On Wednesday at rehearsal we all started to smell that unmistakable aroma of Electrical Burning. Turned out it was coming from my Roland Cube 80XL that I use for rehearsals. Only the 2nd rehearsal and actually on the first one we could smell something late on, but it wasn't as potent as the 2nd time.
I have a slightly poor sense of smell, so credit has to be given to the rest of the Band more than myself.
I switched it off before it got worse or completely fecked, getting close up to it, it was giving off "That Smell" but there was no smoke. The amp is only 7 or 8 months old and hasn't been played that much, in the house I've played it only at lowish volume (between 1 and 2 etc) but it has been looked after and covered with it's own cover. I've followed all the correct procedure of making sure the Volume controls are off when switching on, everything is on zero when I switch on and off.
Could I have overworked it? It has been cranked to 75% Volume(necessary, yes) for these 2 rehearsals and on the latest occasion has had my pedalboard running into the JC Clean Channel. Although the week before I had it cranked to the same volume using the Gain Modelling channels(with no pedalboard).
Can any of the Pedals on my board overload the amp, I wouldn't have said so as it is just an instrument signal, but I'm baffled to why the amp has seemingly failed so soon. I have the Bogner Ecstasy Pedals and a couple of Strymons, but surely they are only putting out an instrument signal, plus all the pedals are true bypass no buffer in the chain.
All the pedals were at unity gain and even the boost function on the Bogners are only set to boost about 5 - 10% for solos.
At it's worst on the latest occasion, it also sounded very rough when I engaged the Bogner Red Pedal, they are noisyish with "white noise" but this was very ugly noise compared to the usual acceptable noise you get from it.
Surely they are built to withstand the volume they are created to put out and I thought Roland products were renowned for reliability, mine may just be an exception, who knows.
Anyone had similar failings with the Cube range or any advice as to what might have failed electrically?
Thank You.
Only a Fool Would Say That.
Comments
Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
The new Cubes use an integrated circuit power module instead of discrete transistors. These are usually fine when used within their limits, but don't like being pushed and are not reliable when done so, even though they are supposed to be protected against overloads. A very common problem with many modern solid-state amps - I would tend to avoid amps built like this if you can.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
That's worrying as I've just kitted out a rehearsal room at work with 2 X Cube 80s and a Bass Cube 120XL (I have one of those too) and the gear is expected to be used most days for up to 3hrs a session.
I hope it all gets sorted out J for the Cube, and the Mesa
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
His amp is Ok, but prevention is better than cure.
Seems I'll be stuck with a Cube 80XL as the Warranty covers repair or replace, refund doesn't seem part of the deal. Could flog it at a loss but not ideal.
Oh well, plod on.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein