# Amp died mid-solo



## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Last night my band played a charity event at my college. We had an alright turnout and a decent set.

Mid-solo towards the end of our set, my Mesa Roadster shut off on me. Everything was plugged in, my pedals still worked, but the footswitch had no power and the amp would not turn back on in bold or spongy mode. I finished the set using my singer's Traynor YCS100H and my Mesa 112.

I think it was a fuse, but I have no idea what would have caused a fuse to blow. I have the warranty and written letter stating the amp is transferred to me, and as far as I know if anything it should be covered by said warranty should something need to be fixed.

The fun part is, we have practice Thursday, a big gig Saturday and another gig next Tuesday - I don't think I'll have my own amp if it needs to be shipped back to the factory to be fixed.

It was a fun set, but damn did it throw things off a bit. I still smiled and rocked out for the rest of our set, but not with the same vigour I had before.

What do you think might have caused it to go down?


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## jimihendrix (Jun 27, 2009)

Read this article for some clues...

When Good Amps Go Bad


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Thanks a lot!

My friends and I suspect that if a tube died, the amp should at least have stayed powered up no?


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Upon closer inspection it looks like a power tube went bad (silver behind the Mesa logo like how the top of the tube looks, the other 3 don't have that) and the fuse blew hard.

Looks like a tube swap and a new fuse for me.


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## ezcomes (Jul 28, 2008)

it must mean the apocalypse is coming!! amps are dying around the world!!

sorry...been watching too much space channel lately...all the stuff on the apocolypse...some of it is pretty hookey...

glad you figured it out though...power tube is an easy fix!


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Swapped out said tubes and fuse, picked up a spare fuse and have 3 working power tubes as spares. Lights and sound are back, hopefully it stays that way!


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## Fader (Mar 10, 2009)

You should be able to switch to 50 watts and run with just two power tubes in a pinch, no?


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

I didn't have time to take the back plate off and see which tube was broken then google the manual on my friend's phone to see which 2 tubes would run in 50W mode


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## jimihendrix (Jun 27, 2009)

Here's the owner manual...

http://www.mesaboogie.com/manuals/Roadster.pdf


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## jimihendrix (Jun 27, 2009)

Important info on pulling two power tubes...

Messing around with your tube amp power tubes!


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## Fader (Mar 10, 2009)

Each channel of the Roadster is switchable 50/100 watts. So I would think it's OK to pull two tubes in the 50 watt mode.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Fader said:


> Each channel of the Roadster is switchable 50/100 watts. So I would think it's OK to pull two tubes in the 50 watt mode.


Yes it would be, but you'd have to know which 2 to pull - and I definitely did not have time to find that out.

I also know that you pull the outside 2 power tubes if you want to run at half power - I did this with my JSX two years ago


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## Jims (May 29, 2007)

Might be good to know which tubes to pull next time though eh? lol, glad you didn't have to re-align the main deflector after all!


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

That or finding a distortion pedal that I dial in and it is my backup sound + the singer's YCS100H. A little more expensive but a little more tone satisfactory.

And there's a Mesa V-twin pedal for sale locally...


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

Budda said:


> That or finding a distortion pedal that I dial in and it is my backup sound + the singer's YCS100H. A little more expensive but a little more tone satisfactory.
> 
> And there's a Mesa V-twin pedal for sale locally...


I use the Sansamp Tech 21 character series pedals for exactly this reason. I can dial in the British pedal to sound pretty much the same as my JTM45 and I just keep one in my bag as a backup. They make a Mesa pedal as well. These are high quality pedals with defeatable speaker simulation so you can plug them right into the PA, or use them in front of a power amp or other guitar amp. I can't say enough good things about my British pedal and if the Mesa pedal is anywhere near as good, you'll love it.


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## Jims (May 29, 2007)

Do you suffer a big tone hit when you pull the tubes/run in 50W? Or is it one of those nagging little discrepencies between what you want to hear and what actually comes out? I only ask because I would've thought your amp minus at half power would be closer to the mark than a totally different rig.

I take it that tubescreamer is no longer part of your rig; you can always take a crack at my old OD-20 if you're in Deep and feel like searching through a couple boxes in the near future LOL. I guess so long as you have a viable back-up you're good to go.


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