Ad30 help. Desperately need

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sidereal9@
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Ad30 help. Desperately need

Post by sidereal9@ » Sat Feb 24, 2018 3:59 am

Ok a few days ago I traded an SG for an AD30 combo. Plugged it in before the trade, worked fine and sounded great. Got it home and it sounded great. The next morning I decided to unplug the amps speakers and plug into my Orange PPC212 instead. I plugged into the 16ohm input. Turned amp back on and had the volume low. I played a chord and got a low db noise almost like static noise. Then the amp went silent.

I turned everything off and checked connections and turned it back on, still nothing. Today I had the music store check the HT fuse. He said it was not blown. I bought 4 el84 and installed them. I bought one 12ax7 and popped it into each slot. Still no sound.

What is my next course of action? The trader said he would give me the guitar back bit I really dig this amps tone. Is it worth exploring further cut my losses? What should I test next?

Jondog
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Re: Ad30 help. Desperately need

Post by Jondog » Sat Feb 24, 2018 4:12 am

Did an amp tech look at it? Surprised they would just say the fuse isn't blown without further investigation. I would check the fuse myself. Are all the tubes glowing? Some may be difficult to see if they are, but as long as they are the filament circuit is working. Double check all your connections from guitar to cab.
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bclaire
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Re: Ad30 help. Desperately need

Post by bclaire » Sat Feb 24, 2018 4:24 am

If it was working great the way it is I would suspect something with your cabinet. Are you positive you used a speaker cable and not an instrument cable? Just asking because that's important...

Did you switch it back to the internal speakers? Did it work then?

sidereal9@
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Re: Ad30 help. Desperately need

Post by sidereal9@ » Sat Feb 24, 2018 4:56 am

All tubes glow. I used a speaker cable and not a guitar lead. I ran my DSL into the cab to make sure the cab is working and no issues there. The amp has no sound even when I plug the internal speakers back in. The tech wasn't in shop so testing the fuse was about all the guy working could do safely.

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Re: Ad30 help. Desperately need

Post by Jondog » Sat Feb 24, 2018 9:29 am

If you have a multi-meter you can test the fuse yourself. I’d want to definitely rule that out. It’s very possible your old tubes could had developed a short or failure after being moved. Buy some fuses if you don’t have a muktimeter, akways good to have spares.
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Rlw59
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Re: Ad30 help. Desperately need

Post by Rlw59 » Sat Feb 24, 2018 10:54 am

Already replaced the power tubes and tried a new preamp tube in each position, so unlikely to be tube related.

Did nothing wrong hooking it up to the PPC212 -- but even if he had, the problem manifested immediately and at low volume. So unlikely the issue is related to that.

My guess is an intermittent bad solder joint.or an intermittent bad component.

And the seller's willingness to take it back makes me suspect he encountered the problem too and decided to get rid of the amp while it was working.

He probably had his fingers crossed and was praying while you were testing it, and hoped it would work for a few days or weeks after you took it home.

I know that if I sold/traded a perfectly healthy amp and the next day the new owner told me it doesn't work, my first thought would be "what the hell did that guy do to the amp" and I would be hesitant to take it back.

Knowing that I had sold/traded it in good faith, I'd be tempted to say "sorry buddy, the amp gave me years of perfect service with no issues -- sucks that it broke after you got it, but stuff happens. My hands are clean."

Of course it's possible the seller is a super standup guy and is willing to take it back just because. But...

Assuming it's a recurring intermittent problem, the fix might be really simple -- but the problem is that you never really know. If it starts working after you reflow a few suspect solder joints, did that fix it? Or is there a cracked resistor or loose push-on connector just waiting to vibrate and cause the problem again?

All in all, I'd return it and look for another one. It's not the only AD30 in the world.

Les Paul Lover
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Re: Ad30 help. Desperately need

Post by Les Paul Lover » Sat Feb 24, 2018 12:14 pm

I would swap it back.

