Transatlantic Power tube problem?????

[mdortona]

So I was playing my TA this evening on the Top Boost selection channel one about 11 Am master volume engaged and all of the sudden the volume starts to fade lower and I'm getting "distortion" (sounds like a pedal when the battery is dying or shorted guitar cable sound). Switched over to the second channel, same thing. Dropped it down to 5 watts and the distortion seemed less. Turned everything off, waited a bit, then back on, all was AOK. I'm thinking that it may be a fluke powertube? What do you guys think?? Thanks!

I plan to call Sweetwater on Tuesday (had it about 3 weeks).

Matt

 

[Restless Rocks]

EL84's are a very good place to start. Regardless it's always a good idea to keep a complete second set of tubes on hand given the quality of todays tubes and the hell they go thru in shipping. That way when a problem like yours occurs you can simply swap them out and know right away.

 

[mdortona]

Actually I usually do keep a spare set around (but hadn't gotten around to snagging a pair of EL84s yet) .
Thanks for the validation regarding power tubes issues.

Matt

 

[phyrexia]

of all the modern tubes, el84s are built most poorly.

 

[Basementhack]

Yep...you are losing a power tube

I had the exact same symptoms with my TA-15 after one week. Popped in a set of JJs and all is good.

Keith

 

[mdortona]

That's reassuring to hear! Sweetwater is sending me out a new pair of Mesa tubes. If they prove tempermental, then I'll go with the JJ's (I'm a tad short on cash at the moment) :roll:

Matt

 

[bchulse]

I've had my TA15 for a little over 2 months and it has had the exact
same problem several times, the latest being during a gig last Sat.
Have tried flipping to Standby, changing modes, channels, etc.
Usually powering off/on corrects the problem, but this time, I had
to change to Normal mode and stay there.
I suspected a tube, but haven't gotten around to changing them yet.
Since it is basically brand new, I was pretty concerned, but after
reading the posts on the EL84 and their poor quality, guess I'll just
try some new ones. Any suggestions on which one to change first
or should they both be changed together?

Thanks for the info!

 

[Iceman63]

I had the exact same thing happen to me. It was a bad EL84. I called SweetWater, they got Rich from Mesa on the phone and he sent me two new tubes...no questions asked. I do need to get some spares though.

 

[Iceman63]

Oh, and since they sent me a set, I changed them both together.

 

[mdortona]

Ditto with the changing both tubes strategy.

Matt

 

[chateauneuf]

I can't believe that the tubes that Mesa choose to use on the Transatlantic are so unreliable.
I have had my Transatlantic for 7 weeks now, I've had the same problems as everyone else.
Power cuts to a low distortion which seems to recover after a quick turn off. I was told by Mesa to try changing the tubes, I changed the tubes and it seemed to be OK for a few weeks, and then the same problem again. I took it to the local authorized service centre and they couldn't find anything wrong. My question is, what good is an amp if you can't rely on it. I used the Transatlantic on a gig last week
and it cut out on me on the first tune, it's not a very secure feeling. Should I have gone for the VOX for half the price???? I have to say, I love the sound (and size) of the Transatlantic, I just wished that it was reliable.

 

[mdortona]

I had two of them. The 1st one had the same problem you had, changed the tubes and the clean channel strated sounding "honky" not Vox-y. Sent it back, got a 2nd one which was AOK. I wound up sending it back for a refund because of the lack of an efx loop and reverb (and I tried several pedals). FWIW, my understanding is that EL84s are a very finicky species of tube. Hope that things work out for you!

Matt

 

[phyrexia]

I can't believe that the tubes that Mesa choose to use on the Transatlantic are so unreliable.
I have had my Transatlantic for 7 weeks now, I've had the same problems as everyone else.
Power cuts to a low distortion which seems to recover after a quick turn off. I was told by Mesa to try changing the tubes, I changed the tubes and it seemed to be OK for a few weeks, and then the same problem again. I took it to the local authorized service centre and they couldn't find anything wrong. My question is, what good is an amp if you can't rely on it. I used the Transatlantic on a gig last week
and it cut out on me on the first tune, it's not a very secure feeling. Should I have gone for the VOX for half the price???? I have to say, I love the sound (and size) of the Transatlantic, I just wished that it was reliable.

Any amp with 84s is going to have that problem. Espcially a $450 Chinese vox...if you want more reliable 84s, you can spend more money on NOS tubes, but EL84s are designed to be pushed hard and as a result they have always been the shortest lived of the guitar amp power tubes.

