As it turns out, all that was wrong was some loose wiring on the inside.

I was talking with my old roommate who mentioned getting a dehumidifier for his basement and then I thought, crap, that's where I was keeping my Cyber-Twin SE. So, last night I took the amp apart thinking that there was some moisture damage or mold that was causing the erratic behavior. Everything looked clean on the inside, all of the caps looked fine and nothing was scorched. Some of the cable connectors weren't seated fully, so I pushed those in all the way, plugged it in and it fired right up good as new.

For future reference, if your CT SE is acting a little odd with parameters randomly changing on you, it may be that some internal cables have come loose. All of the controls are digital and I thing it goes a little nuts when it doesn't get a signal.

This all makes sense after hauling the CT in a moving van. For my next move, I'm taking it in the car with me.

pretty good answer!

ciao,
johnny.

Guys,

I have looked through all 22 pages of forum and found some great info here! Thanks for the time and effort you all put in. I have a CT SE that I use for once monthly gigs at local bars in a rock cover band. Have also the Cyber Foot which has been giving me headaches for a while. I think there's something loose around the power jack- another story. I'm going to pick up the Behringer FCB1010 to tide me over until I can get the Fender pedal looked at. Like a lot of people I have had limited time to really dig into the amp's capabilities, but I have a general knowledge of how to make presets and add effects, etc.

Anyway, here is my question: Is there a simple rule as far as how to get my sound to cut through the band mix during a gig? It seems that I set up my amp sounds at home and they sound great, but on stage they don't cut through and I can't hear myself at all. also, I set them so that all the different patches seem to have the same volume level at home but then some are hard to hear at the show. If I turn up the amp too much it po's the others in the band and I get asked to turn down. Plus, it's really hard to experiment and make changes during a set. Should I stay away from too much gain or too much reverb? Are there any other tips on how to positon the amp so I can hear myself better? Sorry for such newbie questions but I really want to get a handle on this. If it's already been covered please just point to the post.

Thanks, I'd appreciate any input!

Hey Jimstav, the most common problem with getting your amp to cut through at gigs is improper amplifier equalization. The mistake most people make when programming patches at home is making the patches sound good when the amp is all by itself and they're sitting arms length in front of it while programming the sound patch.

This method breaks down onstage when you crank to full volume and the amp is projecting 15-30 feet in front of the stage. You also have to set the amp to contend with all the other band members who are crowding the frequency range.

I've written a short blog post titled A Few Words On Amplifier Equalization that will help get you started on making your amp sound great in a live band setting.

I also have a bunch of preset patches that I've programmed for the Cyber-Twin SE that I use regularly with my live band that cut through the mix very well. These patches can also be found on my blog which you can get to by clicking the link in my signature.

_________________
Check out my Blog about my career in a live band.

Thanks mvrush. Your help is much appreciated. Lots of great advice on your website as well!

Okay everybody, you know you've been wanting a Talkbox type sound in your Cyber-Twin SE. Well, I just posted up a preset patch for you to listen to and download on my Blog.

The sound is called "LMC Talk-Wah" and I programmed it because my band plays Nazareth's 'Hair Of The Dog' so I needed something to simulate the Talkbox section in that song.

You can check it out and download the MIDI Sysex data as well as a text file of the patch here: Cyber-Twin SE Preset "LMC Talk-Wah"

_________________
Check out my Blog about my career in a live band.

finally after 1000's of threads through many diffeerent sites -cyber twin people-i bought the first ct about 4 months AGO and have lots to ask and share,.

Congrats davidpitts! I bet you're loving the Cyber-Twin like we all do. Welcome to the group.

_________________
Check out my Blog about my career in a live band.

yes ecept i dont get much volume on three quarters of the channels?

Hey DP!

Welcomes to da Cyber Borg! You has been astimulated!

Can you correct for that with your Volume knob?

Volume changes on patches...note that your Volume knob is motorized and part of every patch, whereas your Master Volume knob is not. This is kind of an esoteric feature of Cyber Twins designed for pro DI and recording use.

