holy shit I think I killed my amp...:(

[frigid midget]

So last night I was trying to get my new cab to work, after hooking up fresh speakers. It took me a while to find out that a dead solder joint on one of the speakers was the culprit. So that means I turned my amp off and on a bunch of times, putting stress on the tubes and/or transformer, right? Even worse: During those really short test runs with the non-working speaker cab, I ran the amp with no load. I was aware of the risk at the time, which is why I just checked if I got sound out of it and than turned in of immediately, and always kept the volule down. I did obviously strum my guitar though, feeding the amp a signal...

The amp works, kinda. But the volume is about half of what it's supposed to be, probably even less. So I'm worried I might have fried the OT or something :s

The amp: A vintage Traynor YBA-1 bassmaster, which was recently given fresh tubes and a full check up.
Might be worth mensioning: One of the pots was acting up. It's scratchy, feels 'looser' than the other pots, and used to even cut the volume on some potitions. That's why I'm hoping that it's just the pot died on me, since the volume cut is gone, but now the whole amp is quieter than it used to be. Don't know that's the case though, cause the scracthy pot still actually does the job (bass control).

Also...I *might* have accidentally turned off the step-down transformer BEFORE turning the amp off
The standby/operate switch on the fron panel was turned off, so the little red pilot light wasn't on. After at least 5 minutes I noticed that the "AC on" switch at the back of the amp was left on

There's not smell or anything coming from the amp, the tubes light up, and aside from the hiuge volume loss, it still works...

Anyone any idea what might be wrong here? PLEASE don't tell me I fried the OT or something else that'll be pricey to fix

[digi2t]

YBA-3 owner here. Those Traynors were built with massive iron, and I would hesitate to say that the OT is the problem. 10000 years from now, there will be a pile of dust where that amp is sitting now, with those transformers sitting on top of it.

First things first; get a known working cab, and plug that into the amp. Check the power side. Turning off the step-down I don't think would be a problem. All that should do is cut the source power to the amp all together. That would equate going from ON, to OFF, without going through STANDBY. No big deal. I do that all the time when I'm done using my amp, never had a problem. Turn on the power, switch to STANDBY. Are you getting a nice, normal looking glow from the tubes? NO = stop there. YES = carry on.

Check the bulb, it might just be burnt out. The bulb works off the 6.3v heater circuit, and it that was dead, you wouldn't be getting any glow on the tubes (or any sound from the amp for that matter).

Focus on a known problem first, namely the volume pot. It's either your problem, or not, but eliminate it from the equation. If it was "iffy" before, it's not going to magically get better. Change it out for a new one. Do it yourself, if you're comfy working inside a box that can potentially contain enough stored energy to stun an elephant. If not, take it to a shop.

Start with that.

[lost in music]

This thread puts me in a mind for Henry Mancini.

[frigid midget]

YBA-3 owner here. Those Traynors were built with massive iron, and I would hesitate to say that the OT is the problem. 10000 years from now, there will be a pile of dust where that amp is sitting now, with those transformers sitting on top of it.

First things first; get a known working cab, and plug that into the amp. Check the power side. Turning off the step-down I don't think would be a problem. All that should do is cut the source power to the amp all together. That would equate going from ON, to OFF, without going through STANDBY. No big deal. I do that all the time when I'm done using my amp, never had a problem. Turn on the power, switch to STANDBY. Are you getting a nice, normal looking glow from the tubes? NO = stop there. YES = carry on.

Check the bulb, it might just be burnt out. The bulb works off the 6.3v heater circuit, and it that was dead, you wouldn't be getting any glow on the tubes (or any sound from the amp for that matter).

Focus on a known problem first, namely the volume pot. It's either your problem, or not, but eliminate it from the equation. If it was "iffy" before, it's not going to magically get better. Change it out for a new one. Do it yourself, if you're comfy working inside a box that can potentially contain enough stored energy to stun an elephant. If not, take it to a shop.


Start with that.

Cheers. Now that you mension it, I remember my amp tech saying something similar about the transformer. That's a huge relief I guess.
I dubble checked the speakers and wiring, I really doubt there's a problem with the cab. Especially since everything was working fine for a couple minutes, untill the volume started cutting out and the amp eventually went quiet...

Desoldering a pot and replacing it with a new one isn't a problem, as long as I don't get zapped. Leaving the amp unplugged for a week (which is how long it'll take me to get the new pot and find the time to work on the amp) should be enough to discharging to power caps, right?

[Jero]

If you know what to avoid, I'd say it's pretty easy to do just that...but shit does happen. I wouldn't leave it up to them discharging on their own. You can make a simple dis-charger that works slower & will do it without the arc of shorting the caps. I'll try and find a video after work if you need.

[digi2t]

Leaving the amp unplugged for a week (which is how long it'll take me to get the new pot and find the time to work on the amp) should be enough to discharging to power caps, right?

Generally, Traynors have a 100K resistor to ground atop all the power caps to drain them when the power is off, but in practice SAFETY FIRST. I have a few jumpers that I made for discharging caps, which I install before starting work, and I leave them in place while I'm working inside an amp. This regardless whether they have incorporated resistors or not. Here is a tutorial, just add INSULATED alligator clips to the ends; https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Constructi ... +Tool/2177

When you're done working, and ready to test, BE SURE TO REMOVE ALL THE CAP DRAIN JUMPERS!!!!

Let us know how you make out. Damn nice amp btw. Been hankering for one for a while now.

