Conference napalm::guitar

    I would recomment Union Music for repairing the Peavey amp. The
    new bass could be set up by Union as well, or Rich McDuff. 
    Personally, I would adjust the action on the bass myself. It's
    not hard. All you need is a precision scale, and an electronic
    tuner.
    
    Mark
    

    I second Union. If you need it quickly, they'll pop you to the top of
    the list. (I hope nobody takes undue advantage of their offer.) They'll
    also schedule a time for you so you can bring it in on the day they'll
    work on it if you want. I brought a JX3-P in for an upgrade in the
    morning and picked it up that afternoon.
    
    They've always treated me honestly...
    
     UM:  "When do you *really* need it back?"
     Me:  "No big hurry, but when can I realistically expect it?"
     UM:  "10 days?"
     Me:  "OK..."
    
     ...it was done in a week.
    
    Edd

    
    
    Where is Union Music?
    
    -Tom
    

    Union Music is on Southbridge Street in Worcester (next to Coney
    Island Hot Dogs).
    
    	joe.

    Steve is the dude there who fixes my Marshall head, he found a resistor 
    unsoldered from the factory that had eluded 2 other repairs. 

    
    
    	Anyone have a suggestion that's closer to home? Worcester is
    about an hour one way from home, which is kinda far for me.
    
    Thx,
    
    	Tom
    

    
    Daddy's is authorized to work on Peavey.
    
    

      
    
          I would say to take it to Lucron, in Lawrence, Mass.
          Electronic repair on Audio, Video, and Test Equipment.
          For more info, dial 686-2617, and ask for Ron.
          
          Bob, a.k.a. Jeffrey P. Raymond, who has had work done
          quickly, and not been frightened by the bill.         

      A friend of mine just started doing full-time custom
      modifications and repair work for 16+ music stores . (He's been
      doing it part-time for years.)  In any event, he's factory
      authorized for Peavey (and Boogie, and a bunch of others.)

      He works out of his house in Plaistow, NH., right over the NH
      line from Haverhill, Mass. 

      His name is Dave Luiz and it's D.A.L. Music (I think).  I don't
      have the # here at work, but I can post it tomorrow if you are
      interested.  You might also be able to get the # from directory
      assistance.

      Dave does nice work, but make sure you ask him how long it will
      take.  If he's working on something that he thinks is
      interesting, he looses track of the time.

      Kevin


    

    
    
    Re: .-1
    
    	Please post the number. 
    
    -Tom
    

Daddy's in Salem did alright by me the one time my
Mesa had a problem. They replaced a couple of tubes,
under warranty, and then went out of their way
to deliver the amp late on a friday night, 
after they closed, so I could have it for the weekend.

I was impressed by the candor and curtesy of the
repair technician.

I now feel obligated to say nice thinks about
their repair department.

It took about a week. They also have loaners.

Rick

    
 .10   Sorry for the delay.....
    

If you want to call him, his name is Dave Luiz @DAL Music and his # is 
(603) 382-5110.  
    
    
Kevin
    

    Well I'll be damned, my Fender "the Twin" smoked on me last night. I
    was just about to record for the guitar noters tape too. 
    
    I put in a new set of PV 6l6's and not 2 minutes later, I saw at least
    one of the tubes (maybe all of 'em it happened so fast) turn white like
    a light bulb. Before I could get to the front to shut it down, the fuse
    blew. Now this is gonna be a real joy to deal with. I got the tubes
    from Daddy's. I think its too much of a coincidence that something
    other than one (or more) of the tubes caused the problem. I'll 
    give Daddy's a call, but obviously it's not their fault. Maybe they can
    settle it with PV and repair the amp. Daddy's and/or PV won't give a
    shit.  Whatever, this is gonna suck.
    
    "sakman" 

    Sounds like you got a bad tube, Sak!  I imagine that Daddy's will
    replace it since you didn't even use it after putting in the tubes and
    powering it up.  I've seen fuses blow on tube amps a lot when the power
    tubes are bad and you obviously had at least one bad one, so I bet
    there's nothing else wrong with your amp.  Pop in a new tube and a new
    fuse and it'll probably be as good as new.
    
    ...and you guys thought only Marshalls smoked.  
    
    
    
    
    NOT!
    
    Hahah!
    
    Greg (with three lovely, smoke free Marshalls!)

	A disturbance in the force Sakman?  I agree with Greg, and would 
	bet Greg's paycheck that a new set of tubes will fix it.  Ask
	Daddy's to give you a new set for test purposes, and if the problem
	goes away, they can send the bad ones back to PV.  This is how
	my KH reacted to EL34's (including blwon fuses) until I got my 
	feces consolidated. 

	(just don't try to carry it into Daddy's - those Twins weigh a TON!)