Works like this: When you set your CT up to go DI to a mixer, or mic'd to a mixer, you don't want to overdrive the channel strip on the mixer. So what you have to do is set the level of each patch so they're all about even, and your soundman or recording engineer has a nice stout signal at all times.

To do that, you design each patch for dirt by using your Gain knob, then set the level you want to send to the mixer with your Volume knob. Unlike a conventional amp, your Volume knob has no effect on the amount of overdrive or dirt you get from your patch--it's pure no-coloration volume control that goes to the speaker, the mixer, and the S/PDIF recording gear. That's the real key here, you can turn the Volume up or down as much as you want and it doesn't change the patch, just the output.

So what's Master Volume all about? It's strictly an amp thing IIRC. Once you have all your patch volumes dialed in for your stage volume or your jam or whatever, if somebody asks you to turn up a bit, you use the Master Volume, and all your patches go up the same amount, all without changing anything in the patches themselves. But Master Volume, again IIRC, has no effect on your XLR-out or your S/PDIF recording output. Guess that's so you don't blow up the soundman's mains.

One mo' thang, while we're on Volume controls. If Volume isn't what we call Volume on conventional amps, then what is? Answer...the Gain knob. Gain controls all the saturation and overdrive characteristics of the circuit the amp has wired itself into. In other words, it does pretty much what a Volume knob does on a regular amp does. Not so much a Volume control as it is a distortion/overdrive control.

Did that make any sense?

--Ray

thanx that was informative but i have a problm somewhere, cause the volume will just get real loud after about 5-10 mins. and go up and down every once on a while.But on the channels with no weak volume problem this NeVER happens. I do not know. but the tubes are the only thing i can think of,yet i dont even see any.

So after considering all the alternatives, I've decided the Cyber Twin SE is the amp for me. However, being somewhat short on cash, I'll be looking at the used market. What tends to be the going price for these used? Or, should I just wait and pick up a new one...?

Thanks guys!

~Randy

Hey Randy, you should probably just do a completed listings search on eBay to get an idea of the going rate for used Cyber-Twin SE's. It could save you a few bucks buying used but it's also nice to be the one breaking in a new Cyber-Twin SE.

In fact, there's a break-in procedure that you should follow on brand new Celestion speakers and if you buy new, then you'll know it was done properly.

You can find the break-in procedure at Ask Dr. Decibel on Celestion.com.
http://professional.celestion.com/guitar/features/drdecibel/index.asp

_________________
Check out my Blog about my career in a live band.

Hey David.

So your problem is that the volume is changing all by itself without any of the knobs moving? Strange. Does it do that with any DynaTouch patches? (Those don't use the tubes.) Also, does the tone, dirt, or EQ change any when it happens?

As for tubes, I've not seen tubes do this, though it's not impossible. BTW, your tubes are visible only when you pull the chassis. Strange design "feature," that. I very strongly recommend you do *not* try to swap tubes on a Cyber Twin unless you know how to drain residual power out of a chassis safely. The voltage back there is lethal even when the amp is unplugged and off.

Sounds like it might be time to get it to a Fender tech.

--Ray

So I'm editing my post a little bit. I am a new owner of a "lightly used" Fender CyberTwin SE. I am enjoying it quite a bit, and have gotten pretty good at entering presets found on here and other places by hand, using the knobs and data wheel. I have had it for about a month now, maybe a little less.

But today at my local Sam Ash store I see a used CyberTwin SE sitting in the corner, and this one has something mine doesn't - the Fender Cyber Foot Controller! I ask if they'd consider selling it separately. Good news, they will! So I part with $125 and leave with a new foot controller, midi cable, and power adapter.

First thing is first - I gotta clean all the dust off of it. Looks like it's been sitting in a garage for a while collecting dust. Might need to clean the pedal joints further and lubricate them lightly, as they squeak a little. Overall I like the purchase - I have seen the Cyber Foot Controller on eBay going for $250-ish prices, so I felt pretty good about mine.