Mesa Amps:

Robert Herndon said:
Interesting!!!!!
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In this amp you may need to remove 2-3 parts:
just to reach a 4th part that you are trying to replace, because that part is blocked from being accessed.
Now picture if you will removing the circuit board.:pound-hand::pound-hand:...to UN-solder 1 IC chip....because there is no IC sockets.
The entire board must be removed, and the re-installed, to change 1 part.

There is no access from the opposite side of the board, until the board is removed.
Although there "could have" been a removable chassis cover; the need for such access to the solder side of the board was ignored.

It's as if:
the person who designed it believed - that it would never break, or never require servicing and parts replacement.
Of course it will break, and of course the board will need to be removed.
And to do this it will take hours of time.

1639054986946.png

Now
unsolder all the wires so you can lift the board out.
Clear the solder out of all the holes....
replace 1 part on the board...
now solder all the wires back in.
It's just about an entire days work...to change 1 bad part.

(a part which "could" have had a socket, making the replacement a 15 minute job)
No I'm not kidding. This is what it takes to repair a Mesa amp.
 
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See how the covers are removable?
Making access to BOTH sides of the board easily and quickly?
This is how ampeg USA (magnavox) designed amplifiers:
for easy quick cost efficient servicing.

1639058432353.jpeg

images


Cover removed for servicing:

images
 
eSGEe said:
in a word -- yes-- got a promotion -- running the entire company-- took over for the owner (and still doing my 2 jobs till I can hire MY replacement) so essentially doing the work of 4 people 14 hour days are the norm -- 5 days a week, on the weekends I get a break only 6-8 hours of work
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Wow, sounds rough!

Did the promotion come with an increase in pay?

What are the other two jobs you’re doing? Are they at the same place - just wearing more hats?
 
Hey guys, what do you make of this guy's description of his Triple Rect head he is selling locally to me?

2003 Mesa Triple Rectifier 150 Watt 3 Channel head with foot pedal. Single owner and kept in a smoke free home with no noticeable blemishes. It is missing the back tube cover bar but they are inexpensive on Mesas site. Not sure you could find a louder modern high gain amplifier. The amp is biased and has new 12AX7 tubes. It needs 3 new Rectifier tubes so i priced it as such. Although most people use silicone diode setting with this amp which renders the rectifier tubes obsolete.

Venture a guess at how much he is asking vs what you guys think it is worth. That part about the Rect tubes needing to be replaced troubles me.
 
Amp Mad Scientist said:
In this amp you may need to remove 2-3 parts:
just to reach a 4th part that you are trying to replace, because that part is blocked from being accessed.
Now picture if you will removing the circuit board.:pound-hand::pound-hand:...to UN-solder 1 IC chip....because there is no IC sockets.
The entire board must be removed, and the re-installed, to change 1 part.

There is no access from the opposite side of the board, until the board is removed.
Although there "could have" been a removable chassis cover; the need for such access to the solder side of the board was ignored.

It's as if:
the person who designed it believed - that it would never break, or never require servicing and parts replacement.
Of course it will break, and of course the board will need to be removed.
And to do this it will take hours of time.
Click to expand...

Ampmad, I am forever fighting this flaw in today's products. Cars that have cheap plastic clips holding stuff that takes 10 hands to undo and if you only have 2 and some tools, the stuff breaks off and leaves you cursing. ( see any of my rants about modern car repairs) Modern as in Post late 1990's like our BMW Z3. The more I tried to fix stuff, the more plastic bits I was afraid I'd break next.
 
chilipeppermaniac said:
Hey guys, what do you make of this guy's description of his Triple Rect head he is selling locally to me?

2003 Mesa Triple Rectifier 150 Watt 3 Channel head with foot pedal. Single owner and kept in a smoke free home with no noticeable blemishes. It is missing the back tube cover bar but they are inexpensive on Mesas site. Not sure you could find a louder modern high gain amplifier. The amp is biased and has new 12AX7 tubes. It needs 3 new Rectifier tubes so i priced it as such. Although most people use silicone diode setting with this amp which renders the rectifier tubes obsolete.

Venture a guess at how much he is asking vs what you guys think it is worth. That part about the Rect tubes needing to be replaced troubles me.
Click to expand...

The 5U4 rectifiers are available for like $20 each, so not a huge expense, just a hassle. If it's in otherwise great shape i'd give around $1800, allowing for the tube replacements.

That is one brutally loud amplifier. I had a 50 watt solo Recto head for a while and it was earth-shaking, can't even imagine how much air you could move with a Triple Rec
 
Robert Herndon said:
That looks like a great feature!!!!!
Click to expand...
When you are paying $$$ to have your amp fixed by a professional technician....
Would you want to work on that PC board yourself?
I don't think so.
Besides only the service center is going to have schematics and updates.

Access to both sides of the board saves days of time considering the lifespan of the amplifier / how many times will it be serviced.

I have worked on many Mesa amps; it's wildly time consuming.
 
Amp Mad Scientist said:
When you are paying $$$ to have your amp fixed by a professional technician....
Would you want to work on that PC board yourself?
I don't think so.
Besides only the service center is going to have schematics and updates.

Access to both sides of the board saves days of time considering the lifespan of the amplifier / how many times will it be serviced.

I have worked on many Mesa amps; it's wildly time consuming.
Click to expand...
The worst nightmare I would have unless I was a Mesa Owner and Had 67 plexi, Amp Mad and Ivan H on Speeddial and they had access to my credit card like a hospital would have me hooked up to a blood transfusion machine.
 
gball said:
That's a really good deal. I'd jump all over that.
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My fears are 2 fold, If something is wrong, how much is wrong and how much cost to fix? 2nd is It would likely never get full use from my novice playing.
At $500 I would definitely be in. But, not having an extra $1200 also keeps me from even entertaining it.
 
Amp Mad Scientist said:
When you are paying $$$ to have your amp fixed by a professional technician....
Would you want to work on that PC board yourself?
I don't think so.
Besides only the service center is going to have schematics and updates.

Access to both sides of the board saves days of time considering the lifespan of the amplifier / how many times will it be serviced.

I have worked on many Mesa amps; it's wildly time consuming.
Click to expand...

Right, but is that a fair comparison? That Mark 4 has multiple channels, many modes, many many options. Its a very complex instrument. That Ampeg is a very simple single-channel amp.

I get that the Mesas are difficult to work on and I buy them with eyes open, but I get what I pay for and am willing to go there for the tones and feature. If the only thing people worry about when buying an amp is how much they'll have to spend some day down the road when they have to have it serviced, well good for them, there are a lot of simple options out there, but for those of us that want what Mesa offers its pretty easy to accept that it might cost more to service. Not to mention I have been playing the things for decades and never had a failure so they have proven to be very reliable. I can't say the same for some of the other big name amps I have owned.
 
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