	-pat

    Check this out - I went back to Daddy's yesterday and told them of the
    situation. The dude (don't know his name, I think he's a new guy) said
    that they'd have to get a look at it and we'd take it from there. So, I
    went home, got the amp and brought it in. So far, I think that's very
    fair. Also, they gave me a loaner. That, I didn't expect. 
    
    I hope you guys are right about no serious damage, I gotta tell you
    that 24 hours later I could still smell something burning in my music
    room. I'm a little nervous about this. What I'd like to happen is if
    there is any damage, that they'd fix it and bill PV. Don't know if that
    can be done, but I bet it could given customer service/relationship and
    all. I'm thinking that what will happen though is that they'll say
    "yep, the cross capacitive filter of the triadinal hyperblast is
    shot...here's a new set of tubes...its your problem, not ours... call
    yourself a tow truck and get this thing outta here (Twins are heavy)".
    
    The amp they let me use was a PV MX (?). It's a combo amp with 1 12"
    Black Widow. I think its got 4 6l6's so it must have about 100 watts.
    No comparison to my Fender though. Besides the tone difference, it
    sounds smaller than my twin. Could be because it only has one speaker
    where my twin has two. It might sound better if it were driving an
    extension cabinet. Another thing is that the damn thing is almost as
    heavy as my twin. If it did have 2 speakers, you surely would need a
    couple of guys to lift it. Just the same though, I'm thankful for the
    loaner.
    
    "sakman"

>    The amp they let me use was a PV MX (?). It's a combo amp with 1 12"
>    Black Widow. I think its got 4 6l6's so it must have about 100 watts.
>    No comparison to my Fender though. Besides the tone difference, it
>    sounds smaller than my twin.

Just not HEAVY enough.  :)

Hey man, if it stinks that bad in yoour music room, you mighta fried
something besides a tube...

jc (Hows that for tech_talk ??)

    Hey, did you change your shorts (byd's/boxers/bloomers) after the fuse
    blew ?  Might be where the smell is *really* coming from.
    
    Scary

    Hey, watchit ... you should know I'm a very sensitive type of person 
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    NOT!
    
    For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge to you too!!! ;^)
    
    "sakman"

    	If you smelled smoke,chances are real good that you took out the 
    grid resistors on the power tube socket(4.7k 2w) Since it's a "new" twin
    then I wonder if you set the bias once you installed the tubes? if not
    and you lost your "blue glow" in the tube this may be what happened. Or
    since you blew a fuse it could be power supply related. If the tube was
    defective you would have seen the elements glow red before it smoked.
    Besides why not buy Fender tubes? They are supposedly pretty decent
    tubes considering what's available these day's :^(
    
    				Good Luck,but I'd get your checkbook out!
    
    				$$$$$$
    
    							Rick
     

    Re .20 
    
    Yep Rick, The tubes did glow but I don't know if anything was abnormal,
    I wasn't paying close attention. Then about two minutes later, it was
    like a light bulb. Not sure if it was only one tube or more. 
    
    I only bought the the PV's cause they're available and cheaper than
    Mesa's. I'm not sure I believe there's any difference in tube brands, so
    long as the tubes are a matched pair. If it turns out to be a defective
    tube, I'll probably stay away from PV - but then again what are the
    chances of this happening again?
    
    "sakman"

    	I really believe it depends where the tubes were made,not so much
    the brand name which is stamped on the tube. I remember I went through
    a couple of Mesa 6L6's which had problems. I used a set of Peavey 6l6's
    in a blackface twin which I had for a longtime without having any
    problems. I'd like to check out some Sovtek's(5881's)but I'm without
    a tube amp these days.....PV Mesa,GT whatever.... is just a label and a
    price difference for the name.....
    
    							Rick
    

	Harvey's got these. They look like the most solid tubes I've
	ever seen. Cheap tubes ain't worth it. $20/ea.

	ccb

      Being a Sovtek user for the past few months I can only say that they
    tend to be "warmer" than any other tube I've used. I had sylvania's
    in my PV-MX for years and years, then retubed them with PV's without
    any problems although the amp sounded brighter to my ears. Anyway, a
    few months ago it was time to retube and I went on a limb and retubed
    with *4* Sovtek 5881's and I love them! Very smooth and warm! BIG
    difference from the PV 6L6's.
     I'm playing a Boogie Mk-IIc these days and if it means anything I'll
    retube with the Sovteks on that rig too!
    
    NOTE: One major drawback with these tubes is that the "base" is virtually
    non-exsistant so the only thing to hold the tube will be the base pins
    themselves, because the tube "clips" have nothing to hold on to except
    the glass case...   bad idea!  ;^)
    
    FWIW, I've seen Boogie tubes screw up right out of the box, so I
    wouldn't cross off PV as a source for tubes. Manufacturers *I* stay
    away from (because of bad experiences) are GT's, Rat Shack and Chinese
    made tubes.
    
