# Broken channel on my Mixer



## millershswtechcrew (Jul 6, 2014)

Hello all, on my Alesis Studio 32 16 channel mixer, channels 11 and 16 are not working at all, i turn all the gains up and fader all the way up and i get no signal ive tried everything from dusting off the mixer with a dust cloth and i tried some different settings with the buttons but they are still not working. does anyone have any troubleshooting techniques/ideas on what could be the problem so i can get these 2 channels working again? any ideas are welcomed.


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## JCBigler (Jul 6, 2014)

That looks like a rebadged Mackie 1604. And I'm also assuming that it is out of warranty from Alesis, since it has been discontinued for some time now. 

Your choices, really are two: 

1) call Alesis and see if they will service it for you.
2) open it up and see of the two channels in question have any damaged parts. Perhaps the ribbon cables for those channels have come undone and just need to be reseated.

Barring that, you would have to find an experienced electronics repair tech and have them repair it.


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## millershswtechcrew (Jul 6, 2014)

JCBigler said:


> That looks like a rebadged Mackie 1604. And I'm also assuming that it is out of warranty from Alesis, since it has been discontinued for some time now.
> 
> Your choices, really are two:
> 
> ...



Ok thanks, I take a quick look and see if i can see anything, then I'll contact a local repair company


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## LavaASU (Jul 6, 2014)

millershswtechcrew said:


> Ok thanks, I take a quick look and see if i can see anything, then I'll contact a local repair company



I've never worked on that model, but as a heads up many mixers are an absolute pain to open up because all the knobs must be removed. Don't know whether that is the case with your model or not.


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## FMEng (Jul 6, 2014)

The odds are pretty good that it is dirty switch contacts in the insert or line input jacks on the dead channels. It's a common failure on analog consoles when a little oxidation forms on the contacts from disuse. Search for some threads on how to clean them with DeoxIT. The switch in the insert jack makes the connection between stages in the channel when no external processing is plugged in. The switch in the line input jack connects the mic preamp when nothing is plugged in.

An easy way to test the insert jack is take a TRS plug and short the tip and ring together. Plug it into the insert jack. If the problem goes away, it is a dirty switch contact in the jack. To test the line input jack is to see if the line input works even if the mic input is dead. Both might heal from repeatedly plugging into them, although it won't be a reliable fix until they are chemically cleaned.

Another common failiure is oxidation inside the buss assign switches. Many people set them and leave them forever. The wiping action of turning them on and off helps keep them happy.


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## FACTplayers (Jul 25, 2014)

Buy some Deoxit. Open the board up and clean every fader and pot. I restored an old Behringer board that only about half the channels worked. After taking it apart (so I could access everything better) the board works great! They sell this stuff at guitar center for less than you can buy and ship it online.

http://store.caig.com/


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