Mesa will not cover replacement of screen resistor(s)?

[screamingdaisy]

See thats the problem, if you make a great tube that lasts for years are you gonna make money or not? They will be more expensive, but the replacement bussiness won't be there.

Last year I read a thread/rumour on TGP that there was someone who is looking at building boutique/high quality tubes, however the price of NOS tubes is still low enough that there's no profit.... which says to me they're going to be expensive.

 

[Kyemack45687]

Guys, can we please not attack each other? There is no need to make assumptions or call names here, I started this thread just to see if there was anyone else who felt this wasn't fair.

It seems I have found a few who agree and hopefully Mesa will see this or we can find a way of making a point to them.

As it stands, my amp is sitting in the shop with an $85 bill that I am going to call Mesa about on Monday. I figure I'll try to make my point and get them to cover it under warranty, though with the bad attitude I encountered from the CS representative, I'm not hoping for much.

If they refuse to cover the repair under warranty, though I'm sure the amp will be fine, I'm selling it on principle alone and I will never own another Mesa product.

As I told a member here, this is just unbelievable to me, as I work with another reputable boutique amp company that will literally bend over backwards to help me on any issue. If this is the type of CS Mesa offers, it is simply not for me and I will find the sound I am looking for elsewhere.

 

[Vogelsong]

Guys, can we please not attack each other? There is no need to make assumptions or call names here, I started this thread just to see if there was anyone else who felt this wasn't fair.

It seems I have found a few who agree and hopefully Mesa will see this or we can find a way of making a point to them.

As it stands, my amp is sitting in the shop with an $85 bill that I am going to call Mesa about on Monday. I figure I'll try to make my point and get them to cover it under warranty, though with the bad attitude I encountered from the CS representative, I'm not hoping for much.

If they refuse to cover the repair under warranty, though I'm sure the amp will be fine, I'm selling it on principle alone and I will never own another Mesa product.

As I told a member here, this is just unbelievable to me, as I work with another reputable boutique amp company that will literally bend over backwards to help me on any issue. If this is the type of CS Mesa offers, it is simply not for me and I will find the sound I am looking for elsewhere.

+1, things need to stay civil.

 

[starsky]

I think that you have a legitimate complaint. I also have to say that hearing stories like yours, as well as other LSS owners having so many rectifier tube issues is what led me to an LSC. My goal was to buy a great sounding amp with longevity. The Mark III I sold to fund it was 25 years old. I expect the same use from this one, with limited repairs, and more than a couple of years per tube.

 

[Vogelsong]

Guys, can we please not attack each other? There is no need to make assumptions or call names here, I started this thread just to see if there was anyone else who felt this wasn't fair.

It seems I have found a few who agree and hopefully Mesa will see this or we can find a way of making a point to them.

As it stands, my amp is sitting in the shop with an $85 bill that I am going to call Mesa about on Monday. I figure I'll try to make my point and get them to cover it under warranty, though with the bad attitude I encountered from the CS representative, I'm not hoping for much.

If they refuse to cover the repair under warranty, though I'm sure the amp will be fine, I'm selling it on principle alone and I will never own another Mesa product.

As I told a member here, this is just unbelievable to me, as I work with another reputable boutique amp company that will literally bend over backwards to help me on any issue. If this is the type of CS Mesa offers, it is simply not for me and I will find the sound I am looking for elsewhere.

You have a PM.

 

[J.J]

I think New Sensor is purposely shortening the life on tubes in an effort to increase sales.

Yes, I wonder about that too. I don't think Mr New Sensor is getting rich, more that they are doing what they need to do. There is still a little competition left. The Chinese tubes seem to have been getting a lot better in the last few years.

On the other hand making tubes that last is much harder than it sounds. There are numerous process steps that all need to be perfect for a tube to be long lasting. Get just one wrong and the tube will fail early. High purity metals are the start.

The cathode and anode that both run very hot need to be out gassed. If not then they can realease gas into the tube during normal operation and seriously degreade the tube. the out gas process can be very long (hours). Then you have other things like the pin to glass seal and the getter process which is the last stage in vacuum process. Mil spec tubes had a lot of attention paid to these little things that you really even see.

The grids and screens are made of very fine wire and with the fairly extreme heat cycles inside tubes can start to move mechanically. These are just some of the things that can go wrong.

