My Faith in Mesa Boogie is quickly dissolving,.advice please
- Thread starter Elorps
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Old BF Shred
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Elorps said:
The curse is broken!!!
:lol: 8) Interesting thread, but there's a logical explanation to everything. Screen resistors frying in an amp, even Mesa, is not uncommon; they get very hot and sometimes the solder that mounts them to the circuit board will melt allowing one or both ends to come loose and swing free (quite common on Ace Combos). If it's the "tube" end that frees up, then that means you still have high voltage on the free end lead and if it shorts to the chassis, could cause more problems (fry the resistor itself, blow the fuse, or if the fuse does not "go" quickly enough, damage other parts, too). A shorted tube or just heat and age will fry them, too.
The pots can get old or dirty and die. Also it "may" (have to see the schematic to know for sure) be part of a tone stack that switches different values of components in & out to change voicing in each of the 3 channels; if this happens the pot can seem to have more effect on one channel than another, so as it dies one channel may display a big difference, while others not so much.
And we still await the verdict on the Nomad?
Please let us know.....it should be interesting, but probably not anything too far-fetched, either. Bad luck? No doubt, but at least now it won't be your turn again for some time to come (may be good time to buy some lottery tix :lol: I get half the winnings! :lol: :lol: :lol: )
May sound like too little, too late, but........
Good luck!
Dolebludger
Well-known member
Yes, please post and tell us how the Nomad FINALLY works out for you. Yes, Nomads have some weak points. The almost "not there" factory reverb is one of them (as is the case on many Mesa models). People also have pot problems. But overall, my Nomad 55 2X12 has been a real beast. We did have what I strongly suspect was a low voltage problem at a recent job. It really messed up some of the digital stuff in my rack, and put the fiddle player's amp at about 1/2 volume. But no amp harm to me, and the digital stuff "rebooted" itself and works fine now.
So let us know.
So let us know.
rabies
Well-known member
I've used Mesa and Marshall amps pretty much exclusively for a few (tube) years. I've had problems with a RK1 and Stiletto II as well as a JCM800. **** happens but it's usually tubes, unless you do stupid **** like not plug in a spkr cable (i.e. no load) or bias too hot, etc. I cranked the hell out of my ex-Mark IV (10 and 10!) and the only thing that ever happened to that amp was a tube shorted. Very reliable, generally speaking.
Marshall has gotten cheaper quality-wise over the years (post JCM800) but the Marshall roar (GNR/Slayer/Godflesh/Ministry) and blues tone (SRV/Hendrix) is literally unbeatable...
Use a Monster Power center 2500 or equivalent, less noise and saves headaches (esp. if you play at live dumps).
Marshall has gotten cheaper quality-wise over the years (post JCM800) but the Marshall roar (GNR/Slayer/Godflesh/Ministry) and blues tone (SRV/Hendrix) is literally unbeatable...
Use a Monster Power center 2500 or equivalent, less noise and saves headaches (esp. if you play at live dumps).
I should have the Nomad 100 back next week. Will have a full report on the fixes. I learned them all on Tuesday, but I simply cannot remember. They are all also unrelated top the other Mesa 'fryings' I have been partaking in lately.
The Dual Rec still sits out in the jam space...I like the Single Rect far more. It's a very straight forward amp,... However,the 3 channels on the Nomad do open up the playing field. I think I will set Channel 3 for my Eppy SG with Les Paul pickups to break through the mud a bit.
Full report when I get the Nomad back!
The Dual Rec still sits out in the jam space...I like the Single Rect far more. It's a very straight forward amp,... However,the 3 channels on the Nomad do open up the playing field. I think I will set Channel 3 for my Eppy SG with Les Paul pickups to break through the mud a bit.
Full report when I get the Nomad back!
Well, there is no transformer specific to Channel 2...all the channels share a common output amplifier/transformer section so I take it to mean that the transformer was fried, period.
,,,,
I can just envision what happens to a floor model head in a music store like L&M.
Kid comes in, plugs the head into the wall socket, plugs in guitar, puts the amp to 2, no sound, puts the amp to 6, no sound, puts the amp to 10, no sound. Asks the salesman WTF....oh, not plugged into the cab. Amp ruined. Leave quickly.
When I set up my Nomad head, I will not turn it on until I have triple checked that the cabinet cable is plugged into the right holes on both ends. I have nightmares about a cable becoming faulty over time. If I don't get a sound when its on about 1, I get pretty stressed. Thank goodness the problem is *always* that I have the speaker mute switch on the silent setting.
