Mesa Boogie Died . . . Ideas?

[toadmeister]

Hello. This evening I was playing my Mark III Simulclass at a moderate level (about 2 on the master volume) and all of a sudden it stuttered made a crackling sound and a yellow-orange arc came out the back and I lost all power. (The fuse is still intact)

I replaced the tubes about 6 weeks ago and have had no problems. This amp has been babied and has been well taken care of.

Does anyone have any ideas about what could have occurred. I am thinking power transformer. I thank you in advance for any and all opinions.

Sincerely,

ToadMeister

[sumgai]

TM,

Welcome to the forums (even if it's been a "few" days )!

My first bet would still be one of the tubes. There's no reason to suspect a bad transformer that worked fine for years, then suddenly blew up just because you replaced a tube or two. And for the most part, a fat spark (what you saw) won't easily escape the shell around most transformers, particularly the better quality ones like your Mesa has.

That's not to say that other parts couldn't also have gone bad (including said tranny) along with the tube(s), that happens all the time. The next thing I'd inspect closely would be the tube sockets, lots of opportunity here for jumping flames!

If you're not a qualified tech, get yer rig down to one pronto, and tell him/her what you told us. If you bought the tubes at a place that also repairs gear, so much the better. Cry on their sholder about tube warranties and such, and see what happens. (Always works better than yelling at them)

HTH


sumgai

[toadmeister]

Sumgai,

Thank your for your response. I am currently lookng for a good technician here in the desert. Hopefully I can find someone soon.

Thanks again,

ToadMeister