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Well, I finally got a reproducible symptom: the amp powered off completely, and stayed that way. No lights on the front panel, none on the footswitch; even the fan wouldn't run. But the power tubes and the rectifier tube, at least, were glowing. I didn't check the preamp tubes. I called...

I have to bring my Mk V chassis up to Mesa's factory in Petaluma to apparently replace a failed diode or something that has killed everything (LEDs, fan, etc.) other than power to the rectifier and power tubes. There are two cables going from the chassis to the reverb tank that are zip-tied...

I noticed one odd thing about the FX loop and the way it interacts with the "Output" control. I was trying to balance the overall amplifier volume between having the FX loop engaged and when it's out of the signal path (I'm actually using my DAW's digital stomp-boxes in the effects loop, but...

Well, here's my latest theory: Mk Vs do not like being used in just one channel/mode all the time. In my attempts to isolate which channel and/or mode is most problematic, I've been switching around quite a bit lately, using every mode except for the two lowest-gain modes in channel 1, the...

That kit looks worth having, given the sheer number of valves in this thing. I bought my Mk V new in late 2016, and for the first eight months or so rarely used it (I live in a small studio apartment in downtown San Francisco, and if I told you my rent it would turn your hair white). But since...

Playing last night, I noted, after about fifteen minutes, massive breakup, volume loss, distortion, etc., in channels 1 and 2 along with a momentary power-loss to the whole amp (not long enough to reset the channel back to 1, but enough to dim the LEDs on the amp and the footswitch). As far as I...

I actually prefer Edge mode for clean work over any of the Channel 1 modes because it's got more of a rounder, fuller sound without so much high end. It's great for a big fat semi-solid sound like from an ES-335.

Makes sense. Channel 1 is the least compressed of the three channels, so increasing gain will increase volume more than it will in channels where even the lowest gain setting still has a large amount of gain. Just as turning up the input volume on a channel strip with a lot of compression will...

Sounds like a good plan. I tend to run all three channels in 90-watt mode (as I understand it, the tube rectifier is actually in parallel with the silicon rectifier even when using the silicon one, but the amp will run in 90w mode with the tube rectifier removed). Maybe that's a project for this...

Yes, that's my plan. I've already got a pair of power tubes, but I'm going to buy another pair. Replace each pair separately, just to see if the inner two resolve the problem; if not then might as well replace the outer pair as well. If the problem persists, then it's the rectifier tube's turn...

Good to know. I have enough other problems with this amplifier (a late 2016 90-w combo that's never been on the road and that I've only been using on a daily basis since about last August): weird crackling noises, sudden volume losses, massive breakup, the momentary power losses as described by...

Is it normal for the different modes in channel 1 to have radically-different volume levels? "Clean" is down about 5 dB from "Fat," which in turn is down another 5 dB from "Tweed." If this is abnormal, what is a likely cause? Preamp tube? If so, which one? Maybe V3, since neither channels 2 nor...