Music Gear Health Check
Last night during 1 Uppers rehearsal my trusty Fender Hot Rod Deluxe amp started behaving strangely. It was randomly switching channels, the reverb was cutting in / out, and it was making profoundly unmusical sounds. I tried to switch out the cables, the guitar, and so on. Eventually I unhooked the footswitch and unplugged the guitar, and STILL it was doing all that crazy stuff. For the balance of rehearsal I was horribly distracted by how thin and crummy my amp sounded.
This morning I spent some time looking around on the usenet forums and deduced that either (1) my amp is haunted or (2) I’ve developed a cold solder joint at the +/-16V power resistors that control the op-amp switching. I’ve watched “Ghost Hunters” on the Sci Fi channel and since there weren’t any disembodied voices during the EVP session, I’m guessing it’s the resistors. Apparently this is a very common issue with this amp model and there are numerous postings to this effect. Fortunately it’s a pretty minor repair and I hope to have my amp back in time for Sunday’s gig with the 1 Uppers.
So, back to last night. As I was driving home from rehearsal I started making a mental list of my music gear, noting which items are need of repair. The list of fixes is bigger than I realized and it seems some gear maintenance is in order. Welcome to the world of a working musician! So here is my list, in order of severity:
Bring Out Your Dead
- Behringer 300XLA : This amp actually caught on fire while I was playing with The Preons. We all noticed it was increasingly stinky and it began to smoke. I made no attempt to save it – in fact, I turned up and let it die a truly rock-and-roll death. It’s probably unfixable at this point. But it was worth it.
It’s Just A Flesh Wound
- Fender Hot Rod Deluxe : Bad power resistors in the +/- 16V supply. Headed to the shop this week.
- White Strat #1 : Needs a new five-way switch, new output jack, new screws and springs to stabilize the middle pickup. I think I have most of those parts at home, and should be able to fix this easily. This guitar also really needs a setup. Once I’ve gotten my parts installed I might drop it off with a tech.
- White Strat #2 : Needs new bridge saddles. I’ll need to order these.
- Warr Guitar : Needs all potentiometers and switches replaced. They’re all the original components and are becoming intermittent. I definitely don’t have these parts on hand. I’ll need to order them. Or I might just drop it off with a tech.
- Ashdown 410T Bass Cabinet : Needs a new 1/4″ input jack. The Neutrik jack still works fine. I haven’t bothered fixing it yet, but as long as I’m making solder fumes I might as well.
- Telecaster : Needs a new output jack and the bridge hex screws ground down. Pretty minor. The new pickups, jack cup, bridge/saddles and 4 way switch are TOTALLY AWESOME! Thanks Kris!
- Fretless Bass #2 : My fender P-bass needs new pickups and a new wiring harness. Feh. This might be one that I have a shop do. Although I’m pretty handy and might take it on.
Looks like I’ll need to do some work on this gear sometime. With the ongoing projects at home I don’t know how I’ll find the time. Perhaps I’ll call up my musician buddies and host a solderfest in the garage…