ryjan
Well-known member
(come on guys. I had him convinced that his amp was a pos so he would give it to me.) :lol:
My mark iv is a unreliable POS why?
- Thread starter lessarti
- Start date
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The first place it went to be fixed was amps plus.. they unfortunately didn't diagnose the real problem and replaced the bias resistor. So now the amp red plates on one tube and it is going to pickering to yorkville to be checked.
I dont know what to think, all i know based off your guys input is if they dont replace a tubesocket or resistor for the tube red plating the problem is not solved. If they only replace another fixed bias resistor then they made the same mistake as amps plus and im ditching the amp.
I dont know what to think, all i know based off your guys input is if they dont replace a tubesocket or resistor for the tube red plating the problem is not solved. If they only replace another fixed bias resistor then they made the same mistake as amps plus and im ditching the amp.
Fronzil im with you totally, i JUST finally dialed in a tone i am in love with and boom it ***** the bed again.. ohhhh man another long wait.. i have no clue how long this one will take to be fixed and back home again.. but at least i wrote down my settings :wink:
UPDATED July 12th 2010::
The amp is BACK home AGAIN after the second time getting sent out or repairs.
Just to re-cap the scenario for those not wanting to read through the entire story: Amp broke down the first time and was red plating, fixed bias resistor and ccts driver were replaced. I installed brand new mesa labelled powertubes and it was fine. Three weeks later the el34 started to red plate and no sound came out yet again, amp was taken yet again to be repaired to figure out what was wrong or bad tube.
So we now are up to date, today i get it and bring it home (no charge as it was covered under store warranty) and it works/sounds perfect. What was done? The single el34 powertube on the left was replaced with a Electroharmonix el34 tube and the v1 slot was replaced as well, solder connections were touched up.
I am scratching my head in confusion but IT IS FUNCTIONING FINE and sounds FINE thus far after one night of playing since repaired. I am going to keep my fingers crossed this solved the problem and it was only the one tube that unfortunately went really really early on me. I mainly only use class A on the amp so IF there is a problem at least i know it is el34s. Is it possible a tube socket needed to be soldered that was causing red plating? Or simply bad luck with a tube? Thirdly, is it weird that only ONE el34 was replaced and not both? I have a str447 and a EH34 working together.
The amp is BACK home AGAIN after the second time getting sent out or repairs.
Just to re-cap the scenario for those not wanting to read through the entire story: Amp broke down the first time and was red plating, fixed bias resistor and ccts driver were replaced. I installed brand new mesa labelled powertubes and it was fine. Three weeks later the el34 started to red plate and no sound came out yet again, amp was taken yet again to be repaired to figure out what was wrong or bad tube.
So we now are up to date, today i get it and bring it home (no charge as it was covered under store warranty) and it works/sounds perfect. What was done? The single el34 powertube on the left was replaced with a Electroharmonix el34 tube and the v1 slot was replaced as well, solder connections were touched up.
I am scratching my head in confusion but IT IS FUNCTIONING FINE and sounds FINE thus far after one night of playing since repaired. I am going to keep my fingers crossed this solved the problem and it was only the one tube that unfortunately went really really early on me. I mainly only use class A on the amp so IF there is a problem at least i know it is el34s. Is it possible a tube socket needed to be soldered that was causing red plating? Or simply bad luck with a tube? Thirdly, is it weird that only ONE el34 was replaced and not both? I have a str447 and a EH34 working together.
They only replaced ONE EL-34...You don't have a matching set? You have 2 different brands? or the same brand but not matching? If that's true..that doesn't sound right. Power tubes are generally matched in pairs.
Yes, ONE el34 on the outside left socket was replaced. So i was confused as to why only one other than the tech must have noticed the tube that WAS there was bad and swapped it with a similar rated tube? The amp sounded find and operated ok when i tested it, so im starting to wonder whether i had a bad tube even then though they were literally new tubes?
SonicProvocateur
Well-known member
I'd be leary too. Usually its only a rarity that the solders go bad (but it does happen). That usually only happens from getting moved around alot from touring, age, and lots of use. Mesa uses Electro-Harmonix tubes for the most part (and not the NewSensor stuff), but they undergo rigorous testing for their matching. To have a Mesa tube crap out on you seems highly unlikely to me. I'd test it out in full power just to stretch the amps legs anyway.
Well i am ONLY using full power with class A/harmonics/triode and absolutely no problems and it sounds freaking awesome!!
If mesa uses EH tubes but just relabels them and tests them then that makes a lot of sense.. the tech probobly put in a similar rated or matched tube according to the mesa labelled tube remaining in the amp. That is my guess at least, im a bit leary but honestly it sounds amazing and the more i think about it i just got bad luck with a brand new matched "mesa" labelled el34 pair as one went bad in 3 weeks. I've thought about ordering a matched pair of EH el34s and go with them as a back up pair incase something happens shortly. Since the mesa tube crapped out so fast im kind of worried to get another pair of their stuff..
If mesa uses EH tubes but just relabels them and tests them then that makes a lot of sense.. the tech probobly put in a similar rated or matched tube according to the mesa labelled tube remaining in the amp. That is my guess at least, im a bit leary but honestly it sounds amazing and the more i think about it i just got bad luck with a brand new matched "mesa" labelled el34 pair as one went bad in 3 weeks. I've thought about ordering a matched pair of EH el34s and go with them as a back up pair incase something happens shortly. Since the mesa tube crapped out so fast im kind of worried to get another pair of their stuff..
thanks nep!
The amp sounds close to the red stripe, at least i have it dialed in similar, so im finding now the presence knob is pushed in for lead mode whereas before it was pulled. Pulled has a higher mid freq that is nasally which grows on you and your ears but immediately pushing it in sounds really big!!
anyhow yea the single tube replacement thing seems to be more a mental issue as everything and everyone says "matched pairs" bla bla bla BUT the results thus far have been nothing short of spectacular sound wise and functioning thus far.. so i really believe in only fixing it IF it is broken and not screwing around with something that works perfectly fine. I must trust that the tech knew what he was doing and simply put in a matching tube (closest rating/draw) for the el34 that was left in there.
The amp sounds close to the red stripe, at least i have it dialed in similar, so im finding now the presence knob is pushed in for lead mode whereas before it was pulled. Pulled has a higher mid freq that is nasally which grows on you and your ears but immediately pushing it in sounds really big!!
anyhow yea the single tube replacement thing seems to be more a mental issue as everything and everyone says "matched pairs" bla bla bla BUT the results thus far have been nothing short of spectacular sound wise and functioning thus far.. so i really believe in only fixing it IF it is broken and not screwing around with something that works perfectly fine. I must trust that the tech knew what he was doing and simply put in a matching tube (closest rating/draw) for the el34 that was left in there.
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