I waited a lifetime for this amp!

[Sherm]

Greetings. I play an acoustic solo act around Cleveland but I was always an electric player first and I ALWAYS lusted for a Boogie. Can't say I really needed it and I can't say I could even afford it but when this F50 popped up on Craigslist here in Cleveburg I snagged it. For $675 US. Such a deal, yes? Life's too short and I ain't getting any younger I figure. Its dead mint. Pristine. Never left the guy's house. And it sounds awesome. I did a side gig with a loud boogie band that week and it sounded so good I wanted to go back and hug the thing.

But all is not well: There's one little scratchy spot on the clean channel volume pot. Its at @ 7 o clock so I guess its not a big deal --- I always have the knob past that point. But still .....

If this was any other amp I ever owned I'd just flop it over and spray some contact cleaner down in there but on my dream amp? I dunno. (Its a push pull knob btw.) The nearest authorized service is an hour away.

Sooooo .... spray it? Ignore it? Truck it in for service? Any advice much appreciated.

Jeff Sherman

 

[phyrexia]

Pull the chassis, spray her down. Won't hurt anything.

 

[prsman88]

Is this safe to do on a guitar? I have some scratchy spots on the volume knows of my EC. The tech said it was dust and all i needed to do was fiddle it a few times before I used my guitar. (Terrible answer in my opinion.)

Can I clean it the same way? Just spray cleaner under the volume knobs?

Thanks

 

[Sherm]

Pull the chassis, spray her down. Won't hurt anything.

Thanks. Hey, I got a pal down that way. Teaches at one of the major AL universities

Not sure I should attempt to pull the chassis myself. There's a local hi-fi tech I like here in the old neighborhood; way closer than the authorized repair shop (Akron iirc). I should probably have him do it.

Dumb Qs prolly: How much of the pot can you see with the chassis out? Obvious where to spray?

Sherm

 

[jdurso]

i'd leave it... its just an amp and it sounds like its purely cosmetic. If its not something that effects the tone i wouldnt bother.... but thats just me.

 

[Moot]

Squirt a small amount of isopropyl alcohol right down the shaft of the pot. Then turn the knob a lot between 0 and 10 maybe 6 or 7 times.

Don't have the amp plugged in. :wink:

Alcohol won't hurt any of the electronics inside the amp, and if you spill it it will evaporate quickly. Be careful, 'cause it might damage some of the colour on your knob or faceplate or grille.

Don't worry about pulling your chassis - it's designed to come out pretty easily. Plus it's good to know what's in your amp. Again, don't have it plugged in, and don't poke around in there with a finger - use a chopstick.

But it's a common problem we've all had. Hate to see you blow $60 on a tech who knows just as much as you do about this amp.

 

[srf399]

Nothing wrong with pulling the chassis. Beware touching any of the circuitry. Caps can pack a lot of punch and you could get a hell of a shock. But I think it's a good thing to open it up and blow it out with some Dust Off every few years. Also keep the cover over it whenever you're not using it. Some contact cleaner sprayed onto the shaft from the front of the amp may do the trick but don't get it on the amp.

 

[phyrexia]

Pulling the chassis on the F50 is not that hard. The first chassis I ever pulled was an F50. I promise it's not hard. However if you don't feel comfy doing it you should take it to a tech.

Where does your friend teach? I'm a student at the Univ of Alabama @ Birmingham.

Pull the chassis, spray her down. Won't hurt anything.

Thanks. Hey, I got a pal down that way. Teaches at one of the major AL universities

Not sure I should attempt to pull the chassis myself. There's a local hi-fi tech I like here in the old neighborhood; way closer than the authorized repair shop (Akron iirc). I should probably have him do it.

Dumb Qs prolly: How much of the pot can you see with the chassis out? Obvious where to spray?

Sherm

You want to do it from behind - either the routed cavity for the pots or the pickguard side on a stratty type guitar. There will be a little hole on the back of the pots for the cleaner (and dust unfortunately) to get inside.

Spray a little in there and roll the knob around while you're doing it. It may take a couple applications.

Make sure you don't use too much - the deoxit/contact cleaner can eat certain types of plastic (read: (cheap) pickguards, finishes, whatever. i have only actually experienced this happen once, but it left a mark on a cheap pickguard.)

Is this safe to do on a guitar? I have some scratchy spots on the volume knows of my EC. The tech said it was dust and all i needed to do was fiddle it a few times before I used my guitar. (Terrible answer in my opinion.)

Can I clean it the same way? Just spray cleaner under the volume knobs?

Thanks

 

[clutch71]

Is this safe to do on a guitar? I have some scratchy spots on the volume knows of my EC. The tech said it was dust and all i needed to do was fiddle it a few times before I used my guitar. (Terrible answer in my opinion.)

Can I clean it the same way? Just spray cleaner under the volume knobs?

Thanks

Your right this is not the best answer. I'd ask if the guitar spent a long period untoched? I aquired a Epi LP Custom that sat unstrung in a case for over 10 years. The pots were extremely bad and I tried contact cleaner. Lessened the issue but didn't correct it. What I was told was that when they sit for long periods of time, lesser quality pots develop "spots" around the position they were left in. So as you rotate the knobs it gets worse around these areas. Made sense to me and CTS pots are cheap so I replaced them.

 

[Sherm]

[/quote]

... pots develop "spots" around the position they were left in. So as you rotate the knobs it gets worse around these areas.[/quote]

I think that's what happened to the volume pot on my F50. The guy said he hadn't used the amp in years.
Sherm

 

[Telemaster]

Set it on 8.

seriously, I recently did the same thing to my Lonestar...laid it on it's back and commenced to contact clean away....then I went after the tolex with some 409 and got all the margarita and beer stains cleaned up...it was amazing how that cleaned up my tone! :lol:

in your case, I'd remove the knob and spray it well with contact cleaner while twisting the grit out of it...then spray it some more....

then I'd set it on 8.
8)