Tube failure? Please help

[Slinky]

Hi I am new to mesa boogie. Always wanted on and finally got a nomad 100 head with a 200w ev speaker cabinet. I got the tubes in fine and everything hooked up. I started playing and it sounded awesome! I began adjusting tones etc. and switching from 60 to 100w with no problems. All of a sudden it just made a crackle sound and then there was no power. I checked all the cables, the outlet. All of that is fine. I'm not sure if it is actually a tube problem or something else. Any info is a big help. Thanks.

 

[stokes]

First thing to do is check the fuse,if it is blown,replace it.If it blows again take it to a tech.There are a hundred things that could cause a fuse to blow,in fact it is probably best to go directly to a tech before something else goes.The fuse is there to keep things in the amp from frying,but they are not necessarilly foolproof.

 

[Slinky]

Hi Mark IV thanks for the reply. I checked the fuse and it has a black smudge in the midsection. I'm assuming that means blown? Is this common? I never really cranked it up past 5. Well...thanks again.

 

[212Mavguy]

If it looks smudgy it be blowey! Take it to a tech familiar with Mesa amps to find out why. Don't just stick a new fuse in again. You could, but Stokes wrote the right stuff in his post already. Best of luck!

 

[lerxst88]

im in almost the exact same boat except my nomad is from guitar center and i got it just a few days ago. should i have them fix it for me? or could it be tubes?

 

[Slinky]

Thanks again for the replies. I changed out the fuse and I have not had any further problems with it. I checked my tubes prior to replacing it and found that I did not have 1 properly inserted. Could this have been the issue?

 

[stokes]

Thanks again for the replies. I changed out the fuse and I have not had any further problems with it. I checked my tubes prior to replacing it and found that I did not have 1 properly inserted. Could this have been the issue?

Sure,check the tube socket for carbon traces.If the tube pins arced there could be carbon on the socket that could cause problems if it isnt cleaned.

 

[MJ Slaughter]

For you new Nomad owners, if you're not already aware that amp has a history of having bad pots. I owned a 100 watt combo and head over the years. Some of the problems I've had was I couldn't get the volume out of a channel, treble pot didn't do anything and various other issues depending on which pot went bad. I'm not suggesting that that is your issue. Just be aware that the original pots where pretty crappy. On one of my calls to Mesa for support they offered for me to take the amp to a tech to change out all the pots for free. I asked if they would just send the pots so I can do it and thats what they did.

 

[lerxst88]

theyll send you pots for free? i might get a bit of that action cuz i just replaced 3 of them today with ones from radio shack and i bet i have more to go

 

[Slinky]

Wow! So many things to know. I appreciate the info regarding the pots. I've adjusted all of them while trying to locate various sounds and they seem to be fine but it's good to know and I'll keep an ear out for any issues with them and make sure to check with MB about replacements.

 

[lerxst88]

i talked to marcus at MB and i dont think theyre giving out free pots anymore

oh well everything is working as good as it needs to be!