Mesa Boogie Fire Hazard

[blueballoon]

So I just unpacked my Mesa F-50 from a cross-country move today. I put the tubes in, plugged my guitfiddle in, put it on standby and tuned-up a new set of strings while it was warming up.

 

After a couple of minutes, I turned the amp on and a nice little poof noise happened, accompanied by some friendly smoke signals. I turned it off, checked the tubes to find them looking smoky and a little blackened, then turned the amp back on.

 

Amp works fine but sounds totally different. Wtf happened??

[groovetube]

mesabugera

[blueballoon]

ikr

[Zeppelin Rules]

Maybe there was a bit of {censored}e that got onto the tubes, and then combusted as a result of the heat.

[pamackie]

 

mesabugera

 

 

you stole my words. Now I don't have any.

[Spaced Out Ace]

{censored}ty situation bro.

[blueballoon]

Yeah man, it sucks. No funds for taking it to a tech and it's my only amp.

[CptMcKay]

Well, in my professional opinion...sounds like some {censored} got {censored}ed up.

[groovetube]

pain in the ass

 

mojo sent for real

[metalhobo]

What happened was that the components in your amp lost some of the smoke particulate they need to function properly. Every electrical component is made of solid smoke, and when they get too hot, they lose that smoke. Once the smoke is lost, the component can't function properly anymore. The only way to repair it is to gather up all the smoke lost and jam it back into the amp :phil:

[Spaced Out Ace]

This is probably why they say to "use _____ and push the tube in and out of the socket a few times to clean debris". Forgot what they say to use but its all over the net.

[CptMcKay]

 

This is probably why they say to "use _____ and push the tube in and out of the socket a few times to clean debris". Forgot what they say to use but its all over the net.

 

 

Contact cleaner?

[blueballoon]

What happened was that the components in your amp lost some of the smoke particulate they need to function properly. Every electrical component is made of solid smoke, and when they get too hot, they lose that smoke. Once the smoke is lost, the component can't function properly anymore. The only way to repair it is to gather up all the smoke lost and jam it back into the amp :phil:

 

[blueballoon]

i dont see nothin wrong

with a little bump

(ngrind)

[hahavishnu]

jeez there is a lot of it about.......same thing happened on the AMP forum

[notjonahbutnoah]

Once my mesa smoked a bit.

 

I bought it used of the bay, it had groove tubes in it. No problems. Replaced those with a random ass quad of jjs from ebay. Still fine. Replaced those with a mesa branded quad... bout 20 minutes in, I smell that smell. Then I notice the smoke. The whole inner plate was bright red in all the tubes and the stickers were catching on fire!!! Turned it right off. Didn't play it again until I got a more well chosen quad of jjs. Currently runs like a dream.

[blueballoon]

 

Once my mesa smoked a bit. I bought it used of the bay, it had groove tubes in it. No problems. Replaced those with a random ass quad of jjs from ebay. Still fine. Replaced those with a mesa branded quad... bout 20 minutes in, I smell that smell. Then I notice the smoke. The whole inner plate was bright red in all the tubes and the stickers were catching on fire!!! Turned it right off. Didn't play it again until I got a more well chosen quad of jjs. Currently runs like a dream.

 

 

This gives me hope. Maybe I should just buy some new tubes and see what happens. The change in tone could be a result of them getting damaged to some extent.

 

*SPAM* Anyone have some good power tubes they wanna sell on the cheap?? */SPAM*

[ComOp]

Did you try reseating the flux capacitor?

[peavey_impact]

Well, in my professional opinion...sounds like some {censored} got {censored}ed up.

 

:lol:

[Zozobra]

Pop it out of the sleeve, take some pictures and put them up here. A screen resistor may have taken a {censored}.

[Nemesys]

 

Pop it out of the sleeve, take some pictures and put them up here. A screen resistor may have taken a {censored}.

 

 

This. It will have been caused by a short in one of your power tubes. The good news is that, because this is a common occurrence when a tube shorts, Mesa builds their boards in a way that the screen resistor is less likely to damage anything else when it goes, and is easy to replace.

 

You can get by without it for a bit, but you really should fix it and replace your power tubes.

[glow]

You should also check out the F-series brotherhood

 

Huge thread with plenty of useful information and knowledgeable people!!

[blueballoon]

You should also check out the F-series brotherhood Huge thread with plenty of useful information and knowledgeable people!!

 

That thread is actually a big part of what swayed me into getting my first F-50. I had to let it go b/c I needed a much more tweedy sound at the time, but I've been super happy with mine up until now. It's so easy to make it sound good.

[blueballoon]

Found'd it. The little missing guy was hanging out in some goop up around the front panel pots

 

[Spaced Out Ace]

Found'd it. The little missing guy was hanging out in some goop up around the front panel pots

 

Not good. Does it look fixable?

 

EDIT: Why is there so much spooge inside of that amp?