Mismatched tubes?

[Mesafan777]

I have just recieved a F50 I bought off a US seller (I am in the UK)

The packaging was SHOCKING, DISGUSTING, UNBELIEVABLE You guys have no idea how pissed I am that someone would ship an amp like this one was.

I'll describe it if anyone is curious, but anyway, long story short, I suspect internal damage just because of how badly the thing was packed, but one of the power tubes is smashed, so I cant even fire it up until I order a new set.

However, I do have a spare 6L6 that I use with my Univalve. It is a completely different brand to the (one) Mesa tube that is (cosmetically) undamaged, so obviously there will be a complete bias mismatch, along with a mismatch in any other characteristics that tubes have.

I have no intention of actually using the amp like this (I have already ordered a new set), but I would like to evaluate the amp ASAP, to see if it works, and get an insurance claim going ASAP if it is broken.

Would it be a bad idea to use two completely mismatched valves (JUST for the purpose of checking if the damn thing actually works)?

Thanks

 

[Shep]

it would be better to wait till you get the tubes with the matched current draw..you could put the spare in and put it on to stand by and see if it fires up that will check to see if the low voltage stuff still works..see if the tubes glow..but i wouldn't do anything more than that..if it's bais really high it can burn out screen restiors like in dual rec's when the bais switch isn't right..
hope this helps

 

[Mesafan777]

hope this helps

Yes it does. I'll take your advice and wait for the new set of matched tubes. Im sure you can understand why I was eager to try the amp - obviously if i need to make an insurance claim, it will be better if I do so as soon as getting the amp, and not waiting a week.

But I will play it safe and wait for the new tubes. Thanks for the reply

 

[recto-robbie]

Hey mesafan777,, sorry to hear about your bad luck there. Thats total B.S. if it was packed that bad to go across seas or anywhere for that matter.
Just an idea here,,,do you have any close friends who also own a mesa amp? If so you could kindly ask them if you could borrow 2 6l6's for a quik test. I understand your needing to do something fast for insurance purposes. You didnt mention whether or not you ordered your tubes directly from mesa or not but if you did im guessing its going to take well over a week to get to the U.K. Ive ordered directly from them twice in the past and each time it took about 10 days to receive them in Chicago.
Hopefully from the sound of it,,it sounds like it was just a bad tube.
That happens even when packed correctly. Good luck to you,,let us know how it works out.

 

[Mesafan777]

Thanks for the replies guys.

The tubes are on the way - I hope to have them within 4 or 5 days. Seller has been informed that the tube is smashed and that i cant guarantee that the amp has reached me in working order until I get a new set.

I was just really bummed to open a flimsy cardboard box and be greeted with the reverb tank - no bubblewrap on the top or bottom of the amp, and a single layer of the small stuff around the sides (not even taped in place). Plus plenty of space all around the amp for it to shake around inside the cardboard box. (i was also a bit pissed that they shipped via a slower and cheaper method than the one we'd agreed on and I had payed for). Ive bought $50 stuff that was packed better.

Hopefully the amp is fine. It just really sucks not knowing.

 

[Guitarzan]

But I will play it safe and wait for the new tubes.

Good call.

 

[phyrexia]

You can take the power tubes out and put it on standby and no harm will be done.

 

[edgarallanpoe]

I see absolutely no reason why you couldn't put that replacement tube in and fire it up just to see if the amp works. As long as it is the same type of tube you should be absolutely fine. Hell...I have finished whole gigs with mismatched tubes and never had any damage. Obviously it isn't ideal, but I can't see why powering it up with a replacement tube would cause any type of damage. There is no reason to wait for the matching quad...absolutely none.

 

[Mesafan777]

I see absolutely no reason why you couldn't put that replacement tube in and fire it up just to see if the amp works.

Thanks for the feedback. They were my initial thoughts. A pair of matched tubes are ordered already - it was just, in the meantime, i was hoping to fire it up with my spare tube, so I can at least say 'Yes the amp is damaged', or 'No the amp is fine'.

I've heard a few conflicting opinions about whether or not it is a good idea, so my current line of thought is just to wait till i have two matched tubes before turning it on.

Thanks to everyone who has replied so far, your friendly advice has made a crappy day a little better

 

[edgarallanpoe]

Thanks for the feedback. They were my initial thoughts. A pair of matched tubes are ordered already - it was just, in the meantime, i was hoping to fire it up with my spare tube, so I can at least say 'Yes the amp is damaged', or 'No the amp is fine'.

I've heard a few conflicting opinions about whether or not it is a good idea, so my current line of thought is just to wait till i have two matched tubes before turning it on.

Thanks to everyone who has replied so far, your friendly advice has made a crappy day a little better

Just be careful that you don't wait too long and not be able to make a claim. IIRC you only have 24hrs to make a UPS claim. I could be wrong on that though.

 

[Mesafan777]

Just be careful that you don't wait too long and not be able to make a claim. IIRC you only have 24hrs to make a UPS claim. I could be wrong on that though.

If the problem ends with the broken tubes, i'll probably suck the loss myself (although tubes are pretty expensive over here).

I definitely don't want to wait too long. The quicker I find out for sure the better.

Guys have said I can safely turn it on in standby, but unfortunately, as with any ebay purchase, I need to actually turn it on and play though it, to check if it is working (it was described as perfect working order, so obviously, I need to check that).

Are you sure there will be no damage with a Mesa 6L6 in one socket, and a random unmatched Sovtek 6L6 in the other?

 

[edgarallanpoe]

Are you sure there will be no damage with a Mesa 6L6 in one socket, and a random unmatched Sovtek 6L6 in the other?

As long as you don't plan on playing a full gig at stage volume I can't imagine there would be *any* possibility of damage. Plug it in and strum a few chords, then power it down.

 

[Charlie]

Sorry to hear about that. I can't believe somebody would do such a crappy job at packing an amp up.

Even if the amp was packed properly he shouldn't have left the power tubes in the amp. What an ass.

Hopefully it'll just be a broken tube... shouldn't be too big a deal if it is.

I've got an F-50 head it's a really sweet amp.

Good luck.

 

[Mesafan777]

I've been away from the computer for a few days, so heres a little update.

The new tubes arrived last week, and i was able to give the amp a test run. Everything seems to be working ok. It's a testament to the Mesa build quality that one of their amps can make the journey across the atlantic (being thrown into countless trucks, bouncing along conveyors, flipped onto trolley jacks) with almost NO PROTECTION, and somehow not have all the internal circuitry shake apart.

Thanks for all the replies