Help please with used Fillmore 25W Combo amp, especially reverb

[Henry2]

I just got a used Fillmore 25W combo amp from CME. It is overall cosmetically in very good shape, but I think it probably wasn't packaged properly (not in the original box) for shipment, and I'm not sure it took some internal shipping damage. The box it was shipped in was way too big, and it arrived lying on its face at the bottom of the box, I doubt CME intended to ship it like that.

My two main concerns are about the proper working of the reverb.

When I first tried it out it seemed there was no reverb at all (even when the knobs on the back were turned to 10). Then all of a sudden it would start to work, possibly after some vibration due to amp volume turned the spring loose? The reverb knobs then do work, i.e. I can reduce reverb back down to zero if I want.. Also if I shake the amp I definitely hear the typical spring reverb chaos ensue.

So, my two concerns are:
(i) The reverb seems to be stuck at zero when I turn on the amp and something (my guess is vibration from amp volume) and one point makes it start working.
(ii) The reverb itself is pretty underwhelming, sound wise. It seems unusable past 1/8th of a turn, it just makes an uninspiring reverb sound that gets pretty annoying when turning up higher. (I had for a short time a Blackstar 20W with digital reverb that sounded much better, imho).

This is my first Mesa Boogie. I'm not sure the above is normal and to be expected. I can record some audio if someone wants to chime in and hear first hand what I'm hearing.

 

[Henry2]

I did post a short video of demo-ing the problem.



As it happened, this time the reverb worked right after leaving standby, but it cuts out after a few seconds of me doing nothing else than playing a few chords. You see me trying all different kinds of things to get the reverb back to working, which sometimes succeeds and sometimes not.

Really, no point for anyone to suffer through the whole video. I have the feeling the problem is totally with the reverb tank going bad, or maybe some switch that is in the circuit has connectivity issues, maybe the built-in (?) switch at the footswitch jack on the back (REV FTSW). I did try switching reverb on/off via the back footswitch and it doesn't turn on the reverb either.

If anyone has experience with similar type of problem, please do chime in with your experience!

 

[plan-x]

Send that vid to CME.

 

[Nandrewjackson]

It seems like you are doing things ok, the amp has a problem. +1 for contacting CME. If they say all sales final on used equipment. Contact mesa boogie. They'll point you to a mesa authorized tech near you, or give you instructions on sending them the amp.

 

[Henry2]

Thanks everyone for chiming in. I did contact CME and they refunded me $50 for getting it checked out by a tech, so kudos to them. I also found a video on YT of someone fixing a similar problem on their Fillmore head, so I'll check that out and see if I can find the problem myself!

 

[jonnyrats]

Daft question but is it in the right way round ? The Jack's at the back of the amp . I've been having massive problems with my f50 and I've found that the reverb tank Jack's were back to front. The roady at a gig had pulled them out loading it up . Put them back where they looked correct . Never gave it a thought but after an hour of playing the amp totally cut out and made oscillating noises . Don't know why or how it did / does that but it seems to seems to have cited

 

[Henry2]

I actually have no FS plugged in at the back of the amp (for reverb on/off). But the connector internally has two switches that are closed when no jack is in the connector, and open when you push in a jack. So I was originally thinking maybe those switches could be corroded.

I had opened the amp and those switches looked pristine, including everything else in the amp. I'm suspecting the cable to the tank (the one without shield) has a loose connection in one of the RCA plugs. I wiggled a lot to test that with an Ohm meter and after a while it tested at 0 Ohms pin to pin. It's not a permanent solution, it might to bad again, but it's working right now.

Still not happy with the quality of the reverb though. I'm thinking of trying a medium or short tail reverb tank instead. After-market replacements have a wild variety of different impedance ratings, and I don't know what the stock one has. It is a Ruby RRVL2AB1A1BV4.
https://rubytubes.com/products/ruby-reverb-tank-rrvl2ab1a1bv4-mesa-boogie

 

[Henry2]

Just an update for those interested.

I bought this short tail reverb tank (and a pair of quality RCA cables off Amazon):
https://www.amplifiedparts.com/products/reverb-tank-mod-8ab1a1b-short-decay-3-spring
Sounds much better to my ears now, but still only using it till about 9-12 ish on the reverb volume. (Application would be blues to rock).

 

[domct203]

The reverb in your amp is tube driven. If you continue to experience reverb level and reverb dropout issues, try a new 12AX7 in the V5 position as shown in the tube replacement diagram shown on page 24 of your owner's manual.

If you don't have the manual, I highly recommend you download a copy.

https://mesa-boogie.imgix.net/media/User Manuals/fillmore25-WEB.pdf
Hope this helps,
Dom

 

[Henry2]

The reverb in your amp is tube driven. If you continue to experience reverb level and reverb dropout issues, try a new 12AX7 in the V5 position as shown in the tube replacement diagram shown on page 24 of your owner's manual.

If you don't have the manual, I highly recommend you download a copy.

https://mesa-boogie.imgix.net/media/User Manuals/fillmore25-WEB.pdf
Hope this helps,
Dom

Thank you Dom for the tip and the manual URL! I'll consider the tube replacement too!

 

[John Micka]

Also inspect the reverb jack for cleanliness.
I had jacks that got oxidized and replaced them.

 

[Henry2]

Also inspect the reverb jack for cleanliness.
I had jacks that got oxidized and replaced them.

Thanks John! Yeah, I did inspect the jacks, all of the inside of the amp was as pristine as a new one!

 

[Boogie-with-steve]

Send that vid to CME.

Send that AMP to CME. That's a joke of course, but why didn't you just claim shipping damage or issues, and send it back to CME?

 

[Henry2]

Send that AMP to CME. That's a joke of course, but why didn't you just claim shipping damage or issues, and send it back to CME?

The amp was otherwise in fantastic shape. I thought it was still a good value. I invested the $50 they refunded me in a new reverb tank and better cables!

 

[Boogie-with-steve]

The amp was otherwise in fantastic shape. I thought it was still a good value. I invested the $50 they refunded me in a new reverb tank and better cables!

ah, ok, well there you go. Good on you!

 

[hartwell]

FWIW, the reverb sounds a lot better to my ears when using a bigger cab. The fella I bought my 25 from built a head and separate cab for his 25 and he gave me the combo cab as well. I moved both the speaker and amp back into the combo cabinet and couldn’t believe the difference, especially the reverb - not bad just very different given the smaller boxier cabinet. I may look at getting a shorter tank for the combo cabinet. In the bigger cabinet, the long spring sounds really good.