    Rumor on the street says that good EL-34's are going to be harder to get
    and that Chinese EL-34 tubes are failing more and more due to poor 
    workmanship standards.
    
    
    			Rock on,
    				Fred (who likes tube amps)

    The first two sets of Boogie 6L6's in my Mark IV died within a month. The
    current set has been working since August, so I think they're okay.
    Boogie also sent me a set of 5881's. which I haven't tried yet--they
    suggested I use them if the third set of 6L6's failed.
    
    Danny W.

    re:  .25
    
    I wonder who makes the 5881's for Mesa....
    
    	Things that make you go hmmmmmm.
    
    
    			Rock on,
    				Fred

    
    	Dumb question here.  Are any mods needed/recommended for changing
    	from 6L6's to 5881's?
    
    	-pat (tube puke)

	In my experience, the boogie tubes start to get ugly after
	4 or 5 months - and that's just practicing at home. I like
	the sylvanias and the sovteks. I haven't tried groove tubes
	mainly because of the price.

    	There are no mods necessary to change from 6L6's to 5881's (but I
    would check tube bias) A 5881 was the military equivalent to a 6L6. If
    you look in one of the GT books you will see some early Fenders used
    them for power tubes. Tweed Bassman's and even early Marshalls used
    them. They typically are a smaller bottle tube. And will distort sooner
    than a 6L6. Definately worth checking out if your into a "more" vintage
    sound/tone.
    
    
    							Rick
    

	Can amp damage occur with incorrect bias-ing or just tube wear?

	-pat

    Well lads and ladies, here's the scoop on my amp; I just heard from
    Daddy's. They opened it up and found a burned resistor. They replaced
    it and of course the tube and want to charge me $68 for the job. Now
    I'm thinking from my point of view that I shouldn't have to pay. All I
    did was buy a new set of tubes ($69) and put 'em in. Now I gotta throw
    some more buckage to fix what wasn't broke in the first place.
    
    From Daddy's point of view, they didn't do anything but sell me the
    tube. The honored the tube manufacturer's warranty by replacing it and
    not charging me (at least outright - I'm sure the $68 covers the
    replacement). 
    
    Seems to me that PV (the tube manufacturer/distributor) ought to cover
    this. But the question is which event caused the other - the resistor
    taking out the tube or the tube taking out the resistor. 
    
    What do you all think I ought to do? Pay the $$ and be happy it didn't
    cost more? Argue with the manager to try to get a settlement? Take the
    case up with PV's customer service for reimbursement? 
    
    "sakman" 

	Considering it is somewhat impossible to tell positively what
	caused the problem, I'd cool out.  Check your early
	notes (when it burned) to verify how well things turned out.  
	I'm not saying be happy about $68, just switch places with
	the dealer and ask yourself what you would do if you were them.

	-pat
	

    Yep, I have thought about what I would do if i were the dealer, and 
    I'd like to think that I would charge my customer service
    account the buckage, not the customer - especially where it really is
    internal money, ie not money spent outside the company. I don't think
    I'd let a long time customer (I go back to the days when Daddy's was
    really a junky store) walk away angry or feeling at all cheated. If
    there was some real cash expense, that might be a diffent story
    altogether. 
    
    One other thought here Pat, is that the Dude at the Nashua store told
    me to bring it in so they'd have a look at it and we could take it from
    there. Next thing I know, I'm looking at a $68 bill. And bein as how
    I'm looking at this Les Paul, buckage is a prime consideration here.
    
    I'm thinking I'll argue the point here, but I'm not willing to rip
    anyone a new asshole over it.
    
    "sakman"

    re: Pat
    
    Personally, if I were the dealer, I'd eat the repair bill.  It's *all*
    labor charges, we're talking about a 15 cent part here!  That's soft
    money, it didn't cost them anything tangible.  Especially since they
    (presumably) didn't get a repair authorization from the Sakman.  I
    don't see how he can be legally responsible for paying for repairs he
    didn't authorize.
    
    Seems to me that them telling you to bring it down for diagnostics and
    then doing repair work on it without telling you shouldn't be expecting
    you to pay for it...
    
    Greg

 
	This is outrageous!!!! $69????? for a .50 cent resistor,a tube and 
15 minutes of work????? no way! they are makeing  $$$$ on this job! 
Heres a breakdown of the $70 bill....(I'd guess)

4 tubes=$70  DJM cost therefore is $35 for one tube=$8.75
1 2 watt resistor				      .50
						----------
						    $9.25
labor rate					    ($38 an hour last I heard)
   						----------
						    $47.50

	Seems to me they are at least chargeing a one hour minimum and then
marking it up.

    
   > What do you all think I ought to do? Pay the $$ and be happy it didn't
   > cost more? Argue with the manager to try to get a settlement? Take the
   > case up with PV's customer service for reimbursement? 
    
