a.miller Posted September 11, 2007 Share Posted September 11, 2007 I was playing through my Fender Blues Reissue last night and during one of the songs I started to smell something really hot. Like electrical hot. I saw no smoke, but could really smell it strongly. It got stronger and stronger while we were playing the song and seemed to subside after I was done playing. I only had the volume around 4, if that makes a difference. Is this the sign of a tube going? Could the whole thing be cooking? It's always been kind of a funny amp. Sure sounds great though. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
In a little rowboat Posted September 11, 2007 Share Posted September 11, 2007 just to clarify, is this a blues jr, hot rod deluxe/deville, or something else?Easiest way to detect a tube going out is to look at them and detect a change in lighting or color, in relation to each other. I assume there was no change in volume tone or gain when this incident occurred (consistant with tube issues)? You can lightly tap on a tube with a wooden chopstick, with the amp on; if the tube yields noise during this, you can bet its a dying tube. There could be something shorting inside, but because of today's printed circuit boards, this is less likely than in an original ptp amp. If you havent had fuses burn up then a short is less likely. I get burning smell often with my tube amps, lots of times its just dust burning up. Take it home and try it again, look at the tubes, look for smoke, listen for tonal variance... You can remove the chassis and visually inspect the board and connections youself. Youd be looking for a dark, burnt looking area of course. However, use extreme caution. Make sure the amp is unplugged and left off for hour or so before. When you have it open, never prod with your finger, use a wooden chopstick or any non conductive material. This will save you the inevitable tech fees, which youll pay whether theres a real problem or not. J Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a.miller Posted September 12, 2007 Author Share Posted September 12, 2007 Thank you for the advice. It is this amp, a Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue. I'll do the things you said. Funny thing about taking the board out....shortly after I bought the amp, the cab would rattle when I played a C. No other notes, just a C. After trying a bunch of other stuff, I wound up taking the "guts" out and putting them in a head and keeping the speaker and just running it like a cab. Soo....It shouldn't be too hard to look in. No gain differences or sound differences when playing. It had been on for about 2 hours and then came the smell, which quickly got stronger. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
FaintingGoat Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 I'm no expert on amps, but I have a similar amp (Fender DeVille 2x12) that when used for long stretches would give a burning smell the first few years I had it, then it simply went away. I was interested in your mention of the amp rattling when you played a "C". The same thing happens with mine when I play an "A". It's been my main player for four years but only noticed it lately and it's driving me nuts. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
In a little rowboat Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 overly resonant notes are not uncommon---this breed of fender amps are 'tuned' just as much as a guitar would be...plus the wooden baffle carries tone as well as the speaker which is mounted in it... again, the amp still sounds good, id be much less concerned by the smell...rock on! j Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a.miller Posted September 12, 2007 Author Share Posted September 12, 2007 I was interested in your mention of the amp rattling when you played a "C". The same thing happens with mine when I play an "A". It's been my main player for four years but only noticed it lately and it's driving me nuts.Yep. It drove me batshit crazy. Crazy enough to convert the combo to a separate head and cab, which really wasn't that big of a deal. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BigWheeledWagon Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 I'm going to venture a guess at what's going on -- just a hypothesis here (hopefully not a preposterous one). Perhaps your tubes had gotten dusty, and since your amp was on for a while, they had time to heat up a bit more than usual and caused the dust to burn a little. I've had this happen to me when I've gotten a little negligent about dusting (which is more often than I'd care to admit). Is the odor the same as when you turn on the heat for the first time in the fall/winter? That's also caused by dust burning, and it's the same odor I get from my dusty tubes (in my defense, my old Fender Bassman has an open back and thus easily acquires dust). Anyway, I could be way off base but I thought I'd give it a shot since I've had this happen to me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a.miller Posted September 12, 2007 Author Share Posted September 12, 2007 I'm going to venture a guess at what's going on -- just a hypothesis here (hopefully not preposterous one). Perhaps your tubes had gotten dusty, and since your amp was on for a while, they had time to heat up a bit more than usual and caused the dust to burn a little. I've had this happen to me when I've gotten a little negligent about dusting (which is more often than I'd care to admit). Is the odor the same as when you turn on the heat for the first time in the fall/winter? That's also caused by dust burning, and it's the same odor I get from my dusty tubes (in my defense, my old Fender Bassman has an open back and thus easily acquires dust). Anyway, I could be way off base but I thought I'd give it a shot since I've had this happen to me.I think dusty tubes could be it. I thought I'd had it on that long before (2.5 hours) and it had never happened. Mine get dusty too, as they are in an open-backed head. It smelled like hot something (electronics?), which had me really worried. But the smell subsided, so I guess it was just dust. I looked at the circuit board last night with a flashlight to see if there were any burn marks, but couldn't see anything -- thank God. I have a gig a week from Monday and my biggest fear is that it would pick that time to totally die. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
