My Mesa F50 amp makes a chimming noise..

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ericlingus

New member
so I just noticed right now that my amp I just bought a couple weeks ago started to make a chiming noise when I play. It comes through the speakers. It's wierd. Sounds like light metal hitting against something if you know what I mean. Like a chime. Can't really describe it more than that. Arg i'm very fustrated with this amp. I think i'm going to return it.
 
I'm not even sure what to tell you anymore. If there is something wrong it could've come from treating your amp like an eskimo and dressing it in it's wintertime finest. You may have burned something up. But I've heard that noise plenty of times and every time is was the way the guitar player was playing. Just take it back and deal with the Behringer, it'll be easier on all of us.
 
ericlingus said:
so I just noticed right now that my amp I just bought a couple weeks ago started to make a chiming noise when I play. It comes through the speakers. It's wierd. Sounds like light metal hitting against something if you know what I mean. Like a chime. Can't really describe it more than that. Arg i'm very fustrated with this amp. I think i'm going to return it.
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Ya, you need to retube.

Pull out the tubes and shake them next to your ear. It will sound like grains of salt. That is the filaments. Time for new tubes.

(edit)
lmfao @ eskimo
Ya, that is probably what did it.
 
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Yeah listen to outlaws, I've only had a tube amp a short while, but I have heard noises like that come from solid state amps, probably a different noise though. Just remember your amp isn't that hard to change tubes on, Mesa having the whole fixed bias thing means you just need to get some Mesa replacements and plug them back in. Remember for that sweet tube sound it's gonna cost you, not just in initial price, but in general maintenance.
 
well that's a problem seeing how I don't have much money. Especially after buying this damn amp and all my other studio stuff. My room unfortunately gets pretty hot during the summer. I'll try and keep it as cool as possible but I can't have an air conditioner in this house because it's a piece of shit and has 1910 wiring in it still. My parents sure picked a great house..Guess I can't complain, I could always move out. I didn't realize tube amps got so damn hot. I mean even now that I have the amp ventilating a lot more, i'll still have to turn it off and let it cool down pretty often. I'm thinking abotu getting this peavey transtube amp. It's a hybrid. I came close to buying it over the mesa. I really liked the sound of it. It's a half stack too. The cab is a 5150. So I could have the cab in my closet and the head right next to me. It's the same price as my mesa was. I'm considering it. I could always return it and go back to my mesa if I decide I don't like it as much. But when I played it in guitar center for a little while I really liked it. It did sound pretty tubish. I won't have to worry about this shit with the mesa either. I'm not sure though. I can always buy a cab for the mesa in the future and have like a fan blowing on the mesa amp while it's on. What temp is right for using a tube amp? It can get like 75 degrees in this room during the summer. Sometimes even hotter.
 
as far as the replacement tubes, yeah I know they are easy to deal with. It's just the money and whole process that annoys me. Not only do I have to worry about changing strings on my guitar, I also have to worry about tubes now. It's a bit much for someone that doesn't have a lot of money. Also, I don't think guitar center has them in the store, so they will have to order them so i'll be without an amp for probably a week or so, which sucks. UGH!
 
yeah I think it's hotter than that. I'm stupid. It probably does get up to that in the summer. I'm seriously considering getting that peavey. It sounded great to me.
 
ericlingus said:
well that's a problem seeing how I don't have much money. Especially after buying this damn amp and all my other studio stuff. My room unfortunately gets pretty hot during the summer. I'll try and keep it as cool as possible but I can't have an air conditioner in this house because it's a piece of shit and has 1910 wiring in it still. My parents sure picked a great house..Guess I can't complain, I could always move out. I didn't realize tube amps got so damn hot. I mean even now that I have the amp ventilating a lot more, i'll still have to turn it off and let it cool down pretty often. I'm thinking abotu getting this peavey transtube amp. It's a hybrid. I came close to buying it over the mesa. I really liked the sound of it. It's a half stack too. The cab is a 5150. So I could have the cab in my closet and the head right next to me. It's the same price as my mesa was. I'm considering it. I could always return it and go back to my mesa if I decide I don't like it as much. But when I played it in guitar center for a little while I really liked it. It did sound pretty tubish. I won't have to worry about this shit with the mesa either. I'm not sure though. I can always buy a cab for the mesa in the future and have like a fan blowing on the mesa amp while it's on. What temp is right for using a tube amp? It can get like 75 degrees in this room during the summer. Sometimes even hotter.
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You don't have to baby a tube amp to keep it in good shape. You just have to avoid abusing it. I've left a tube amp on outside in the garage in 85 degree weather for 8 to 10 hours and never had a heat problem. Just don't ever wrap the thing up so that there is no air flow at all. Closed up in a closet isn't too great in itself either...
If you bought a tube amp used, it could be that the tubes were on their last leg anyway, and your heat frenzy just finished them off. In the absence of that sort of abuse you should be able to keep your tubes for potentially years with no problems. Owning a tube amp is not that hard!
 