Argue with the manager! and ask for his boss!!!!!!!! 

	What you need to do is this,tell them their tube was the cause of 
this resistor burning up. What was the value btw?  Since they guarantee
the tubes from Peavey,there store is responsible for selling you a 
defective tube which had an internal short and this is what fried your amp. 
PERIOD! 
They are responsible for the damage done. If they won't to do this then I
would call Peavey and talk to a customer service rep and register a 
complaint with Peavey!  

	I imagine they will hold your amp hostage until you pay.....
BUT.....

	I would expect the dealer to eat some of the cost of the repair
at this point,and you'll probably have to help share the expense and I
would not think twice about raising your voice....and creating a scene.
	
	This kind of stuff really ticks me off!!!!


						Rick	

    Well dukes, that's it. Rick's right dammit. And whereas I'm a Veteran,
    and people died for my rights, and this just ain't the American way,
    and in one nation - under God - with liberty and *justice* for all,
    maybe I will rip 'em a new asshole (well at least threaten).
    
    I'll roll into them about 6 tonite after work if any of you's wanna
    join in the fight. (Remember when you were in jr hi and you heard "hey
    there's gonna be a rumble after school"?
    
    "sakman"

>    I put in a new set of PV 6l6's and not 2 minutes later, I saw at least
>    one of the tubes (maybe all of 'em it happened so fast) turn white like
>    a light bulb. 

	What you are describing is an internal short in the tube,which 
fried the resistor. If the resistor was defective your old tubes would
    have fried it long ago.....

	BTW,I would definately approach this in a rational manner first and
try to resolve the problem! I suspect it will never come to blows....

						Rick

PS.... next time open the amp and find the resistor yourself and return the 
tube to DJM for a replacement. They do swaps for bad tubes...At least they did
when Matt was running the store!!!!!!

    Well, most warranties on replacement parts specifically do NOT cover
    damage caused in a particular application.  The dealer paying for the
    repair would simply be good faith on his part.
    
    							Brian

    If it were me, I'd tell 'em I was seriously considering buying a Les
    Paul from them, but you wouldn't be willing to do that kind of deal
    if you had bad feelings about their repair work and charges.
    
    Now that I think of it, that price does seem AWFUL high!  The guy at
    Rice Music here in Co. Springs went though my Marshall JCM800
    COMPLETELY, traced *every* circuit point in the thing and fixed several
    things and only charged me $50!
    
    Greg
        

    Well it all turned out in my favor. I had first spoken to Jim, woh is a
    relatively new and younger fellow (20?). He wasn't sympathetic at all
    and tried to give me some shit about how I should be glad they didn't
    charge for quick turnaround and a 12AX7 that was also replaced. We
    brought Rich, who is apperently the new manager, in and without
    hesitation, Rich agreed with me. No charge. 
    
    So dudes in retrospect, I gotta say the service that I was provided by 
    Daddy's was excellent and beyond the call of duty considering that they 
    gave me a loaner too. It was a questionable call to be sure, and I might 
    have even offered to pay half of the $68 charge and remain a satisfied
    customer. The full charge would have irritated me.
    
    But the real good news is that I got my amp back. I played it for about
    a half an hour last night and gave it a big hug after. Hotdam, I Love
    the sound of "The Twin".
    
    "sakman"

    Is Jim the guy with long black hair in Nashua ? (no offense directed 
    towards people with long hair).  I hate doing business with that guy. He has
    to be the worst person in there to do business with. I bought a guitar
    from Matt there and brought it back the next because the neck was shifting.
    All I wanted was credit for it and this buthead tells me he won't give
    me credit or take it back until I bring it home and play it for a few
    days and let it "settle into my houses atmosphere". I was really pissed
    first because he treated me like I knew nothing about guitars and
    second because he acted so damn condesending and literally refused to
    take the guitar back. I left very angry and drove down to Shrewsbury
    and returned the guitar there. I'll never, ever buy even the smallest
    thing from that guy !   

    Yep, that'd be the same Jim. I don't wanna make apologies for him, but
    he is just a kid and probably ready to give his live for Daddy's. In
    the future, I'll just bypass him and save the aggrivation. 
    
    "sakman"

    Sak,
    
    Next time you're in Daddy's, conveniently drop a Twin on top of this
    Jim dude...that will surely shut him up for good!  8^)

    If I was new to a service industry like Daddy's, especially one that
    works on a commission type basis, I would bust my nuts to keep everyone
    happy. I know that if I work to keep them happy then they'll come back
    and ask for me. I assume the people who have been there years would be
    soured from hours of youngans (and some of us not so youngans) blasting
    every amp and guitar in the store and then leaving with a hearty
    "Thanks, I'll probably come back later."  He's going to have a short
    life at Daddy's if people like me refuse to do my periodic 300+ dollar 
    purchases from him because he has a pissy attitude. I may be making an
    assumption here, but I can't imagine you'll buy your Les Paul from this
    kid knowing what kind of return service you'll get from him. I bet
    you'll head right for the new manager (who happened to be more than
    accommodating when you had a problem) for you major purchaseing needs.
    Eventually, if enough people get stiffed by this guy the manager will
    notice that for some reason he only sells picks and strings and for
    some reason people don't like buying from him.    

