My Amp Is Dying & I'm Sad!!!!

[2manyguitars]

I think the O.T. In my Night Train 50 G1 is on its way out? It really sucks because although I've owned it for about a year I've only put maybe 50 hrs on it? It always seemed a bit off, like I wasn't getting the power I should but I thought it was tubes or something like that? Over the past few days it's just been getting worse and worse so now I have to decide if trying to get it fixed is even worth it?

The biggest problem I have is where I live, there's no act. VOX amp techs for almost 500 miles & no one I'd call a amp tech even loosely @ all for 200 miles in any direction! The things are HEAVY, when you look at them you think maybe 20 lbs? It's closer to 50 so shipping & just finding out exactly what it is that's braking is going to be crazy expensive! I could save some $ & take a trip but I need someone who can figure it out in a matter of hours and then tell me what it's going to cost to get it fixed? Then I can either leave it & drive back a week or two later to pick it up or say screw it & salvage what I can? I've got a few other little Class A 5-15w amps but this was my playing big places amp, IT SUPREMELY SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Darg1911]

Re: My Amp Is Dying & I'm Sad!!!!

UPS and FedEx charge a lot for heavy packages these days, that is true. If you were sure it was the OT, it would be cheaper to just buy a replacement from Mercury. That assumes that you could put it in yourself.

At any rate. Good luck.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: My Amp Is Dying & I'm Sad!!!!

Change the tubes.

If your room goes dark, change the light globe before calling the electrician to get your house rewired.

 

[zzmoore]

Re: My Amp Is Dying & I'm Sad!!!!

1. What makes you suspect the OT.?
2. Where do you live.?

 

[Nostalgic Distortion]

Re: My Amp Is Dying & I'm Sad!!!!

I've changed the tubes out, twice actually, & it's a cathode amp so the power tubes don't need basing? Or so I've been told, I did think of these things first. I live in northern NH, very northern, like almost Canada? If you've ever heard of Mt. Washington, it's the largest mountain in the Appalachian range & home of the worlds worst recorded weather, also my backyard??? I can't think of any other landmarks around that someone who's not from here would recognize? I said I thought it's the O.T. because of the limited amount of information I've been able to find on the subject & I can't think of anything else that would explain the way it's acting, @ first it was ok @ lower volumes but if you turned it up very far it would start spitting out mud, then it started getting worse and worse & now it's just awful & also I'm getting a very loud pop when I touch the standby switch that was never there before? I really have no clue about fixing valve amps other than very basic stuff, I know they can be extremely dangerous & I know electricity terrifies me! Guitars, I can wire up in my sleep, but I had a bad experience with a hard wired dishwasher & the fillings in my teeth still hurt, I'm surprised they didn't end up welded shut! So unless it's something very simple it's going to have to be done by someone who knows what they're doing & If I do fork out a bunch of cash I want it done right?

 

[AlexR]

Re: My Amp Is Dying & I'm Sad!!!!

Has the sock exposed itself here???

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: My Amp Is Dying & I'm Sad!!!!

I've changed the tubes out, twice actually,

How long ago, and which ones? What changes did you notice when they were fresh?

it's a cathode amp

They cook power tubes a lot faster than class A/B amps

so yeah im guessing it is still most likely a tube problem, but once you can definitively eliminate that (ie...a full fresh set of new tubes plugged in and played) you might want to have a look inside for loose or brown connections or burned out components. Close inspection of all the small parts and connections inside can give you a wealth of information. Its pretty easy to drain the filter caps so you dont get zapped, a quick google search will cover everything you need to know on that subject. ALso small maintenance things like contact cleaner on the tube sockets and cleaning the inside of al the pots can make an amp miraculously spring back to life in some instances. All of this stuff is pretty easy and very cheap to do at home before you ship the amp off to a tech.

 

[2manyguitars]

Re: My Amp Is Dying & I'm Sad!!!!

How long ago, and which ones? What changes did you notice when they were fresh?


They cook power tubes a lot faster than class A/B amps

so yeah im guessing it is still most likely a tube problem, but once you can definitively eliminate that (ie...a full fresh set of new tubes plugged in and played) you might want to have a look inside for loose or brown connections or burned out components. Close inspection of all the small parts and connections inside can give you a wealth of information. Its pretty easy to drain the filter caps so you dont get zapped, a quick google search will cover everything you need to know on that subject. ALso small maintenance things like contact cleaner on the tube sockets and cleaning the inside of al the pots can make an amp miraculously spring back to life in some instances. All of this stuff is pretty easy and very cheap to do at home before you ship the amp off to a tech.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Liam Otarda]

Re: My Amp Is Dying & I'm Sad!!!!

