There is also a remote possibility that one of the transistors or iChips in that tube amp is having problems.



The number of preamp tubes I have observed that have ceased to work properly in a actual tube amp has got to be well under 1% of the tubes I have encountered in my years as a tech. The 12AT7 driver in the old Deluxe Reverb amps get beat up pretty hard... I've actually seen a couple of those go bad after 20 years or so.





I'd ask someone to check that input jack... 


...straight out of the Jack Darr handbook.






When you get John to build you an actual tube amp it will not break after a few days like a factory amp. 

When it does need service it will be easily fixable by just about any amp tech on the planet.


best regards,
mike

And as we're getting ready to step out to run errands and bring back the amp chez Sam Ash, I thought I'd plug it in and see if it still made all those noises.

I left it on for 10 minutes. Nothing. Juts the hum. But he's not getting away w/ this. Unreliable.

I'm pretty much set on replacing t w/ a Spider IV 75 watts, for an extra $50. I had opted against Line 6 in the first place, but I guess I can do w/ the extra features and, well, I know those emulations...

Sounds like a good choice. I'd wager the little tube amp is a disposable commodity and the store can write it off. The labour cost for repairs is probably more than the entire labour cost to manufacture it in China.

Modelling stuff is getting real good. I had the first flagship product from line 6. I think it was called an AX2??? I can't really remember, but it was a huge 2x12 combo with a huge front panel... and menu's. Great for recording and learning stuff, but when jamming it would mysteriously disappear into the mix. I could never hear myself. The amp was real expensive so I was able to trade it to a guy for a 70's Deluxe Reverb. Then, of course, I spent a small fortune on effects to make up for all the cool stuff I lost from the AX2.

Not that it matters, but even though I build old school stuff for people, I still love the convenience of DAW's, modelling and solid state amps.

The Kemper's and Axe-FX's give me hope that modelling will be killer in the future (hopefully I can afford that future! ;-)

Done. The Spider IV 75 is here. 

The guy who sold me the little amp last week seemed a bit surprised that I was trading it for a Line 6 (he even asked twice if I was sure). Well, yes I am. 

Considering all the back and forth we had to go through last week to get it, the fact that I couldn't register it on the web site because of the constant error messages and the fact that I couldn't subscribe to the forum because the seem to be in transition and you need your old forum log-in to get a new log-in for the new board...

Almost as if something didn't want me to own this amp. 

On the other hand  - went to pick up the mail on our way to Sam Ash and had a $10 gift card in the mail - from the Blackstar purchase, last week. So I guess it had to be the Line 6.

Not that I'm inclined to believe in such things - just funny coincidences..

Craig - Admittedly, Axe-FX is in a different league. That being said, if I could put that much money on emulation, I'd probably use it to sound proof a room and mic a big old Marshall stack or such. In fact, as soon as we get the house, I'm going back to the time proven formula of sticking a 57 in front of the amp.

So how good's the Spider? Well, I've only tested it w/ headphones so far - and I can't wait to try that speaker. Though I've heard it in the store and liked what I heard, obviously.

Funny thing is that the single output will only accept stereo cables. My first attempt - using a TRS cable and plug it directly into the input of my audio interface (in mono) overloaded something somewhere and I was getting some nasty distortion. So I dug out my old mixer, sent the stereo signal to that and form there went mono into the audio interface. Better.

1st thing - if you're looking for an amp that'll allow you to record hi-gain or even just distorted tones going in direct, this isn't it. It has the typical harshness and things are a bit squashed - the direct out is weaker than the one on the Blackstar. I may still have to rely on my old POD 2 and impulses for big rhythm guitars, until I can shove a mic in front of this guy. Classic tones are a different story - no issue going direct.

2nd - It's still a whole lot of fun to play. We were supposed to watch The Dark Knight tonight, but I wanted to take a few minutes to test this thing. Next thing I know, it's pass 11 pm, and I've been messing w/ this thing for over 2 hours - which felt like half an hour, max. For shredding leads, it kills the little Blackstar, imho. There's also a pitch shifter in there, and I must have spent a good part of those 2 hours playing Kyuss type of basslines/grooves on my guitar. My head is filled w/ new song ideas...

Though the direct out sounds a bit squashed, I still like the way it reacts to my playing. Software amp sims were never too good for my ego as a guitarist. So much that I ended up underplaying most of the time and I never thought my parts would make it on the album - I was basically recording placeholders. That's tough, man. I was seeing some friends whom I'd always considered average musicians making great records and had to push myself below them, cause even they sounded tighter than me. It was like, man I must really suck. But then I'd remember the stuff we'd recorded in studios or live back in the days, and it seemed I could play decently... When did I lose that? I never was a Vai or a Danzi, but I could definitely play keepers and a heartfelt solo here and there...

So I guess this amp will work for me - be it just for the fact that I'm having a lot of fun and ideas playing it. And when I can finally throw a mic in front of that speaker, I guess I'll be quasi-happy.

It's bigger, it blocks the way to the back of the desk, but I dig it!

"I still love the convenience of DAW's, modelling and solid state amps."




I've never known an actual tube amp to be inconvenient... it is the make believe ones that seem to break down all the time. :-)

best regards,
mike

Just lucky, myself, I guess...but I have never had any problems with any of the tube amps that I have owned either.

My biggest problem with the sims and modeling amps, is that with all of the choices, I never seem to settle into a sound.  It is so easy to change everything that I just end up playing with the amp all night instead of playing guitar.

Most of my casual playing is through a Flextone III. I have settled on the "red alternative" to the JCM-800 which is actually their JCM-2000 model. I change the speak emulation to "bypass" (Line6 Clean) and I use a little comp. I keep the drive a little above 12:00... this pretty much does it for me. If I start fiddling I usually end up resetting everything to factory default and going back to the settings above. Sometimes I use the stock "Plexi" model and dime everything except the master and I leave the reverb and other effects off except again, maybe a little compression. The only time I use any effects is when I am trying to do some "Bridge of Sighs" stuff.

As for sounding good (or better) my POD II through the loop on a Crate Powerblock into a 12" Texas Heat absolutely KILLS the Flextone.

J

 The only real problem I have had with tube amps is how LOUD they were, but then I was buying them too large for my purposes. Thats why I think that something like a 1 watt tube amp would be great.

 The only two amps I own right now are a mini PA setup and a small Behringer modeler amp I picked up really cheap. Believe it or not it sounds decent for what it is. I bought it at the time because I wanted to practice without my computer being on and it had a headphone jack. The other day I actually thought about miking it up for a guitar track.

  Hope it works well for you Rain.