The Steel Guitar Forum

I recently noticed the pilot light flickering brighter and back to the usual intensity last couple of times Ive played out with my Fender HR Deville 4x10 which I have replaced with a single 15" JBL D130F. Sounds great with that speaker in there. This happens after I've played for a while and I flip the standby switch before turning it off. It seems to flicker like that for a few minutes and then seems to settle down to the usual steady, but not overly bright state. It seems to sound ok, and doesn't seem to do this until I've used it for a little while and then place it in standby mode. I know those bulbs sometimes burn out, and I've had the amp for 6-8 yrs. Could it be so simple as the light is about to go out, and just needs replacing? Or, could it be something else I need to get worried about??? Any thoughts as to what that might be???

-Chuck

Nearly every older Hot Rod (and Blues Deluxe for that matter) amp I have seen has that problem. I borrowed a 7 or 8 year old one and the light would go out when I took the amp out of standby. It also flickered. No other problems with any of the amps.

Yeah, that's a real common problem. Simplest thing to do is re-tension the contact at the bottom of the socket. if it's accessible. If not, try a new bulb. If that don't work, get a new socket. They're fairly cheap.