Ello people, new member needs help RE Simul 2:90, please!!!

[steveohdearyme]

Hey people,

Im new to this forum but hopefully il be posting on a regular basis from now. Anyhow my query is this...

I recently purchased a second hand Simul 2:90 from the states, had it converted and all the rest and ive had it up and running for say about, 10 hours max. In this time ive blown a couple of valves (not from having it cranked i should add, never had this amp up too loud). Ive been told that the unit itself is in good working order and that i may be going through the motions of finding out which are the old valves. Anyhow im at the stage where i have 4 new valves and im really struggling to find out which valve has blown. Are there any signs i should look for when figuring out which valve has popped? I know i should ideally replace them in pairs.

Also, does anyone know where i can get the correct 1A 250v fuses from? Its the older version of the 2:90 that i have.

I really want to learn as much as i can about this power amp as it sounds phenominal when using it with my V-Twin, if theres any tutorials or whatever around i could really use the education!

Steve

 

[mesanomad100]

alright there,The fuses Id say maplins
www.maplins.com.Its better to go into the shop and hand over the fuse so you get the right ones.

the valves;are any the tops of them a really black colour,not gray?????BLACK,normally with tube failure the fuse blows to save your output transformer.
Is the amp biased correctly,no mixing of el's and 6l's.or what about the pre amp 12ax7's,I understand theres about three of them in the 2:90,these are cheap to replace(I think about £12 each for mesa ones).Pre amp tubes should last a life time though.
My nomad was acting the goat when I first got It and It turned out to be a faulty EL34,power nib had snapped off!!!!!and was shorting the amp.I just replaced the entire power amp valves with 6l6's they sound better anyways IMHO.But you would have about 6 or 8 to replace,costly!!!!!!!!
an old way to test if a tube needs replaced is by taking it out(amp turned OFF)and using a pencil with a rubber on the end to tap the tube.If they sound too metallic then they will probably need replacing..

Ohh steve try messaging a guy on here called Boogiebabies,he really knows his tech. **** and could probably diagnois your problem in seconds!!!!

hope this has helped any...see yah soon

 

[steveohdearyme]

Euuuuuuannnnn-ah!

Sweet man, im glad ye found one of my post's id nearly given up trying to work out my problem with the 2:90. The thing is, i managed to get the correct 1A fuses, installed them and then about 10 mins later i blew another valve.

Im not beasting it as its never made it out the bedroom yet, the problem is valves just keep going now, thats the third one. Theyre all 6L6 valves, its a mix of electro harmonix (2 of) and 6 boogie 6L6's. I noticed that the valves get absolutley roasting after a few minutes of being switched on, i know theyre meant to get hot but these are like top notch on a radiator.

I bought it from america, had it transformed by the local mesa tech (lives in Torryburn, how appropriate!) Oh aye, il give you his number if you dont already have it. Ive been trying to get a hold of him for about 3 weeks but sound control reckon he'l be in the states after the NAM shows, he builds mesa amps y'see. Sorted me out a couple of times before but i want to take it back to him to see if he can come up with another solution. Im gutted cos it means i have to go back to my Marshall VS100 with my GT-3, once youve tasted valve power....well you know what its like.

Looking forward to Sunday man, like i said your setups gonna run countries, sweet as a noot!

 

[mesanomad100]

alrighty steve,I dont have a clue....if you cant get hold of the mesa tech and he cant suss it out in a sec then Im useless.somethin really isnt right though seems there is too much power running to the valves.did the tech put in the correct transformer?

Yeh that number would be great as I may get the dual rec fitted with the correct transformer as opposed to the portable one I'll have to use.

aye sweet I'll hope you get it fixed cause there aint nothin like tube saturation.

see ya sunday.
Ohh try that guy boogiebabies,he knows mesa's like the back of his hand and will probably suss it out in seconds.

cya

 

[steveohdearyme]

Nice one man, ive found the mesa guy on here, im gonna give him a shout after my next diagnosis as the mesa tech guy returned my call when i got in from work today (how bad is my eyesight man, i had to totally screw up to recognise you in town earlier, need specs bad). If i can't get it sorted this time then im gonna throw it down the well.

See ye Sunday, sire!

 

[mesanomad100]

hahaaha,thats class Hope all is fine.I wasnt sure if that was you but I thought I fI shout and its not I'll pretend I wasnt meaning you...

could I grab that tech's number from you on sunday.Im sure there will be no need to take the amp to the well!!!!!!!!!!!

see yah.hey is this thing a stupid battle of the bands,those things are a pile of crap honestly why do local bands have to compete against each other when they should be helping each other.for god sake!!!!!!

 

[steveohdearyme]

Im afraid it is ye olde battle man. Ive played a few in me days and i agree, its all complete bollocks. Im just playing cos it's a gig. Im gonna bring my Marshall head on Sun but if no-one's got a cab i could use would it be sweet to borrow your amp?

Course il give you the guys number, he's called Dennis and like i say he's local. Quite highly recommended too. See ye sun dude!