Members tidalwaveGB Posted September 10, 2009 Members Share Posted September 10, 2009 This might just be a tube issue that I am having, but I'm not sure, so I'm calling on HCAF's experts to shine some light on my Classic 30 woes. Here's the problem: The amp's volume is sporadically fading out completely, and this usually happens after the amp is warmed up and has been played for at least 20-30 min. If I "hit" the top of the amp with my hand, the volume will sometimes come back, but then other times it will remain dead silent (no hiss, no hum, no buzz). Does this sound like a power-amp tube issue, or maybe something is loose? A transformer issue maybe? Tone-wise, the amp sounds great, when it works, so it leads me to believe that perhaps the tubes are not the problem (but I'm no expert). A little bit of background info: Speaker has been replaced with a WGS British Lead 80, and all tubes were replaced roughly one year ago (for the second time, since I bought it new in '05), with a matched set from JJ tubes. Also, I generally don't gig with this amp, rarely turn the volume up past "neighbor-friendly" levels (I live in an apartment building), and use it for maybe one hour-per-week. I sometimes will boost the lead channel with an overdrive to get some nice grinding distortion, but usually play on the clean channel with pedals. Any trouble shooting tips? I would like to be able to fix this problem myself, and frankly, don't have the money to pay a tech to inspect it, let alone repair it. If I can't fix it myself, I'm considering just selling the amp "as is" for a stupidly low price, just to get rid of it, and let it be someone else's project. Does $200 sound fair, if I don't want to bother fixing it? I figure that, since I installed a tube guard, Tom's Tube Tamer, and upgraded the speaker, it would be a fair price. Lately, I have been eyeballing the Tech 21 Trademark 30, which sounds like it might be a better fit for my needs, and should be less costly to maintain. Anyway, thanks for reading, and any help, advice, etc, is appreciated. I don't post much here, but I am always perusing the forum, and have had a few laughs, as well as learning a thing or two -Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kneel Diamynd Posted September 10, 2009 Members Share Posted September 10, 2009 Tube socket pins need to be re-flowed/re-soldered on the PCB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TheEsupremacy Posted September 10, 2009 Members Share Posted September 10, 2009 Tube socket pins need to be re-flowed/re-soldered on the PCB. Could be. Also, sounds like it could be a simple retube issue. Wait, just reread the history of it, It IS just a simple retube issue. Trust me on this. The combo is a tube torture chamber. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Blackie08 Posted September 10, 2009 Members Share Posted September 10, 2009 sounds like a bad tube... just Retube and you will be fine. PV combo amps kill tubes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Fat Albert Posted September 10, 2009 Members Share Posted September 10, 2009 When in doubt, get a new set of tubes and swap'em out first. If it turns out they're not the problem, at least you have spare tubes - which you should in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tidalwaveGB Posted September 10, 2009 Author Members Share Posted September 10, 2009 So, it looks like I should replace the tubes, eh? Thanks for the responses. I'll give that a shot, and if it doesn't help, I'll just hold onto the tubes for something else. Should I just try replacing the el84's, or replace the 12ax7's too? I had no idea these amps ate up tubes so quickly. At least I am happy with the tones I get One more thought: Being that I am using a speaker that handles up to 80 watts with an amp that barely puts out 30, could that lead to any issues, or am I just being paranoid? BTW, the British Lead sounds very nice in this amp, and I recommend it to anyone that needs more clean headroom. It took a while to break it in, but it was worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TheEsupremacy Posted September 10, 2009 Members Share Posted September 10, 2009 So, it looks like I should replace the tubes, eh? Thanks for the responses. I'll give that a shot, and if it doesn't help, I'll just hold onto the tubes for something else. Should I just try replacing the el84's, or replace the 12ax7's too? I had no idea these amps ate up tubes so quickly. At least I am happy with the tones I get One more thought: Being that I am using a speaker that handles up to 80 watts with an amp that barely puts out 30, could that lead to any issues, or am I just being paranoid? BTW, the British Lead sounds very nice in this amp, and I recommend it to anyone that needs more clean headroom. It took a while to break it in, but it was worth it. Speaker is FINE. No issue there whatsoever. And yes, the Classic 30 is a tube torture chamber for real. Remember too, tubes have no promised life in a combo. You get a year out of 'em you did good, seriously. I had a JSX combo and still own a 6505 combo, I know what I'm talking about here. New tubes will solve your problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members metalguy Posted September 10, 2009 Members Share Posted September 10, 2009 i go with this rule of thumb. 85% of tube amps problem are in the tube amps. change out the tubes it'll be cheaper than really anything else at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.