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Post by savage8190 on Apr 26, 2012 16:21:01 GMT -7
Well this was gonna be a good news thread because my wife decided to buy me my b-day gift early and I got me a Stang Ray...
Alas, I plugged her in and got to play it all of about 2 minutes before there was a "click" and its dead. It powers on...I can hear the fan and the light comes on, but there is zero sound.
It actually happened right when I kicked on a boost pedal...of course I tried unplugging everything and went straight into the amp...nothing. What a disappointment.
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Post by savage8190 on Apr 26, 2012 16:32:07 GMT -7
To elaborate, I did also check that the tubes were seated, and that the speaker cables were solid. The guitar and cables work fine through my other amp. It does this through both the Hi and Low inputs.
I also just tried it again and it worked for about 20 seconds then cut right off again.
Checked the fuses too and they're fine.
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Post by Phil (aka Phil) on Apr 26, 2012 16:41:38 GMT -7
I'd say it's the rectifier tube.
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Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on Apr 26, 2012 16:49:00 GMT -7
I agree with Phil - look at rectifier tube. Did you buy this new or used? You can always send Don at note at Z service to see if they can help you on the phone.
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Post by savage8190 on Apr 26, 2012 16:54:46 GMT -7
Got it from Long & McQuade (major retailer in Canada). Its used, about four years old, but they have had it its whole life...its just been rented to studios a couple times.
Would the rectifier be doing anything weird if it was bad?
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Post by savage8190 on Apr 26, 2012 19:24:19 GMT -7
Thanks Jag and Phil! Just happened to have the right rec tube to replace it with layin' around and it seems to work perfectly now.
The store is going to reimburse me with a new rec tube next time I go there.
Phew...that was a scare...
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Apr 26, 2012 19:28:42 GMT -7
Thanks Jag and Phil! Just happened to have the right rec tube to replace it with layin' around and it seems to work perfectly now. The store is going to reimburse me with a new rec tube next time I go there. Phew...that was a scare... You might want to think on buying a real nice NOS rectifier for that amp, or a Weber copper cap. The current crop of rectifiers are pretty unreliable...
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Post by savage8190 on Apr 26, 2012 19:53:07 GMT -7
Thanks Jag and Phil! Just happened to have the right rec tube to replace it with layin' around and it seems to work perfectly now. The store is going to reimburse me with a new rec tube next time I go there. Phew...that was a scare... You might want to think on buying a real nice NOS rectifier for that amp, or a Weber copper cap. The current crop of rectifiers are pretty unreliable... Yeah, I think I will. I've got a new Sovtek in it now... Have any recommendations? Hopefully something not overly expensive...
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Apr 26, 2012 20:09:20 GMT -7
You might want to think on buying a real nice NOS rectifier for that amp, or a Weber copper cap. The current crop of rectifiers are pretty unreliable... Yeah, I think I will. I've got a new Sovtek in it now... Have any recommendations? Hopefully something not overly expensive... Unfortunately the NOS rectifiers are all expensive. That's why I always had a Copper Cap in the gig bag for a backup. Still, you can probably get a good rectifier for under a hundred dollars. If that sounds high, look into the Copper Cap.
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Post by savage8190 on Apr 26, 2012 20:20:09 GMT -7
Under a hundred I can live with...thats all I was hoping for with NOS.
Worth it for an amp like this.
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Post by Phil (aka Phil) on Apr 27, 2012 4:48:37 GMT -7
If you get into recto trouble, just be careful about solid-state rectifier substitutions in amps originally shipped with tube rectos. The plate voltage will be higher and in some cases it will then be too high. I'm not talking about the Copper Cap here; I'm referring to a plug-in diode recto. The 4XEL84 Z's can usually handle a SS recto but don't do it on the 2XEl84 amps like the MAZ 18.
Just a word of caution as good rectos are becoming harder to get.
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Apr 28, 2012 8:19:21 GMT -7
It would be very cool if the Doc came out with a plug-replaceable solid state rectifier that sagged and produced a reasonable voltage for all of his amps. I prefer tube rectos but a bit of peace of mind in the backup kit might be worth it.
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Post by myles on May 1, 2012 16:29:04 GMT -7
Quick tip ....
When an amp is turned on and the pilot light is on (means mains fuse is fine) but there is no sound, in an amp with a tube rectifier ... the rectifier is bad.
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Post by pintail78 on May 4, 2012 14:23:28 GMT -7
99.99999% of the time its something simple......
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Post by mfirst on May 5, 2012 8:09:50 GMT -7
This is probably a rare situation, but it can also mean that the 1/2 amp fuse went bad. Usually that will be caused by a tube problem, but can just happen. I was helping a friend of mine troubleshoot a Maz 38 recently. Lights would come on, but no sound at all. My first though was bad rectifier. After looking at the fuses I quickly realized that the 1/2 amp fuse had broken. So then I thought, well, what caused the fuse to blow? I put a new fuse and the same old rectifier tube back in and it is running well to this day. I believe that the fuse simply broke and there was not tube problem. He is a hard working gigging musician whos Maz 38 lives in his gear trailer.
This probably doesn't match up with your situation very well, but if your amp is new it probably shippied recently, either to you or from the Dr Z shop. Sometimes things can happen, shipping is a rough time on anything, amps included.
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