another rectifier dies

[Dead Moon Rising]

I picked up a used 3ch Dual Rec around christmas time. Did the Full retube kit from eurotubes. a month later i decided to try some EL34's so i ran a duet in the center 2 sockets. no prob, till i tred to hear myself with another loud guitarist. I cranked the volume as high as it would go. but last night when jamming with another guitarist at living room levels i blew a power tube. i put the brand new 6l6s back in and was practicing today when the distortion channels died. i have signal but it's very weak, on the other hand the clean channel works fine at any volume. I'm gonna pull the chassis and see if the smoke got let out of anything. it did smell funny before the power tube went. I also swapped V2+3 in case it was a bad preampo tube, but that didn't fix the problem.

anyone else lose just the drive channels? i rember hearing some Triple recs had a defective pot. Maybe the Duals suffer the same prob?

SN is R-021482

 

[jtb226]

stupid questions: did you flip the bias switch for the el34's? did you have a mix of tubes (6L6 on the outside, el34 on the inside)? did you pull a rectifier tube if you were only running with 2 tubes?

pretty sure when running at 50w you're supposed to pull the 2 inside power tubes and leave the two outside ones. someone with more info than me will surely help you out though.

 

[Dead Moon Rising]

Yeah i flipped the bias switch. I had just 2 EL34's.

Are you supposed to pull 1 rectifier tube out when running only 2 power tubes? because i didn't know that. I've been running it for about 2 months that way. and I'm supposed to pull the 2 INNER tubes.

Ugh, time to search the net again. I got the advice froma tube guy who was runnig his H&K that way. He said that the Mesa should be ok. and he said yeah when i asked him if he had experiance with Mesa.

looking back i did flip the mode switch a couple of times. My main sound is the Orange Ch in Vintage mode. I fliped it to Modern for a minute then back.

 

[Guitarzan]

Page 14 of the 3 channel DR manual states the following:

NOTE: On the Dual Solo Head it is possible to run two 6L6 or EL34 tubes pulling the two center tubes, leaving far left and far right
tubes intact. This procedure reduces the power by approximately 50%. Remove one of the Rectifier tubes IF you are using the TUBE
RECTIFIER setting to assure a correct match.

 

[Dead Moon Rising]

Page 14 of the 3 channel DR manual states the following:

NOTE: On the Dual Solo Head it is possible to run two 6L6 or EL34 tubes pulling the two center tubes, leaving far left and far right
tubes intact. This procedure reduces the power by approximately 50%. Remove one of the Rectifier tubes IF you are using the TUBE
RECTIFIER setting to assure a correct match.

**** i missed that, i didn't even think something like that would be in a manual.

I reinstalled a brand new set of JJ's putting the head back to normal and it was working fine but now CH 2+3 are not working right, but ch1 works fine. So where i'm at now is: Have i damaged something or is it coincidence that Ch2+3 went south right after i changed tubes?

 

[Guitarzan]

You may have transformer issues... Since I don't own a 3 channel DR it's a tough one for me to diagnose.

 

[mrd]

For future reference, turning your amp all the way up is not exactly a good idea. Puts tons of stress on your entire amp and I can't even imagine how loud that was :lol:

 

[jbird]

Page 14 of the 3 channel DR manual states the following:

NOTE: On the Dual Solo Head it is possible to run two 6L6 or EL34 tubes pulling the two center tubes, leaving far left and far right
tubes intact. This procedure reduces the power by approximately 50%. Remove one of the Rectifier tubes IF you are using the TUBE
RECTIFIER setting to assure a correct match.

**** i missed that, i didn't even think something like that would be in a manual.

So what then gives you the inclination to do something not in the manual?
And I really don't care to hear the answer, it's just the point! And now you'll be paying for it! :roll:

 

[jbird]

And you could re-name this post! Instead of insinuating an issue with a Mesa product, you could recognize who's at fault here! Maybe: "Another stupid mistake"!

 

[Dead Moon Rising]

So what then gives you the inclination to do something not in the manual?
And I really don't care to hear the answer, it's just the point! And now you'll be paying for it!

And you could re-name this post! Instead of insinuating an issue with a Mesa product, you could recognize who's at fault here! Maybe: "Another stupid mistake"!

Frankly i didn't think there would be any info on this kind of "Mod" just because it's possible to damage the amp. and if i had known about this forum when i did the tube swap, i would have researched it here.

So thanks for your smart-alick comments, you've shamed me for definling the Mesa/Boogie name. i guess i'm not worthy to play Mesa amps anymore...

 

[eltrain858]

So thanks for your smart-alick comments, you've shamed me for definling the Mesa/Boogie name. i guess i'm not worthy to play Mesa amps anymore...

hahaha, right on.. you don't have to take that :wink:

 

[eltrain858]

And, if you're in a volume competition in the future, ask the other guy(s) to turn down. Much safer for your hearing and your amp that way. I used to compete with an Ampeg SVT-4 Pro 1200 watt bass amp. **** loud with three 15's and four 10's...

man, i'm competing with an SWR 750X through an SWR megoliath 8x10, and i still can't turn my MkIV master up above 3 with channel volumes at 2-3 without getting vicious glares.. i can't imagine maxing this thing out

 

[Guitarzan]

Frankly i didn't think there would be any info on this kind of "Mod" just because it's possible to damage the amp. and if i had known about this forum when i did the tube swap, i would have researched it here.

