Tips:

THE FOLLOWING ARE INTENDED FOR GENERAL KNOWLEDGE ONLY. ALWAYS UNPLUG ANYTHING BEFORE YOU TAKE IT APART. ELECTRICUTION IS NOT FUN AND SERIOUS INJURY CAN OCCUR, SO PLEASE USE YOUR HEAD!

ATTN: SVT IV owners. If you here a rattling from inside of your unit when you are moving it take it to a shop ASAP! I have had two of them in the last few months that had screws shake loose inside of them. This shorted the units out and cost the owners some hefty repair bills. Any time you here something rattling around in any piece of gear you should have it checked out or remove it yourself if you feel comfortable. You know that old adage "a stitch in time"? That applies here. Most shops should only charge you their minimum fee to remove foreign matter and retighten any loose screws and it shore beats paying several hundred bucks to have it fixed after damage has occurred. 

FUSES: Should only be changed out with a like type and size. Never replace a blown fuse with a larger value fuse (this will only cause more damage to the unit in question). In some rare instances a fuse will blow for no apparent reason. However, most of the time if a fuse blows there is a reason for it. If it is in an amp, check your speaker cables, check the speaker, make sure you are plugged into good power, some clubs have awful wiring and can create problems for the performer. If you have checked everything else out and you are still blowing fuses take your amp to a qualified technician.

POTS: (volume controls, tone controls, etc.) - If your amp, mixer etc. is cutting out and/or sounding scratchy, try cleaning the pots. An easy way to do this is turn your unit off, then turn the pot fully clockwise then counterclockwise. Do this several times and at a high rate of speed. Now turn the amp back on and try it. Did the scratchy sound go away? If not you can use a cleaner such as "De-Ox It". Here are some basic guidelines for doing just that:

1. Never spray out a fader (like on the eq section on a powered mixer or the main channel control on a mixing console) with a cleaning agent. This will cause the fader in question to lose its feel and to have a "sticky" feel. A regular radial pot will lose its feel as well; however, it is much more noticeable in an in-line fader.
   
   
2. Once you get to the part in question locate an opening in its covering (usually right where the legs come out). Some pots do not have an opening and should be replaced. Be careful of over spray. You do not want to saturate the circuit board with a cleaning agent. This may cause the unit to short out and may cause permanent damage.

If this still does not cure your problem you either need to replace the part or there is something else wrong.

If you know how to solder, and feel that you are inclined enough to get the unit apart without breaking anything. (Don't kid yourself here! I've seen lots of circuit boards damaged by people who tried to fix it themselves.) Check for bad connections where the pot connects to the circuit board.

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