Fender Frontman 15g was purchased for me to tinker with. It originally had a blown fuse and would blow a new fuse almost immediately. Based on scraps of information that I've found I replaced these:
- U2, U3 (072D --> OPA2134)
- U4 (TDA2050)
- Q1 (J111)
The fuse now doesn't blow! But there is a loud fluctuating crackling sound, independent of the knobs or if an instrument is plugged in or not. Several pads were lifted in the process, but I checked all of my connections and they have continuity with zero resistance. No components are getting hot to the touch.
This thread mentions C38 of a different Fender combo as the culprit of a VERY similar problem:
Fender Rumble 25 Speaker Rattles (Especially on the 2nd and 3rd pages.) C38 on my amp happens to be the same component and value. Hmm...
I have very little electronics knowledge, but want to learn and can follow instructions. I'm reading that this amp is a little complex, despite it's small size, but it was cheap. People love its clean channel and claim that just a few mods make the distortion channel much better. If things work out, I'd like to experiment with larger speakers and enclosures as I've heard it really can shine outside of that tiny box.
Anyways, any guidance provided would be greatly appreciated! Please no nay-saying, this is fun!
- U2, U3 (072D --> OPA2134)
- U4 (TDA2050)
- Q1 (J111)
The fuse now doesn't blow! But there is a loud fluctuating crackling sound, independent of the knobs or if an instrument is plugged in or not. Several pads were lifted in the process, but I checked all of my connections and they have continuity with zero resistance. No components are getting hot to the touch.
This thread mentions C38 of a different Fender combo as the culprit of a VERY similar problem:
Fender Rumble 25 Speaker Rattles (Especially on the 2nd and 3rd pages.) C38 on my amp happens to be the same component and value. Hmm...
I have very little electronics knowledge, but want to learn and can follow instructions. I'm reading that this amp is a little complex, despite it's small size, but it was cheap. People love its clean channel and claim that just a few mods make the distortion channel much better. If things work out, I'd like to experiment with larger speakers and enclosures as I've heard it really can shine outside of that tiny box.
Anyways, any guidance provided would be greatly appreciated! Please no nay-saying, this is fun!
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Need to go round poking things (carefully) with an insulated stick - could be a cracked component or pcb trace, corroded connector, etc etc. Prodding the faulty bit should have an effect if it is such a crack or bad solder joint or corroded.
Yes! So far I have yet to find a pattern to the crackling. I'll get some chopsticks for better/safer prodding. I have a video (mp4) of the noise but the file is too big to post here. 🙁
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