[crochambeau]

Also...I *might* have accidentally turned off the step-down transformer BEFORE turning the amp off

Can you elaborate on exactly what is going on in regards to this sentence? I assume from it you are posting from the realm of 240 volt mains, if so - any corrective measures should meet the dumbfuck code, by which I mean to say your system of stepping down voltage absolutely needs to be fool proof. If there is any way you can strap 240 volts across that amp (I'm also assuming 110 volt model, my Traynor does not have an export PT), find it and eliminate it, because there will happen to be a time when fumbling will occur.

[Jwar]

Could it simply be the powertube burned out? That happened to me, well it was a bit more than that and it sucked ass. It's relatively easy to fix though, unless you fried some other components. Normally there'd be a smell associated with it though. Unless of course the power tube just went bad. Aren't power tubes kind of boxed up in most amps too? So you wouldn't see them light up at all.

[digi2t]

Also...I *might* have accidentally turned off the step-down transformer BEFORE turning the amp off

Can you elaborate on exactly what is going on in regards to this sentence? I assume from it you are posting from the realm of 240 volt mains, if so - any corrective measures should meet the dumbfuck code, by which I mean to say your system of stepping down voltage absolutely needs to be fool proof. If there is any way you can strap 240 volts across that amp (I'm also assuming 110 volt model, my Traynor does not have an export PT), find it and eliminate it, because there will happen to be a time when fumbling will occur.

I thought about this one too, and I'm ASSUMING that the "dumb-fuck code" is in force here. But then again, you know what assuming often gets you. What crochambeau says applies. Make sure that 240 cannot get to the amp in any way, shape, or form. If it cannot, and the switch on the step down simply disconnects the step down from the mains supply, then there's no problem.

Could it simply be the powertube burned out? That happened to me, well it was a bit more than that and it sucked ass. It's relatively easy to fix though, unless you fried some other components. Normally there'd be a smell associated with it though. Unless of course the power tube just went bad. Aren't power tubes kind of boxed up in most amps too? So you wouldn't see them light up at all.

Again, from the original description, the assumption is that the amp was working fine before the speaker adventure. By "fine", I mean excepting the volume pot problem. Still, easy enough to test as well, if you have a similar set of tubes to swap in for a quick test, but then again, biasing for the different tubes comes into play here. I would still prefer to run through the simple/known stuff first (volume pot, heater circuit bulb), before getting too paranoid.

As for seeing the tubes glow, Bassmaster has a back panel, with a grill for cooling. Not really necessary to remove it to see the tubes glow. Simply dimming the room lights, and peeking through the grill, should reveal if the heaters are working. Then again, if you're replacing the volume pot, you'll have the unit out of the enclosure in any case.

[frigid midget]

Thanks again.

I don't know what I did, but I got pissed off and started swapping all the cables, tried another guitar, messed a bit with all the controls and the jack inputs...

And now the amp's running normally again, sounding fabulous the way it should

I know I'm a tool for not going over every single thing one at the time, but I got too furious to concentrate
The pot still needs to be replaced, but even if I mess with it and turn it left and right and what not...The volume doens't cut out at all
So I think my best bet is to check all my cables. I DID try different cables and went over all the obvious noob shit before I started this thread, so there's a good chance maybe both one of my guitar as well as one of my guitar cables or something :s

Anyone, I'm releived my amp seems okay now, even though I haven't ruled out a weird issue that may return sooner or later...:s

Edit: Yeah, none of the power tubes seem blown, they glow nicely. The step down transformer I mensioned is indeed cause the amp's 110V, and I've got 230V coming out of the sockets. I paniced too quickly there. If the step down transformer is off, the amp is indeed not getting any power

[crochambeau]

I haven't ruled out a weird issue that may return sooner or later...:s

Old amps are like old cars, they need a little love and attention now and then.

Good to hear you're sorted!

[digi2t]

Great news. If you can take some time to back track, and figure out what the problem was, it'll save you further aggravation in the future.

[frigid midget]

Great news. If you can take some time to back track, and figure out what the problem was, it'll save you further aggravation in the future.

Exactly, that's the plan.

A new problem came up btw. After playing the amp for half an hour or so, with zero issues or reasons to get worried again, I decided to dig up the attenuator I bought on a whim ages ago, and hardly ever used. Long story short: I didn't get it to work properly, and when it finally suddenly let some sound go through, it stated to smell and smoke came through the back vent

Time to change the thread title

[digi2t]

OK... might sound like stupid questions, but here goes...
- Were you using any of the same cables as when the amp problem occurred?
- How many watts is the attenuator rated for?
- Are you using instrument type (coax) cables on the speaker output, or proper speaker wire? (Not as critical for this troubleshoot, but you shouldn't be using instrument cables between an amp and a speaker cab in any case)

[frigid midget]

OK... might sound like stupid questions, but here goes...
- Were you using any of the same cables as when the amp problem occurred?
- How many watts is the attenuator rated for?
- Are you using instrument type (coax) cables on the speaker output, or proper speaker wire? (Not as critical for this troubleshoot, but you shouldn't be using instrument cables between an amp and a speaker cab in any case)

It doesn't hurt to go over the silly stuff ask a couple questions that may seem stupid, I don't at all rule out the possibility of making a huge noob mistake here or there. Especially since I can't seem to find the manual of my cursed 'Ultimate Attenuator' anywhere online...:s

So to answer yer second question: I *think* mine is rated for 100Watt, I can't actually remember, and it's not mensioned anywhere on the back panel or anything. If I'm wrong, if it's 50Watt instead of 100Watt, the 40-ish Watt Traynor still shouldn't be able to fry the attenuator, right? It's 8 Ohm btw, and so is the cab, fwiw

The first question, about the cables: It may very well be possible that one of the speaker cables (no instrument cables were used btw) is wonky, and caused the problem with the amp, and than later with the attenuator. But I did try out both speaker cables between the amp and cab, and they both work flawlessly