If it was me, I would take the amp back and tell them they owed you some new tubes, because it started sounding like shit this soon after your purchase. Who knows, they might cave in and try to make you happy?
I wouldn't tell them about the eskimo party tho.
 
Well honestly if you do take the Mesa back don't go off on how this went wrong and that went wrong because there is always the possiblility that they'll tell you it was user error and they won't take it back. So just tell them you didn't like the tone(after which they'll probably look at you like you have two heads). If you can't afford the maintenance then just get solid state. I'd have to say though that after putting my Mesa thru its first real recording paces I will not use anything else in my arsenal. It honestly gave me that wow effect I've always wanted.

It figures Metalhead would barely beat me to it, listen to his advice and yeah, the eskimo part should be left out.
 
I live in AZ and it gets up to 110-112 almost every day here in the summer. It gets hotter (115-118), but those are only once or twice a year.

I played with many tube amps in open garages with nothing more than a fan blowing on me (not the amp). I would venture to say it was 100 inside the garage.

The amp needs air. Not neccessarily cool air, just air. ie: not a closet with stuff wrapped up around it.

Tubes, if properly taken care of, should last more than a year...easily.

The tubes were probably on their way out anyways....that just sped up the process a little.

Also, the amp should get hot. Thats a fact or tubes. Every amp I have had will heat up the immediate area aound the tubes....including the top of the amp.
 
I have a 30 day guarantee on it. They will take it back. I talked to them on the phone. I didn't mention the eskimo thing(lol). I'm pretty sure it's the tubes anyhow. It was used. I seriously considering that paevey half stack. Or i'll just get the replacement tubes and wait about a week till they arrive at guitar center. It'll be a shitty week for me though. As far as wraping it up like that. Yeah never again. I only did it for a couple hours though. It's still hard to beleive that could have burnt the tubes out.
 
The peavey is a XXL transtube head(400 bucks used) for a 5150 cab(500 bucks used). Anyone ever hear these things? I liked the sound a lot plus it's more veritile than the mesa.
 
ericlingus said:
I have a 30 day guarantee on it. They will take it back. I talked to them on the phone. I didn't mention the eskimo thing(lol). I'm pretty sure it's the tubes anyhow. It was used. I seriously considering that paevey half stack. Or i'll just get the replacement tubes and wait about a week till they arrive at guitar center. It'll be a shitty week for me though. As far as wraping it up like that. Yeah never again. I only did it for a couple hours though. It's still hard to beleive that could have burnt the tubes out.
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Get new tubes. A week for you might seem like forever for a teen, but really a week is nothing. Not worth down grading amps over.

Vox AC30 amps are notorious for needing new tubes because they are poorly designed. They don't let air flow into the area of the tubes well so they over heat. Be happy you don't have a taste for the Vox tone. Its an expensive taste.

A couple hours is a long time. The inside of an amp can act like an easy bake oven. So if you block off all the air coming into it, then image that over a couple hours. There won't be much left. Count yourself as luck that things didn't get seriously bad.
 
Imagine laying in a tanning bed with blankets stuffing all the cracks. Its probably close to what your amp felt like. If you go back to the Peavey you'll be taking a step back. You'll be back to that digital sounding distortion. And don't be fooled by the one preamp tube, I have a hybrid amp and all it really is, is solid state with a tube inside, it doesn't at all give me that tube break up that I longed for.
 
Dude

ericlingus said:
as far as the replacement tubes, yeah I know they are easy to deal with. It's just the money and whole process that annoys me. Not only do I have to worry about changing strings on my guitar, I also have to worry about tubes now. It's a bit much for someone that doesn't have a lot of money. Also, I don't think guitar center has them in the store, so they will have to order them so i'll be without an amp for probably a week or so, which sucks. UGH!
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Take it back and get a Peavey tube amp, they will even hand you $400 in return you can get a cab with...
 
Don't go transtube

ericlingus said:
The peavey is a XXL transtube head(400 bucks used) for a 5150 cab(500 bucks used). Anyone ever hear these things? I liked the sound a lot plus it's more veritile than the mesa.
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Go full tube, Valveking
 
yeah i'm probably just going to get the replacement tubes. They have the same amp there new but the 30 watt version. It's about the same price I beleive. 30 watts is still plenty enough for me. I don't even play live and if I did i'm sure the 30 watts could handle it because my 50 watt one is rediculous. I could always mic it anyways.
 
I don't believe they have a valve king there. I'll look out for it though. I'm pretty sure i'll go back to the mesa though. Although I really do like that peavey.
 
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