Members Elderling Posted August 31, 2007 Members Share Posted August 31, 2007 So just for a little {un}necessary background: this summer I've bought a few things. First a weight bench (was rusty and falling apart), then contact lenses (they gave me the wrong prescription twice in a row), then a video game online (they never sent it), then a cell phone (won't receive calls and kills batteries--as in, after being in my phone they don't work for any phone anymore), etc. But my prize acquisition was a Fender DeVille 2x12 (I think) I got on eBay to replace my {censored}ty Marshall practice amp. It just arrived, I lugged it up the stairs with a thrill of anticipation, set it up, turned it on--oops, wasn't plugged in--turned it on again, watched the lights go on, and strummed my guitar. Nothing. After playing around with it for about fifteen minutes, still nothing. Lights go on but no sound. Now, being that I have no experience with tube amps, what the {censored} should I do? I'm heading back to college on Sunday, is there any way I could check to figure out what the problem is and thus fix it in the next two days? I'm in NY, on Long Island in case that for some reason matters (i. e., technicians, etc). Help please, I feel like killing myself after spending over $1000 this summer on faulty items that people mostly won't reimburse me for. I also got a small LCD HDTV yesterday that I'm afraid to open for fear that it won't work either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted August 31, 2007 Members Share Posted August 31, 2007 So just for a little {un}necessary background: this summer I've bought a few things. First a weight bench (was rusty and falling apart), then contact lenses (they gave me the wrong prescription twice in a row), then a video game online (they never sent it), then a cell phone (won't receive calls and kills batteries--as in, after being in my phone they don't work for any phone anymore), etc. But my prize acquisition was a Fender DeVille 2x12 (I think) I got on eBay to replace my {censored}ty Marshall practice amp. It just arrived, I lugged it up the stairs with a thrill of anticipation, set it up, turned it on--oops, wasn't plugged in--turned it on again, watched the lights go on, and strummed my guitar. Nothing. After playing around with it for about fifteen minutes, still nothing. Lights go on but no sound.Now, being that I have no experience with tube amps, what the {censored} should I do? I'm heading back to college on Sunday, is there any way I could check to figure out what the problem is and thus fix it in the next two days? I'm in NY, on Long Island in case that for some reason matters (i. e., technicians, etc).Help please, I feel like killing myself after spending over $1000 this summer on faulty items that people mostly won't reimburse me for. I also got a small LCD HDTV yesterday that I'm afraid to open for fear that it won't work either.Any hum or anything coming from the speaker? Are the speaker leads connected? Can you try a different speaker quickly to see if it is dead? Have you tried swapping the preamp tubes? Could just be a dead one there, ya know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jimbojamz Posted August 31, 2007 Members Share Posted August 31, 2007 check the slide on spk connections AT the speaker terminals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Karnevil Posted August 31, 2007 Members Share Posted August 31, 2007 my best advice, get rid of the deville. Save some extra cash. I bought one this summer (hot rod deville 4x10) sold it again immediatly. Sounded like crap with distortion (external or internal.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted August 31, 2007 Members Share Posted August 31, 2007 my best advice, get rid of the deville. Save some extra cash. I bought one this summer (hot rod deville 4x10) sold it again immediatly. Sounded like crap with distortion (external or internal.)They sound better when they don't work!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elderling Posted September 1, 2007 Author Members Share Posted September 1, 2007 my best advice, get rid of the deville. Save some extra cash. I bought one this summer (hot rod deville 4x10) sold it again immediatly. Sounded like crap with distortion (external or internal.) Thanks for the replies, guys. Turns out I was being a noob (never had a tube amp before) and I hadn't attached the power tubes, which were lost in a sea of packaging. I found them and slid them in and it worked. However, there was a horrible buzz/crackle when I played certain notes. I took it to a tech guy and he quickly determined that it was a tube gone microphonic. A GT12AX7R, if it matters. I took the broken tube to Sam Ash to get a new one--they only had a Chinese made one. I bought it anyway, put it in--instantly the same problem only worse. I checked the tube and indeed it was the same thing happening. Now, for those of you wise in the ways of tube amps, what are the odds that this is the fault of the replacement tube coincidentally being faulty vs. a problem with the amp? What should I do here fellows? Incidentally, not to be an asshole, but if your only response is "OMG DeVilles suck" or even worse, "OMG DeVilles don't RAWK with distortion like the distortion I like" don't bother. I like the way this amp sounds, the distortion's good enough for me, and it would be ideal if I could just get it fixed without shelling out much more cash. I got it for under $400, which is why I'm not in a hurry to get rid of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Loghead Posted September 1, 2007 Members Share Posted September 1, 2007 You did try flicking the standby switch and fiddling with the volume knobs, didn't you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted September 1, 2007 Members Share Posted September 1, 2007 Thanks for the replies, guys. Turns out I was being a noob (never had a tube amp before) and I hadn't attached the power tubes, which were lost in a sea of packaging. I found them and slid them in and it worked. However, there was a horrible buzz/crackle when I played certain notes. I took it to a tech guy and he quickly determined that it was a tube gone microphonic. A GT12AX7R, if it matters. I took the broken tube to Sam Ash to get a new one--they only had a Chinese made one. I bought it anyway, put it in--instantly the same problem only worse. I checked the tube and indeed it was the same thing happening. Now, for those of you wise in the ways of tube amps, what are the odds that this is the fault of the replacement tube coincidentally being faulty vs. a problem with the amp? What should I do here fellows?Incidentally, not to be an asshole, but if your only response is "OMG DeVilles suck" or even worse, "OMG DeVilles don't RAWK with distortion like the distortion I like" don't bother. I like the way this amp sounds, the distortion's good enough for me, and it would be ideal if I could just get it fixed without shelling out much more cash. I got it for under $400, which is why I'm not in a hurry to get rid of it.I was going to mention that many people pull the tubes when they ship an amp, but I thought it would condescending to think that you wouldn't bother checking that. Oops! BTW, what don't you like about the Chinese 12ax7? The 9th model is a very popular and highly respected tube. So, did you wiggle all the tubes and make sure they were seated properly in the sockets? So, I added a lot of helpful info in addition to my opinion on their ummmm, tone. The main thing I see with them is that for the price of one you can actually get a nice sounding tube amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted September 1, 2007 Members Share Posted September 1, 2007 You did try flicking the standby switch and fiddling with the volume knobs, didn't you?One would hope, huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members echodeluxe Posted September 1, 2007 Members Share Posted September 1, 2007 sell it. buy a peavey classic 50. thank me later, n00b. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Karnevil Posted September 1, 2007 Members Share Posted September 1, 2007 Seriously, if it is an early model - it's not good.It has a bad pcb design, and these amps are known to suddenly die - with no warnings beforehand.Tone is subjective I know, but devilles are generally known to suck in the distortion department. If you're only going to use if for cleans, you're ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.