	I'd have to agree with Brian,as I've gotten very little good
treatment from anyone at DJM other than Rich(who was the store manager years
ago before Matt)and Matt. I use to be a somewhat regular purchaser at
DJM but I see less and less of that as time has gone on. It's unfortunate
Matt got transfered to the Manchester,NH store,but if you had ever been in
that store(manchester) in the last couple of years you might feel your
recent treatment by "Jim" to be really good. :^) And that was some of the 
reasoning if sending him up there. BTW he's doin fine up that way......
	


							Rick

    Now wait a minute dukesters, he may have shit all over Brian, but he
    was just unsympathetic with me. He called it like he saw it, and he was
    never less than polite. Like I said, I'm not sticking up for
    him, but I'm a big boy and over the years I've learned how to deal with 
    just about anybody - except New Yorkers (city that is, no offense
    Boom).
    
    "sakman" 
    

    No offense intended. I wasn't trying to imply you can't handle
    yourself, obviously you can you didn't have to pay the bill .My point is, 
    did he try and help you ? According to your reply he told you you were 
    lucky they didn't charge you more because they putin a 12AX7. That
    doesn't even remotely sound sympathetic to your problem. If he didn't
    have the authority to clean the bill then he should have at least said he 
    would try to help you by asking the manager what could be done. I think 
    the kid left with egg on his face when the manager told told you not to 
    worry about the bill. That to me would have been good service. 
    
    I know you don't always get your way, but it doesn't always hurt so bad
    when you know someones gone out of their way to help.	

    -1
    
    OH MY GOWD...euw ah fromb lawn guy land?

      Re: .47, .49
    
      Hey, I'm a four hour drive from NYC!!! Get off my case!
    
      BTW - I have no problems dealing with New Yawkers. I enjoy an
    occasional trip to Manhattan's 48th street to see everything you ever
    dreamed about as far as musical equipment in one city block!!!
    
      FWIW - I've only had one amp repair nightmare and that's only because
    I trusted an idiot. My equipment will never see that place again! As a
    matter of fact I've only had one KH problem and that was it. Luckily
    my M1's, M5, TR's, PB's, and Qt are all intact. My old M3 is a parts bin!!
    
    							-B()()M-
    						    (UPSTATE New York)

I dunno if it's worth saying, but it's not a good idea
to make negative remarks about individuals in this
forum.

Granted, it's not a truly public forum, but how do you
know that Jim doesn't have friends who work at DEC and
read this file?

Just my 2c worth.

-T

Yeah, I think Tom is right...So I'll slip into my moderator
hat and set the offending note(s) hidden.  

Doods - feel free to extract, edit and re-enter the offending notes.
Ergo, take out the personal comments about the shape of peoples heads
and stuff.  :)

jc

    It's been a long time since this topic had any replies. Any current
    recommendations for a reliable Peavey amp repair place? Is Union Music
    still good? Preferably the Metrowest area (e.g., Framingham, MA).
    
    Thanks,
    
    Suegene
    

    Union no longer repairs, but subs the stuff out to the place next door.
    (I forget the name...)
    
    Edd

    Repair place next to Union Music is RMI, Ryan Musical Instrument.
    
    I've had mixed experiences with them.

    re: PV amps
    
    try FM Music in the Searstown Mall complex in Leominster.

RE .58, I second that.

RMI Electronics, the people and service seemed quite nice.  I brought in my
Peavey combo bass amp, it was starting to freak out on occasion, the head would
go in and out, a good rap would square it up.  Thought the head was toast.
Yup, it had seen one too many accidental spills on top, I learned that lesson 
the hard way.  Turned out to just need one hell of a cleaning, I forgot exactly
what but they did put in a couple switches of some sort.  The bill was like
$130, and I have not had a problem since, that was a couple years ago.

Then my buddy brought in his mesa boogie.  They ordered some parts from across
the country.  They screwed with him about when they could fix it after the parts
did come in.  My friend spoke to the factory, found out they had marked up the
parts about 350% !!  They did not have the amp ready when they promised, he had
to rent one for a couple gigs.  They charged him and insane amount of money. 
He has vowed to never go back !!

I do think they over charged me a bit, but I sort of expected that.

Just more mixed feedback for ya.

Dave

I have a Marshall Dual Reverb Combo that needs to have the bias set and the
non-existence of the reverb fixed.  Daddy's in Nashua is closest, but I'm
open to taking it to anyplace between Nashua and Boston.  Recommendations?

