My amp died :(

Patricide

Ok had my klystron for less than a year and its after dieing on me today, i just want to know what are my options now, i should be under warrenty right?

Someone console me, im going nuts....too much saving to have gone to waste if i dont. :(

Royale with Cheese

Where did you get it? I emailed Ashdown about an amp and they just fobbed me off and told me to contact the place where I bought it.

Yakult

NO BARRY NO!!!!!!!!!!!!

Did you check the fuse etc?

Music4life

Are you sure its dead?:(:eek::(

The D.C Swan

There is an amp heaven:rolleyes:

Patricide

yea checked the fuse everything, the amp is dead . Arent ashdown under law obliged to take it abck if its under warrenty, am i right here on this.

Royale with Cheese

I think it's only under warranty if you registered it when you bought it. I got mine from musicmaker, who are an official dealer of theirs, so they want musicmaker to handle anything that's wrong with it.

Brought it into musicmaker who were happy enough to repair it for free but they then denied there's anything wrong with it (hums loudly enough without anything plugged into it, gets worse with higher volume + the valve drive does bloody nothing).

Hopefully if you get on to Ashdown they'd take it back. They'll probably take you more seriously than they took me since yours just plain doesn't work.

boycey

I think youre 'contract' is with the seller i.e. the shop or online store you bought it from. They deal with Ashdown rather than you. I could be talking through my arse though! One of the consumer boards would be full of info on this kind of thing. Good luck, hope it works out.

Dord

Are the valves glowing?

Alanstrainor

ye as boycey said the contract is with the seller not ashdown, still that's really gay, what exactly do you mean by dead, not turning on? sounds very werid, could be fixed though i wouldn't give up on it yet. Most of these things have a years warranty i'd go in and talk with the seller first. Hope all works out well with it!

Voodu Child

It should have at least a 1 year warranty, possibly more, depends from product to product.

Though, as said above, if you didn't send in your warranty card and proof of purchase within 10 (or whatever) days of purchase, they could rightfully decide not to honour it.

First port of call is where you bought it.

Karl Hungus

It's not dead, it's just resting. It's probably tired and shagged out after a long squawk.

unclebill98

Go back to the point of purchase with your registration card. I did with a Ashdown cab and they simple looked at my receipt, took it off me and I got it back the following week in fixed. It was a very small problem but MM where easy to deal with. It could simple need re-tubing.

Don't bother with Ashdown directly.

Patricide

Damm, i didnt register my amp back then, i think i was just a bit too obsessed playing it back then to do it . No, no tubes are glowing or anything like that. Got it from guitarbargains.com anyone have any experiance with returns from these guys before.

feylya

Check the internal fuse or, more safely, get a leccie to do it. That's probably gone.

Eoin Madsen

Patricide wrote: »

yea checked the fuse everything, the amp is dead . Arent ashdown under law obliged to take it abck if its under warrenty, am i right here on this.

What fuse did you check? Amps have fuses in them, so it's practically impossible to blow the fuse in the plug. You can usually change the amp fuses from the fuse holders at the back of the amp.

If it's a manufacturers warranty, then get back to Ashdown. If it's a retailers warranty then it's with the shop. Your statutory rights are with the shop but may not be applicable in this case anyway. How much less than a year are we talking about?

Patricide

Ok, il check the fuse at the back of the amp now so. fingers crossed.

Eoin Madsen

If it's a high wattage valve amp, there's usually two, but in this case it would be the "mains" fuse if the amp is totally dead. The fuse almost has to be blown - the real question is whether or not it was a once off surge that blew it or a short which will recur as soon as you replace the fuse. You'll need to buy time delayed (glass) fuses to replace it. I'd suggest bringing the old fuse into Maplin (note the Amp rating of fuse required for 230v - it should say it under the fuse holder). You can get a pack of 10 for about 3 euros.

Make sure the amp is in standby when you power it up again. Whether the fuse blows immediately or after you click it out of standby is important in diagnosing the cause.

punchdrunk

under irish law everything sold here has a one year retailers warranty,not sure about guitar bargains?
ashdown should honour the warranty but they might make you go back through guitar bargains to get an RMA number

Fingers Mcginty

Eoin Madsen wrote: »

What fuse did you check? Amps have fuses in them, so it's practically impossible to blow the fuse in the plug. You can usually change the amp fuses from the fuse holders at the back of the amp.

If it's a manufacturers warranty, then get back to Ashdown. If it's a retailers warranty then it's with the shop. Your statutory rights are with the shop but may not be applicable in this case anyway. How much less than a year are we talking about?

That's true The internal fuse will be at a lower rating than the plug fuse so the internal one will blow first. The fuse in my old hot rod deluxe blew it's 1.6 amp internal fuse. I replaced it and no hassle afterwards.

Seziertisch

If I am not hugely mistaken, there was a new EU law a few years ago giving you a two year warranty on all new products. If you don't feel comfortable fiddling in the innards of your amp, just go back to the shop with proof of purchase (receipt or credit card statement of whatever).

