My Mark V lost it's 'verb...

[Jimi D]

Well, after swapping out V4 and V5, trying it with and without the footswitch, turning the FX loop on and off, and doing everything short of sacrificing a chicken over the thing, I finally have to give up and admit that the reverb on my Mark V is shot, kaput, deceased, no more... it has joined the Choir Eternal... THIS is a dead reverb...

****...

I've been playing this amp non-stop for four months and now I've got to give it up to the guys who sold it to me so they can get it fixed! I don't know if I can handle the withdrawl....

I know Mesa's rep for service, and I'm not really worried, but still, I'm really bummed...

 

[domct203]

Did you check that the reverb tank's cables did not come disconnected?

Dom

 

[madryan]

Doh... I just read your post better and realized you tried tubes...

Did you check the connections inside the tank?

 

[Don]

The only real issue (besides a tube) that I've had with my Mesa/Boogie is when the Accutronics reverb tank failed. It was covered under warranty.

It's more likely that a wire to or from the amp to the tank is loose, though.

 

[Jimi D]

The only real issue (besides a tube) that I've had with my Mesa/Boogie is when the Accutronics reverb tank failed. It was covered under warranty.

It's more likely that a wire to or from the amp to the tank is loose, though.

I checked the RCA connections on the wires from the tank to the amp and they're good... It's possibly the tank itself, but I'm not openning it to find out... PITA...

True story: 20 years ago, I'm shopping of an amp and come across my Mark II head in a pawn shop... SimulClass, Graphic EQ, 60/100, this one's loaded - in fact, it turned out to be a IIC+, but I didn't know that at the time, didn't even know there were different versions of the Mark II... Anyway, I ask the shop owner if I can plug it in and he says sure, "but there's something wrong with it and it doesn't sound good". So I plug in and he's right, it's noisey, but only with the Reverb turned up, and I figure Hell, I can get it fixed if the price is right. I ask him what he wants for it and I walk out the door with the head and a horizontal 2x12" Boogie cab for about $500... Get the head home and I'm fooling around with it, changing out the tubes and whatnot to see if it's something simple, and on a whim I reverse the reverb cables In/Out at the amp... Wham, everything works, everything sounds great, it was AWESOME! :lol:

Nothing so simple this time though...

 

[mejoshee]

The only real issue (besides a tube) that I've had with my Mesa/Boogie is when the Accutronics reverb tank failed. It was covered under warranty.

It's more likely that a wire to or from the amp to the tank is loose, though.

I checked the RCA connections on the wires from the tank to the amp and they're good... It's possibly the tank itself, but I'm not openning it to find out... PITA...

True story: 20 years ago, I'm shopping of an amp and come across my Mark II head in a pawn shop... SimulClass, Graphic EQ, 60/100, this one's loaded - in fact, it turned out to be a IIC+, but I didn't know that at the time, didn't even know there were different versions of the Mark II... Anyway, I ask the shop owner if I can plug it in and he says sure, "but there's something wrong with it and it doesn't sound good". So I plug in and he's right, it's noisey, but only with the Reverb turned up, and I figure Hell, I can get it fixed if the price is right. I ask him what he wants for it and I walk out the door with the head and a horizontal 2x12" Boogie cab for about $500... Get the head home and I'm fooling around with it, changing out the tubes and whatnot to see if it's something simple, and on a whim I reverse the reverb cables In/Out at the amp... Wham, everything works, everything sounds great, it was AWESOME! :lol:

Nothing so simple this time though...

you still have the iic+? :mrgreen:

yeah, just take it in to a shop and have them service the reverb. you've done pretty much all you're supposed to be able to do as a normal customer. messing with the guts or replacing the tank might be a messy affair.

 

[Jimi D]

you still have the iic+? :mrgreen:

No... sadly, I sold it (for a tidy profit) when I quit gigging back when the kids were babies... Now that they're all in their late teens and never home, I started playing out again and sorely miss it... My wife told me that she gave me the Mark V as a Christmas present, partly to show me she appreciates the sacrifice I made selling my Mark IIC+ 15 years or so ago...

I took the amp in and sat with the tech while he went over the likely issues... It turns out that it's something to do with the reverb send circuit (the 'verb tank works, the return works, but nothing's coming out of the send, and it's not the wiring or tubes)... I'm supposed to get an ETA for the fix today or tomorrow...

 

[mejoshee]

you still have the iic+? :mrgreen:

No... sadly, I sold it (for a tidy profit) when I quit gigging back when the kids were babies... Now that they're all in their late teens and never home, I started playing out again and sorely miss it... My wife told me that she gave me the Mark V as a Christmas present, partly to show me she appreciates the sacrifice I made selling my Mark IIC+ 15 years or so ago...

I took the amp in and sat with the tech while he went over the likely issues... It turns out that it's something to do with the reverb send circuit (the 'verb tank works, the return works, but nothing's coming out of the send, and it's not the wiring or tubes)... I'm supposed to get an ETA for the fix today or tomorrow...

bad component or bad physical connection. hmm. pesky wiring issues.

that's the one thing i think really tests a good amp: if you play that one, self-resonant note, drop it from a shipping pallet, or just all around rough it up and the connections are all still good, then you've made a physically reliable design.

unfortunately from what i've seen, a pcb amp has a greater tendency for reliability than a point-to-point wired amp. anyway, hopefully your issue is all covered under warranty.

 

[Jimi D]

Update: apparently I've got a toasty jfet on the reverb send circuit... Mesa's sending my tech a handful of the things and he'll replace it and I should be back in business. Curiously, he's got a Road King on his bench right now with exactly the same problem...

I can't wait to get my amp back!

{edit} : the amp is back and all is well - I'll be unleashing it tonight in full rehearsal!