Jim

    Question for the techies:
    
    My stereo reciver/amp went on the fritz very suddenly last night.  I
    was playing back a cassette and the sound just stopped.  The LED's are
    still dancing on the tape deck and when I switch to Tuner, the LED's on
    the amp are dancing to the radio station, but NO sound to the speakers!
    
    My setup is a Technics Amp/Tuner/Reciever, a 12 band EQ (seperate
    unit), and a tape deck (seperate unit).
    
    It was working fine and the sound just stopped.  
    
    1. what are the obvious things I can check (externally?)
    
    2. is this gonna be expensive?
    
    Steve

    Firstly, take the EQ outta the loop, probably by just switching off
    the TAPE circuit on the receiver.
    
    No pops? Cracks? Smoke? Fuses?
    
    Edd

    
    
    Jeez, dude, are you in the wrong conference or what?  The only amps we
    discuss here are manly amps (with the occasional reference to Crates),
    not those sensitive little home things!  Check out the AUDIO_GEEKS
    conference ("this wire sounds so much better than my old wire") or the
    ELECTRONIC_HOBBYISTS_WHO_CAN'T_GET_A_DATE ("my solder sucker always has
    a headache!") conferences....
    
    
    
    
    
    				*8')
    
    

    RE: -1
    
    Yep, tried that...took the EQ and the tape deck outa the loop via
    buttons.  I think I'll physically unhook the peripherals fer kix.
    
    Nope, no pops, cracks, smoke...no odors, well other than the usual aura
    that surrounds me.
    
    Steve

    
    
    see if you can boot it with just the headphones...  then make sure that
    no small animals walked on the controls & like, turned the speaker
    selector to "B" or off...
    
    

    >> Jeez, dude, are you in the wrong conference or what? 
    
    
    Sorry, I'd thought I'd ask my friends before I stepped out into the
    cold cruel world of people who don't know me......hmmmm, that move might
    actually get a more friendly response!
    
    8^)

    Odd that both sides of the amp would go silent at once. Could there be 
    an internal fuse that supplies power to only the output devices? Could
    you have been pushing it hard enough to have popped a fuse or two? The
    fact that headphones may/may-not work would be of interest, but unless
    you know where they tie into the signal path, won't help solve the
    problem.

    When you say "nothing" you mean absolute silence, as in like "speakers
    not even connected" dead? No hiss/hum?

    --Ron (who has mixed feelings to admit that he used a solder-sucker as
           recently as last night)

    Re: .68
    
    Ron,
    
    Don't be ashamed...I spend more and more time at the old workbench. 
    I even got into fixing gear for my band mates because I was going crazy
    hearing all that snap, crackle and pop on the gig.
    
    Seems about 90% of all problems are dirty pots, dirty connectors, and
    bad solder joints, all of which even bass players can learn how to
    repair.
    
    						Brian

   I'd echo Brians' comments. I have a stereo that has a switch that magically
  loses contact and one speaker goes away.

   IS this set dead *all the time*? I had a problem where the stereo would
  totally cut out after a while but everything looked OK. Turned out to be
  a bad regulator on power supply board. A new regulator and heatsink (field
  mod ;-)) has had it running for 12 years without problem.

   - Bob

    Yeah it was weird.....both speakers went totally silent (as in
    disconnected) at once.  I'm gonna check for a fuse in the output
    circuitry as suggested.....seems like I woulda lost one side tho...
    
    

    Bad speaker switch? Move the leads to "B" and see if it helps...
    
    Edd 

    Yeah, opening it up = a lot of times there is a fuse inside the
    pup...  This just happened with a JVC receiver I'd had for years.
    EXACT same thing.  I took it apart and found that there was a big
    heat mark on the board which may or may not have caused the failure.
    
    FWIW - I went off and got another receiver for like $200, 160wpc.
    If it's fried, it'd be cheaper to replace it than get it fixed
    (probably)...
    
    jc

    Thanks for all the suggesstions folks, but it looks like I'm off to the
    shop with the amp/tuner.  I switched the speaker wires to 'B'; no
    sound.  Pulled the cover off; all 5 fuses are ok and there is no
    evidence of a blown/burned component.....it's a mystery.
    
Steve

    Mystery solved, sorta.........and yes, I'm stupid.  I've owned this rig
    for almost 10 years and I never noticed that the speaker cabs have
    their OWN FUSES!  Both have 1.5 amp 250 volt fuses, and both were
    blown.  Why, I do not know, but new fuses have me back in business.
    
    sheesh........
    
    dumbdawg

    Re: .75
    
    After the fact maybe it seems obvious.  If there is no signal from
    your speakers *plug in some headphones*.  The phone jack is always tied
    via dropping resistors to the speaker outs, so if the phones work you
    know the amp is working and can go check out the speakers.
    
