I hate Ebay!!!! I really wanted to play my new DC-3!!!!

[Monsta-Tone]

Ok,
I sold some stuff to get some effects for my new band. I had some money left over and I found a DC-3 combo in really nice condition for $650.

I got it, packed in peanuts of course!

I put the tubes back in, and what do you know, the speaker is blown!

I plug in my 3/4 back cab with an EV 12L in it and it sounds instantly better.

I go to my computer to email the guy. I left the amp on, thinking that it would only take a moment and I would get back to playing it.

When I get back from typing my 10 sentences, the amp is smoking. The Output Transformer is litterally freaking smoking.


The guy has over 800 positive feedback at 100 % so I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt for a day or so.

But.....He specifically stated that it had, "NO ISSUES!!!"



Then, I plug in the Nova System that I got for some band effects. It is very noisy. Lots of hiss.

I play along for a few seconds, and it stops working. Simply frozen. The only thing I can do is change the Tempo of the Tap Delay.

I have to unplug it for a little while and then I can play it for another 20 glorious seconds.


What the hell is up? Rant over, need a beer!

 

[GIG4FUN]

How is the power? I se the computer seems to be running BUT are your lights flickering or anything? House built on Indian Burial Ground?
I feel for you. I hate it when I invest a lot of getting ready for something and it all turns to ****. I hope this turns around when you get up in the morning.

Can you pull the chassis and see if the PT came loose and a wire is stretched or cut through a grommet or something? They are heavy and drops can jerk them loose during shipping.

I wish you well.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Funny you should mention the power, I'm an electrical contractor.

It's a dedicated circuit with only 1 plug on it.

Every plug in my music room is a dedicated circuit.

The house may be on some sacred ground though, there are ruins behind it.




I pulled the chassis, everything looks fine. I didn't put a meter on the transformer yet though. I was a little too frustrated to think that clearly.

[/i]

 

[Monsta-Tone]

I got a reply this morning that basically says, "It worked when I sold it to you!"



In his defense, it may have. But.....he packed it in peanuts and the amp was on the bottom so it may have been dropped or something.



He doesn't seem like the guy who will take care of this, so I'm not sure what to do. I'll give him 1 more day, then I'll file a complaint with Ebay & Paypal.

 

[lockbody]

In his defense, it may have. But.....he packed it in peanuts and the amp was on the bottom so it may have been dropped or something.

He doesn't seem like the guy who will take care of this, so I'm not sure what to do. I'll give him 1 more day, then I'll file a complaint with Ebay & Paypal.

Seems more like a shipping issue to me. Packing something heavy like an amp only with peanuts is a bad idea, as peanuts can allow it to shift and move to the bottom, or side, of the box where there's no protection.

Good luck on that claim.

 

[kiff]

about the Nova System, does it have an external power adapter? possibly it's faulty, as in low voltage?

sivler city, might be going there for some gigs soon (from el paso ; )

 

[Monsta-Tone]

Yeah, I pretty much summed it up as shipping damage too. The box was fine, but the amp was definitely on the bottom. It looks like he went to pretty good lengths to pack it well, he just didn't know about using peanuts.

We worked out a deal where he will refund $100 (price of the speaker roughly) and I will send him the broken one on his dime.

I was planning on replacing the Output Transformer anyway, so this is not a big deal.




The Nova System has a standard IEC cord, just like an amp or computer.
I saw on their website that they have had some ship out with faulty chipsets.

So far, not looking too good, although, it sounded really good when it worked. TC says they will replace it or repair it for the original owner. So, I have to ship it back to the guy I got it from, he will have it repaired and I will get it back.

Maybe I can talk him into emailing me the receipt and I can take care of it without the extra $40 shipping it both ways.



Where are you playing in Silver?
Let me know when you are coming, if we can get a babysitter, maybe we can go see you guys.

 

[kiff]

sounds like at least you'll get your stuff fixed up, just annoying to jump through all those hoops.

we don't have any gigs set yet, we're a new (cover) band, but we know the owners of some clubs there. Three of us have all played there in previous bands. Wooden Buffalo or something ? has a hall in the back... I'll send you a pm when we get something set.

 

[Fxrs]

Why were you planning on replacing the transformer, and what will you replace it with?

 

[GIG4FUN]

Why were you planning on replacing the transformer, and what will you replace it with?

+1

 

[Monsta-Tone]

It smokes like George Burns.

Still sounds great through another speaker, but the smoke is a little unsettling. Even for a guy who has an amp repair shop.

 

[GIG4FUN]

It smokes like George Burns.

Still sounds great through another speaker, but the smoke is a little unsettling. Even for a guy who has an amp repair shop.

wrong tubes?

 

[Monsta-Tone]

I think it too was either damaged in shipping, or the minute or 2 that I used it with the bad speaker did some damage.

The funny thing is, it started smoking when I had a known, good speaker plugged in and the other one was unplugged.


Doesn't smell burnt, but there definitely was a wisp of smoke.

It has JJ EL84's. I don't know where they are, bias wise, but I've never seen an OT go because the bias was set wrong.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

Don't you think I know that Mesa amps have a set bias? I'm a Mesa tech for piss sake.

I said, I don't know where the tubes are as far as bias. They could be way too hot, like most DC-3's that I've seen when using non-Mesa tubes.


I haven't had time to use a bias probe and see what is up with it.


The fact of the matter is, the speaker is damaged, which may or may not have damaged the OT. The guy says it was working perfectly when he sold it. He has over 800 positive feedback at 100%, so I started thinking that it may be shipping damage. We agreed to meet half way. He pays for the speaker, I mail him back the original speaker. I put a new OT in. I'm ok with that because I had planned on upgrading it anyway.

I'm just bummed that he shipped it in peanuts and I can't really play it in the shape it's in right now.