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Unfortunately I still couldn’t get hold of any schematics for my broken AI Clarus 2R series III. The preamp section works fine but the power amp blew a couple of speakers a few years back and I’m still trying to find a way to have it repaired. Wouldn’t dare giving it to a local guy (Switzerland) without providing proper schematics. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
TIA
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05-26-2026 04:10 PM
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Gollihur music used to be a dealer for AI. They have all the manuals online for download Acoustic Image Manuals for Download
If you contact them, they might be able to help you get in contact with the son of the designer. He might be willing to provide a schematic for you.
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I have the manual, but I need the schematics.
Originally Posted by Freddels
And nope - the son initially promised when I asked a few years back, but later he changed his mind.
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That's too bad that the son decided not to share. It will not leave a good legacy for his father if all his hard work goes to waste due to not being repairable.
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I sold my last AI Clarus when the company folded. I saw the potential for these amps to become paperweights. I also gave up on Polytones as the cost to repair one often exceeds their value these days.
I am on to Henriksens and Quilters. The Quilters have replaced my Fender and Mesa tube amps (I no longer want to carry or maintain a tube amp and I foresee tube production making those amps difficult to keep going.)
Too bad about the unavailability of the schematics. IIRC, the power supplies were proprietary in AI amps, so if that is an issue, you are out of luck.
BTW, a Quilter head through a Raezer's Edge Cabinet is an amazing jazz guitar amp. Maybe the best that I have heard yet.
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As I undertand it, later on Rick switched from proprietary power amps to Icepower power amp units; I remember an AI newsletter announcing it. I would have thought a series 111 amp might be in that category. If the preamp really is ok, it might be possible to drop in the appropriate Icepower SMPS power unit. Of course, a tech would need to do that, and there's the cost of buying the Icepower module, so not at all a cheap repair, but for someone who really loves the Clarus sound, it might be worth it.
I had a couple of Claruses years ago, primarily for the portability and power, but I never could quite get the sound I wanted.
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I have an original series 1 Clarus. I don't use it much, because it's relatively heavy, noisy, and I'm not completely enamored of the sounds I can get out of it. I sometimes use it as a power amp, using the FX return, but the hiss is more than I'm willing to endure much of the time. It's supposedly under lifetime warranty, and I sent it for repair once years ago, hoping to quiet the hiss and occasional static. It was returned in the same state as when I sent it, but my wallet was a little lighter from the shipping costs, both ways. The Clarus was the hot thing for a relatively short time, but it just didn't keep up.
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By my experience an amp has to fit the guitar I’m playing. My favorite at the moment is a Citation which I got for a good price because of a repaired top crack and this does not fit the Quilter Tone Block 202 through the RE Stealth 10. Fine at low volume, but when needed to turn up it gets difficult. Originally Posted by Stringswinger
This said, I do very much like the sound of the Quilter which I mainly use in my studio but it works better with some of my other guitars.
I find the EQ section with the filter knob to be a huge advantage of the Clarus IIR. IMHO it can’t beat the sound of the 8“ Mambo, but it still is a good option for taking to certain gigs. So I’d love to find a way to have it repaired.
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Yes, the preamp is working fine. I took out the fuse on the power ampsection and sometimes run it via the effects out or the direct out into a PA. Originally Posted by Franz 1997
I’d love to find a solution, would be willing to spend the necessary bucks, but I guess to find out which Icepower Amp could fit the Clarus and to be able to do a proper job it would probably be necessary to get hold of the Clarus preamp schematics.
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We're both 8" Mambo fans, and you may know Jon Shaw the builder - who's a design engineer as well as a builder and tech. He knows Class D amps backwards, and might be able to help. It's worth a try, if you really like the Clarus. I know that he works on other brands of amp; he once fitted my Polytone babybrute with a class D power amp, using the existing preamp. That was a big success. He might not even need the schematic.
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from what I understand, final word on these is that they cannot be repaired.
Fuch in new jersey used to fix them- or, I think he still does? But I know he says they cannot guarantee a successful repair, and the family of the owner is not interested in sharing schematics or information.
