Mesa suggests you consider the condition of the 5AR4 as a first order of business:
 
http://mesaboogie.com/news/2010/06/fuses-why-do-they-fail-what-does-it-mean-and-what-can-you-do/
 

 
 
You can buy one here: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=5AR4&_sacat=0&_from=R40
 
 
best regards,
mike

Man, I'm always late to the threads I can actually contribute to.
 
If it's not to late, here's my take. Those amps run hot and a tube failure is not unlikely. A very common failure is a short between the filament supply, 6.3 vac and one of the high voltage DC elements like a screen grid. You get an internal short and blow a fuse. Another common failure is with the rectifiers. Sometimes the surge current is high enough that a diode will short. A shorted power supply cap will also blow fuses. There's many possible causes.
 
What I would do in this case is pull the power tubes and see if the amp still blows the fuse. If it doesn't blow the fuse then you've isolated the problem. Past that point you should take it to somebody that knows what they're doing. The pain of a high voltage shock is major, trust me. If you have an underlying heart condition you don't know about it truly could be fatal. IS your safety worth $60? And yes, even unplugged there are lethal voltage/current values stored in the power supply caps. I had one discharge on my finger and it burned a perfect little hole in it, just like somebody took a red hot pin and stabbed me.
 
I'd go with a private guy that knows what they're talking about. I've seen the caliber of tech's that stores hire for minimum wage. Funny enough, when I do a job and calculate the time and money, I often find that I'm working for $3-$4 per hour. Get somebody that really loves working on gear and has good ears.
 
Don't replace your tubes with Mesa branded tubes. They are usually Chinese and have nothing special going on. There's nothing wrong with them but they're overpriced.
 
Tung Sol, Gold Lion, Electro Harmonics and Sovtek are all the same company in Russia. JJ is eastern Europe. Ruby is a re-brander with high standards. Groove tubes is now a Fender company with not so high standards (IMO). The country that gave us Telefunken is now selling Chinese tubes under the TAD brand> they are very good and have some proprietary deals with China.
 
I'm about the only guy in my area that doesn't have a $60/hr standard fee. I actually do a complete service and all maintenance for around $60 plus parts for 2 output tubes. For 4 output tubes it's usually $75 - $100. If I run into a hard to find or intermittent problem it's my loss, but how can I expect the customer to pay for my lack of trouble shooting ability.
 
Good luck.

Mesh
@Danny, thanks so much for giving me something to gauge on. Regading the amp repair, what I'm afraid is if I have to replace a lot of tubes + his hourly rate, it might get costly.
 
Quaz, Criag, & Clifford, GC seems to be the winner here <cough, cough, sarcasm cough>.
 
I'm so glad I asked in here.....I should check around and see if there are other "reputable" local shops in the area.

Hey Mseh, who's Criag?

 
"If I run into a hard to find or intermittent problem it's my loss, but how can I expect the customer to pay for my lack of trouble shooting ability."
 
 
Hi John,
 I finally got the Jack Darr reprint with the service mans guide to trouble shooting guitar amps step by step... I like it because it formalizes the procedure and makes me feel like, all things considered, I have made the best use of time even if the issue does become hard to identify.
 
:-)
 
 I think Mesh should ship you the amp and have it done right.
 
:-)
 
 
best regards,
mike
 
 

Hahaha see Mesh, Ampfixer to the rescue. I so wish he didn't live in Canada...I'd send all my stuff to him. Plus...he's got trustworthy looking text! Hahahahaha!
 
-Danny

Its a very interesting question.  My thoughts are, "do you know for a fact that the local shop is good?"  What if the local shop is an idiot?  Its happened before.  If your local shop is good, "go local."  If your local shop is an idiot, "go guitarcenter."
 
("This post has been scientifically proven by Dr. Phase");

I am living proof that anyone can be an idiot, on any given day. There's lots of good people doing work on gear. I've found that the real screw ups' quickly get identified and the word gets out. Some of the best guys I know work out of their homes and garages. I closed my shop about a year and a half ago because there wasn't enough work to justify the overhead. Now I only do work for guys I know, or those that hunt me down.
 
Talk to local musicians and they will usually tell you who to avoid. Never take one bad report as the final word. I have found that every tech runs into a difficult repair or a crazy customer. For some reason people feel that cheap gear should come with cheap maintenance and repair costs. I often have to tell people that the cost of a repair is worth more than what they paid for their amp.
 
Just because slaves build them, doesn't mean slaves will fix them.

I love GC for somethings, but I always try to support local business first.

I only take my guitars to certified and trusted luthiers for repair work but I found that learning how to do your own adjustments saves time and money. For the amps, if there are major issues then a certified repair person from the manufacturer will do. Unfortunately, my SSS manufacturer is difficult to reach and it's gooped anyway. Most of the other stuff I repair myself, no need for some Canadian ampfixer.

mike_mccue
 
"If I run into a hard to find or intermittent problem it's my loss, but how can I expect the customer to pay for my lack of trouble shooting ability."
 
 
 I think Mesh should ship you the amp and have it done right.
 
:-)
 
 
best regards,
mike
 
 

I'd definitely send it John if the shipping isn't so expensive. At least I'll have a peace of mind knowing that it's in trustworthy hands and done right.
I'll keep searching for a reliable "ampfixer" in my local area.....
 
 
BTW pistolpete, this isn't just "some" Canadian ampfixer, but rather THE Canadian Ampfixer.