The cathode coating is also critical to tube performance and one easy place to limit tube life. Just limit the amount of coating and the tube will start off fine, but quickly degrade loosing its power and edge.

Anyway, the point of all this is to say that tubes are expensive and difficult to make well. Just one small issue anywhere can ruin a whole batch of tubes. The tubes may test fine at the factory, so even the manufacturer does not know there is a problem until its much to late. Solid state parts are the same, but there is enough money in solid state that the manufacturing process and industry brains keep manufaturing to a very high standard.

A Mil spec tube could easily cost double, just due to the extra attention aplied to the process. If real deal mil spec tubes were availble i'd pay for them.

 

[lerxst88]

Ok I read the first page and got sick of listening to the arguing


Replacing screen resistors is not hard!!! Its a 5 minute job and in Mesa's defense, not worth the effort of shipping an amp when any monkey with a soldering iron can do it.

Look at what is burned up, figure out the right replacement value, solder it in, done.

Chill guys...

 

[Kyemack45687]

Update: Mesa flat out refused to cover any part of the bill and when CS rep talked with the tech who repaired my amp, he told him "only $85? He's getting off easy.". The tech and I had a good laugh over that one. The guy comes across as a really pretentious snob.

It blew the rectifier tube, fuse, resistor and the resistor burned up a 12V relay in its vicinity because it arched so badly. Here's a picture of the resistor:

 

[Jared Purdy]

Update: Mesa flat out refused to cover any part of the bill and when CS rep talked with the tech who repaired my amp, he told him "only $85? He's getting off easy.". The tech and I had a good laugh over that one. The guy comes across as a really pretentious snob.

It blew the rectifier tube, fuse, resistor and the resistor burned up a 12V relay in its vicinity because it arched so badly. Here's a picture of the resistor:

So Kye, what's your take on all of this?

 

[lerxst88]

yeah thats not a resistor...

Thats a relay and I have NEVER seen one blow up like that. If it was just scorched from the resistor blowing up maybe I could see that.

Where are you located? I'll put in a new resistor for ya for $20!!!!

 

[twally]

Here is are some sad facts about the tube industry.

In the 40's, 50's and 60's when tubes were actively being developed, the Engineers were some of the best minds of the time. It was a very important industry and developments came thick and fast which made TV and space exploration possible anlong with many other things.

Today, there would be perhaps a handfull of Engineers working with tubes and they are probably the guys that NASA isn't hiring. The total world tube production now is likely to be less than 1% of the peak production in the 60's. Tubes are hard to make and probably should be more expensive than they are.

The bottom line is that there is not a lot of money in manufacturing tubes. The tube industry is just never going to see much growth in the future and the tube companies left will not invest to improve things because they will not see any value by doing so.

There was a good bit of competetion back then, as well. Tube companies had to make high quality tubes-or they wouldn't stay in business. Today there is little to no competetion.

 

[twally]

I really believe that when the OP calls Mesa, they will fix this mess.

I sent my LSS to Mesa a couple of years ago for the 5Y3 Mod. I did a crappy job of packing my tubes-several broke and Mesa replaced them free of charge.

There is no tonal difference since the Mod-that I can tell. I had to pay shipping only.

I have owned several Mesas over the past twenty something years. The LSS 5Y3 problem was the only issue I've had with any of them. I still own the LSS and intend on keeping it for many years.

Anyway, I think the OP met-up with a POS dealer/service man. I'll be surprised if Mesa doesn't come through.

 

[Jared Purdy]

I really believe that when the OP calls Mesa, they will fix this mess.

I sent my LSS to Mesa a couple of years ago for the 5Y3 Mod. I did a crappy job of packing my tubes-several broke and Mesa replaced them free of charge.

There is no tonal difference since the Mod-that I can tell. I had to pay shipping only.

I have owned several Mesas over the past twenty something years. The LSS 5Y3 problem was the only issue I've had with any of them. I still own the LSS and intend on keeping it for many years.

Anyway, I think the OP met-up with a POS dealer/service man. I'll be surprised if Mesa doesn't come through.

That reply from Mesa doesn't leave a whole lot to be interpreted. The tech said "No"! Bad hair day? There will soon come a time when there is one less member on the boogie board, and that is Mesa's doing and undoing.