In any event the Nomad is my main gigging amp, tones are incredibly versatile. Recommend you trying out Ch3 with the gain at about 9:00 am, neck pickup. You'll be a blues man henceforth.
,,,,
I can just envision what happens to a floor model head in a music store like L&M.
Kid comes in, plugs the head into the wall socket, plugs in guitar, puts the amp to 2, no sound, puts the amp to 6, no sound, puts the amp to 10, no sound. Asks the salesman WTF....oh, not plugged into the cab. Amp ruined. Leave quickly.
When I set up my Nomad head, I will not turn it on until I have triple checked that the cabinet cable is plugged into the right holes on both ends. I have nightmares about a cable becoming faulty over time. If I don't get a sound when its on about 1, I get pretty stressed. Thank goodness the problem is *always* that I have the speaker mute switch on the silent setting.
In any event the Nomad is my main gigging amp, tones are incredibly versatile. Recommend you trying out Ch3 with the gain at about 9:00 am, neck pickup. You'll be a blues man henceforth.
jdurso
Well-known member
Elorps said:
At least we now know it wasn't you :wink:
On a serious note i'm happy you got things sorted out. I've never heard of that many duds coming out of one store... especially one brand. I could only imagine what kind of Marshalls, Peaveys and Fenders come out of that place. Its a shame that stores like L&M and GC dont pay any mind to taking care of their amps... they're treat a $2000+ PRS like its the holy grail but it seems they will let their customers run a $2000+ amp into the ground... literally.
pokerrules47
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I have dealt with L&M on several occasions, and I tend to disagree with the OP's assertion that L&M have educated and helpful staff. L&M have to be the worst chain I've ever dealt with. They have horrible policies and prices... the only reason I ever buy from them is that sometimes they have an item that can't be found elsewhere.
They have virtually all of their stock on the floor at all times, I've seen multiples of the same instruments/amps on the wall or floor, being touched by everyone. Their rental dept is shoddy too, things aren't tested when they return, once we rented a keyboard amp for a wedding we were doing, and ended up having to lug our PA to the gig because the amp didn't work and L&M were closed. When we returned it and complained, they said it was their policy to give us a free rental instead of our money back because they didn't know it wasn't working before it left L&M??? Of course I told them that I was getting a refund or else, and they relented.
Another time, I had my rectoverb (which I bought from them used under warranty) lose the ability to switch channels altogether. I sent it in for repair, they said 2 weeks turn around. I knew the amp tech's phone number so after 2 weeks, and no amp, I called him directly. He said that he didn't even know it was coming in yet and he had about 3 weeks worth of work ahead of him. geez... So I called L&M and they said they only send out the amps on certain days of the month and I was a bit late so they were waiting for the next day. I called another amp tech I know and paid to get it fixed.
I repeat, do not buy anything from L&M unless it's under warranty.. plain and simple. Do not buy L&M's extended warranty. If you have had some good service from your local one, then that's good, keep dealing with them, but remember they are a big chain, and you are only one fish in the sea of many to them.
They have virtually all of their stock on the floor at all times, I've seen multiples of the same instruments/amps on the wall or floor, being touched by everyone. Their rental dept is shoddy too, things aren't tested when they return, once we rented a keyboard amp for a wedding we were doing, and ended up having to lug our PA to the gig because the amp didn't work and L&M were closed. When we returned it and complained, they said it was their policy to give us a free rental instead of our money back because they didn't know it wasn't working before it left L&M??? Of course I told them that I was getting a refund or else, and they relented.
Another time, I had my rectoverb (which I bought from them used under warranty) lose the ability to switch channels altogether. I sent it in for repair, they said 2 weeks turn around. I knew the amp tech's phone number so after 2 weeks, and no amp, I called him directly. He said that he didn't even know it was coming in yet and he had about 3 weeks worth of work ahead of him. geez... So I called L&M and they said they only send out the amps on certain days of the month and I was a bit late so they were waiting for the next day. I called another amp tech I know and paid to get it fixed.
I repeat, do not buy anything from L&M unless it's under warranty.. plain and simple. Do not buy L&M's extended warranty. If you have had some good service from your local one, then that's good, keep dealing with them, but remember they are a big chain, and you are only one fish in the sea of many to them.
pokerrules47 said:
For those of us who cannot right out afford to buy gear, their payment plan is a beautiful thing. They will finance a hobo, and to any budding musician or a monetarily challenged one such as I, this is really a great service to keep the wheel turning.
