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#243657 - 26/10/08 04:35 AM
Amp failure survey!
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Richard - Richards Guitars
Administrator & Forum Council Member
Old Timer
Registered: 30/07/01
Posts: 5446
Loc: 5 Tiddington Road, Stratford U...
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I would love to hear your views on the current quality of amplification available in the UK.
As you know I now endorse Elmwood amplification but obviously a £1700 combo is not within everyones reach and it would be nice to consider "something" that fills the gap to sell primarily in store.
I became hugley dis-enchanted with amplfication - ALL of the brands I was supplying had more than their fair share of problems.
I would love to know if there is an amplifier out there that IS reliable or have they ALL fallen foul to cheap chinese production and poor quality components.
Soooo... I am not interested in how good your amp sounds - I want to know:
* What is your current amp?
* How much did you pay?
* How long have you had it?
* What environment is it normally played (IE home, studio, stage)?
* Has it gone wrong - if so how many times and what reasons?
So PLEASE help me by responding. This will provide a great insight for other players too who are considering an amplifier purchase.
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#243658 - 26/10/08 05:21 AM
Re: Amp failure survey!
[Re: Richard - Richards Guitars]
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minimoog
Be Nice (I'm New!)
Registered: 18/10/08
Posts: 14
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*What is your current amp? Vox Valvetronix AD30VT
* How much did you pay? £133
* How long have you had it? 10 months
* What environment is it normally played (IE home, studio, stage)? Home
* Has it gone wrong - if so how many times and what reasons?
Yes it has gone wrong. I read about Vox's poor reliability before buying but also heard it had improved so I figured it was unlikely to affect me. I was wrong. It is afflicted by a terrible input jack that intermittently cuts out - this is a very common fault on these. It also occasionally howls and squawks for about 10 seconds when switched on, then plays at reduced volume for a random period before full power comes banging in when you least expect it. Both of these issues became apparent with a few weeks of buying it new. Needless to say I took it back and all Vox did was swap the power amp valve out which has had no effect whatsoever, especially on the input jack (durr...). Because it's intermittent and I don't play out I've lived with it in recent months but it'll be going back again before the warranty runs out.
It's a damn shame because it sounds very decent for the money. If they'd build it properly it'd be great.
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#243659 - 26/10/08 05:45 AM
Re: Amp failure survey!
[Re: minimoog]
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ZombieSheep
Old Timer
Registered: 14/08/01
Posts: 4157
Loc: Ackworth, West Yorkshire
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* What is your current amp? Marshall DSL401
* How much did you pay? £450
* How long have you had it? 6 months
* What environment is it normally played (IE home, studio, stage)? Stage
* Has it gone wrong - if so how many times and what reasons? No.
* What is your current amp? Tech 21 Trademark 60
* How much did you pay? £250 (s/h)
* How long have you had it? 3 years
* What environment is it normally played (IE home, studio, stage)? Home / Stage
* Has it gone wrong - if so how many times and what reasons? No
* What is your current amp? Ashdown Peacemaker 60 head
* How much did you pay? £700 or so, with 4x12)
* How long have you had it? 6 years
* What environment is it normally played (IE home, studio, stage)? Home / Stage
* Has it gone wrong - if so how many times and what reasons? Yes, but only because I walloped it against the car boot pillar immediately before a high profile gig. Cracked the circuit board, effectively killing the mucky channel
* What is your current amp? Laney LC30
* How much did you pay? £145
* How long have you had it? 12 months, but now sold
* What environment is it normally played (IE home, studio, stage)? Stage
* Has it gone wrong - if so how many times and what reasons? Yes, twice because it blew the main power input fuse on both occasions. Not sure why.
_________________________
Si hoc legere scis, nimium eruditionis habes.
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#243661 - 26/10/08 06:27 AM
Re: Amp failure survey!
[Re: Richard - Richards Guitars]
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Runcitter
Be Nice (I'm New!)