 

[Kyemack45687]

Well guys, my tech is a really stand up guy, it's just that Michael Taylor at Mesa has flat out refused on several occasions to cover any of this. I don't see what else I can do.

The amp is back in the shop AGAIN because I got it home and the wattage selector had lost its effect.

At this point, I have zero trust in this amp and it kills me, because it does everything I need it to do and I love how it sounds. But, being in a touring band, I absolutely cannot sacrifice reliability. So I'm thinking of selling it.

What do you guys think? I'm really torn. Knowing that Mesa left me hanging out to dry doesn't make me want to continue owning one of their products, it's just that I really like how they sound...

Opinions, please!

 

[Jared Purdy]

Well Kye, I think you know what I would do, and I don't play in a touring band! :lol:

Mine is gone. I took it into the store where I bought it. Fortunately, they have a tech shop that does all their warranty work, and I know the tech quite well. He was baffled by what I told him: three 5Y3's, one set of EL84's and about 6 fuses in 6 weeks. The manager was dumb founded too, though he said "bring it in, lets have a look at it, and if you're still insecure after the tech goes over it, I'll give you full credit". I told him about the threads here, and even showed them to him.

So I brought it in the week before last, I think it was the Thursday. They had it for four or five days. I picked it up last Monday, they could find nothing wrong with it, no scorch marks, nothing. The manager suggested I take it home for a few days and see what happens, and if nothing goes wrong, I might want to keep it. He felt that it would be fine :shock: Well, I really had nothing to lose, whether it blew 5Y3 or not, if I didn't want to keep it, I had $2000 plus tax in credit to look forward to.

Tuesday I was sitting there playing for about 1.5 hours, and really liking it. I'd finally nailed the tones on both the 1st and 2nd channel, and felt that that amp was made for a Strat Deluxe. The tone was pure tone heaven, the amp looks nice, built incredibley well, solid as a tank. I shut the power off when I felt like taking a break. I came back to it about 1/2 hour later, flipped the power switch, and zzziiipppp! Blew another fuse! So, I popped in another, and same thing and this time the 5Y3 also went.

In the morning I called the store to say that I am done with the amp. I now have a gorgeous Les Paul Traditional in Cherry burst. No issues with this one, and a Swart AST Master on the way. Sorry Mesa, get your **** together. :roll:

I'm not sure wat kind of music you play, but you might want to consider a real amp :mrgreen: like a RedPlate, Matchless, Bad Cat, Carol anne, Reinhardt, Dr. Z., Divided by Thirteen, 65, Kustom, Swart, Fargen, Pure 64, Goodsell, etc.

There are a lot out there Kye in the same price range as a LSC, and they are hand made PTP or turret board, without the avalanch of issues that Mesa seems to be plagued with. If you want to PM me, and tell me what you play, I can tell you what I have found. I've spent a lot of time on this, as I like to put my hard earned money to good use, and when you get to the over $2000 crowd, you better get what you paid for.

 

[Kyemack45687]

Thanks for the help Jared. Sounds like we have the same taste in amps. I'm a big fan of DR. Z and I'll most likely stick with one of them when the Mesa and I inevitably part ways.

As it stands, I've owned the amp 2 months, and it's only been functional and in my posession for 2 of those 8 weeks.

This company has shown me their true colors and it really disappoints me. I love the tones and features. Oh well. I'll sacrifice a little convenience for a lot more reliability and a company that stands behind their product and those who use them.

 

[Jared Purdy]

Thanks for the help Jared. Sounds like we have the same taste in amps. I'm a big fan of DR. Z and I'll most likely stick with one of them when the Mesa and I inevitably part ways.

As it stands, I've owned the amp 2 months, and it's only been functional and in my posession for 2 of those 8 weeks.

This company has shown me their true colors and it really disappoints me. I love the tones and features. Oh well. I'll sacrifice a little convenience for a lot more reliability and a company that stands behind their product and those who use them.

2 of 8 weeks is a very poor track record. Yes, those companies that I mention, and you know them, they do stand behind their products. In all the surfing and searching that I have done on amps, I have never seen a single negative thread on one of those companies. Sure, people may decide that they don't like the tone. But as far as CS, and amp reliablity, all of them are 2nd to none.

Best of luck on the quest. And Mesa, read em' and weep.