Unit powers on. Whether tube amp in or line in, the output sound is very low. At times the sound jumps to very loud (probably where it should be) then cuts back to low sound level. When not playing, I can hear the power amp section normal hiss of a loud tube amp when the PS-2A is turned up but, the sound from my preamp or tube head is very low, until the sound “jumps” loud momentarily. I had a 30+ year tube amp tech look at it, cleaned it and said he could find nothing; everything tested good. The unit DID work as expected after; until it didn’t (again).
This could be a few things.
- Dry solder joint giving intermittent connection; the tech should pull the wiring harnesses and check the joints and pins.
- Did they check the tubes?
Also, how are you using the PS-2?
Remove all connections and start again with guitar, amp, PS-2 and speaker cab. Make sure nothing is in the FX loop. Replace cables to make sure they are not the issue too.
We will give email support to reputable local techs, but in general if they are comfortable inside a tube amp, we rarely find they need it. The other option is sending it home to Fryette for a full service. Let me know if that is useful to you.
Hello Dan,
First, thank you for the quick response! My usual signal chain: guitar-tube amp (20w, 8-ohm) speaker out- cab sim amp in-out to PS2 amp in - speaker 1 out to two 8-ohm cabs (PS2 set on2/4 ohm). I use the PS2 mostly for attenuation because my neighbors are close. Sometimes I use it as a reactive load, no cab connected (per manual instructions). I’ve checked all my cables, and the tech (Uncle Albert’s Amp Repair of Indpls, IN) says the tubes tested good.
I have enough experience with high DC voltage electronics & audio circuits (in general) to check the wiring harnesses & their connections. I’ll see what I can see & clean the connections with Deox-IT. What do you think?
I was so struck by how well laid out chassis is designed & the excellent workmanship overall, that I was just looking for an obvious component failure (which I could not see, or smell).
Sincerely, Randy
Hi Randy,
Psionic Audio did a really nice review and fix of PS-2A about a year ago and also found it highly repairable. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCYJLaAbx2I
If you are undertaking that independently, then fine, just be aware that we don’t support end users on repairs (safety concerns and also it takes up too much traffic going back and forth, where as a skilled tech will just open it and fix it). I think reflowing the solder is generally enough, and a bit of cleaning with Deoxit is OK. Take a look at this success story: Chasing the Volume Drop: Faulty Connector Found - #6 by Bobman34
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