In a little rowboat Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 I get burning smell often with my tube amps, lots of times its just dust burning up. j Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BigWheeledWagon Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 j Sorry -- I wasn't trying to steal your thunder. I saw that you mentoned the dust theory amongst several of your suggestions -- I was just chiming in on what I thought was most likely based on my experience (as opposed to the dying tubes option -- I've never gotten a burning smell from dying tubes, just poor performance). Let the record show that you did indeed suggest the possibility first. Consider my post a concurring opinion. Speaking of concurring opinions -- In a Little Rowboat's advice on using a chopstick or other non-conductive item when prodding around in your amp is crucial. Even when the amp has been unplugged a while, you can still get a serious shock from stored charge. Thankfully, I am not speaking from personal experience here, but I have seen it happen to someone else. Come to think of it, that also resulted in a burning smell. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a.miller Posted September 13, 2007 Author Share Posted September 13, 2007 Well, I put new tubes in last night and double-checked the board again. No burns, nothing. I actually have a good friend who works doing amp setups for studios, but he is in another state, so I couldn't solicit much advice from him. Anyway, he gave me 3 sets of power tubes. One AVS, one Mesa, and one Soldano (Ruby). I can't believe the difference in sound between them. Also, in doing research on this problem, I learned that Groove Tubes aren't really well respected. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BigWheeledWagon Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 Well, I put new tubes in last night and double-checked the board again. No burns, nothing. I actually have a good friend who works doing amp setups for studios, but he is in another state, so I couldn't solicit much advice from him. Anyway, he gave me 3 sets of power tubes. One AVS, one Mesa, and one Soldano (Ruby). I can't believe the difference in sound between them. Also, in doing research on this problem, I learned that Groove Tubes aren't really well respected. I recently put in Ruby tubes, and I've been happy with the difference. I don't know about general reputation, but I have not been happy with Groove Tubes either. Glad to hear you've got your amp sounding good with no more burning odor. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
In a little rowboat Posted September 14, 2007 Share Posted September 14, 2007 ha i know BWW... yea GTs are the cheapest option that fender (and others) has for stock tubes...wow wish i could an amp tech that would give me new tubes hehe rubys are great, ebay has a health suppy of NOS tube of various brands...and there is a huge difference as you have found... A seldom suggested acquisition...a tube tester is a really nice thing to have should you continue to use valve electronics I picked one up for around $30 on ebay...itll help verifiy matched sets and let you assess the quality of NOS tubes from odd sources...I have a fender 65 DRRI, the 6v6 power tubes that come stock are a horrible match voltage wise...i have too search high and low to find acceptable replacements... glad your gear is rocking out!! jobu Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a.miller Posted September 14, 2007 Author Share Posted September 14, 2007 Played with the amp last night for 2.5 hours will no ill effects. I have the Mesa tubes in right now. Perhaps I'll check out the Ruby ones. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted September 14, 2007 Share Posted September 14, 2007 I have a fender 65 DRRI, the 6v6 power tubes that come stock are a horrible match voltage wise...i have too search high and low to find acceptable replacements... I can't vouch from experience, but I have heard that JJ tubes work well in the '65 Deluxe Reverb (DRRI). Might be worth a shot if you haven't already tried them. (I was dying to get a DRRI last year, but I got impatient and got an Ampeg Reverberocket, which I love, for 1/3 the price.) https://ssl.eurotubes.com/cart/index.php?pa..._category_id=35 That link is for a full retube kit, but it should say which 6v6s they use in place of the stock tubes. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
anodyne Posted September 14, 2007 Share Posted September 14, 2007 bob at eurotubes knows his stuff. he's a nice guy and a good resource. 10 years ago he used to post on the peavey forums all the time, then his business started to take off. he's a good one. that said, i personally HATE ruby tubes. they're made in china and have some really wide variations in the quality control dept. MESA and GT are remarkers. they rematch other brand tubes and print their label on them. I tended to go with the svetlana tubes (i think they're made in Finland or Russia) in all my old amps. i haven't had to retube my carvin, but since it's a "vintage style" amp, i might spring for some NOS telefunkens or something. i really don't know. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BigWheeledWagon Posted September 14, 2007 Share Posted September 14, 2007 bob at eurotubes knows his stuff. he's a nice guy and a good resource. 10 years ago he used to post on the peavey forums all the time, then his business started to take off. he's a good one. that said, i personally HATE ruby tubes. they're made in china and have some really wide variations in the quality control dept. MESA and GT are remarkers. they rematch other brand tubes and print their label on them. I tended to go with the svetlana tubes (i think they're made in Finland or Russia) in all my old amps. i haven't had to retube my carvin, but since it's a "vintage style" amp, i might spring for some NOS telefunkens or something. i really don't know. As with so many things in purchasing musical equipment (quite sadly), I guess it must just be luck of the draw when dealing with Ruby tubes. Mine sound great, but I don't doubt that had I gotten some from a different shipment they could have sucked. This seems especially true of equipment made in China. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
anodyne Posted September 15, 2007 Share Posted September 15, 2007 i don't mean to dis your tubes or anything. i've just had several bad batches (not individual tubes). svetlanas sound really good in my amps (a 5150 and a tweed 212 combo). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
In a little rowboat Posted September 15, 2007 Share Posted September 15, 2007 thanks for the tips/link am anxious to try the JJ's ya'll should check out this site for reviews and deals ---> http://www.thetubestore.com i didnt know rubys were so unpredictable...when ive used then, theyve done the deal Svetlana s are made in St Petersberg Russia, Ive had great performance from Ei's before, but theyre made in the former yugoslavia and looks like theyve stopped making them... jobu Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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