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Post by cvogue on Feb 6, 2020 1:02:54 GMT -5
Hadn't played my SR in a few months. Old band is on a hiatus. Auditioned for a different band tonight and disaster struck.
Powered it up, waited a few minutes, hit standby and there was a nasty hum. Tried troubleshooting it, took everything out of the loop and went straight in, hum still there. Unplugged my guitar and it was still there.
The tubes seemed to be glowing bright orange, seemed unusual and then one flashed, turned off the amp and it wouldn't turn back on. I'm thinking something blew and took the fuse with it.
Taking it in to a tech tomorrow. Sigh...
Ended up using a bass amp that they let me borrow with some distortion from my Zoom G3. Didn't sound good but I got through the audition. Don't think I'll get the gig but more concerned with my SR right now.
There's a great amp tech in town that I've used before so I'll let him at it. I could send it in to Scott I suppose but would rather not, expensive and time consuming to ship.
Edit: I'm wondering... should I bring the footswitch in? It's a drop off and the tech picks it up at some other time type thing. I'm just worried with all the exchanges going on that the footswitch might get misplaced, but would he need it to test things out?
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Post by gtrjunior on Feb 6, 2020 5:50:15 GMT -5
Definitely sounds like tube failure. That happened to my QR too a while back.
If the fuse blew, it did it’s job.
All I had to do was replace the fuse, and bias a set of new tubes. All good since.
You shouldn’t need to bring the switch but it certainly wouldn’t hurt...
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Post by briman on Feb 6, 2020 8:09:03 GMT -5
I wouldn't worry about giving him the switch unless he has alot of customers that have Splawns.
Yeah i agree with GTRjunior. It is most likely a bad tube and fuse did it's job.
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Post by cvogue on Feb 6, 2020 12:21:42 GMT -5
Thanks guys, yeah gonna try to take it in at lunch. Will bring the footswitch so the tech can easily test all the modes. Fingers crossed.
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Post by cvogue on Feb 7, 2020 0:32:28 GMT -5
Took it in, Jeff Snider, tube amp tech extraordinaire is on the case. B-)
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Post by gtrjunior on Feb 7, 2020 8:27:36 GMT -5
Let us know how you make out.
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Post by briman on Feb 7, 2020 9:26:12 GMT -5
Yeah curious to know what result is!
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Post by cvogue on Feb 7, 2020 12:09:51 GMT -5
Will do. Will probably be a few weeks. He's busy! A good thing
Edit: I specifically asked him about the switch he said nope, nothing but the amp, he doesn't need the switch or power cord and would rather not deal with potential loss of accessories in the exchanges with the shop that I dropped it off at.
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Post by splawndude on Feb 10, 2020 19:22:20 GMT -5
Sorry to hear this and hope all goes well. Is it possible a power tube came loose, even slightly while in transport?
If a screen grid resistor blew then hopefully that would be the worst. They are part of the power section and a bad power tube could cause damage like that if something arc'd from tube pin to socket to board. I'm not a tech though, so I'm glad you have someone you can take it to that you trust.
Also for future, consider getting some extra power tubes and fuses and take them with you whenever you take your amp. That is a pretty easy fix and can often get you back up and running at least for the night right.
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Post by cvogue on Feb 12, 2020 0:52:13 GMT -5
Sorry to hear this and hope all goes well. Is it possible a power tube came loose, even slightly while in transport? If a screen grid resistor blew then hopefully that would be the worst. They are part of the power section and a bad power tube could cause damage like that if something arc'd from tube pin to socket to board. I'm not a tech though, so I'm glad you have someone you can take it to that you trust. Also for future, consider getting some extra power tubes and fuses and take them with you whenever you take your amp. That is a pretty easy fix and can often get you back up and running at least for the night right. It's possible that a tube came loose, I'm thinking unlikely but who knows. Looking forward to what the tech says... |
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Post by cvogue on Feb 13, 2020 18:31:33 GMT -5
Good call Splawndude!!
Heard from the tech, relatively good news, only $180 bucks. He said there were a few things that may have contributed to it, there were water spots on one of the power tubes and something shorted out and took the tube and the screen resistor with it. Maybe something spilled in there (last time it worked was at an audition and I had a glass of water sitting on top of it...) Anyway new screen resistor, set of power tubes and bias and I'm back in business! Should be able to pick it up tomorrow.
Important safety tip, don't put drinks on top of your amp!
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Post by cvogue on Feb 13, 2020 18:33:45 GMT -5
P.S. He put JJ EL34's in it, opinions? He said the stock Chinese EL34's that are in there are OK but not the greatest.
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Post by splawndude on Feb 13, 2020 19:51:46 GMT -5
That's great to hear man. Glad it wasn't something more drastic. Amazing that Billy Blades has cup holders built into the headshell of his amps right? Crazy.
As far as tubes go, I think it is mostly down to preference and experience. I personally have never had good luck with Chinese tubes and I prefer JJs usually but just go with what sounds/performs good for you.
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Post by briman on Feb 14, 2020 7:12:43 GMT -5
Splawndude is always right .... like my wife 🙄
The chinese tubes that Scott puts in are good. JJ's are my favorite power tube. Tung Sols are my fave pre tube.
Glad your amp is fixed and not too much $$!!
Have a good weekend boys.
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Post by gtrjunior on Feb 14, 2020 9:15:53 GMT -5
Funny how we all perceive the tubes differently.
I for one prefer the Chinese tubes Scott installs.
Not sure if anyone remember about A year or so ago I had a similar tube failure. Mine didn’t take out a screen resistor but it did blow the fuse. I swapped in a few different brands of tubes. JJ, Mullard etc. but they all changed my tone in a way that I didn’t like.
I went back to the Chinese tubes and got my tone back.
I have also tried every preamp tube you can, from NOS to new ones. And still j prefer the Chinese.
Now in my JCM 800.....I like the JJ power tubes and NOS preamps. I just feel like the Splawn sounds best with what Scott designed it with.
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