Another Stiletto Question!

[khawkins]

Well, we've narrowed down the problem with my '05 Stiletto Trident to the V5 Preamp tube. For some reason it keeps blowing. Does anyone have any experience with this or have seen it before?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Platypus]

I believe that is the phase inverter tube, what troubleshooting have you done so far?

 

[khawkins]

So far, really all I've done is replace preamp tube after preamp tube. Mesa kept recommending that and after replacing 4 of them, I figured I'd take it to a local shop. They said it's definitely the V5 that keeps going but they can't tell me any more (as they're not a certified repair shop). My problem is, I'm about 3 1/2 hours from the nearest certified repair shop and it would kill me to send this to Mesa and have it be a tube problem (cheap fix that will end up costing me alot).

As of right now, I'm getting no sound out of it whatsoever and the lights are all on (so it's not a fuse). Is the phase inverter tube something I can replace on my own?

One of the Mesa guys said it could also be the Russian preamp tubes.

 

[Platypus]

I would def buy a new set of preamp tubes before I sent my amp anywhere or drove 3.5 hours.

Order a replacement set from Mesa and make sure to get all 5. Or buy a different brand 12ax7 and make sure you get a balanced phase inverter for V5 and just do it yourself.

Changing them is easy as pie.

 

[khawkins]

Cool thanks. Yeah, I'm getting pretty good at changing preamp tubes since I've done it 4 times now. I should hear from Marcus at Mesa here in a few minutes so I'm sure that will be the concensus opinion (yours about changing the entire set of preamp tubes). I want to ask him what he meant by the Russian preamp tube comment as it looks like they're still selling them on the Mesa site. Maybe it was a bad batch and that's what he's worried about?

 

[Platypus]

I'm surprised Mesa hasn't told you to change out all the 12ax7's by now. And as far as them trying to blame Russian tubes.. that's sort of ridiculous a) because that has nothing to do with it and b) they sell and ship their amps with russian tubes.

 

[khawkins]

Okay, I'm kind of hosed now. When I picked up the amp today at the local guitar shop I didn't realize that they'd completely replaced all preamp tubes and tested it. Looks like it's not a preamp tube problem.

I can't friggin believe this. I've never bought a $%#* thing off of Ebay and the one time I try it, I get screwed. It was sold as "like new condition" and "barely been played." The guy I bought it from has great feedback and I thought I'd take a chance. I didn't even get it as cheap as they were selling them from Guitar Center. Rather than throwing more money at the problem, I think I'm going to let the grievance process through Paypal work itself out. Now I'm stuck with a frigging amp that doesn't work for 30 days while I find out whether I have to shell out another couple of hundred dollars so an authorized tech can troubleshoot the problem or if Paypal will work out a refund for a product that has never worked. Problem is, the dude I bought it from is refusing to transfer the warranty now that I've logged a grievance case through Paypal. :evil:

 

[Platypus]

Can you start from the beginning here?

Did the amp ever work?
When did it start tweaking out?
Other than preamp tubes what have you tried?
What are your settings?
What kind of cab and at what ohm value are you running it at?

Sorry we can't help with the ebay thing but it would be helpful to know the history of the amp.

 

[khawkins]

Sure, no problem. I bought an '05 Stiletto Trident Series I off of Ebay. The day the amp was delivered, we had to run out of town on vacation. Before we left, I plugged up for 15 mins and everything seemed to work fine. We came back home for a day before leaving again and I had another 15 mins to play. This time, channel 1 worked fine and all of a sudden, channel 2 was really muted (could barely even hear it).

When we came back from our second trip out of town, I turned the amp on and got nothing. The lights were all on but no sound was coming out whatsoever. After troubleshooting with Mesa, they suggested replacing preamp tube after preamp tube, which I did. After replacing 4 of the 5 preamp tubes, I decided to take it to a local shop for their diagnosis. Even though they're not a Mesa repair shop, they are a Mesa sales shop and have worked with the Stiletto's quite a bit. He replaced all of my existing (all new but 1) preamp tubes with known, working preamp tubes and had the same problem. I've tried all different kinds of settings with the amp as well and yet, still no sound.

