Guitar output jack repair - need advice

sorry that's not much help.

i have no advice, shakey MO, other than googling...

I would like advice on getting my Lexicon Lambda interface box repaired, assuming that it is broken.

I went to a shop and was told don't bother repairing it; and I threw out a load more cash for a new interface.

Will it work ???

OK, it seems to record electric guitar fine - as did the last box.

But it seems to record mic in a very inferior way. It doesn't seem to be nearly as good as with the previous box. It is another failure.

I don't know why. But I guess no one is reading this anyway.

I'm sure people are reading this, maybe, like me they are unfamiliar with this particular interface. I hope you get this fixed - I am sorry, I know "I can't help but I hope you find a solution" is the curse of internet forum help questions, but it's all I've got in this instance!

what was the lambda doing that wasnt working?

also what mic are you using?

Thank you for your these replies.

The Lambda: did record electric guitar but had stopped running a mic - diagnosis: phantom power had packed up (after only a year). The shop bloke said I could still sell it for £30-40 - this sounds very optimistic.

The mic is a condenser mic called, I think, audiotec 20-20 (?).

The new interface, Pashmina, is called Alesis i02.

I'm afraid that it was stupid of me to buy this new box. I spent too much and I was told I couldn't take it back if I wanted to - how stupid is that? Why do I make these bad decisions? I suppose the answer is, I get desperate and I don't have anyone to help. I feel very envious of people who make music in a context of other people who are interested in what they do and able to look at things, discuss, experiment with equipment and so on.

A few things:

first of all, im assuming you checked and the 2020 wouldn't work on either of the lambda channels? if not its possible that it could be a jack problem (phantom power is carried on a specific pin out on the xlr). I would recommend getting a second opinion on the repair costs, because non-functional phantom is almost certainly in the power supply section and shouldn't really be insurmountable. I would also consider contacting the UK Lexicon distributor directly and checking to see if there is a flat fee repair available from factory service.

Second, unless that Alesis i02 was used, I think you are within your rights to demand to return it. If you bought it on credit, you can always protest the charge. In the modern world, no one gets away with selling new stock as non-returnable.

Update: I traded in the i02 for another box, called a ... what's it called ... I can't remember.

FOCUSRITE, that's it. Here it is, I think:
http://www.focusrite.com/products/audio_interfaces/saffire_6_usb/

I'll pick that up today and try it maybe later.

I'm not sure if it will work but it is perhaps my last roll of the dice.

It seems daft, this trading up one box for another, I know. It's all connected to what I said about not being able to take the box back for a refund - they would allow me to trade it in, + cash, for this supposedly superior item.

Maybe it will even work?

The interface works for line-level signals but won't do phantom power? Why not simply plug the mic first into a preamp that has phantom power, then take that line-level signal and put it into the interface?

Maybe I am missing something.

Or maybe this has been overtaken by events and I am useless and I suck.

YMP, I think the answer is that I didn't have another preamp that has phantom power.

I should admit that I don't really know what a preamp is. And though the concept of 'phantom power' has been explained to me in the past, I no longer feel I really understand it either. It's just a phrase that I keep using as if I knew what it really meant.

I have just tried the SAFFIRE 6 FOCUSRITE. My computer is not recognizing its presence. This is disappointing as my computer was obsessive about recognizing the presence of other devices, ie when I plugged them in to it.

btw I think jjjusten may have been quite correct that one should try to get these things repaired. It was just that I could not find anywhere to do it. But this week I found a place on Tottenham Court Road that does repair things. I have seriously thought of taking the Lambda in.

Meanwhile, any advice welcome on the phantom FOCUSRITE.

I loaded a Focusrite CD and installed something off it. I read some of the instructions in a document on the CD. The computer did recognize the interface and I clicked on that as input.

But it is still not showing any signal from an electric guitar.

i did a beat set last night with my SP404 + Kaoss Pad Quad setup, and listening to the recording i realized that the right channel is basically absent. :( i've had intermittent problems with this before at shows...i'll go through and test my jacks and cables but unfortunately i strongly suspect it's an issue with one of the jacks on the KPQ.

if it is, do i have any options for getting gear like this repaired, or do i need to spend $2-300 to replace it?

Should absolutely be repairable, although if it is a card mounted jack it won't be cheap - no more than $50 though.