My amp situation

ColForbin · August 19, 2010, 08:19:18 AM

G'day.

Situation #1
So I was at practice last night, and in the middle of a jam my sound just went out. Traced it, and for some reason my Fender Deluxe Reverb (65 reissue) just lost power completely. My board had signal going in and out. I turned my amp off, unplugged it, plugged it back in and fired it up, and the sound was back. Does anybody have any insight into what might cause such a thing. And more importantly, I am trying to figure out if it was a freak thing or cause for concern.

Situation #2
I'm thinking about getting a new amp head for my Hard Truckers cab. But I am completely torn as to what I should be looking at. There is so many, lol. Any suggestions from the Strange Designers?

YouEnjoyMyReba · August 19, 2010, 11:28:56 AM

I have had something very similar to situation 1 happen to my amp (FDR reissue) while playing a gig. I was sitting in with a band and i left my standby switch on after soundcheck because i thought i was playing earlier in the evening. However they didn't call me up until about an hour later.

The first song went fine but about halfway through the second song the exact same thing happened as your situation #1. I did the same thing you did and it worked fine for a while then it happened again, so i turned it off, unplugged it and plugged it back in and it worked fine the rest of the night.

Unfortunately i dont have a solution to this problem but it hasnt happened since and i havent left the standby swith on for that long either. Anything similar in my story compared to yours?

ColForbin · August 19, 2010, 12:04:52 PM

Pretty much exactly. I guess there isn't too much cause for concern if it hasn't caused you any further troubles. I just found it weird....the amp hadn't been on for that long either, maybe 30mins......

fulltone1989 · January 12, 2011, 12:35:28 AM

Both of your amps cannot be salvaged, I'll take them off your hands for $20 each

ColForbin · April 07, 2011, 10:08:48 AM

Another thing about my '65 DRRI, hopefully you gurus can explain this to me. Every now and then, I'll be playing my amp at a gig, and in between songs, while I'm not playing there will be this loud, crackling, static noise that comes from my amp. My initial contention is that possibly my cables are shorting. I use George L's and while they are good quality cable, and it's nice to make my own lengths, they do tend to lose their connection from time to time.

What about you amp gurus? Anybody experience something like this? One thing we can rule out is the speaker, or connection to. Because this has happened while I was playing my combo and while I had it hooked up to my 2x12 HT cab.

Thanks dudes.

Poster · April 07, 2011, 02:25:40 PM

if the stage vibrates, or something shakes the deluxe youll probably hear an enormous crashing sound. Thats the reverb tank

i played a gig last Halloween on a big deck in this alleyway, whenever my huge ass bass player would move, or the drummer would lay into the drums, it was like we were getting shot at. I thought it was pretty hilarious.

The only other time Ive had any issues was when a patch cable would ground out whenever a huge front of house subwoofer system would hit on the kick drum during sound check, come to find out later it was a monster patch cable with a iffy connection, Ive been using georgels ever since. But from what your saying, it is clearly the reverb tank being shaken by something.

Take your amp up off the ground.

Again, thinking about your situation, you need to get rid of the combo. Take the head out, and put it into a mojo head cabinet. Then when your playing you can just have your head sitting next to the cabinet, or whatever. I was going to do the same thing, but decided just to get a different amp.

ColForbin · April 07, 2011, 03:18:48 PM

Cool, I definitely know the reverb tank crashing sound, and yes it is unpleasant. That's not what this is however. This is more of a, "somebody unplugged something" sound, with more "static-iness" to it. I realize that's not a word, but I'm trying to explain it. I should say, my amp isn't sitting on the ground when I play.....

I've often thought about doing what you are suggesting and getting rid of the combo. The only thing is, it's nice to bring a combo to jams and sessions, and then have the cab for gigs. I really like that versatility....I'll think about it though.

Poster · April 07, 2011, 05:07:49 PM

get a magnum 44 micro power amp from EHX and a micro cabinet. You could fit that in a kids lunch pale. The combo really isnt that portable.

there is a good chance there is a loose ground either in the amp itself (open up the chassis and look/tug on things) or on the pedal board

if your using alot of pedals, turn everything up loud as shit, get on your knees and yank on all the patch cable connections. nothing should be

happening. if it is, just rebuilt the chain one connection at a time to determine to culprit. It may be a loose ground in a particular effects pedal,

and not a patch cable at all, but isolating a group will make things easier. otherwise, go to the back of the amp when its cold/off, make sure all

the tubes are snugly seated. If everything is still good, turn the amp on, unplug your cable, turn it all the way up. Do you hear anything bad?

you should just hear a little noise floor, but no humming or crackling etc. If you do, Id take it to an amp tech, explain everything you did

above and let them fuck with it. If your still coming up with the shaft, swap out guitars, I break mine all the time, and they do all sorts of

weird shit

cactuskeeb · April 11, 2011, 06:46:18 PM

You should take it to a tech. Forget about the people who say you need something other than a combo. It's a wonder your deluxe has has worked this well for so long. Honestly, it sounds like you have a bad preamp tube somewhere. This is just what people like me like to say when we hear that something is wrong with an amp. Because, 99 times out of a hundred, it is tubes.

cactuskeeb · April 11, 2011, 06:53:07 PM

and if swapping out the preamp tubes does not fix your problem, let me know. I've been to hell and back with my amp making all kinds of walrus noises. Usually, it's very easy to pinpoint.