Registered: 26/10/08
Posts: 1
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* What is your current amp? Ashdown Peacemaker 60 combo
* How much did you pay? £350
* How long have you had it? 4 years
* What environment is it normally played (IE home, studio, stage)? Stage
* Has it gone wrong - if so how many times and what reasons? Yes - once about 1 month ago after having the valves replaced. Turns out the wiring was quite poorly done and kept shorting out the new valves. The amp techie guy replace some of the parts, striped it all down and re-seated all the relevant parts. He did tell me to start looking for a new amp.
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#243663 - 26/10/08 07:00 AM
Re: Amp failure survey!
[Re: Richard - Richards Guitars]
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retroman17
Be Nice (I'm New!)
Registered: 26/10/08
Posts: 1
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* What is your current amp? Roland Cube 30X
* How much did you pay? £120 ish
* How long have you had it? 1 year
* What environment is it normally played (IE home, studio, stage)? Home and Studio
* Has it gone wrong - if so how many times and what reasons? NO problems so far, even after being forced to walk for an hour with it in pouring rain with no covering; i was terrified, but I gave it a wipe down and it was fine. This is a very sturdy practice amp.
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#243664 - 26/10/08 07:08 AM
Re: Amp failure survey!
[Re: retroman17]
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Trevoire520
Be Nice (I'm New!)
Registered: 26/10/08
Posts: 1
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* What is your current amp? Marshall DSL50
* How much did you pay? £550-ish
* How long have you had it? Almost 3 years
* What environment is it normally played (IE home, studio, stage)? Studio and stage.
* Has it gone wrong - if so how many times and what reasons?
For the most part its been perfectly fine, once or twice I've switched on the amp to find I couldn't get any sound from it, but after turning up the volume control a fair bit it roars into life and works ok after that. Other than that I've had no problems.
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#243665 - 26/10/08 07:15 AM
Re: Amp failure survey!
[Re: Trevoire520]
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Celentium
One of the Regulars
Registered: 17/08/08
Posts: 57
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* What is your current amp? Engl Fireball
* How much did you pay? £1100 (including Marshall 1960 4x12 cab)
* How long have you had it? Almost 2 years
* What environment is it normally played (IE home, studio, stage)? All but mostly home and studio
* Has it gone wrong - if so how many times and what reasons?
Only problem I had was after about 18 months there was some odd nuances in the sound and a couple of volume issues. I refit the pre-amp tubes with some new ones and its been perfectly fine since.
_________________________
ESP Eclipse II DBSB
Ibanez RG1570 Prestige
Jackson DK2 Pro Series
Epiphone Thunderbird Bass
Ibanez Low-end Bass
Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier
Cornford 2x12
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#243667 - 26/10/08 07:18 AM
Re: Amp failure survey!
[Re: Richard - Richards Guitars]
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Jacktlad
Old Timer
Registered: 19/06/08
Posts: 1215
Loc: West Yorkshire
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Current amp: Marshall DSL 401
How Much? : About £420
When did you buy it?: Late 2003
I use it at home and for local gigs.
Never had any problems. Not even had to change a valve.
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#243668 - 26/10/08 07:22 AM
Re: Amp failure survey!
[Re: retroman17]
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Geofflw
Be Nice (I'm New!)
Registered: 20/05/05
Posts: 2
Loc: South
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Hi Richard and fellow pluckers.
Current amp: Fender FM65R
price: £160
age : 1 Year
used at...: Home
Malfunctions: Yes , after about a week got nasty buzzing I got the whole thing replaced, as the rep for fender was in the shop the day I took it back.
As an aside I must tell you that three amps started making wierd noises and smelling all expensive whilst I was out there shopping for an amp. The whole experience was less than ideal and some of the help I got from the shop assistants was less than helpful. I fried a Carvin, a Vox, and a Roland, just by having them plugged in. So, Richard, you are entirely right, theres a long way to go in the world of amps. I have a suspicion most of the damage comes from the shipping between factory and shop. I bought my Fender out of frustration... I wanted a small tube amp to play in our front room. I have to juggle to vol. pot on my Fender to get a sound that isn't strangled but doesn't make my ears bleed as the amp is far too big for my needs, [it does sound good though, on those days when all the neighbours are out]. Hope all this is of some help.
Geoff
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