So, as far as troubleshooting, the preamp tubes are all that have been replaced. I'm running the amp into a Mesa 2X12 Recto Vertical Cab with the speakers professionally wired to two separate backplate jacks, allowing for 8-ohm stereo usage. Like I say though, the Stiletto was also tested at a local dealer with a different speaker cab.

Thanks again for the help!

 

[Platypus]

Sure, no problem. I bought an '05 Stiletto Trident Series I off of Ebay. The day the amp was delivered, we had to run out of town on vacation. Before we left, I plugged up for 15 mins and everything seemed to work fine. We came back home for a day before leaving again and I had another 15 mins to play. This time, channel 1 worked fine and all of a sudden, channel 2 was really muted (could barely even hear it).

When we came back from our second trip out of town, I turned the amp on and got nothing. The lights were all on but no sound was coming out whatsoever. After troubleshooting with Mesa, they suggested replacing preamp tube after preamp tube, which I did. After replacing 4 of the 5 preamp tubes, I decided to take it to a local shop for their diagnosis. Even though they're not a Mesa repair shop, they are a Mesa sales shop and have worked with the Stiletto's quite a bit. He replaced all of my existing (all new but 1) preamp tubes with known, working preamp tubes and had the same problem. I've tried all different kinds of settings with the amp as well and yet, still no sound.

So, as far as troubleshooting, the preamp tubes are all that have been replaced. I'm running the amp into a Mesa 2X12 Recto Vertical Cab with the speakers professionally wired to two separate backplate jacks, allowing for 8-ohm stereo usage. Like I say though, the Stiletto was also tested at a local dealer with a different speaker cab.

Thanks again for the help!

No problem, before you do anything else I would just try different power tubes and rectifier tubes for grins and giggles. See if your local shop can provide the tubes to test this out. I've had two really strange issues with my dual rec that were solved by replacing the rectifier tubes. I even tried the diode rectifier and it still happened. I called Mesa and the fellow I talked to said that even if the diode rectifier is enabled, the rectifier tubes are still in the circuit and can screw things up. I got two different rectifier tubes and boom all the problems were gone instantly.

I'm not saying this is a magic bullet or anything but I would try all the variables you can possibly eliminate on your own before sending this huge monster anywhere. Good luck and be patient, I know it sucks having what feels like a really expensive paperweight on your hands but maybe it's something very simple and everything will be back to normal.

BTW when you do get that sucker working, crank it, that amp sounds gorgeous at loud volumes!

 

[khawkins]

Thanks Platypus, that's great advice...especially to someone who really needs it right now. That's exactly how I feel (the expensive paperweight).

I have to go out of town on unfortunate family matters this weekend but I'll definitely give it a try next week! I can't wait to get the darn thing working as it did sound great for the 15 mins it actually worked!

 

[jbird]

Hey, there's nothing wrong with replacing all the tubes right off the bat! It's the 1st thing I'd do if/when recieving a used/shipped amp! But, I have a feeling there could be a loose solder joint somewhere, possibly from shipping! In the case a complete re-tube does'nt do it, take/ship it to a certified Mesa tech! These things can happen, it's why I prefer to buy new! Good Luck man, maybe theres a dealer/tech where your giong, or on the way!

 

[khawkins]

Yeah, I probably should've bought new. At this rate, I could've driven a few hours and bought a new one and wouldn't have had these problems.

The loose solder joint is the second I've heard of that so I'm hoping if that's what it is, it's a fairly quick fix. Mesa charges $100/hr and I'm assuming their authorized repair shops charge the same.

Either way, if that's what I end up having to do, I should still be saving money. My local shop is selling a series I Stiletto Deuce for $1600 firm!