New amp died, why does this have to happen to me?

[schecterplayer]

Well today was the day I have been waiting for for quite a while, I finally got my Crate V1512. I played it for at least an hour yesterday in the shop and when I got home I plugged it in imediatly and proceeded to jam some songs with my best friend who brought over his Blues Jr. and Epiphone Black Beauty. The amp is very clear and punchy and sounds great with my Schecter, I had a lot of fun backing off the guitar volume with the gain on about 4 and the volume maxed to get powertube breakup and we played for at least an hour. Then while my friend was trying out the amp and I was surfing the web he suddenly was like "what the heck?" and I asked him what was going on and he said that the amp just turned off, well of course I got over there and it is plugged in with the switch turned on and the light is off and nothing is happening. I flip the switch back and forth and make sure that the power plug is plugged in and it is. We left to bike and let the amp cool down for an hour and it still doesn't turn on, it just sits there. I looked inside of the chassis at the PCB and nothing is visibly loose. What is wrong, I had been looking forward to this moment for the longest time and it sounded so good before it just blipped out. I am bringing it back to the shop tomarrow but I hate to see it go, I love this amp, AAARRRRRGGGHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! its so frustrating

 

[Robert S.]

Re: New amp died, why does this have to happen to me?

I downloaded the manual and I didn't find mention of a fuse but there has to at least one in there somwhere.

Thats the first thing I'd check out but from what you posted there is no reason that you should have blown a fuse.

I know it's frustrating but take it back and get a different amp if they can't get that one running on the spot. My guess is that the amp you have may have a bad tube (it's new but it happens) and the tube died causing you to blow a fuse. Thats my best guess since you didn't mention any smoke or stink.

 

[RW James]

Re: New amp died, why does this have to happen to me?

What is it with Crates? Mine is dying by inches - but I've had it for about 5 years, too.

I feel bad for you... I'm going to try find a replacement - but you're making me think I should stay away from Crates.

I hope you can either find a fuse and fix it - or get a decent replacement.

Rick

 

[Robert S.]

Re: New amp died, why does this have to happen to me?

Rick it's not only Crate amps that osmetimes have issues, many amps have problems of one kind or another.

Crate tube amps in particular seem to have gotten quite good over the last few years. For a long time their solid state stuff, especially the smaller inexpensive combos were pretty rough sounding and were plauged by issues like the PC mounted input jacks failing because the solder that connected them to the board was the primary mounting attachment. If the plastic nut holding the jack to the chassis face loosened it only takes a wiggle or two to break the solder joints. Cold solder joints were also a problem.

But this kind of thing is common to many mass produced and inexpensive amps. Cheaper components and a race down the production line often leads to less than desireable tone and an amp that doesn't perform for long periods of time without some kind of service. A built to last amp with better than average components just doesn't come cheap.

The biggest service problem with tube amps are the tubes as a rule. Many people just don't get that tubes while not fragile, do need to be replaced on a somewhat regular basis and tubes are sometimes bad when new and right from the box. Ever had a lightbulb burn out as soon as you install it and hit the switch? It doesn't happen often but it does happen. It's the same thing with tubes.

Since there was no stated smoke or stink I doubt that the problem this time was fatal and a tube/fuse issue seems the most likely culprit. If a tube swap and fuse replacement doesn't fix that amp right up I'd swap it for another amp though. New gear is not something I have repaired, ever. I want it right the first time so that I don't have re-occurring problems to fix. Amps are like cars to me and once in awhile a lemon hits the streets. I don't want to keep screwing with something that the manufacturer should have done right in the first place.

I'm sure the amp will be fine.

 

[schecterplayer]

Re: New amp died, why does this have to happen to me?

Im gonna bring it back in tomarrow and see what they can do, thank god I bought it at a shop instead of ordering, if I had ordered a amp that this happened to it would be weeks before I got the problem dealt with. I hope its just a tube. Usually when tubes die they start to sound bad and get noisy though don't they and this was sounding fantastic and then it just flipped off. Im sure its a fuse since I looked in the chassis and the fuse seems to be blown but I am just hoping that it is something minor that caused it because it was sounding good and I want to keep it.

 

[RW James]

Re: New amp died, why does this have to happen to me?

Im gonna bring it back in tomarrow and see what they can do, thank god I bought it at a shop instead of ordering, if I had ordered a amp that this happened to it would be weeks before I got the problem dealt with.

A big amen to that... good luck to you - I wish you well

And thanks Robert for the explanation... that makes a lot of sense.

Rick

 

[Xeromus]

Re: New amp died, why does this have to happen to me?

the good news is they have a 5-year warranty.

 

[tone4days]

Re: New amp died, why does this have to happen to me?

did the rectifier tube come loose? reseat it and see if it comes back on ...

good luck
t4d

 

[Robert S.]

Re: New amp died, why does this have to happen to me?

I'd check all the tubes for a proper seat and replace the blown fuse. It will most likely fire back up.

It is also possible to have a crap fuse. Rarer than a bad new tube but fuses are only a wire inside of a glass tube that burns up if too much current flows through it.

There are a lot of different things that can cause too much current draw. A bad screen resistor, a tube too far out of spec, ect.

Try a new fuse and if it happens again take it in. Also, when you get it back up and playing inspect the tubes for a red hot glow, or when the amp is cold and off, pull the power tubes and inspect them for burn marks. A tube running way out of spec will have a black mark on the glass near the middle of the tube.

Some tubes sound like crap when they are bad, some just blow fuses, sometimes it takes awhile and sometimes its immediate. There is no set rule for how a bad tube will act.

 

[schecterplayer]

Re: New amp died, why does this have to happen to me?

I brought it into the shop yesterday and they opened it up, looked around and came to the conclution that it was just a bad fuse so they replaced it and it is working great. The repair was less than $10 counting the labour so it was cheap to deal with too. I played it for at least 3 hours solid at a reasonable volume level when I get home and several more hours today and it has had so issues whatsoever. It was disheartening to have that happen the day i got it but who cares, it took about 5 minutes and a couple bucks to repair and I love the amp. I'll post a complete review somewhere on the forum in about a week or so once im used to it.

 

[DeadSkinSlayer3]

Re: New amp died, why does this have to happen to me?

While I think it's kind of pile-ish that they made you pay for it, I'm glad you got it all worked out!

 

[JeffB]

Re: New amp died, why does this have to happen to me?

Yup..good to hear..glad it was just a fuse

Enjoy the amp!

 

[The Golden Boy]

Re: New amp died, why does this have to happen to me?

Did you see where the fuse is, should it ever blow again, I'd rather spend the .30 on a fuse and do it myself, than take it in and spend upwards of $10 having them do it.

 

[schecterplayer]

Re: New amp died, why does this have to happen to me?

Yeah I know where the fuse is on the board, I just brought it in to them to see if anything serious was wrong. I think i'll get an extra fuse for backup at some point so I can do it myself if nessessary.

 

[bvc310]

Re: New amp died, why does this have to happen to me?

Be careful when poking around inside your amp. Make sure the filter caps are drained. Otherwise you may get shocked very badly if its a tube amplifier.

 

[schecterplayer]

Re: New amp died, why does this have to happen to me?

I know, the tech got quite a zap while she was digging around inside and then she got a lecture on draining caps from the owner.