# Hughes & Kettner 25th again problems



## Rick31797 (Apr 20, 2007)

The first amp i had for one week started making a crackle/static sound if you hit certain power chords like F or A..so replaced it.. and got another one, this one has started after 2 months...I have come to realize, this problem is caused by the vibration from the speaker too the circuit board, all the tubes are down tight with retainers...so its not a loose tube...i am so disappointed, this amp has so much bottom end and sounds great,Its the best sounding amp i have .......

now it goes back, and i am not going to get another one..If i lived closer i would work with the Tech at L&M to solve the problem, but i cannot trust the amp, and cannot be driving two hrs, to have it fixed every few months..
I think they all do this.. i think its a flaw in the design, or maybe because there is so much bottom end, that its going to happen no matter what you do..

No i need to find a small tube amp, 1-12 that can match this amp for tone..


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

So, the speaker itself is crappy or the mounting? Disappointing to hear, they're known as a good sounding little amp though I haven't played one myself.


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## Rick31797 (Apr 20, 2007)

the speaker is fine , its the vibration the speaker is making is causing a problem with the circuit board..not sure what ...they are a great amp...too bad this has happened.


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## jb welder (Sep 14, 2010)

Find out if they fixed the one you had before and see if you can exchange to get it back. Sounds like a bad solder or connector or switching jack issue that is probably common to them, and once repaired they will probably be fine. If I were working on one with this problem I would probably do a total resolder.
You seem to really like the amp, I think if you got one properly fixed it would probably be fairly reliable. As long as you keep exchanging for new ones, you will probably have to keep dealing with this "bug".


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## Rick31797 (Apr 20, 2007)

I regrettably, took the amp back and got a refund, with no problem at all..I have since talked to the tech guy, and he said there was a broken tube socket pin.. he replaced the tube socket..

The problem i am having is, i had two brand new amps that did the same thing, the socket pin broke..what does this tell me...That the soldering and tube sockets, cannot take the huge bottom end and vibration...i am afraid too buy this amp back...how many pins will continue too break..if i lived in Oshawa, i would buy it back ...


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## Guest (Mar 2, 2012)

Can you buy it as a head? If so, get a head and a 2x12 cabinet and just don't put the head on the cab.


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## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

Time to move on. Theres clearly a problem with this amp if you've had issues with two seperate ones. There are plenty of other good amps around that you could get and not have issues with.


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## Rick31797 (Apr 20, 2007)

You cannot buy just the head, it came as a combo 20 watt tube amp..




> Time to move on. Theres clearly a problem with this amp if you've had issues with two seperate ones. There are plenty of other good amps around that you could get and not have issues with.


I called the Tech guy at L&M, just to understand what he did.,so the tube socket pin was cracked from vibration...and although he said its the first one i took back went too Yorkville too be fixed..

I think your right time to move on, even though its the best amp i have heard....


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

Rick31797 said:


> You cannot buy just the head, it came as a combo 20 watt tube amp..
> 
> 
> 
> ...


What about the H&K Tubemeister? It's a head. Maybe it sounds similar?


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## Rick31797 (Apr 20, 2007)

The tubemeister i tried out the same time i tried the 25th and liked the tone of the 25th, and also the price..25th was 560.00 tubemeister with cabt, 1,000.00 , i hear now that people are having problems with the Tubemeister, there was a thread on the Gear page..

I want to try a different Cabinet with my Mesa TA-15 head, to try and get more of that bottom end i like so much..I am building a Cabinet and the back will be 3/4 with a small opening at the bottom, will try the same speaker that the 25th used. A G12T-100..


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## Rick31797 (Apr 20, 2007)

Well i thought i would try a Hughes and Kettner TubeMeister , may be a big mistake..but i have 30 days to decide if its for me...

another thing..Hughes and Kettner sent me a reply...what do you think of this regarding problems with the 25th anniversary..


it´s difficult to say. We also heared about this problem here in Germany but as we´ve sold a lot of Edition Tube Amps the quantity of this failure wasn´t really important.

Normaly the probleme is fixed if you resolder all pins on the tube sockets.


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

Rick31797 said:


> Well i thought i would try a Hughes and Kettner TubeMeister , may be a big mistake..but i have 30 days to decide if its for me...
> 
> another thing..Hughes and Kettner sent me a reply...what do you think of this regarding problems with the 25th anniversary..
> 
> ...


You told them you have bought 2 of them new in less than a year and they both had the same problem... and that was their reply lol?


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

you have to take it in context. english is not that guy's first language.


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

cheezyridr said:


> you have to take it in context. english is not that guy's first language.


You can get the just of what he's saying, and it's not what I consider good customer service reply wise. You might want to tell people you have done something to try to address the problem or tell them to take it to a someone who can service it, rather then just tell them how to fix it.


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

no argument there. you're right in that anyone would expect that if they acknowledge that they know of this problem, it would be something they would act on. suzuki is fairly notorious for those sort of tactics with their motorcycles. in a back handed way, acknowledging a problem, but refusing to do a re call. 
but i think when he say the quantity of the failure was unimportant, i think he means insignificant in comparison to the number of units sold.


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## Rick31797 (Apr 20, 2007)

Hughes and Kettner customer service is not very good at all, I sent them 2 emails complaining about the 25th anniversary and they just forward the email too the service centre in my area too answer the question..
The last email i sent them, i told them i want you to answer my question... so they did and as you see the answer was not very good..


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Alex Lifeson would get some attention


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

GuitarsCanada said:


> Alex Lifeson would get some attention


so would selma hyek, and she doesn't even play guitar.


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