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Post by ash on May 24, 2017 4:18:17 GMT -7
So here I am taking my new Z-Lux on it's maiden voyage, a gig at the House of Blues, Cleveland and.... dead. I had been playing around with it at home with no indication of any problem. It didn't fall off a truck, only took a ride in my car. The tubes were all glowing and seated well. I could hit the reverb tank and it would amplify. I could get nothing out of the amp. I normally bring a back up but the House of Blues offered a back line so I didn't worry about it. The amp they pulled out wasn't exactly what I was expecting... At first I thought it might be cool to play through this thing but it didn't really sound good at all. There was no time to make an issue out of it. I had to make due. It was an enthusiastic crowd and all's well that ends well but what a disappointment! It must just be my luck. My buying a Z was delayed because I ran across a great deal on a Mojave Scorpion. A Scorpion wasn't really what I was looking for but it was too intriguing and I couldn't resist. A few weeks after the purchase it had a catastrophic failure. It's been in California for a couple months now getting fixed. I swear that Vibrolux is looking better all the time. I could buy 2 for the same kind of money. I'm not totally down on the boutique amp idea but the wind is getting sucked out of my sails. Hopefully after I get these things repaired they will start delivering and I'll be happy again. I'm a normally happy person....
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OUCH!
May 24, 2017 6:17:46 GMT -7
Post by iluvpunz on May 24, 2017 6:17:46 GMT -7
Sorry to hear you had trouble. I've been gigging and traveling with Z's for 10 years (5 different amps) and the only problems I've had were some bad JJ rectifier tubes and a broken solder joint in my Remedy. I'm guessing you have a bad tube in there somewhere.
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Post by Maddog on May 24, 2017 6:22:41 GMT -7
My ONLY problems with 13 different Z amps, and a lot of gigs have been tube failures (or me brain farting).... The tubes today just suck....
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Post by Rik on May 24, 2017 6:51:58 GMT -7
Never had a problem with any of my Z's for over 12 years.
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Post by Ridgeback on May 24, 2017 6:58:58 GMT -7
Sorry about the problem. Please let us know when you figure out what the issue is\was. Your story made me think of my only Z "failure". Everything was just as you described, tubes glowing, lights on, no sound. I had disconnected one of the spade terminals to the speaker when I tossed my cables in the back of the combo as I was packing up for the trip to the gig. I soldered them on the next day.
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Post by heynewguy (Ol’ Bill) on May 24, 2017 7:25:30 GMT -7
Sorry for your problems. I'm betting it's tube related.
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Post by ash on May 24, 2017 9:32:39 GMT -7
Thanks everybody,
I checked the speaker cable. I think it must be a pre-amp tube. I'm going to try changing them tonight.
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OUCH!
May 24, 2017 10:03:19 GMT -7
Post by Maddog on May 24, 2017 10:03:19 GMT -7
Thanks everybody, I checked the speaker cable. I think it must be a pre-amp tube. I'm going to try changing them tonight. Good luck, brother.... Let us know what you find!
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Post by DRZ on May 24, 2017 10:15:37 GMT -7
Ash if your local , which I think you are you can bring it to the shop, sure it's not anything to major. BTW did you buy it new, and if so from who and S/N ?
Z
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Post by dcarver on May 24, 2017 12:34:13 GMT -7
^^^^ Best Customer Service Anywhere ^^^^
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Post by thatstatuemoved on May 24, 2017 12:56:58 GMT -7
So sorry to hear this story. I bet that backline amp sounded less than stellar after getting used to your z-lux. I ALWAYS take a full set of replacement tubes and fuses for the amp I am gigging. You just never know due to the inconsistent nature of tubes these days, even new tubes can fail. I had my stang ray fail one night at a gig. I had my back up tubes--turned out to be the rectifier--what I did not have were any fuses so I learned the hard way to carry those too.
I also carry a little EH 44 magnum power amp in my gig bag. If main amp fails, whip this baby out and you can get through the night. It is also easy to pack.
Hope you get your amp back up and running. Good luck.
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OUCH!
