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Post subject: Bassman TV 15- power cord issue
Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 11:09 am
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I've owned a Bassman 15 for a couple of years now. I noticed that sometimes it sounds excellent, and on other occasions it distorts. I brought it to my local Fender repair facility, & of course it worked perfectly in the shop. Bring it home, distorting again.

I also own a few GK bass heads. I happened to realize that I had used the GK power cord & not the Fender power cord. Although they look the same, for some reason, the Bassman only works properly with the Bassman power cable that comes with the amp.

Since it's a detachable cord, that looks as if it's a universal cord, it is not. So what I'm saying is, DO NOT LOSE or misplace this chord or your amp will not work properly.

Has anyone else noticed this???


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Post subject: Re: Bassman TV 15- power cord issue
Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 4:26 pm
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That is bizarre. I would have thought it was standard too.


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Post subject: Re: Bassman TV 15- power cord issue
Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 4:45 pm
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The last time it happened I was at a recording session. The engineer told me I couldn't use the amp so I sprinted home to get the GK. That's when I realized the Fender cord was in my equipment box. So I took it and the GK back to the session. I didn't need the GK after all. It was the cord. I hadto put engineers there & they verified this. I now have white tape on the Fender cord


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Post subject: Re: Bassman TV 15- power cord issue
Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2011 3:36 am
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A couple of us bounced your problem around in PM since your last post and the only thing that we can think of is that the GAUGE of wire inside the Fender Power Cord is larger and has the capability of carrying more current than the Gallien-Krueger power cords. A smaller gauge power cord wire may not be allowing the Fender amp power supply to receive proper voltage and current - which can cause the B+ and screen grid bias voltages to any tube type preamp to be reduced and affect the tube's operation. It can also reduce the power supply regulator voltage for transistorized circuits to fall short of the required voltage to properly bias the transistors and distortion may be one result. You didn't specify the power rating for your G-K equipment, so we are just taking a guess, here, that the G-K cord has less current carrying abilities than the Fender cord. Smaller gauge cords can heat up a little with use and the heat increases the internal wire resistance and acts as a 'resistor'. The resulting voltage drop may be what you were seeing in the Fender amp power supply while used with a G-K cord.

However, if the G-K amp power rating is close to what your Fender amp power rating is, this theory may not be the answer... because power ratings of amplifiers dictate the supply cord wire gauge from an engineering standpoint.

We would also like you to UNPLUG the Fender cord and a G-K cord from the wall for safety reasons and then INSPECT the block end of the cord that plugs into the 120 volt 3 pin jack for any scorching, discoloration, melted rubber around the pins or any signs of overheating. The possibility exists that your G-K cord was overstressed in the past and carbon deposits from arcing in the cord block may also be introducing a high resistance, overheating and a resulting voltage drop.


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Post subject: Re: Bassman TV 15- power cord issue
Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 8:11 am
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Both cords are in perfect shape. In fact, I used 3 different GK cords with the amp as well as a Vox cord. They all produced the distortion. The amp only functions properly with the Fender cord that came with it.


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Post subject: Re: Bassman TV 15- power cord issue
Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 5:29 pm
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Something is very fishy here. That should be a standard power cord.

There are a number of possibilities:
1) Power cord is miswired (compare it to other cord with ohm meter), and/or
2) Amp is miswired, and/or
3) Outlet is miswired (check with outlet tester).


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Post subject: Re: Bassman TV 15- power cord issue
Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 7:32 pm
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Nope, amp was thoroughly examined by Valley Sound, one of the best Fender Service center in Los Angeles. They found nothing wrong with the amp.The problem has occurred at multiple locations, my house, a recording studio, a rehearsal studio and at a gig. I have tried 4 different non Fender cords, all produce a distorted sound. Only the Fender cord makes the amp work properly.


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Post subject: Re: Bassman TV 15- power cord issue
Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 6:40 pm
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Wow that is bizarre. What did the Fender dealer say?


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Post subject: Re: Bassman TV 15- power cord issue
Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 11:13 pm
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While the availability of small form factor PC cases are becoming increasingly widespread, as is the availability of small form factor motherboards and components, the choices aren't as varied as standard size cases and components. Also you'll find that small form factor components tend to be more expensive.
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Post subject: Re: Bassman TV 15- power cord issue
Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 1:05 am
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josephinechella wrote:
While the availability of small form factor PC cases are becoming increasingly widespread, as is the availability of small form factor motherboards and components, the choices aren't as varied as standard size cases and components. Also you'll find that small form factor components tend to be more expensive.
top iphone cases


WHAT? More spam here? Jeeze what a sleaze!


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Post subject: Re: Bassman TV 15- power cord issue
Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 8:30 am
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Hey Brother Dave,

I just realized I never answered your question. There was no Fender dealer. I got the amp straight from Fender under a sponsorship agreement. The repair facility was a licensed Fender repair shop. They couldn't find anything wrong because they were using the factory cable.


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Post subject: Re: Bassman TV 15- power cord issue
Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 3:57 am
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speediejohn wrote:
I've owned a Bassman 15 for a couple of years now. I noticed that sometimes it sounds excellent, and on other occasions it distorts. I brought it to my local Fender repair facility, & of course it worked perfectly in the shop guitar class. Bring it home, distorting again.

I also own a few GK bass heads. I happened to realize that I had used the GK power cord & not the Fender power cord. Although they look the same, for some reason, the Bassman only works properly with the Bassman power cable that comes with the amp.

Since it's a detachable cord, that looks as if it's a universal cord, it is not. So what I'm saying is, DO NOT LOSE or misplace this chord or your amp will not work properly.

Has anyone else noticed this???

Yeah, happened to notice that when me and my friends were trying to play around and there we noticed about these cable chords. I also thought all of them were just standard.


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Post subject: Re: Bassman TV 15- power cord issue
Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 9:04 am
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Can somebody get an ohmmeter and check out these cords and tell us precisely how they are different? I'd certainly like to know.


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