What came in
Every guitarist's owned one of these, borrowed one, or wanted one. This one came in stone dead — customer's exact words: "Nowt. Do do dead." Translation: dead as a dodo. He wasn't far off.
What we found
Power's the first thing to check on a stone-dead report, and the TS9 gave up the answer fast. The DC input jack had a dry solder joint — the kind that looks fine, passes a visual inspection, but isn't actually bonded to the board. Electrically: an open circuit. No power in, no sound out.
It's a common failure point on these. The jack sits right at the edge of the enclosure, and every time a power cable gets plugged in, tugged, or the pedal shifts around on a board, that joint takes the strain. Years of gigging, hundreds of small flexes. Something gives eventually.
What was done
Reflowed the joint. Heat, fresh solder, clean bond. No parts, no drama. Power confirmed reaching the board, rest of the circuit checked out fine.
How it left
Doing what it's always done best. Drive, tone, level — all there. Switching cleanly. Back in business.
"Dead" pedals usually aren't. Before assuming the worst, it's always worth checking the basics — power jack first. One dry joint is all it takes.