I just picked up a Carvin Nomad 1x12 amp. 50w 4 el84 tubes.
It sounds nice but at high volume it cuts out and makes a loud clicking sound.
I haven't done any troubleshooting yet, but I was wondering what might cause that. It doesn't do it at low volume.
It sounds nice but at high volume it cuts out and makes a loud clicking sound.
I haven't done any troubleshooting yet, but I was wondering what might cause that. It doesn't do it at low volume.
Could be many things, first disconnect its speaker and connect the amp to some other cab. Does the problem still exist through those speakers. Thinking you could have a failing tinsel wire or internal voice coil connection and at large excursions the coil circuit opens. This also would put stress on the output transformer which might be the clicking.
Also, by playing through a separate cab, we remove the speaker vibration from the chassis, that may be involved.
WHile playing a steady signal through the amp - I use a CD player or something - ball up your fist and whack the top of the amp hard. Does this cause any glitch? The amp should ignore a whack. If your fist is tender, use a rubber mallet.
The amp has an FX loop, so you can drive the power amp and speaker alone through the FX return. Does doing that expose the problem or not? Likewise the FX send is the preamp signal, you can monitor that from another amp, does the preamp signal glitch when the amp does or does it continue playing?
Also, by playing through a separate cab, we remove the speaker vibration from the chassis, that may be involved.
WHile playing a steady signal through the amp - I use a CD player or something - ball up your fist and whack the top of the amp hard. Does this cause any glitch? The amp should ignore a whack. If your fist is tender, use a rubber mallet.
The amp has an FX loop, so you can drive the power amp and speaker alone through the FX return. Does doing that expose the problem or not? Likewise the FX send is the preamp signal, you can monitor that from another amp, does the preamp signal glitch when the amp does or does it continue playing?
There may also be a problem in the power supply, as the volume is increased, the output stage demands more power to be delivered to the load, but if the psu is current limited (A bad rectifier, a bad solder joint, a bad 'lytic, etc.) it may also generate the cutoff of the sound because the lack of voltage at the final stage(s).
Yes, I am thinking power supply too, because it seemed like it did it if I left the chord sustain for a while, even at moderate volume. I have all new electrolytics arriving today, so I will start there. That and to check out the tubes, or swap them out.
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