So thanks for your smart-alick comments, you've shamed me for defiling the Mesa/Boogie name. i guess i'm not worthy to play Mesa amps anymore...

A hard pill indeed to swallow. The snarky remarks are a function of us(here on the board) reading about this happening almost on a weekly basis and no way of thumping one on the skull prior to the damage being done. Just read the manuals from now on, they are there for a reason.

 

[Dead Moon Rising]

And you could re-name this post! Instead of insinuating an issue with a Mesa product, you could recognize who's at fault here! Maybe: "Another stupid mistake"!

I am willing to give this gentleman the benefit of the doubt and imagine that he was performing a stress test on his Recto with some experimentation. Although I would always contact Mesa before doing any weird tube combos, mods, etc.

That being said, I've never turned my RK1 past noon on the output while noon on the masters. I have completely max'd out my Marshall 2205 a couple times (pre and power max'd) with no problems. And I had used a TSL100 @ 7 out of 10 on the master with high gain with no problems.

IMHO, if you really need that much headroom, use all 4 output tubes. After hearing that Stiletto guy's story about playing @ 9 (out of 10) regularly and his internal components melting, I would be very careful with any and all tube amps and maxing output...

Thanks for the benefit of the doubt. i realized i need more headroom and had already planned to upgrade to an integrated quad form eurotubes. I only had the master volume at 12'oclock, and it was loud. maybe i should have been more specific but i was about 4 days later that the tube blew. New power tubes back in and it was fine for another day, then ch 2+3 die but ch1 works fine. i searched the forum but found no similar problems listed.

 

[eltrain858]

he's a slap-and-popp'er, so the 10s give that good quick snap.. as far as low end goes... no need for bigger speakers there. that cab is a freaking monster, soooooo deep

 

[jbird]

So thanks for your smart-alick comments, you've shamed me for definling the Mesa/Boogie name. i guess i'm not worthy to play Mesa amps anymore...

Who's shaming who here, posting a thread titled: "Another rectifier dead"?
And since where/when have you defined(?) the Mesa Boogie name?
Alas, you are right, your not worthy of playing/owning a professional piece of gear when you treat it as you have! Learn to respect your professional, hand-made piece of musical instrument, and it will respect you back! Good Luck with your repairs!

 

[jtb226]

jbird, why do you feel it is necessary to come down on someone so hard for an honest mistake? everyone makes them. and while it may be a costly one, he is asking for our opinion on how to fix it; not asking for you or anyone else to condescend him.

as to your amp problems, good luck. i dont' know enough about the internal workings to diagnose the problem. your best bet is to take it to a tech, like others have said.

 

[stompboxfreak72]

I had a very similar problem 2 years ago. I had never changed the power tubes and made the mistake of putting two 5u4" special" tubes in my DR. I was completely ignorant/oblivious of the mess I had made. My channels 2 and 3 died at a show a week later after I had put the correct tubes in and taken out the " specials." I blew the transformer and various other power issues. I honestly did not realize that my problem had been self inflicted at the time. I took the amp back to Guitar Center and they shipped it out to an authorized repair place and it ended up being covered by warranty even though it should not have been.

Sometimes you have to live and learn and I learned more about tubes than I ever imagined after this incident.

Also, ignore Jbird as best as you can. He leaves some very interesting and useful points of view on here but his penchant for sarcasm and negativity deter from his otherwise good opinions and knowledge.

Just live and learn. That's all you can do.

 

[madryan]

Just live and learn. That's all you can do.

+1. Like I learned by not bubble-wrapping my RK1 when I shipped it via UPS ground and the headshell cracked in transit.

At this point, only a Mesa amp tech can give you a proper diagnosis...

Ouch! United Airlines once broke the headstock on my Les Paul... I was ticked! I didn't notice till I got it home and then they played the BS game saying that it wasn't their fault. Ended up having the best Guitar maker in Hawaii fix it and you couldn't tell after he was done.

 

[Dead Moon Rising]

I had a very similar problem 2 years ago. I had never changed the power tubes and made the mistake of putting two 5u4" special" tubes in my DR. I was completely ignorant/oblivious of the mess I had made. My channels 2 and 3 died at a show a week later after I had put the correct tubes in and taken out the " specials." I blew the transformer and various other power issues. I honestly did not realize that my problem had been self inflicted at the time. I took the amp back to Guitar Center and they shipped it out to an authorized repair place and it ended up being covered by warranty even though it should not have been.

Sometimes you have to live and learn and I learned more about tubes than I ever imagined after this incident.

Also, ignore Jbird as best as you can. He leaves some very interesting and useful points of view on here but his penchant for sarcasm and negativity deter from his otherwise good opinions and knowledge.

Just live and learn. That's all you can do.

Thanks for the post. I can't wait to see my repair bill now!