Mark IV Combo Problem Please Help

[nick a]

Hi, this is my very first post and unfortunately its because I am having a problem with my Mark IV. I bought a 2006 or 2007 wide body combo on ebay and just got it yesterday. Amp appeared to be in mint condition. Last night I plugged directly in, put it in standby for a few minutes and powered on. First thing I noticed was it was noisy on all channels. Wasn't sure if it was normal since I have never played one. Messed with the clean channel for a few then went to the lead channel. Used some of the settings on the Mark IV settings page here and really like what I was hearing. I then went through the entire manual to get a feel for the controls and I was happy. The distortion I got from the lead channel was just amazing. Didn't play much after that...kids. Anyways powered it on today and setup my clean channel. I did notice that the noise I heard yesterday wasn't really there. Then went to the lead channel and set it to one of the settings I had the night before. Well the gain was gone. It sounded slightly overdriven but thats all. I could get more gain from the Rhy 2 channel. Tried swapping preamp tubes with the spare and no change. Swapped outer and inner power tubes (Class A mode) no change. Tried all power amp options on full and tweed power, no change. Disconnected the internal speaker and connected to my 2x12 cab, no change. Not sure where to go from here. There is no smoke or burning smell. In class A mode the power tube in socket A is very blue and the others are not. In simul-class mode power tubes in A and B are blue and the other two are not. Not sure if that means anyting. I tried calling Mesa earlier today for technical support and they were closed. I don't know what to do. Seller says it worked fine.

 

[nick a]

I tried playing with lead gain on 10 and lead drive on 10 and my chords ring out clean, like clean channel clean. It only starts getting dirty if I pull the fat switch. Completely no balls, no even very small ones on lead channel.

 

[RoadKinger483]

Well...i know from experience that the blue glow tubes have sometimes is not good. It's pretty much the begining of the end for them. Try replacing all the power tubes with a matched quad and see if that fixes the problem. It kinda sounds like tube problem to me.

 

[jman7272]

For what it is worth, my Mark IV was doing the SAME thing.

I went through all of the preamp tubes with no avail. I went through the power tubes with no avail.

Try this and let me know if it yields any results because it worked for me.

1. Let the amp warm up a minimum of 60 seconds.
Try the amp just for the hell of it and see if it just needed a good warm up. If not,

2. Turn the amp on tweed power after warming it up. If there is the "no gain" issue still on the lead channel, try switching it to full power immediately and without changing any other settings. Play for 15-30 seconds. Now go back to the tweed power and see if all is normal.


My Mark IV was doing exactly what yours is doing. I did this proceedure for a couple of days and it went away. Now, I just allow adequate warm up time and it jams faithfully every time.

Keep updating this thread and I will watch it. I am curious to see if your Mk IV is the same as mine and if it "fixes" itself or not. -Or... Just find out what the issue is.

-J

 

[nick a]

jman7272 thanks for your response! I will try that here after the Cowboys game as post my findings.

rabies: I don't think it is the tubes. The amp is a 2006 or 2007 model, which should still be under the 5 year warranty. I swapped out all the tubes with tubes from my Peavey 6505+ and it acted the exact same way. I then put all the Mesa tubes in my 6505+ and they worked perfectly. Actually they were all glowing blue in the Peavey. So I know they are all working. I am thinking there is something wrong with the amp. I almost think that only one power tube is running in Class A (socket A is only blue) and only two in Simul-class (sockets A & B are blue - they run in parallel), instead of two (A & D) and four (A,B,C,D).
After playing last night (only on the rhy1 channel - class A) I could touch tubes B,C,D and they were just warm. Tube A was extremely hot and I couldn't touch it. More reason to believe only half of the power amp is working.

Link to ebay auction
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=350012129995&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=022

Amp is in mint mint condition.

 

[nick a]

Jam7272: Tried what you suggested and it didn't resolve my issue. I really think my power amp is only half way working. I was touching tubes B,C,D and they are just warm. Tube A is the only one hot in Class A mode. When switching to Simul-Class mode A and B both get really hot while C and D are only warm. That has to be the problem. I am going to call Mesa tomorrow morning and hopefully they can provide some help.