    							Brian

    re: -1
    
    I think somebody sugessted that in here......sheesh.  I was down there
    just making sure that one of the rug rats didn't disconnect the wires
    somehow and I saw the fuse caps.......jeez.
    
    Duh

    Re: fuses
    
    You said 1.5 amp, right?  Ohm's Law says power is:
    
    	P = V x I  
    
    	and since V = I x R, P = I x I x R
    
    If I = 1.5 amps, R = 8 ohms, P = 18 watts (not a lot of power!)
    
    Stop cranking your copy of "Master of Reality" so loud....
    
    8^)  8^)
    
    						Hartless Peevee

    If you punched in the signal source, unmuted the amp or did something
    similar while the source was playing and the gain was up, the current
    surge that the woofers sucked down for that instant that their coils
    were sitting there idle could easily blow da fuses.

    You gotta watch out for tapes that have little or no compression or
    limiting. I did something similar with a studio tape that my last made
    that has very little compression. The volume on the receiver was up a
    bit high and I [quite stupidly] hit play on the cassette deck. BOOM!
    My EV Interface A s lost their aging foam surrounds. They are in dry
    dock awaiting repair.

    This is why everyone should always, and only, play source material
    recorded by the band Journey.
    
    Edd

>                            -< Compressors R Us... >-
>
>    This is why everyone should always, and only, play source material
>    recorded by the band Journey.
    
    ...or Boston.
    

    I just inherited a vintage silverface Deluxe Reverb from my Dad
    (actually, it's not so much an inheritance as a gift).  The amp
    survivied shipment from Phoenix AZ to NH with no apparent damage...
    
    ...except for the reverb.  Although there was no apparent trauma to the
    packaging, the reverb is not working.  Dad played the amp before
    packing it up and the 'verb was fine at that time.  I can find no other
    problem with the amp.  All tubes _seem_ to light up (although the
    smaller tubes are hard to tell).  The tone is good at low volumes -
    I'll crank it at rehearsal tomorrow night.  Even the tremolo circuit is
    working fine.   I check the rca-ended wires with my meter and they have
    continuity, I verified the footswitch is working for both the 'verb and
    the trem.                      
    
    So.  I need an amp tech, a good one.  I don't care if he/she's
    expensive as long as they're good and careful.  I need to have the
    reverb fixed, the pots cleaned, knobs replaced, power lamp replaced,
    etc. Your basic general overhaul.  I've seen Neil Orsi's name bandied
    about and was wondering what his story is and if someone could put me
    in touch with him.  I'd also like any other recommendations you might
    have. I'd be willing to travel anywhere in the greater
    Boston/MetroWest/SoNH area.  I _don't_ want to turn this amp over to
    Wurly's or Daddy's.
    
    	Rick
    
    
    

    Neal Orsi can be reached at his place of business in Worcester
    @508-792-2944. Neal is one person that can be trusted with vintage
    gear. He just repaired a Marshall combo for me. I plan to bring
    him my Mesa Boogie Preamp for some minor repairs very soon.
    
    Mark

    
    	Does anyone know if Neil ever got my Fender Showman working?  I
    	gave it to him about 2 years ago or so.
    
    	And just in case people are wondering why he'd be working on it
    	for so long, that's not the case.  I GAVE it to him, and told
    	him if he wanted to get it working then he could have it.  He's
    	not fixing it for me.
    

    I'm sure that Neal either fixed it, used it for parts, or transformed
    it into one of his famous creations. He recently obtained an old
    Quad reverb that was beat to hell. Aparently, someone yanked on the
    guitar cord and pulled the amp over on it's face (easy to do with the
    quad due to top-heavy design). The entire chassis was bent. Neal
    cut the cab down to a 2x12 and is transforming it into a Twin. 
    
    Mark

    Last night I played my newly acquired silverface deluxe reverb at
    practice for the first time.  Aside from the fact that the reverb was
    non-functional after shipping, a big disappointment but not entirely
    unexpected, I ran into a more troublesome problem that I hope can be
    remedied.
    
    It seems that I've returned to the bad old days of two-prong plugs,
    and ground loop problems.  The amp played fine, although my guitar
    skills are too meager to really make it sing, but when I approached
    the mic too closely - wham!  A really nice bite on my lip.  Oooh I hate
    it when that happens :-(.
    
    Anyway, the amp was obviously not in the same AC circuit as the PA. 
    Just for yuks, I threw the phase switch which only generated hum
    without affecting the ground loop.
    
    So can these old amps be modified to ground the chassis?  Or would
    that affect the electronics adversely somehow?  Has anyone had such a
    mod performed on a vintage amp?  Or is this an indication of some other
    internal problem?
    
    I really don't want to have to deal with making sure I'm in the same
    circuit as the PA.  In some venues, that could become a real problem.
    
