P
phaeton
- Jan 1, 1970
- 0
Hey y'all. Been awhile since I've been here. I've missed the joint.
I might be picking up an old SS Fender bass amp from a guy at work for
dirt cheap. Like buy him a case of beer and it's mine, cheap.
Anyways, I don't know the details, but at some point in its
illustrious history, it was laying on its back, and a Wild Cherry
Pepsi got dumped onto it. Supposedly the speaker is fine, but the
soda seeped into the front panel of the amp, into all the pots and the
eq sliders, and most likely down onto the circuit board.
The good news is, it still works, it just sounds like shit. They say
it's kinda distorted, makes noises, and the volume fluctuates
constantly while you're playing. It can go from normal, to whisper,
to OMFGTHEWALLSARECRACKINGLOUD (in true Fender style) on whatever whim
it wants. Sounds like dirty/gummy pots to me. I fixed this on my old
Peavey Pacer many years ago with a $10 can of Contact Cleaner/
Lubricant from Radio Shack. (No soda in that case, just age and
dirt).
The other good news is that shortly after this happened, the guy and
his brother took it all apart and tried cleaning it up with Isoprophyl
Rubbing Alcohol. Hopefully this means that it hasn't had a lot of
soda on the circuit board for the last few years. However, something
tells me that the water content and lack of lubricant could seize the
pots.
I still have most of a can of that Contact Lubricant, and I'll happily
buy more if necessary. It'll probably work on the pots and sliders if
I treat them several times. If not, I could always replace them all.
Do you think it will also do any good (or harm) on the rest of the
circuit board? At this point, I almost wonder if gently agitating the
board in warm distilled water for awhile would do any harm, and/or
maybe some good.
I don't have it here yet, so I haven't taken it out to look at it.
It's very possible that the whole thing is a wreck, and if that's the
case I at least have a cabinet and (hopefully) a good speaker. I
might pick it up this weekend so I'll take a look then.
Thoughts?
I might be picking up an old SS Fender bass amp from a guy at work for
dirt cheap. Like buy him a case of beer and it's mine, cheap.
Anyways, I don't know the details, but at some point in its
illustrious history, it was laying on its back, and a Wild Cherry
Pepsi got dumped onto it. Supposedly the speaker is fine, but the
soda seeped into the front panel of the amp, into all the pots and the
eq sliders, and most likely down onto the circuit board.
The good news is, it still works, it just sounds like shit. They say
it's kinda distorted, makes noises, and the volume fluctuates
constantly while you're playing. It can go from normal, to whisper,
to OMFGTHEWALLSARECRACKINGLOUD (in true Fender style) on whatever whim
it wants. Sounds like dirty/gummy pots to me. I fixed this on my old
Peavey Pacer many years ago with a $10 can of Contact Cleaner/
Lubricant from Radio Shack. (No soda in that case, just age and
dirt).
The other good news is that shortly after this happened, the guy and
his brother took it all apart and tried cleaning it up with Isoprophyl
Rubbing Alcohol. Hopefully this means that it hasn't had a lot of
soda on the circuit board for the last few years. However, something
tells me that the water content and lack of lubricant could seize the
pots.
I still have most of a can of that Contact Lubricant, and I'll happily
buy more if necessary. It'll probably work on the pots and sliders if
I treat them several times. If not, I could always replace them all.
Do you think it will also do any good (or harm) on the rest of the
circuit board? At this point, I almost wonder if gently agitating the
board in warm distilled water for awhile would do any harm, and/or
maybe some good.
I don't have it here yet, so I haven't taken it out to look at it.
It's very possible that the whole thing is a wreck, and if that's the
case I at least have a cabinet and (hopefully) a good speaker. I
might pick it up this weekend so I'll take a look then.
Thoughts?