Sell your guitar and buy another AD30. Fortunately, AD30 take a terrible hit when you try to sell them 2nd hand, so you should find it easy to find another one for a reasonable price.
Ant

Orange Gear: RV50 MKI, R30, AD15, PPC212
And.... Genz Benz Black Pearl 30
Past Orange: AD30TC Combo, TT, AD5


Guitars: Gibson Les Paul Standard Faded, Vigier Expert Retro 54, Gibson SG 70s Tribute, Aria Pro II RS X80, G&L ASAT Special Tribute

Jondog
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Re: Ad30 help. Desperately need

Post by Jondog » Sat Feb 24, 2018 12:17 pm

An AD30 combo isn't that common on a local trade. Looking for another one may cost more, plus shipping. If it's not the fuse, a reputable tech needs to look at it. It may be a simple fix. A push connector could of come off, don't know until it gets a look.
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sidereal9@
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Re: Ad30 help. Desperately need

Post by sidereal9@ » Sat Feb 24, 2018 2:20 pm

Thanks guys, you're right. After a 100 investment in tubes and no result it's probably better to cut my losses and get guitar back

Rlw59
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Re: Ad30 help. Desperately need

Post by Rlw59 » Sat Feb 24, 2018 4:24 pm

Well, after saying "return it" I've got to say a good argument can be made for keeping it.

Imagine if it had worked perfectly for months. You'd take it to a tech. You might not be happy, but you know any amp can break down.

Or imagine you return it and find a different one. Or get some other type of amp entirely. Or swap your guitar for a different guitar. Any of those things might end up malfunctioning. Maybe worse than the AD30 -- the truss rod on the new guitar might snap the first time you adjust it, or the new Marshall might have its output transformer melt.

And then the nice seller who's willing to take back the amp? Maybe he feels screwed because the amp really never did give him problems, so he does something nasty to your guitar. Like floss his butt crack with the neck, or spray a light dusting of bug repellent inside the case so the nitro finish slowly melts after you get it home.

Life is full of crappy decisions, where either choice might be the wrong one.

sidereal9@
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Re: Ad30 help. Desperately need

Post by sidereal9@ » Sat Feb 24, 2018 5:23 pm

Well I found my old cheap multimeter. I don't know a whole lot about meters but there is a diode setting that displays OL. When I test the fuse on that it reads 0.00

Now at 200 ohm setting it reads .4 there is no continuity setting unless that's what the diode symbol does

Jondog
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Re: Ad30 help. Desperately need

Post by Jondog » Sat Feb 24, 2018 5:41 pm

Touch the leads together on the ohm setting and then touch each end of the fuse. Should read the same thing on the meter if the fuse is good. Also, did you change the Rectifier tube, GZ34? That would cut power to the whole amp circuit if it is no good. Really need someone to measure voltages in the amp.
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sidereal9@
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Re: Ad30 help. Desperately need

Post by sidereal9@ » Sat Feb 24, 2018 5:49 pm

Rectifier tube I couldn't locate in store on the 200 ohm setting its matching.i wish I could add pics but they are to big for the forum lol

Jondog
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Re: Ad30 help. Desperately need

Post by Jondog » Sat Feb 24, 2018 6:02 pm

To post pics you need to upload them to a host site like Imgur or Dropbox, then take the link from there and use the insert image function (picture icon) when you write a post and insert the link between the [IMG] tags in the post.
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Rlw59
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Re: Ad30 help. Desperately need

Post by Rlw59 » Sat Feb 24, 2018 6:17 pm

After reading some other "AD30 problem" threads, I got the impression the AD30 has two fuses? External mains fuse which would shut everything down if it blew (including heater filaments and pilot lamp) and an internal HT fuse mounted on the circuit board which would give the symptoms described if it blew?

If so, the HT usually blows when a power tube fails. So it might be an easy cheap fix and the new quad of EL84's might not be a waste.

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