old Peaveys, though they are heavy, and have relatively low power ratings. It seems like most old amps are very conservatively rated, as opposed to newer amps that exploit every spec possible.
what i am getting at is those old CS series amps have rarely let me down, they seem to have tons of head room, and they are solidly built. if its only a few caps that need replacing, you will probably get another 10 years out of it, which is tough to say for many of they newer units.

 

[Flatpicker]

well i would beg to differ, i really like those old Peaveys...

I didn’t mean to come across as not liking old Peavey power amps and I certainly see your point. I’ve got an old M-4000 I bought new about 15 years ago and it’s still going strong. But when the caps go, I don’t know that I’ll invest the time and money it takes to re-cap it. I guess it really boils down to a time/cost ratio sort of thing. So, if you've got the time and you're set up to perform such an operation, go for it!

 

[Flatpicker]

Re: Re: peavey cs-400 repair

...Before you go spending all that time and money on such an old worthless amp, you can find much newer, lighter weight, and better power amps on eBay for around $150 - $200...

BTW, what I meant by "worthless" was that after you repair it, you probably wouldn't be able to sell it for what the caps cost - not that it would be of no use.