Seziertisch

All 25 EU Member States have implemented Directive 1999/44/EC on the sale of consumer goods and associated guarantees, which provides for a minimum level of consumer protection. As a result of this legislation, consumers have a right to a minimum guarantee of two years on products. Within the first six months of the guarantee any lack of conformity shall be presumed to have existed at the time of delivery, unless proved otherwise. Within this period the consumer is entitled to have the goods brought back into conformity. The consumer is entitled to ask for the goods to be repaired or replaced free of charge.

Also important for consumers is that after this period of six months they are still protected against faulty products. Within two years from delivery of the goods the trader can still be held liable for any lack of conformity. However, it is then up to the consumer to prove that the lack of conformity existed at the time of delivery.
In Ireland the implementation of Directive 1999/44/EC is in addition to existing protection granted by the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980 and the Unfair Terms Regulations 1995. Under the Statute of limitations, the trader can be held liable for up to six years for lack of conformity of the product.

Some added protection offered by Directive 1999/44 includes:

a.The liability of retailers for statements made on the specific characteristics of the goods.

b.The reduction of the price of the good as a remedy open to consumers in certain circumstances.

c.The liability of retailers in relation to incorrect installation of the goods even when the goods are installed by the consumer following inappropriate instructions.

d. If the goods have a guarantee, consumers will have a right to obtain a written guarantee at the time of purchase with the details on how to make a claim under the warranty, the duration of the guarantee and the territorial scope.

Yakult

Seeing as patricide aint here to give ye the news, its working again.

It seemed the amp fuse wasnt in place, and the fact that Im good luck helped him . Patricide can confirm the lucky part lol!

But yeah, its good news all around!

unclebill98

great to hear its working. You'll only get the Ashdown 2 year warranty if you reg'd the thing when you bought. You'll know next time!!

Dord

Glad to hear it's working again!

Patricide

Ok bearer of bad news, the amp is dead again, turns out it wasnt the fuse but it did work for 10 mins earlier. Came back from town to sit down and play some bass and now im back to square 1.

on top of that got an e mail back from ashdown telling me basicly to sod off and knock up guitarbargains............great. This whole experiance is really tarnishin the ashdown name for me........tarnishing it bad.

unclebill98

What was Ashdowns respsonse???

Yakult

Patricide wrote: »

Ok bearer of bad news, the amp is dead again, turns out it wasnt the fuse but it did work for 10 mins earlier. Came back from town to sit down and play some bass and now im back to square 1.

on top of that got an e mail back from ashdown telling me basicly to sod off and knock up guitarbargains............great. This whole experiance is really tarnishin the ashdown name for me........tarnishing it bad.

Ah nuts

That leads me to think its the amp fuse holder. If it worked when we put it back it and then cut out again it has to be that.

And yeah, thats really ****ty customer service. Wouldnt convince me to ever get an Ashdown.

Patricide

nope, no beating that tone but god damm, friggen assholes. They were quick to my responces though to basicly tell me to shove it up my........well you get the idea.

Dord

Damn, that sucks. I blew a speaker in an ashdown combo before but I bought it in Musicmaker and they sorted it out pretty snappy. Thankfully I didn't have to deal with Ashdown.

Eoin Madsen

Patricide wrote: »

Ok bearer of bad news, the amp is dead again, turns out it wasnt the fuse but it did work for 10 mins earlier. Came back from town to sit down and play some bass and now im back to square 1.

on top of that got an e mail back from ashdown telling me basicly to sod off and knock up guitarbargains............great. This whole experiance is really tarnishin the ashdown name for me........tarnishing it bad.

Some manufacturers will go above and beyond, but it really isn't their responsibility to be fair. Call or email the shop and see what they say.

So what exactly happened with the amp? You took the fuse out, put it back in and it worked for 10 minutes and then main power went again? Or did it just fail to come on when you tried it again later? When it originally went did it go during play or just not turn on all of a sudden?

Yakult

Eoin Madsen wrote: »

Some manufacturers will go above and beyond, but it really isn't their responsibility to be fair. Call or email the shop and see what they say.

Personally I think it is.

Its there product, not the shops. the only distributes their product.
Im surprised their being such bitches about it tbh.

But at the same time, you should be able to sort it out through the shop you bought it at.

Alanstrainor

R_H_C_P wrote: »

Personally I think it is.

But as already stated, your contract is with the shop, not with the manufacturer, despite the problem quite obviously wasn't caused by the shop, things would get crazy if you had to go to the manufacturer to sort out issues. Sorry OP, there was me thinking it was sorted.

Yakult

^I guess thats true.

Eoin Madsen

I meant legally etc. It comes back to the manufacturer in the end anyway, but there's a correct chain of responsibility/liability. The consumer and manufacturer are at opposite ends of it. Things get chaotic when one party cuts across the responsibility of another.