ColForbin · April 12, 2011, 08:17:22 AM

Cool fellas, thanks a bunch for the input. Here's what I'm thinking, I'm going to plug in my rig and start tugging on my connections. If nothings doing, then I'm going to take the amp to a tech. My tech currently has my '72 twin reverb and I'll be picking it up this weekend, so it would be an easy swap. Also, I had kind of forgot that I was on a waiting list for a King of Tone, but got an email from analog mike last week, so I also picked up an electroharmonix .22 caliber amp head. I'm thinking, if shit goes wrong, I can at least get through a gig.

Thanks again.

ColForbin · July 21, 2011, 09:42:56 AM

Well shit,

My DRRI is about to blow a rectifier tube....it's all smoky on the glass and I noticed last week it burns much brighter than the 2 6v6's beside it. My problem? The only tech around me takes forever to get shit done and I have 2 rehearsals and a wedding next week.....

My question? Has anybody ever played a Mesa Lonestar Special? There is a slightly used one for $1,300.00 ish at the local music store and I'm wondering if I should acquire a second amp, but of course, I essentially need it right away. Any input is appreciated......
.

fulltone1989 · July 21, 2011, 10:18:48 AM

Quote from: ColForbin on July 21, 2011, 09:42:56 AM
Well shit,

My DRRI is about to blow a rectifier tube....it's all smoky on the glass and I noticed last week it burns much brighter than the 2 6v6's beside it. My problem? The only tech around me takes forever to get shit done and I have 2 rehearsals and a wedding next week.....

My question? Has anybody ever played a Mesa Lonestar Special? There is a slightly used one for $1,300.00 ish at the local music store and I'm wondering if I should acquire a second amp, but of course, I essentially need it right away. Any input is appreciated......
.

The LSS are great amps, but I would look into the Lonestar Classic (or whatever the other one is) and see if that could be your go-to amp. Definitely enough power for gigs, I am just personally not the biggest mesa fan, and I think those guys run on el84s anyways. Is it the stock 5Ar4 in the reticifier position? You may just get away with swapping out the tubes on it and getting a quick bias by your tech, or call the local store and see if they do it, thus saving you lotsa money.

I'd also check into the Super Sonic 22 watter. Cleans are a DRRI with a mid boost option, and the gain channel isnt half bad, they're a huge step up from the original super sonics - no vibrato but tube reverb and recovery is the kicker. They retail for $1,000 new and you can throw in new tubes and a speaker in there and still have some funds for what you'd get for the LSS. Don't get me wrong the LSS are rockin amps, I'd just drop that kind of cash on something different. $1300 is a tad steep too IMHO, there are some on TGP for 1,150 shipped to your door that are PRISTINE. Just my .02 though.

ColForbin · July 21, 2011, 12:01:36 PM

Thanks man, I appreciate it.

I just turned the amp on at lunchtime, the amp sounds fine, but it can't be long before that tube is completely done. Time to order some tubes, I heard tube depot is a dandy place to go, the power tubes are still stock, so they are going to, and I'm gonna buy a Weber 12F150 50w light dope while I'm at it. Amp overhaul time.....

In the meantime, I'll borrow an amp for my HT cab as backup in case the DR goes all farty and stuff.....too technical?

fulltone1989 · July 21, 2011, 12:33:30 PM

Quote from: ColForbin on July 21, 2011, 12:01:36 PM
Thanks man, I appreciate it.

I just turned the amp on at lunchtime, the amp sounds fine, but it can't be long before that tube is completely done. Time to order some tubes, I heard tube depot is a dandy place to go, the power tubes are still stock, so they are going to, and I'm gonna buy a Weber 12F150 50w light dope while I'm at it. Amp overhaul time.....

In the meantime, I'll borrow an amp for my HT cab as backup in case the DR goes all farty and stuff.....too technical?

I would think that if you changed the tubes and speaker, then no further fartness would occur

You might want to check out eurotubes as well, they have several DRRI kits that may interest you. Power tubes typically last a lot longer that pre amp tubes, and you really only need the bias for power tube swaps. You could get by your next few gigs w/o switching out the 6v6's in there, and then swap them out and bias it after your gigs are over for a week or two?