Aye, they be a big chain, but they do not operate on commission either, and they're there to help get people into instruments and the gear they need in order to do it. The staff here are fucking amazing,,they field any question they can, and if they dont know, they'll find someone who does know. They've helped my band out with financing our first PA, a few weeks early to get in on the 0% down deal, and have helped us out when we had to work within a budget.
Unfortunate about the staff at your certain location, But I happen to know for a fact that the gear that is returned to the Calgary south location gets tested everytime it goes out. I'm usually hanging out in the rental department watching it be tested on my lunch hour. I brought all of my cables down last week to get tested while they were testing theirs. I just waited around for a bit for my turn.
Personally, I always get the extended Warranty,,it's an extra $10 or something,,totally worth it. Especially if you run into a case of bad luck.
Their prices aren't too bad either, and their policies have more than once saved my sorry *** from ruin and they've always helped me out for anything last minute I needed.
Personal experience however,, is personal experience..no matter where you go, chances are someone really loves the place or really hates it. Luckily, I am treated very well, so I keep returning to get the same service.
and plus, there is the most smoking Brunette who works in the recording section..My god,,she's full of stars!
pokerrules47
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Fair enough, I am only speaking from my own personal experience. I do agree that the payment plan is ok, but it's high interest but you get it paid down quick.
The problem is that in my area, a new roadster goes for $2699 at L&M (no room for neg), where just down the road it goes for $2299 and you can usually get stuff thrown in with a purchase that large. That is a $400+ discrepancy, and even when I pointed this out, they said they wouldn't touch the other price.
I ended up buying one off ebay. Good experience as it was my first ebay purchase.
As for the staff, that's what you get when you don't pay them commission, they couldn't be bothered most of the time about learning stuff about the gear. They only know about what they particularly like etc. They are also unwilling to "go that extra mile" in most cases. You got lucky and have a decent team at your store, but I've dealt with a couple different L&m shops and they are all the same. When I bought my rectoverb they had to ship it down from the bloor store in toronto, the ottawa store was NOT answering my questions about delivery time (it was 2 weeks late). The bloor store kept referring me back to ottawa, even though they had the amp. Good thing I had a decent amp to use in the meantime and I wasn't freaking out too bad.
Anyway, I am glad your experience is good with the staff, but as for the amps, I wouldn't blame mesa, I would blame the process you purchased it in. If those amps were at L&M, used, you know that they have been "put through their paces". I find the real "cherry" amps you will find used are not at L&M.. because L&M typically doesn't pay enough for used amps. They pay 80% of what they can sell it for, however, my friend sold them a marshall MF amp (that he had purchased from them) and they gave him the 80% of what they said they would sell it for. They put it in rental rotation for 3 months, then when it went on the floor they listed it for quite a bit more than they said they would.
I am not trying to slam L&M, alls I am saying is that they have some weird policies that they only seem to "stick to" when it suits them. I have bought quite a bit of product off them, and gotten decent deals each and every time. I am the type to really press for a good deal tho. I do my research, and I know exactly what the items are worth before I purchase.
The problem is that in my area, a new roadster goes for $2699 at L&M (no room for neg), where just down the road it goes for $2299 and you can usually get stuff thrown in with a purchase that large. That is a $400+ discrepancy, and even when I pointed this out, they said they wouldn't touch the other price.
I ended up buying one off ebay. Good experience as it was my first ebay purchase.
As for the staff, that's what you get when you don't pay them commission, they couldn't be bothered most of the time about learning stuff about the gear. They only know about what they particularly like etc. They are also unwilling to "go that extra mile" in most cases. You got lucky and have a decent team at your store, but I've dealt with a couple different L&m shops and they are all the same. When I bought my rectoverb they had to ship it down from the bloor store in toronto, the ottawa store was NOT answering my questions about delivery time (it was 2 weeks late). The bloor store kept referring me back to ottawa, even though they had the amp. Good thing I had a decent amp to use in the meantime and I wasn't freaking out too bad.
