Broken VYPYR 30

King85

As posted in an off topic thread I ordered this via eBay and when I received it it had been shipped wrapped only in a bin bag.

Understandably it didn't work, was scratched on every corner, had the input hanging loose back into the body, was missing a control knob (which the neighbor who took it in found on their driveway the other day) and was generally filthy. I complained to eBay they asked the guy to issue return postage which he ignored and I got a refund.

I thought rather than chuck it I'd have a look and see if I could get it going and having taken it apart and cleaned it it now powers up.

However, it is insanely loud, ear piercing on anything over 1.5 on volume which cannot be right and it also has a constant chorus echo on it no matter what mode it is put in.

Any ideas what may be causing this?

ICBM

At a guess, broken PCB connections on the front panel board, which the pots are mounted on and will have taken a hammering - or it could be the pots themselves. It may or may not be fixable, but if you can't have a go yourself it's likely to be uneconomical for a tech given the value of a bashed-up Vypyr 30.

At this point I would keep the speaker, and any other parts you can easily remove (handles and feet in particular are surprisingly useful) and not bother going to any more trouble, as you've been refunded.

King85

ICBM said:

At a guess, broken PCB connections on the front panel board, which the pots are mounted on and will have taken a hammering - or it could be the pots themselves. It may or may not be fixable, but if you can't have a go yourself it's likely to be uneconomical for a tech given the value of a bashed-up Vypyr 30.

At this point I would keep the speaker, and any other parts you can easily remove (handles and feet in particular are surprisingly useful) and not bother going to any more trouble, as you've been refunded.

Would it be worth me taking the PCB out and putting some pics up to see if there's any signs of obvious damage someone may be able to spot?

I took it all apart and gave the corners a respray with plastidip so it doesn't look scruffy now.

ICBM

King85 said:

Would it be worth me taking the PCB out and putting some pics up to see if there's any signs of obvious damage someone may be able to spot?

I took it all apart and gave the corners a respray with plastidip so it doesn't look scruffy now.

Worth a look, yes.

If it looks decent then even if you can't get the amp section working, you could turn it into an extension cab.

King85

Here's a few pictures. To my untrained eye I can't see anything obvious.

What do those switches in the first picture do?

https://i.imgur.com/NsuwIct.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/EJwwPMW.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/3FbKQ1E.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/VA1bro7.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Y70GIT6.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/GtgtK1A.jpg

ICBM

King85 said:

Here's a few pictures. To my untrained eye I can't see anything obvious.

The jack looks bent or loose. If the ground isn't contacting the chassis it might do odd things, sometimes that's used as the main ground connection for the preamp. (I'm not sure about this amp.)

King85 said:

What do those switches in the first picture do?

No idea! But if you can get it working, it's probably worth finding out - it's very unlikely to do any harm since they're obviously meant to be easily accessible.

King85

Thanks ICBM.

The jack was loose when I received the amp, I have tightened it up since but it is sitting at a slight angle, I think this is just the angle i was holding it whilst doing it up.

I'll connect it all back up and see if those switches do much and report back.

King85

The switches don't seem to do anything oddly.

I think it's borked.