Tried new tubes...help with fuses? Amp technicians in Orange County?

[ankalar]

So I get this Laney Pro Tube head from some jackass on eBay, and when I first turn it on, no sound comes out. Looking at the power tubes, I saw that one of the two EL34s was not glowing (it was a mismatched pair so I was already suspicious). So I went out and bought a brand new pair of GT EL34s. The amp made sound at this point, but not too loud. By "not too loud," I mean not even bedroom volume when both pre-amp and master volumes are at full. I thought maybe it was the preamp tubes, so I went out and bought 4 new Sovtek 12AX7WAs (cheapest I could find, I just wanted something that works). Low and behold, it was still bedroom volume at max.

Now, I did all this in hopes that the guy on eBay would refund me the money it cost for new tubes. A few e-mails later, he said would give me a maximum of $10 (plus a threat to put me through a "stress test" because he is a Lt. Col. in the army). That $10 wouldn't even cover one EL34, so I filed a PayPal "Item Received Significantly Not As Described" claim. After realizing that I wouldn't want to have to hassle with taking it to a tech, I cancelled the PayPal claim and, since I can't open a new claim on PayPal for the same transaction, I had to go to eBay. Now I realize that I'm probably stuck with this amp considering this guy will probably kill himself before ever giving me a refund.

I'm guessing it's the output transformer or fuse or something, but I'm not sure. One thing that might be a problem is that one of the fuses doesn't screw in all the way. I don't think this is it, because I would imagine something would have blown up already.

Neither fuse is cloudy or anything, so I don't think they're broken, but I'm not sure if they're the right values. The top fuse spot has "HT" on the left and "T 500 mA" on the right of it, and on the fuse itself it says "7A 250V 312." The second fuse says "5AT 110v-140v" on the left and "2AT 210v-240v" on the right, and the fuse itself just says "250V." I am worried about this, so any help would be good.

In case I'm screwed, could anybody recommend me a good (preferrably cheap) amp tech in Orange County?

Thanks,
-Tim

[kmcguitars]

Re: Tried new tubes...help with fuses? Amp technicians in Orange County?

Have you tryed both output jacks? I had the same problem with the output jacks on a JTM45. Try wiggling the speaker jack and see if it gets any louder or static?. I doubt it's a fuse or a tranny. Could be a FX loop problem. At any rate you need to get it to a tech.
EDIT : I just reread your post if your fuse's are the wrong value
Don't even turn it on again untill you get the right ones. This could
be a BIG problem.

[wixedmords]

Re: Tried new tubes...help with fuses? Amp technicians in Orange County?

Tim, take a breath here.

Tubes are a wear item, so they really don't matter. Pickup a decent set of matched JJ's or SED's or whatever you choose, put them in and get them biased. (Edit: Didn't catch you already put new ones in. They need to be biased though.)

Next, it doesn't matter if fuses "look" good. Much of the time they can be blown without you being able to see that. They are cheap so replace them.

They are likely slow blow fuses. Just check Radio Shack for some. If you get a good RS salesperson, they may know their sh** and be able to help you right out. You may want to try downloading a manual to help with the fuses.

Your "screw in" fuse has me a bit baffled, is it the type of fuse that the fuse itself sets in a piece that is pushed in and turned to seat it? If that is the type, it doesn't need to be tight, just pushed in and turned enough so it won't pop out.

Keep us updated on that amp. I may go looking for one at some point.

Good luck, think positive.

EDIT: Here is the Laney manual download page.

http://www.laney.co.uk/site.htm You may have to resort to downloading an AOR manual to get something that matches.

Ah, it doesn't work. Click on "Support" and then the section on the middle right-side that mentions "Manual for a product no longer in production".

[HamerPlyr]

Re: Tried new tubes...help with fuses? Amp technicians in Orange County?

Assuming that the input jack(s) aren't the problem, take it to a tech. The new tubes were a step in the right direction, but if it was a blown fuse, the amp simply wouldn't power up. You do want to have the correct values in there, but that's a seperate issue.

[B2D]

Re: Tried new tubes...help with fuses? Amp technicians in Orange County?

Paul Morte Technical Services has been good to me and charges reasonable prices. I dont really know of anywhere else to go though.

Call 411, they're in the city of Orange.