Anyway, I am glad your experience is good with the staff, but as for the amps, I wouldn't blame mesa, I would blame the process you purchased it in. If those amps were at L&M, used, you know that they have been "put through their paces". I find the real "cherry" amps you will find used are not at L&M.. because L&M typically doesn't pay enough for used amps. They pay 80% of what they can sell it for, however, my friend sold them a marshall MF amp (that he had purchased from them) and they gave him the 80% of what they said they would sell it for. They put it in rental rotation for 3 months, then when it went on the floor they listed it for quite a bit more than they said they would.
I am not trying to slam L&M, alls I am saying is that they have some weird policies that they only seem to "stick to" when it suits them. I have bought quite a bit of product off them, and gotten decent deals each and every time. I am the type to really press for a good deal tho. I do my research, and I know exactly what the items are worth before I purchase.
So the "transformer on Channel 2 was fried?" that doesn't make sense, as the only transformers in a Nomad are the power transformer and the output transformer. Maybe what was meant to be said that the transistor(s) in Channel 2 were fried? (There are a pair of transistors in the Channel2/3 preamp used for switching)
Do please let us know when the Nomad comes back from the shop and what the final verdict on what all was wrong with it.
Do please let us know when the Nomad comes back from the shop and what the final verdict on what all was wrong with it.
Well the Nomad came back,...
(and yes it was a transistor, not a transformer,,my bad)
Ive been toying with the setting trying to dial in my tone, but I just couldnt achieve what I wanted to with this amp.
In the end, I should of never traded the DC-5 for it. The DC-5 served me well for years,,I just wanted to upgrade to bigger and better. The Nomad has too many options and not enough results. Not the ones and looking for anyway.
Out of the whole ordeal however, I give full marks to the DC-5 for it's power and simplicity and ultimate warm tones (just wasnt enough crunch and punch for me,, but it was still beautiful), and The Single Rectifier. The Rectifier I think, would it of been at the right price, would of been what I would have went with if the cards were right. Simple and great results.
The Dual Rectifier and The Nomad, just didn't do it at the end of the day. Unfortunately, my time with Mesa is over, and I went at the end of the day with The Rivera Knucklehead Tre 120W head which meets my needs perfectly. I spent not even 10 minutes dialing in my tone and am very happy with it's tone, it's power and it's simplicity.
But hell man,,I learned a lot about Mesa's over the past few years and especially over the past few months. If I did indeed have the chance to do it over again, I would of went with the Single Rectifier from the get go.
Thank you all for your help. Great advice and lots of insight.
Cheers.
(and yes it was a transistor, not a transformer,,my bad)
Ive been toying with the setting trying to dial in my tone, but I just couldnt achieve what I wanted to with this amp.
In the end, I should of never traded the DC-5 for it. The DC-5 served me well for years,,I just wanted to upgrade to bigger and better. The Nomad has too many options and not enough results. Not the ones and looking for anyway.
Out of the whole ordeal however, I give full marks to the DC-5 for it's power and simplicity and ultimate warm tones (just wasnt enough crunch and punch for me,, but it was still beautiful), and The Single Rectifier. The Rectifier I think, would it of been at the right price, would of been what I would have went with if the cards were right. Simple and great results.
The Dual Rectifier and The Nomad, just didn't do it at the end of the day. Unfortunately, my time with Mesa is over, and I went at the end of the day with The Rivera Knucklehead Tre 120W head which meets my needs perfectly. I spent not even 10 minutes dialing in my tone and am very happy with it's tone, it's power and it's simplicity.
But hell man,,I learned a lot about Mesa's over the past few years and especially over the past few months. If I did indeed have the chance to do it over again, I would of went with the Single Rectifier from the get go.
Thank you all for your help. Great advice and lots of insight.
Cheers.
Old BF Shred
Well-known member
Well that's why there are so many different brands and models of amplifiers. Everyone has their own tastes.
Hope that Rivera keeps going strong for you with no issues!
Take care!
Hope that Rivera keeps going strong for you with no issues!
Take care!
I sold my 1st Dual Rectifier (Rev. F) to buy a Nomad 55. Sounded great in the store, but terrible with the band. I regretted that move for many years!
As for not enough punch in the DC-5, you should definitely give the DC-10 a try if you can find one! They have way more OOOOMMMMPPPPHHHHH!
glennhue56
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A fellow Mesa-ite told me:
"Most of the time, all you need to do is get a replacement unit that actually came out of the factory working perfectly, or just it repaired under warranty..."
Hope that helps!
"Most of the time, all you need to do is get a replacement unit that actually came out of the factory working perfectly, or just it repaired under warranty..."
Hope that helps!