 

[JOEY B.]

Transformer maybe????

 

[nick a]

I guess the output transformer is a high possibility since it does provide the high voltage to the power tubes. That would suck but I am praying this thing is covered under warranty. I don't know anything about transferable warranties but I hope Mesa has a record on this amp on file.

 

[nick a]

I stand corrected. Maybe it could be the power transformer. Let you guys know what Mesa says tomorrow.

 

[shredding]

could you check your channel eq? If the lead treble/bass/mid are all 0, you will get a clean sound even if your gain are set to 10

 

[MrMarkIII]

I stand corrected. Maybe it could be the power transformer. Let you guys know what Mesa says tomorrow.

Power transformer = connects wall current to the amp.
Output transformer = connects power tubes to the speakers.

 

[nick a]

shredding: eq was setup correctly so that is not the problem.

rabies: I will be calling a Mesa tech here in the next 30 min or so. I will post an update.

 

[jman7272]

Good luck getting them on the phone.

They are usually awesome but the last few times I called, i needed to call back 3x over as many days to get a response.

maybe holiday vacations?

 

[jman7272]

Good luck getting them on the phone.

They are usually awesome but the last few times I called, i needed to call back 3x over as many days to get a response.

maybe holiday vacations?

that's unusual. i've called several times (not during holiday season) and usually talk to a guy within a minute or two. can't beat that.

Maybe they know I ask uber technical questions and am annoying.

 

[nick a]

I've already called twice and got tech support voice mail. Some tech named Chris something. So I left a detailed message so hopefully he will call back soon. I'm also trying to get a hold of customer service to find out if the amp is still under warranty, but I get voice mail as well.

Also, the seller of the amp suggested that I try putting a patch cable in the loop (connecting send to return) and seeing if that helps. I'm going to try that after work today.

 

[nick a]

Talked to Mesa and they said they need to see the amp either at one of there authorized repair centers or worst case back in Cali. They don't believe it is just a tube problem. Before that can happen I have to get the warranty issue straightened out. I'll be working on that today with the seller.

 

[jman7272]

Talked to Mesa and they said they need to see the amp either at one of there authorized repair centers or worst case back in Cali. They don't believe it is just a tube problem. Before that can happen I have to get the warranty issue straightened out. I'll be working on that today with the seller.

This completely sucks man. I have not had another instance of this happening to mine. Let me know how it goes.

 

[nick a]

This does suck. For the warranty to transfer I need the original sales receipt. If not, then if the original owner registered the amp I need his last name for Mesa to look up. I don't have a receipt and I am worried that the seller does not know the last name of the original owner. I believe he was the second owner. If not I will be stuck with all repair cost.

 

[jman7272]

If not the EBay seller will be stuck haveing to pay out of what I paid him for the amp to get this issue resolved since it was sold to me in this condition as working perfect and I will have a receipt of repair indicating otherwise. In fact, since I am well within my 45 days of payment according to Paypal, I can open a Paypal dispute as an option...

There, fixed it for ya.

Seriously though, even if you are on good terms with the seller, you are running out of time to open a claim (45 days from payment date). You can open it just as a safety measure and explain to the seller that you are simply preserving your rights as a buyer since this seller has obviously not come forward to be a stand up person and offer to share the cost of repair with you. This will help you if you get hit with a few hundred dollar bill since the seller should take on some of this cost.

From Paypal site:

Most disputes are the result of simple misunderstandings. It’s best to initiate communication with the seller as soon as you recognize a potential problem.

You can open a dispute in the Resolution Center within 45 calendar days of payment. By opening a dispute, you are able to communicate directly with your seller to work out a problem transaction.

If you and your seller are unable to agree on a solution, you must escalate the dispute to a PayPal claim within 20 calendar days of the date the dispute was opened. By escalating to a claim, you would be asking PayPal to review the case and decide the outcome.

 

[nick a]

It has been 10 days since the auction ended. So I have some time to open a dispute. I am going to give him a chance to come up with the information I need to transfer the warranty to my name. If not, then the amp was obviously not in 100% working condition and the seller should be liable for some of the repair cost if not all. If he is not willing to help pay for the cost of repair then I will open a dispute.