No Volume on Dual Rec!! Please help!

[jackson999]

Hi all! Could use some real help here. I Bought a used Dual Rectifier Head on Craigslist for what I thought was a good deal. Its in mint condition and sounded great at the guys house. Got it home and plugged it into my Mesa 4x12 cab - no volume on any channel whatsoever. If I crank the gain on any channel I can hear the amp (with decent tone sound) at a very low volume but the channel master volume knob has no effect. This is my first tube amp head and I am wondering if I am doing something wrong or if something has happened to it on the car ride home. It sat in the back seat and did not get jostled too much or anything. I see all the power and rec tubes glowing in the back. The 2 rectifier tubes do not glow as much (only glow at the top) as the power tubes but I was not sure if that was because they are a different tube type or not. Anything I can do to troubleshoot before I start throwing new tubes etc. into it? Anyone have any ideas from the symptoms? I know the cab and cable are good as I tested them out with a buddies peavey head. I'm hoping its just something really dumb that I don't have set correctly.

 

[mesaboogie6L6]

Are the cables plugged in all the way? Try going straight to the amp, from the guitar. Bypass the loop. Cables plugged in the correct inputs? Plug the speaker cable in the 8 ohm?

 

[jackson999]

Are the cables plugged in all the way? Try going straight to the amp, from the guitar. Bypass the loop. Cables plugged in the correct inputs? Plug the speaker cable in the 8 ohm?

Im plugged straight into the guitar in. Head to cab is 8 ohm to 8 ohm

 

[mesaboogie6L6]

Try a different guitar and cable? Volume turned up, masters up?

 

[bendo]

I know you said it worked fine at the dudes house etc, but, being a used amp, you should completely retube it. Whatever the dude told you on the installed tubes history you should take as BS. He was trying to sell you and amp he was done with.

I had this behavior on a Brand New from the box Roadster I owned a little while ago, turned out to be a bad tube in the V1 position. Replaced the tube with a new one, and it worked fine.

Tubes are fragile. If the tube was on it's way out, or just not 100%, even the bumps in the road can finish it off.

My Single Rec also had the same issue when V1 went bad. You can swap it with V4 (FX loop tube) and see if there is any improvement.

Your local music shop should have some replacement 12AX7s in stock if they are worth salt. GC always has them, JJs and Groove Tubes.

If you can wait, I HIGHLY reccommend one of Doug's Preamp tube kits from dougstubes.com. It should cost you around 100.00 in preamp tubes (unless you buy NOS then $$$) and about 120 in Power/Rectifier tubes. You HAVE to get matched pairs, and they are installed inner pair (2 on the inside) and outer pair (2 on the outside).

Recommended:

V1 - TungSol 12ax7
V2 - Mullard Re-issue 12ax7
V3 - Penta, or Mesa 12ax7 if you can find a long plate version
V4 - stock Mesa or JJ 12ax7 work well here
V5 - JJ 12ax7

Power Tubes are up to you. I find Stock Mesa's suit my needs just fine (I also recommend them due to Mesa's fixed bias, but, it really doesn't matter, as long as they are matched). My local Mesa dealer stocks them (they are required to now), you can locate your's from Mesa's website http://www.mesaboogie.com . A lot of people swear by the SED Winged C. Ruby's and Svetlana's work really well also.