May 24, 2017 16:15:15 GMT -7
Post by nmz on May 24, 2017 16:15:15 GMT -7
Man that sucks. Dr should be able to get you back on the road as quick as possible.
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OUCH!
May 24, 2017 18:08:52 GMT -7
Post by ash on May 24, 2017 18:08:52 GMT -7
Thank you Mr Zaite (Dr Z),
I appreciate that. It turns out it was simply a bad tube in what I assume is V2. Now it is right as rain. Sorry if I sounded a bit put off at first. I was a little frustrated.
And here is a lesson for me or anybody else who may be interested.
After my visit to your place, (thanks Frank!) I told the guy at Guitarriot I was raising the money and coming in to buy the Z-Lux. Then I was in GC and wallah, they had a used one and it was $400 less. Now $400 is $400 but this buy wasn't about the money. I mean the money is always important but I had already decided to spend the money and I had already decided to spend more for the advantages that owning a boutique amplifier should bring me, something more unique and special, better parts, better build quality, service, reputation, plus we are neighbors! Why on earth did I decide to cheapen up over $400? I had the money. For the certainty that everything would be right $400 would be a small price to pay. I should have stuck to my original plan. Tomorrow I'm buying a whole new set of tubes. Now subtract that from $400....dumb. I'm not implying that it's never a good idea to buy used. Just that there are more important considerations like making it obtainable or the deal is too righteous to say no. Of course look what happened to my Mojave. God only knows how much that thing is going to cost to fix. It probably won't be a righteous deal by the time I'm done paying for it.
All that bloviating being done...I can't wait to buy a Route 66!
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Post by ash on May 24, 2017 18:15:45 GMT -7
So sorry to hear this story. I bet that backline amp sounded less than stellar after getting used to your z-lux. I ALWAYS take a full set of replacement tubes and fuses for the amp I am gigging. You just never know due to the inconsistent nature of tubes these days, even new tubes can fail. I had my stang ray fail one night at a gig. I had my back up tubes--turned out to be the rectifier--what I did not have were any fuses so I learned the hard way to carry those too. I also carry a little EH 44 magnum power amp in my gig bag. If main amp fails, whip this baby out and you can get through the night. It is also easy to pack. Hope you get your amp back up and running. Good luck. Thanks, and thanks to everybody who responded. The reason I don't bring all those parts is I usually bring a back up amp. I don't like fussing around too much before a gig. I like to be stress free and ready to rock. Honestly I thought they would probably pull out a Twin or a Marshall half stack. I know they have that stuff. At first I saw that thing and thought. "Hmmm this could be cool..." Then after tinkering for a while...well I think the speaker was toast. It just sounded dead. By the time I came to that conclusion it was about time to play and I decided to make due. I've played under worse conditions many times before. Sometimes you just have to suck it up and go with what you've got.
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OUCH!
May 25, 2017 7:35:46 GMT -7
Post by ash on May 25, 2017 7:35:46 GMT -7
Is there a particular brand of tubes that is recommended for this amp?
Edit:
Found it...
V1: Mullard ECC83 (12AX7), V2: JJ ECC83, V3: NOS 6201*, V4: 12AX7 LPS, V5: 12AX7WB, V6: Tung Sol 12AX7, V7-10: JJ 6V6
The Tube Store sells the complete set.
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OUCH!
May 25, 2017 9:07:34 GMT -7
Post by thatstatuemoved on May 25, 2017 9:07:34 GMT -7
^^^^---Yes and they are good people to deal with.
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Exuma
New Member
Posts: 26
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OUCH!
Nov 29, 2017 6:29:35 GMT -7
Post by Exuma on Nov 29, 2017 6:29:35 GMT -7
As a minor note, tubedepot.com has an option for a 24-hour burn in on tubes before you buy them. I called and asked about it and they said it helps as an extra layer to eliminate bad tubes. I got them in my 5881 tubes I picked up yesterday for Z-Lux: tubedepot.com/products/tung-sol-5881-new-production-power-vacuum-tubeThey're also a very popular distributor for Tung-Sol (along with the Tube Store) according to New Sensor.
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