If you're gigging a $1000 amp, you ought to have a $25 pair of tubes and a fuse for a backup anyway.

 

[chateauneuf]

Any amp with 84s is going to have that problem. Espcially a $450 Chinese vox...if you want more reliable 84s, you can spend more money on NOS tubes, but EL84s are designed to be pushed hard and as a result they have always been the shortest lived of the guitar amp power tubes.

If you're gigging a $1000 amp, you ought to have a $25 pair of tubes and a fuse for a backup anyway.

Thanks. Money for the tubes wasn't really an issue. I've already gone through 3 pairs in less than 2 months. I've got to admit this is my first amp using 84s. I got this amp because of the size convenience, I've got a Mark V for any 'bigger' gigs. But popping in new tubes in-between sets doesn't strike me as being convenient. I'll see if I can find any NOS around here and see if that remedies the problem. Does Mesa make them (for warranty reasons)? Thanks for your advice, I'll give it a try.

 

[bchulse]

Called Boogie about this. After describing the symptoms, they suggested
replacing the 12AX7 in V1 position and not the power tube(s).
They sent me a replacement under warranty. Changed it out, and so far it
seems to be working properly, although I've only done a couple gigs, so I
haven't put many hours on it since. Bought a pair of EL84's to have on
hand just in case....

 

[phyrexia]

Any amp with 84s is going to have that problem. Espcially a $450 Chinese vox...if you want more reliable 84s, you can spend more money on NOS tubes, but EL84s are designed to be pushed hard and as a result they have always been the shortest lived of the guitar amp power tubes.

If you're gigging a $1000 amp, you ought to have a $25 pair of tubes and a fuse for a backup anyway.

Thanks. Money for the tubes wasn't really an issue. I've already gone through 3 pairs in less than 2 months. I've got to admit this is my first amp using 84s. I got this amp because of the size convenience, I've got a Mark V for any 'bigger' gigs. But popping in new tubes in-between sets doesn't strike me as being convenient. I'll see if I can find any NOS around here and see if that remedies the problem. Does Mesa make them (for warranty reasons)? Thanks for your advice, I'll give it a try.

Popping a new set of tubes in between sets seems more convenient to me than shuttin down a gig

NOS means New Old Stock. Mesa doesn't make any tubes, but of the tubes they do currently sell, only the STR 450 EL34 is an NOS tube.

 

[Heavy Jack]

I've had the same problem with my transatlantic as well. So far in my reading the solutions are to swap in new Ax7 or replacing the power tubes. If I call Mesa will these fall under warranty? Also what is the general life span of the EL84? I rehearse with my band everyday for about 2 hours. What is a suitable power tube replacement? forgive my tube ignorance but what are JJ tubes and their price? Still I haven't loved a lunch box this much since my star trek 4 lunch box I got from universal studios when I was 6. (looks up reflectively) I loved that freakin Lunch Box : )

 

[kbaird]

I have the same trouble after one week with this amp.
I will call mesa for replacement tubes this week.

Can I put JJ EL84's or 12ax7's until I receive the mesa ones?
Will it damage to amp? Does it void the warranty?

If you had the same problem and replaced tubes did
it happen again? Any real problem with the amp?

Thanks.

 

[BoogieJem]

I have the same trouble after one week with this amp.
I will call mesa for replacement tubes this week.

Can I put JJ EL84's or 12ax7's until I receive the mesa ones?
Will it damage to amp? Does it void the warranty?

If you had the same problem and replaced tubes did
it happen again? Any real problem with the amp?

Thanks.

I've had the TA for about 2 weeks now and 'fingers crossed' I've not had any problems with the tubes. But this thread is starting to worry me! Is it possible that modern EL84s are so unreliable? My only other experiennce of an EL84 amp is the Peavey Classic 30 which I ran with the same tubes for over 10 years! When I eventually did change them Iused JJs with no problems.

 

[chateauneuf]

Rich at Mesa Boogie was kind enough to send me a new set of EL84s and one 12AX7 to put in the V1 slot.
So far so good, I've used it for two weeks now and it hasn't cut out on me yet (touch wood). This would be my
third set of EL84s, so it MIGHT have been the 12AX7 in the V1 slot, I'm not sure since I put the
new EL84s and 12AX7 in at the same time. But I don't care, as long as it works, I'm happy.
I'll keep you posted if I have any more troubles.