For example: I had an AD/DA converter with a component fault, which I contacted the manufacturer about (initially to establish if there was or wasn't a fault, which the retailer wouldn't have been able to say). Being a smallish company, they asked me to send it directly to them for repair, which I did. Everything was grand with the repair and they were good to deal with. But they were unsure at first about covering my return shipping, and the lack of correct procedure etc made it tricky to negotiate/demand this. In theory, for a repair under a warranty agreement it would fall on me to cover that. Had I been exercising my statutory rights instead (goods sold by retailer not of merchantible quality etc), the retailer would have been obliged to cover everything and claim the costs from the manufactuer. In this case the manufacturer covered it anyway so it was fine. But the greater question now is: do I still have any rights with the retailer if something else comes up? I trust the company to look after me (reputation is leverage with small companies) so I'm not overly worried about it, but there's definitely a grey area opened up there with regards to responsibility.

Patricide

Went up to musicmaker and they said they wont fix anything that isnt bought in there so looks like its gonna have to be shipped off to guitar bargains, Argh. back to the e mailing with me.

As for what happened i took out the fuse(the one in the amp not the plug) put it back in and it worked perfectly, went into town came home to play some bass and it was back to square 1 , i.e. that it appeared to be on but wasnt getting any input from my bass.

Eoin Madsen

Wait... what do you mean by "appeared to be on"? Is it powering up? Cause it's not a mains fuse issue at all if there's any power going to it. What exact model of amp is this?

If the shop are prepared to play ball then that's probably the safest bet anyway.

Patricide

Its powering up alright so what i thought happened was that the fuse was lose but yea i figured it wasnt a power problem alright. probrably just the input jack.

Eoin Madsen

Okay. Well, the mains fuse is on the live, so if it's loose or dead, the amp would just be dead. The only way you could be getting partial power is if the HT fuse blew. Which would be like being stuck in standby. But that wouldn't manifest as intermittency either so I imagine you're not looking at a fuse problem at all, and playing with the fuse was just coincidental.

So I gather the power light is coming on, right? There's a couple of preamp valves in the Klystron - are the filaments lighting up when the amp is on?

shanejunkin

Does any of you guys know someone who can repair old valve amps? I have a Vox AC30/6 that died also, I'm afraid to go near it myself.

Eoin Madsen

There are a few places around apparently, someone else should be able to link you. I do my own repairs. I've done one or two bits for other people as well, but stuff can go wrong and the lack of insurance issue would worry me. If you haven't spent a lot of time reading up on it, you'd be right not to go near it anyway. The insides can be unsafe even when the amp is off!

shanejunkin

Yeah, I have a bit of a background in electronic and know that the kind of circuitry that I'm dealing with can easily store a lot of charge in a lot of places, that's why it's hands off for me!... drop me a line if you come up with any suggestions of someone willing to have a look at this for me, I'm desperate to get it back up and running.

Eoin Madsen

What are its symptoms?

shanejunkin

A while back I had one or two valves repaired and everything was fine. Unfortunately, with the amp turned on someone changed the voltage dial (I think there are five or six voltage options) and the amp wouldn't turn back on. I took it to the repair guy and he found that the fuse just after the voltage dial was blown. So, I replaced it. Unfortunately this didn't rectify the problem, it turned out that the transformer was also blown. So, I took it to another repair company to source a transformer. They did source a transformer but informed me that when they installed it that the "amp started smoking" and they turned it off and returned it to me. That was Walton's in Dublin, bunch of eejits.
I suspect that they wired the transformer up incorrectly.

Eoin Madsen

Messy. What was the original problem? Valves are completely irreparable, so they could only have been replaced if there was a problem with them. And replacing them is routine anyway.

Did Waltons charge you to replace the transformer??

shanejunkin

Originally the amp just sounded crackly so I got the valves replaced. From then it was OK but then I blew the transformer. Then enter Walton's.

No, they didn't charge me. The [EMAIL="b@stards"]b@stards[/EMAIL], I should have charged them!

Seziertisch

Have a search around online. There seems to be a fairly widely held belief that the transformer plays a huge role in the sound of the amp. Mercury Magnetics get mentioned quite a bit as producers of excellent replacement transformers, which perform similar to the originals in older amps. I think they make one specifically for the AC 30 as well. I don't think they are that expensive either.

Eoin Madsen

The output transformer plays a huge part in the sound. The importance of the power transformer (beyond it having the correct voltage and current handling) is subject to much debate. It's certainly not as important as the OT.

Yeah, I dunno... MMs are more expensive than most. I would definitely do some reading on their characteristics before deciding to get one for either PT or OT. I've never really been sold on them from what I've heard about them.

Power transformers don't just burn out or blow for no reason, and certainly not two in a row. I'd be inclined to assume that there's something else wrong before jumping to the conclusion that the repair guy in Walton's was inept. Installing a PT is not rocket science. :pac: Find the problem before you drop in another transformer.