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Joined:
February 2003
Posts: 99
Location: St. Petersburg, FL USA | Hello, all. Long time no post. Good to be back...
I've got a Boss AD-5 that I picked up used from Guitar Heaven online about 2 years ago. Now the XLR inputs on top are both loose, and worse - the left channel makes random scratch & pop noises unless the cable is laying "just right." I'm getting the "hairy eyeball" from the Pastor whenever this happens...
So the question is should I just have this repaired, or go ahead & buy a new one - either the exact same thing or maybe consider a different unit from Boss, Yamaha, etc...
I play contemporary songs in a church band. Sometimes we do outdoor gigs, etc. I still have my 1612, and use a Genz-Benz Shenandoah 100 as my monitor. I love the multiple XLR / 1/4" options on both the Genz-Benz and the Boss, especially when we do the outdoor stuff where you never know who is setting up the stage. I do miss not having some effects like delay, so I have recently experimented adding in a Digitech RP-7 Valve processor at the front of the loop (i.e., plug the guitar into it and then output to Boss), but I'm leery of killing the acoustic tone by doing this.
Thanks for any thoughts... |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | I had the same thing happen to mine and needed to replace the main board. Fortunately I have an account with Roland UK and they did it for next to nothing. Which is just as well because the boards are not cheap. The unbalanced jack outs worked fine even though the XLR's were noisy, have you tried using them?
The AD5 is now discontinued, might be worth looking at something else if you can't get it fixed. If you don't need the effects the Baggs Para-acoustic DI is hard to beat. |
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Joined:
February 2003
Posts: 99
Location: St. Petersburg, FL USA | Thanks for the reply, Paul. I didn't realize they were out of production. Well, I went ahead & removed the back cover & pulled the wires that connect the XLR jacks away from the power jack & more into the bottom chamber. I also tightened the screws on the outside of the jacks (now they don't slide around), so I'll give it a test later & we'll see what happens.
I just love the simplicity & flexibility of this thing, so repair or possibly scoring a "new" one on eBay looks like a good option, unless there's something else similar that might come with a warranty & sound as good. |
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Joined:
June 2005
Posts: 1320
Location: Round Rock, TX | Do you use your chorus a lot? I love my ad-8. It sounds better than the ad-5, but here's no chorus. |
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Joined:
February 2003
Posts: 99
Location: St. Petersburg, FL USA | I use the chorus sparingly, it gets a little thick for my taste past about 1/4 or so up the dial. I love the reverb, though. I'll crank that past half-way. I was actually looking at the AD-8 online this morning, seems to have about all the same features. What does the string enhance do? |
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | '...the left channel makes random scratch & pop noises unless the cable is laying "just right."'
That's why God created Duck Tape! |
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Joined:
March 2006
Posts: 20
Location: Central Illinois | I'd replace it with a Boss AD-8. Same EQ section (I think) PLUS the COSM modeling, a built-in tuner, mute, and 4 storable memory settings. Great unit - I use mine to store EQ settings for multiple guitars so I can switch quickly on stage. |
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Joined:
June 2005
Posts: 1320
Location: Round Rock, TX | The string enhance shifts the frequency spectrum around a bit so that you can "correct" your guitars amp'ed sound. It affects the presence region more, while the body knob affects the lower frequency ranges. I wouldn't, however, think of it as equalization. Fun to play with, though.
I should also add about the tuner, it seems to be the same (excellent) circuit that is in the TU-2. I have the AD-8 in my "he-man" rig (AD-8, POD XT Live, Roland GR-20, Sennheiser wireless, various switches and mini-mixers) and even when I'm not playing acoustic I use the AD-8 as my tuner.
I've heard other acoustic boxes and have never had the urge to replace the AD-8.
...and I like chorus. |
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Joined:
February 2003
Posts: 99
Location: St. Petersburg, FL USA | Well, good news for the AD-5. The screw tightening seems to have done the trick. I plugged in this morning, wiggled the cables a bunch, but - listen to that - nothing!! :cool:
I really need to check out the AD-8, though. I was wondering about the string enhance - thanks wilblee - and the built-in tuner would certainly save me a step and valuable time as we need to be ready to sound check at 8:30 Sunday morning (ouch).
But for now, status quo. Thanks for all the ideas... |
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Boss AD-5: repair or replace? (paging Dr. Templeman...)