There is a chance I'm mixing up acoustic image with walter woods here - but they're fundamentally the same. They will become paperweights over time.
upton bass in connecticut is now selling their version of an acoustic image design, which i've only heard good things about, if downfiring speakers are your jam. From what Gary told me early in the process, these can be repaired at the component level, and will be easy to service.
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Yes, I’m a big mambo fan :-) and I much value Jon Shaw who I had intensive contact with, after the 10“ Mambo I had ordered got broken during shipping. Thanks for the input, I’ll contact him about a possible reconstruction, which at this point probably would be preferable to a repair. Originally Posted by Franz 1997
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Fuchs announced in January 2025 that they would no longer accept Walter Woods or Acoustic Image amps for repair. From their 1/9/25 post on the TalkBass forum: Originally Posted by Groooooove
In the case of the Woods amps, we're running into a brick wall with devices having their numbers removed, so replacement is basically impossible. With the devices we CAN identify, we're finding many to be obsolete. While we have fixed some of these amps, the return on time invested (when compared to other traditional amps), cannot be justified. I worked with two other gifted techs around the world, who have also decided to no longer be involved in the project. Since attempts to communicate with Walter have been fruitless, the case is closed.
In the case of AI amps, its somewhat similar. While Rick's son was willing to send schematics, in many cases replacing the pc boards (which are densely populated surface mount boards), was the only repair path. Since there are no boards available (actually no parts of any kind), we're no longer accepting these amps for repair.
Thanks all. Sorry it had to come to this.
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I have pretty much sworn off any more "boutique" amps unless they are point to point tube amps. Then again, I'm not really looking for any more tube amps either.
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I received exactly the same answer from them, although I asked for the schematics, not for a repair ..... Originally Posted by Bob_Ross
The AI Amps were generally not very reliable. Actually I asked Pat Martino once why he was playing a Roland JazzChorus when he was performing here in Switzerland, and he explained that his Clarus just blew up some speakers and that a replacemet was on its way. My first Clarus had experienced repairs by Rick twice before it blew up the speakers, the second one is starting to show some issues now. Originally Posted by Freddels
I’m fine with my two Mambos. I have experienced no issues within the almost 10 years of using them. I believe they are very well designed.
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I have a Walter Woods that I bought back in '84 or '85. It has worked and never a problem except now with age, the pots are scratchy a bit.
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I owned five AI amps over the years, and the only time I had a problem, I called Rick and he walked me through a simple fix. But one of the bass players that I worked with for many years bought one of my AI amps from me and in time, one of the channels stopped working on his amp. He did not care as he really only needed one channel. I implored him many times to send it to Rick for a repair. After about two years of my getting on his case (and telling him about what a great guy Rick was to work with), he sent the amp to Rick, who for $100 fixed it and did a whole bunch of upgrades. He got the amp back and two weeks later, Rick had died. Talk about dumb luck. Originally Posted by JazzNote
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Rick was a good guy. I can understand if the family thinks they're protecting his legacy somehow by not releasing the schematics, although in the long run that's not actually going to be true.
I called him when I was having some intermittent troubles with my Clarus, he walked me through cleaning the pots, inputs and speaker connections with DeOxit, which did resolve the problem immediately. I didn't have to ship it back to him and it was restored to reliability. For a half hour's work and a few dollars for a can of spray.
I always found that this amp did not quite get me an electric guitar sound that I really liked, but it sounded just great with my acoustic/piezo instruments- especially through my TOOB Metro BG+.
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Coincidentally (or, do I mean 'conversely'?) I only just recently discovered that my AI Focus 1 Series II head -- which has been my go-to head for bass going on 20 years now -- sounds fantastic for jazz guitar! It is the first time I've been able to play my Ibanez AF-75 for straightahead stuff and not think "I need to change this neck pickup." Originally Posted by Cunamara
...but it had never occured to me to try that amp with my piezo-equipped flattop! Gotta give that a shot now.
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