    	Rick
    

    My '68 silverface Deluxe Reverb has a 3-prong plug on it, so it
    appears it is possible.  I think it is actually an easy mod, but
    don't know for sure (I bought mine that way).  
    
    Good luck on the repairs.  My reverb's OK, but I've had trouble
    with the tremolo.  It never sounded right-- was much too percussive--
    and find stopped altogether.  I took it to the store where I bought
    it (a local (Detroit) chain).  They took a month to "repair" it.
    I took it home and was trying out.  It suddenly started making 
    a loud crackling noise and then went quiet-- a blown pre-amp tube.
    A coincidence, I wondered...  I replaced the tube (with a used one:
    I *knew* there was a reason I always save those old tubes), turned 
    it on again.  Crackle, crackle, crackle-- the replacement tube
    blew.  I packed the amp up and took it back to the store.  
    
    Another month-- it's "done" again.  I try it out before I leave the
    store.  It starts making loud noises again.  They send it back to
    the repair shop.  It took another month to get it back.  It's been
    fine since, except the tremolo is still too percussive.
    
    I didn't feel bad when I bought my next two amps from a different
    store...
    
    I hope your luck is better.
    
    Jim

RE: .86

    Rick, it is a very easy thing to do.  I have done it to all my amps.
    All it takes is a new cord, possibly a new strain relief, and about
    10 or 15 minutes with a soldering iron.

    I don't relish being electrocuted.  (Yes, it has happened to others.)

    If you'd like more detail, let me know.

- Mark

    It is not necesary to be in the same electrical circuit as the PA. 
    A 3-prong plug insures that the neutral always sees 0 volts, and 
    the hot always see 110. When your amp is plugged in backwards, the
    strings on the guitar are seeing 110 volts in stead of 0. This means
    there is 110 volts between your guitar strings and the mics. ZAP!
    
    Neal can replace the power cord on your amp with a 3-prong cord.
    In fact, this is a simple mod that Neal recommends on any amp with
    a 2-prong cord. I believe he does this mod for $20.00 including the
    new cord.  If you are within a reasonable driving distance to
    Worcester, there really is no sense in going to anyone else. He
    fixed my Nephews Marshall amp in 2 days. If I had brought this amp
    to a music store, they would have had it for a month, they would
    have overcharged me for the repair ($100+), and hopefully they 
    wouldn't do more harm than good. 
    
    As far as tremelo circuits go, most consist of a light source and
    photo cell. The two components are attached with a piece of shrink
    tubing. This is a very crude assembly, but it works. The light 
    source is made to flash, and the photocell turns the output on 
    and off in synch with the light. Neal is very good at fixing these
    as well.
    
    Mark

    > I don't relish being electrocuted.  (Yes, it has happened to others.)
    
    Yeah, I'm one of 'em!  I was in a singing group in '76 doing a
    church youth, up-with-people-ish kind of thing, singing uplifting
    songs about the Spirit of '76 (yah, yah, you all have platform
    shoes somewhere in your historical closets too!  Don't deny it :-))
    
    Anyway, we were performing on a float in the big Independence Day
    parade in Nashua and were warming up in the staging area on the flatbed
    trailer/float.  I'd taken off my shoes and was singing one of my solos
    through the truck-battery-powered PA when I stepped in a wet spot where
    someone had spilled a can of coke right over the steel I-beam of the
    trailer. I got lit so badly that I was knocked out for several minutes. 
    I guess it looked worse than it really was because of the big 60hz hum
    that went out over the speakers as I went stiff as a board and keeled
    over. The girls in the group were all crying and carrying on, thinking
    that  I was dead.
    
    When I woke up to see the paramedics hovering over me, I was no worse
    for wear and got lots of sympathy hugs and attention from the young
    ladies.  All in all, it felt like a win at the time.  Now I concede
    that I was luckier than I had any right to expect.
    
    	R

    In the Southern New Hampshire area I would highly recommend
    Harvey Morrill works out of his house and is excellent!
    In Milford, his number is (603)-673-2764.
    
    Tell him Fred sent ya!
    
    	Rock on,
    		Fred

    I ended up going to Harvey and was quite pleased with the results.
    He replaced 6 of the 9 tubes, rebiased, added a 3-prong AC cord,
    replaced the "on" lamp, tightened all loose hardware, cleaned all the
    pots, repaired (not replaced!) the reverb tank, and did a mod which
    allows reverb and trem on the normal channel as well as the "trem"
    channel.
    
    All this for $150 which was $5 less than he quoted and I had it back
    in two days.
    
    I'd trust him with any of my family's musical heirlooms!
    
    He's also one helluva country picker too!
    
    	Rick

He did a real nice job tightening up a Bassman50 that I'd scrounged
out of a Buffalo pawn shop.


chasb