diagnosing a tube amp

[BrokenJera]

i bought a peavey delta blues amp from a fried of mine. he said the amp worked great and sounded good untill a trip back from vegas and now it doesnt work.

i only paid 250 for it but i need some help figureing out whats wrong. the amp turns on but no sound comes out. using the external cab out still gets no sound. the speaker cone looks perfect. any ideas on what could be the problem. this is my first all tube amp so im kind of in the dark here.

[HDJ]

I can't help much, but I learned this trick a while back to figure out if the problem is in the pre-amp section or the power-amp section.

I'm not familiar with that amp, but if it has an effects loop, plug your guitar straight into the return of the loop instead of the main input (don't plug anything into the send). This bypasses the pre-amp section. If you get sound then the problem is in the pre-amp section....If you don't get sound, the problem is most likely in the power-amp section of the amp, but could be both.

I'd recommend taking it to get checked out by a pro though.

[strat-man]

Sounds like a power valve issue, if your not well versed in the workings of valve amps i recommend you have a tech take a look at it.

[Kevin Taylor]

Yeah... if kicking it doesn't help, it's time to let somebody who knows what they're doing take a look at it.

About the only thing I would do is check the speakers to see if they're blown.
Just press down on the cone. If it sounds scratchy or doesn't move in and out smoothly, chances are it's burned out.

You used to be able to take tubes in to have them tested at the local hardware store, but I guess that was back in the dark ages when everything used tubes.

[BrokenJera]

a little update on things.

i called 13 music/ guitar stores today and not a single one of them repairs amps. so tomorrow ill keep calling someone has to fix them. the other option ive had thrown at me is to call my grandfather and see if he can help out some. he used to be a rescue diver and had the old tube based two way raidos for years so well see.

i live in the sf bay area. with all the guitar players around here youd think someone could fix a tube amp.

[strat-man]

a little update on things.

i called 13 music/ guitar stores today and not a single one of them repairs amps. so tomorrow ill keep calling someone has to fix them. the other option ive had thrown at me is to call my grandfather and see if he can help out some. he used to be a rescue diver and had the old tube based two way raidos for years so well see.

i live in the sf bay area. with all the guitar players around here youd think someone could fix a tube amp.

I feel your pain buddy, no amp tech's or guitar luthiers within two counties of where i live so i've had to learn to do it myself.

[Lordathestrings]

The Delta Blues is notorious for loose tube sockets. Put on a pair of heavy gloves and gently wiggle the tubes a little bit to see if the sound comes back. You will still need a decent tech to re-tension the sockets, but at least you can narrow down the problem.

[greg1775]

a little update on things.

i called 13 music/ guitar stores today and not a single one of them repairs amps. so tomorrow ill keep calling someone has to fix them. the other option ive had thrown at me is to call my grandfather and see if he can help out some. he used to be a rescue diver and had the old tube based two way raidos for years so well see.

i live in the sf bay area. with all the guitar players around here youd think someone could fix a tube amp.


Hi there I am new here,
why don't you check the easiest thing-fuses( there may be one in a plug and inside the amp)in case the amp is totally dead
Can You hear any sound from inside like buzz?(I am talking about transformers)
I will just replace valves 80% chances it is going to work
good luck

[BrokenJera]

i have an update.

the amp was still under warrenty so i sent it back to peavey it should arrive there next monday.

thanks to everyone for all the help.

[Lordathestrings]

When it's fixed, be sure to post what the problem was.