Derrick1642607670 Posted June 23, 2008 Author Share Posted June 23, 2008 Sorry I haven't been around the forums lately, but luckily everything went semi ok. I contacted Vox again and they basically word for word said Guitar Center is a Pita as soon as the product leaves their doors. I took it to the next closest "official repair shop" which after lots of forgetting they had possesion of the amp and what not had the amp fixed the night before I needed it for a gig. The problem is that apparently the problem (blown tube) is NOT covered in the warranty. I was told originally from GC the whole amp is 1 year through vox and 30 through GC. Now apparently it is 30 days footswitch, 30 days speakers, and the tubes are a mystery? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miroslav Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 As you found out, it does pay to have at least some spare tubes on hand, and some spare fuses. But I agree with you...for a basically "new" amp...GC or Vox should pony-up and replace the tube for free. That's pretty lame on their part. miroslav - miroslavmusic.com "Just because it happened to you, it doesn't mean it's important." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fantasticsound Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Tubes are not covered by the manufacturers warranty although usually the store or manufacturer will pony-up if it's a ridiculously short time. 30 days is certainly a ridiculously short time for a tube. This is not uncommon. Your car warranty does not cover tires, air filter, oil filter, etc. that are expected to wear although the tire company may have their own warranty. But unusual wear that can't be attributed to misuse (in other words, a defect) is generally handled by someone involved as good customer service, but they're not required to do so unless your state has specific laws in place regarding warranties above and beyond what is stated by the manufacuturer. The addage, "The squeaky wheel gets the grease." certainly applies when dealing with any company regarding fair recompense for unusual expenses for repair irregardless of the stated warranty. Speak up again and maybe you'll get something free or money back from Vox. It's easiest to find me on Facebook. Neil Bergman Soundclick fntstcsnd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianWren Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 ...If it blows again you need to stop & take it to a specialist; if its under warranty talk to the store you bought it at. Do not attempt to open up the amp yourself. ...Dont mean to hijack the thread, but if everyone followed this rule, wouldn't we run out of experts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianWren Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Truth be told, this reminds me a LOT of the symptoms of rectifier-tube issues that a friend of mine had with his Vox AC30TBX. Sounds a lot like it may well be the rectifier-tube has gone.You cna easily rule out all the tubes: Just remove them all, and see if the fuse blows. If not, plug in the rectifier. It the fuse blows then, then you know the problem is in the power supply. If not, plug in the small signal tubes, and so on down the line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickygclef Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 ...If it blows again you need to stop & take it to a specialist; if its under warranty talk to the store you bought it at. Do not attempt to open up the amp yourself. ...Dont mean to hijack the thread, but if everyone followed this rule, wouldn't we run out of experts? Well he's right... First of all it's extremely dangerous to open up even an unplugged tube amp due to leftover voltage, especially if you don't know what you're doing. Besides why should he even mess with something that is pretty new and should definitely be handled by the dealer or the manufacturer? Derrick, I agree with what fantasticsound, Miroslav and others have said. Try to go through Vox in a nice but persistent way. This is an unusually short time to have a problem like this. Even if it isn't covered by warranty, the company should be willing to pony up and stand behind their product. They shouldn't be placing blame on GC since it is ultimately their product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianWren Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 I'm not saying he should mess with it. I'm only saying that if it were a carte blanch rule to never open the equipment unless you are a specialist, then there would be no specialists before very long. I've never seen a piece of tube equipment (from a table-top radio on up) that doesn't have a bleeder resistor across the filter capacitor. If someone is uncomfortable opening the thing up, then by all means, staying out is perfectly viable. But if they want to learn how to fix stuff, then I think making a very cautious foray into the bowels is not a priori off the table, that's all. Of course, when its under warrantee, there are all sorts of good reasons to tak ethe easy way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miroslav Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Well...replacing fuses and tubes doesn't require you to open up the amp (in most cases)maybe just remove the back grill on some amps. If you don't feel comfortable doing a simple tube/fuse swap...then by all means take it to an amp tech. But those two items are pretty easy to replaceand something everyone should know how to do for those times when you cant wait for a trip to the shopor to save yourself some $$$ on simple, basic fixes. If you have to rebias the power tubessome amps make even that safe and easy to do. For the ones that require you to go under the hoodyeah, you have to be careful where you stick that screwdriver, but they do have special tube socket probes that make even that operation fairly safe. It just takes a little electronic knowledge and following safe procedures. miroslav - miroslavmusic.com "Just because it happened to you, it doesn't mean it's important." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 "...the problem (blown tube)..." Which tube, or tubes, were bad? Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derrick1642607670 Posted June 26, 2008 Author Share Posted June 26, 2008 Rectifier, I wouldn't have a problem with them not covering the tubes but I wish I would have been told that instead of the "amp" has ninety days warrenty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 Hey, Derrick- If you want to eliminate the chance of your Vox having its rectifier-tube fail again like that in the future, replace the rectifier-tube with a SS Weber Copper Cap replacement rectifier (plugs into the tube socket just like a tube). Weber Copper Cap Rectifiers You'll never have to replace this rectifier, either, and you can get one that acts just like the tube-rectifier would- imparting a little "sag" to the amp's output when pushed hard. Or, if tight, clean, bold and aggressive is what you want, you can get a SS rectifier for that kind of performance, as well. You can tailor the feel of the amp this way, and weber will even make custom-spec rectifiers for you to your order! Please note that this does NOT in any way change your amp to a SS kind of design or sound; no signal goes through the rectifier tube (or a SS rectifier), it just works as part of the power-supply. Classic, vintage "blackface" Fender Twin Reverbs, most Marshalls, etc. all use SS rectifiers, as an example... While I'm sorry that you had any trouble at all, and that the warranty deal has left you cold, I must admit that I'm kinda psyched to have nailed it when I figured it to be the rectifier-tube failing you there! I did have a friend who had the same symptoms occur with his Vox AC30TBX, after all, though... Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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