Road King Help!!!

[xkalibur38]

So, I just bought a used road king off of another forum. The guy I got it from said it had just been retubed and even sent me the 2 extra EL34's out of the quad he bought. It looks to be in great condition and didn't get any damage in shipping across the US.

However, after playing with it for about 30 min, I heard a light pop and the volume on ch 3 & 4 dropped out (almost to where if you have the ch volume all the way down, you can still hear it slightly) I put it on standby, turned it off a couple minutes later I turned it back on and it was fine again. But after another 30 min or so it happened again. Needless to say, this happened 3 times in a row. So what's my next COA? Anyone know what this might be or is it time to find my local Mesa repair shop? The guy I got it from is also sending me the last revision mod from mesa... Said there wasn't a mesa tech near him so they sent him the parts and instructions?

As far as I can tell the amp it's self sounds great, but this definitely isn't what I would think to be normal.

 

[xkalibur38]

After playing on it some more it also did this weird thing where it dropped out(not a complete loss of volume but distortion) for a couple seconds, and then went back to normal.

 

[domct203]

Congrats on your "new" Roadking! Is it a RK-I or RK-II? if it's a RK-II is it a V.1 or V.2?

I don't know of any mods you can do to "update" earlier models. Please post what the seller sends you.

As far as sound dropouts, read here about the cathode follower preamp positions:
http://www.forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=25102&start=19

Dom

 

[bendo]

I had the same problem on an Mesa Express 5:25 I owned for a short period of time, and a Rectoverb I used to own. In both cases, it was the V1 pre-amp tube. Replaced and all was fine. You could also have a power tube failing. New or not, they can still fail out of the box.

On any Used amp bought, it's always a good idea to re-tube the entire setup. Kind of like changing the oil when buying a used car. Yes, I understand on a RoadKing, this is a more costly process due to the amount of tubes involved. But, it's alot cheaper than repairs after a catastrophic power tube failure.

A lot of people say good things about the Doug's tubes kits http://www.dougstubes.com/guitar-amp-tube-kits/mesa.html

 

[xkalibur38]

Thanks for the info! The head is the first version. Not sure about this "mod" we'll see when it gets here.

I've heard good things about Doug's Tubes, I didn't see a RK set though... I'm sure I could call them up and work something out. Anyone have any suggestions for a good "metal" set of tubes? I'm assuming it would need to have these Chinese 12ax7's for the cathode follower positions? Unfortunately the two certified Mesa repair shops in my area didn't answer the phone so I couldn't price a tune up or set of tubes from them.

 

[xkalibur38]

Ok, I spoke with Rich at Mesa, the mod the seller is shipping me should be the "Revised Transistor update"
As soon as I get the mod in the mail I'll be taking it to a local mesa repair shop. Anyone have any experience with Audio Monk in Austin, Tx?
I already spoke with him and I'll be having him install the update and give the RK a tune up.

Really hoping this will resolve my issues.