Triple Rectifier Newbie Questions

[adicreed]

Alright so I recently purchased a used Triple Rectifier from a friend of mine, and last night just out of nowhere the head turned off on me, I turned the switches off and made sure all the tubes hadn't come lose or anything. Anyways I couldn't get the amp to turn back on...the red light on the front wouldn't turn on or anything, it was like it wasn't even plugged in. I've been reading that its more than likely the fuse....I looked at it and it mostly was intact except for the spiral had a piece missing in the middle of it...so I pray to God that thats what it is, because other wise I have no idea what i'm doing. I was wondering what what all of y'alls thoughts were on the matter.

Also I've been thinking about switching tubes....and again I HAVE NO IDEA ABOUT TUBE AMPS :?: I was thinking about putting EL34 in, I want something with a bit more crunch so I've heard those were good for that....but I heard that the cleans on them aren't as good. Can I mix and match tubes for the different channels or whats the deal with that? Also is there some certain process I need to follow when changing the tubes....besides unplugging and changing the **** things. Again any advice would be greatly appreciated.

And also where can I get good tubes for a good price....and what brand of tubes do you guys prefer....

 

[adicreed]

help please! bump

 

[adicreed]

bump....is there really not anybody that is going to help me......

 

[Chris McKinley]

adicreed,

If, as you claim, you really don't know anything about tube amps then please do not ask a lot of questions on this forum then try mucking about inside the amp trying to apply what people have told you. Large powerful amps have things called capacitors inside them that are designed to soak up and store dangerous levels of electrical charge to protect your amp's electronics. However, touching them yourself can result in an injurious or even lethal electrical charge.

The very best thing you could do at this point, as well as the safest, is to take your amp in to a qualified Mesa repair technician and ask him to explain the repairs he's going to do and why they are important. A few minutes of having a qualified tech explain not only what he's doing, but why, is worth a hundred website posts and years of speculation. It might also save your hide.

 

[adicreed]

I appreciate the advice, but before I go spending oodles of money to ask some qualified guy to take a look at my amp and to fix it I would like to know myself what everybody else here thinks....and I wasn't planning on going screwing around with anything on the amp, I have more respect for the amp than to do that. But I was told that it could be such a minor thing as replacing a fuse....I've replaced a lot of fuses in my life so I'm sure I won't be doing any harm to the amp or myself by doing that. If that doesn't work I was planning on taking it in. So any other advice?

 

[cscotto]

Hi adicreed,

The description of the fuse you provided sounds like the fuse is indeed blown. However, as Chris McKinley tried to warn, the problem is perhaps more than just a blown fuse. Blown fuses are a symptom not the cause, and they prevent major damage to the amp's electronic components when another system fails, such as a screen resistor on a power tube. You should still follow his advice and take it to a tech. The only way to prevent the fuse from blowing again is for a tech to pull the chassis and check the components. If you do cannot identify the components inside an amp, you could touch something by accident and seriously hurt yourself.

The tech can also explain what you need to know about tubes. You cannot mix tubes (6L6s/EL34) in a triple recto, and you need to set the bias switch to the correct position for a particular tube. You also need to by tubes that will work correctly in Mesa's fixed bias scheme. It is worth paying a tech one time to go through this information with you. Good luck.

 

[clutch71]

I agree with Chris and cscotto. You can look on Mesa's site to find certified Mesa's techs near you. I do want to point out that I'm a fan of EL34's. I never felt that the cleans are inferior (I do prefer 6l6's for cleans) they are just different. AS to what type of tube, well I guess the next question is how old id the amp? Is it under warranty, If so your restricted to Mesa tubes or Groove Tubes. Peruse the tubes section plenty on Info in there. You'll find tubes are like women...everyone has there preference Blond, Brunnette, Red head etc...

 

[fishyfishfish]

You could also download the manual from Mesa's site. It has a pretty good explanation/trouble shooting section on tubes, fuses and utter stuff. Most likely after reading you could solve this problem yourself.

 

[gaco]

The last 3 times that my TR blew a fuse it was a rectifier tube (big bottle 5u4g) I recently replaced all 3 with 5u4gb EH.

 

[mikey383]

I agree, if you don't know what you're doing, a tech is in order.

Think of it this way: The labor charge to find out it's just a tube is cheaper than replacing a fuse, having something else seriously wrong, and frying your amp.

Wanna see what can cause your fuse to blow? Check this out.

http://www.forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=32920