BE100 HELP? Lost volume

  • Thread starter Thread starter itsme
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itsme

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Bought my BE new last year and have been gigging it non stop since. Have never opened it up. All original tubes, etc. Worked/sounded great on Sunday at home. Got to rehearsal last night, hooked it up, and no volume? Turned up to full, you can clearly hear it, but it's no more than audible. I turned the loop off, and tried several cables straight in. All channels the same. Can't seam to fix it. Can anyone provide any troubleshooting advice? Would hate to have to send it to CA due to shipping, and most likely the long wait. I do have a new set of power tubes from ARS that I bought a while back for backup and have plenty of pre's laying around. Would a tube cause this? If so which should i start with? I wouldn't think it's the power tubes, as they show no signs of problems?
 
itsme":1w9oh7l7 said:
Bought my BE new last year and have been gigging it non stop since. Have never opened it up. All original tubes, etc. Worked/sounded great on Sunday at home. Got to rehearsal last night, hooked it up, and no volume? Turned up to full, you can clearly hear it, but it's no more than audible. I turned the loop off, and tried several cables straight in. All channels the same. Can't seam to fix it. Can anyone provide any troubleshooting advice? Would hate to have to send it to CA due to shipping, and most likely the long wait. I do have a new set of power tubes from ARS that I bought a while back for backup and have plenty of pre's laying around. Would a tube cause this? If so which should i start with? I wouldn't think it's the power tubes, as they show no signs of problems?
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Yes, dying tubes can cause volume and power loss. Tubes can be fine one day and on their way out the next. It sounds like the problem might very well be tube related.
 
Thanks John...

I kinda was hoping this was a common thing and that I'd get a bunch of responses for a quick/simple fix. But it's starting to look like I may have to put the BE in the closet and start using my other amps...
 
Sounds like you have a bad pre-amp tube. Try replacing your V1 and/or your V4 pre-amp 12Ax7's.
 
itsme":v5337sm4 said:
Thank you. I'll try the pre's and report back
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Power tubes will do the same thing. Thankfully, Friedman has his power tubes marked with a rating number so ARS can send you replacements that do not require re-biasing. I have had a lot of amps over the years and I can only recall having to get an amp repaired one time and this was for a cold solder joint. All of my other trips to a repair shop were for mod work. I have had plenty of other amp problems randomly occur which were all either power tube or preamp tube related. I would be very surprised to hear that your problem is not a tube issue.
 
Try plugging into the loop return with the loop on. Do you get sound? How about the clean channel? Does it work?
 
itsme - > Did you get it fixed? :confused:

Dave - Let me see if I understand what your are suggesting - plugging in the loop return lets you bypass the preamp tubes? That way you know if it's on the power side or the preamp side? No sound = power tube issue, sound = Pre amp side tube issue :)
 
Also worthwhile to check all your cables & try different cables. Broken speaker cable??
 
Sorry for the late response, and thanks for all the help. Was out of town for couple days. Not sure what to make of it, but it's working fine now? I've been using tube amps for 30 yrs now, and consider myself pretty knowledgable in their operation. But could not get it to work at rehearsal. I'm gonna use it as my home practice amp for a couple weeks to see if it recurs, but it's loud and strong now. I've got other really nice amps that haven't been out of the house since uncle Friedman came along, so now's their chance. The BE's been a road warrior so hopefully just a fluke...
 
itsme":lglumxqj said:
Sorry for the late response, and thanks for all the help. Was out of town for couple days. Not sure what to make of it, but it's working fine now? I've been using tube amps for 30 yrs now, and consider myself pretty knowledgable in their operation. But could not get it to work at rehearsal. I'm gonna use it as my home practice amp for a couple weeks to see if it recurs, but it's loud and strong now. I've got other really nice amps that haven't been out of the house since uncle Friedman came along, so now's their chance. The BE's been a road warrior so hopefully just a fluke...
Click to expand...

Sounds like time to get a spare set of tubes on the way... ;)
 
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