Make sure you check your guitar cord and guitar before anything else-
I made the mistake once thought it was my Princeton couldnt find the trouble and it ended up being the cord.
Ive also seen power loss by a bad guitar wiring, for example it can happen when there is a slight short to ground
...like one strand of the sheilding or something.

 

[zzmoore]

Re: My Amp Is Dying & I'm Sad!!!!

It could be 1 of 30 things.
The "stuff" mentioned by Gibson175 is a good place to start.
It is not often that a new OT fails.
I would suspect a bad solder joint somewhere, or a failed part in the bias or power supply.....but it could be something else all together.
If you are not comfortable reading voltages on a live amp, then it will need to go to a tech.
good luck

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: My Amp Is Dying & I'm Sad!!!!

I doubt it's the transformer. They don't usually show signs of wear, they just die instantly like a fuse.

I'd look at the pre tubes next, and then consider the filter capacitors. Also, clean out all the jacks on the amp, especially FX loop jacks.

 

[JRSOLDJA]

Re: My Amp Is Dying & I'm Sad!!!!

I think the O.T. In my Night Train 50 G1 is on its way out? It really sucks because although I've owned it for about a year I've only put maybe 50 hrs on it? It always seemed a bit off, like I wasn't getting the power I should but I thought it was tubes or something like that? Over the past few days it's just been getting worse and worse so now I have to decide if trying to get it fixed is even worth it?

The biggest problem I have is where I live, there's no act. VOX amp techs for almost 500 miles & no one I'd call a amp tech even loosely @ all for 200 miles in any direction! The things are HEAVY, when you look at them you think maybe 20 lbs? It's closer to 50 so shipping & just finding out exactly what it is that's braking is going to be crazy expensive! I could save some $ & take a trip but I need someone who can figure it out in a matter of hours and then tell me what it's going to cost to get it fixed? Then I can either leave it & drive back a week or two later to pick it up or say screw it & salvage what I can? I've got a few other little Class A 5-15w amps but this was my playing big places amp, IT SUPREMELY SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey, sorry to hear about your amp, tube amps can be very frustrating for sure. If you retubed the amp and you're still not getting the sound you're used to then I would HIGHLY suggest checking the tube bias before anything else. If the bias is drifting off it wont matter how many time you put new tubes in or what brand of tubes. Also...I sympathize for sure...I just moved from New Hampshire down to AZ. And I know there isnt much at all up in the Mt. Washington/Franconia area for sure. In fact...you'll have to drive down to Manchester/concord area or the Rochester area to get any real tech service...

 

[Chazzy]

Re: My Amp Is Dying & I'm Sad!!!!

Tubes, my peavey 6534+ was sounding worse and worse, tubes were bad, it was also horrible shrill because the caps were the wrong polarity on my pre amp tubes.... but the reason it sounds worse and worse is likely your power tubes just sucking more and more...

 

[Securb]

Re: My Amp Is Dying & I'm Sad!!!!

I've changed the tubes out, twice actually, & it's a cathode amp so the power tubes don't need basing? Or so I've been told, I did think of these things first. I live in northern NH, very northern, like almost Canada? If you've ever heard of Mt. Washington, it's the largest mountain in the Appalachian range & home of the worlds worst recorded weather, also my backyard??? I can't think of any other landmarks around that someone who's not from here would recognize? I said I thought it's the O.T. because of the limited amount of information I've been able to find on the subject & I can't think of anything else that would explain the way it's acting, @ first it was ok @ lower volumes but if you turned it up very far it would start spitting out mud, then it started getting worse and worse & now it's just awful & also I'm getting a very loud pop when I touch the standby switch that was never there before? I really have no clue about fixing valve amps other than very basic stuff, I know they can be extremely dangerous & I know electricity terrifies me! Guitars, I can wire up in my sleep, but I had a bad experience with a hard wired dishwasher & the fillings in my teeth still hurt, I'm surprised they didn't end up welded shut! So unless it's something very simple it's going to have to be done by someone who knows what they're doing & If I do fork out a bunch of cash I want it done right?

I live in NH. There are some great techs in Manchester and in the Essex area. It is a two hour drive for you but what the hell you can hang around Manchester for the day and have fun.