Guitar amp issue

rickbarclay

rickbarclay

Inspired
Hello. I love my Axe, but I think it might be killing my tubes. I've owned this FX II since mid January of this year and
I've already had to replace my power tubes once, just last week. Now tonight, with the wife at work, I got to jammin'
with myself for about three hours. Just before I'm ready to quit, the amp starts popping and crackling like its going to
blow a tube, so I quickly turned it off.

So, I have to ask: is it possible for the AXE to cause a guitar amp tube to blow? I had the same symptoms just before the
power tube blew last week. Loud crackling, a big HUM, and then silence. Is it possible to overwork these tubes. I'm
not in an overly hot environment, and I don't use the amp and AXE all the often--only on weekends. When I changed the
tubes last week I sprayed the contacts with Deoxit. I've also treated the pre-amp tubes with Deoxit. I thought I'd ask
here before I call Splawn and ask them what the problem might be. Anybody got any ideas?

Didn't have this problem before I bought my AXE. Thanks for any advice.
 
If your amp has burned through two sets of power tubes in two weeks, your amp has internal issues that should be addressed immediately. Either that, or you're running with a wildly mismatched speaker load.
 
I'm running a 100-watt Splawn Quickrod at 1/2 power, speaker load @ 8-ohms. That's what the manual calls for. The tubes didn't blow last
night; I just turned the amp on and warmed it up. Seems all right, so far, but I haven't started jamming yet. The problem seems to be that
the tubes I put in last about a month or so and then die--usually on start-up. I've had crackling issues since I connected to the AXE but not before.
At first I thought it might be the pre-amp tubes, so I De-Oxited them and that seemed to help a lot, but about two weeks later a power tube blew.
I guess I'll call Splawn and see if they can help. Thanks, Rex.
 
You're starting up your amp in standby, right?

If I'm reading you right, you've had to replace power tubes once. I'm not sure that indicates a trend, but maybe I'm missing something.

it also sounds like you've got persistent crackling going on. The likeliest culprit is your cables. When the crackling starts, give them a wiggle. Then pull them out completely. See what happens to the sound.

It's hard to imagine the Axe, or any other input device, killing your power tubes.
 
It's not the Axe. It's only a line level input device when it all comes down to it. I'm almost certain that it's something going on with your amp.
 
It's been once since I've owned the AXE, Rex. Plus the near-miss last night. I played a little today with no issues. I think it might be the amp. I blew two amp fuses
early on at full 100-watts, switched to 1/2-power. These latest tubes are biased between 14 and fifteen watts each, so they're pretty cold. One problem I have is
simply that there's nobody around these parts who works on amps, and Splawn is about 60 miles from me and is fussy about whose amps he lets in his store. He's a
busy guy and I hear his wait time is something like six weeks. I'm going to call him anyway. See what he says. I'm really confounded by this.
 
It sucks not to have a shop near you. I hope Splawn lets you in. Keep us posted on your adventures.
 
rickbarclay said:
It's been once since I've owned the AXE, Rex. Plus the near-miss last night. I played a little today with no issues. I think it might be the amp. I blew two amp fuses
early on at full 100-watts, switched to 1/2-power. These latest tubes are biased between 14 and fifteen watts each, so they're pretty cold. One problem I have is
simply that there's nobody around these parts who works on amps, and Splawn is about 60 miles from me and is fussy about whose amps he lets in his store. He's a
busy guy and I hear his wait time is something like six weeks. I'm going to call him anyway. See what he says. I'm really confounded by this.
Click to expand...

The Splawn is the culprit which is also indicated by it blowing fuses early on.
When you have the builder within 60 miles I'd always go to the guy who build the amp in the first place for service.
If he doesn't want to service his own amps then there is something completely wrong with his view on his customers.
I would never give my business to a builder who won't help a customer with a malfunctioning product.
 
Well, I guess I'll find out whether or not it's true or not. I've talked to Chuck Splawn or one of his minions, a couple of times on the phone, and was
treated very courteously. The folks on the Splawn forum, including me, trust and respect him as much we all trust and respect Cliff here. He has a
very loyal following. The problem, if there is one, arises from the fact that the Splawn is a boutique shop with a small work force that stays constant even
as the business ebbs and flows.

I tend to agree that my tube problem, if I'm not imagining there's one, is internal to the amp head. If he does take it in, I'll probably be without my amp for
six weeks. Boo, hoo. I don't care if it solves my tube problem. I didn't buy the damn thing to run at half-power in order to save tube life. Sixty miles isn't
really that far to drive down here, where population density isn't a problem. Carolina has many good expressways.
 
Rocket Brother said:
The Splawn is the culprit which is also indicated by it blowing fuses early on.
When you have the builder within 60 miles I'd always go to the guy who build the amp in the first place for service.
If he doesn't want to service his own amps then there is something completely wrong with his view on his customers.
I would never give my business to a builder who won't help a customer with a malfunctioning product.
Click to expand...

I'd never give Splawn my money anyway. He once made an incredibly rude comment about homosexuality, using his Christian beliefs as an excuse. He can eat a dick as far as I'm concerned and I'm not homosexual. The world doesn't need opinionated bigots like that.
 
I would just be curious, if someone of a different view, let's say an outspoken homosexual made an equal comment against him because of his faith if you'd feel the same?

not trolling at all, it's an honest question. it's all too common for people to espouse acceptance and open-mindedness until someone differs from their views, then suddenly the other party are hate-mongers, bigots, etc....
 
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