Watching you and the other top techs discuss these inherit problems of Mesa is really great for guys without your knowledge. It helps steer us towards more reliable amps and I gigged Fender for over thirty years from blonde to silver face and never had a breakdown at a gig. Thanks for posting.
I made a smart ass comment about these caps and tone on the previous video that I think was deleted, but I really have seen people try and excuse away the 400v rated caps that see 500-600v on them in Mesa’s as a choice that was made in the factory for tone. Sorry to you and the customer for having to replace these as a preventative measure but I’m sure you went into this job knowing stuff like that would need to happen to some degree anyway.
Have you played the HX stomp through many power amps? I’m just curious how you set up the HX for it. …not super related to the video… but you have very experienced ears 👂 so I’d like to know your thoughts.
Thanks. Pretty basic, Placater model with the output section kept clean, added a little mod delay, no cab or IR because of the real speakers and mic here, plate reverb, and rolling off above 6K and below 30Hz. This was at instrument (-30dV) output level but I did confirm everything was working at -10dB output as well.
Was the standby switch switching AC or DC? I presume that the purpose of the cap was to protect the switch from arcing, and/or prevent pops when taking the amp out of standby. A 400 volt cap is presumably lower-rated than the DC working voltage B+ in the amp. Coupling caps will of course absolutely fail when there's 120VAC on them; they need 600 volt rating at minimum, and a 1KV X or Y class cap would make more sense. For purposes of proecting a 120VAC on-off switch, a "spark killer", a coupling cap with a series resistor built in, was once common in 70's-80's audio equipment, but those devices were rated foor 230VAC and I dont know if they'll work to protect the switch at 450 volts DC.
Orange Drops are rated only to 85C at their listed voltages (400VDC) and CDE recommends they be limited to 50% of their rated DC voltage (200VDC) at 105C, while the cheaper Panasonics are 105C rated at a full 630VDC. Tube amps get HOT, so Orange Drops make little sense IMO, even if audiophiles prefer their film and foil construction over the Panasonics metallized film.
Metal Health...I was NOT expecting that! Good one Lyle! 🎸🤘
Watching you and the other top techs discuss these inherit problems of Mesa is really great for guys without your knowledge. It helps steer us towards more reliable amps and I gigged Fender for over thirty years from blonde to silver face and never had a breakdown at a gig. Thanks for posting.
now we just need the mesa amps w fender reliability
Always-on standby. Now that's what I call standing by.
It’s always the orange guys. It’s not PC, but as soon as I get a boogie on the bench, I start profiling.
🤣Hahahah Metal Health will drive you mad! Nice one Lyle, ya got me.
Awesome rock and roll!!!
Wish I was having as much luck with this Tremoverb.... ugh.
I made a smart ass comment about these caps and tone on the previous video that I think was deleted, but I really have seen people try and excuse away the 400v rated caps that see 500-600v on them in Mesa’s as a choice that was made in the factory for tone. Sorry to you and the customer for having to replace these as a preventative measure but I’m sure you went into this job knowing stuff like that would need to happen to some degree anyway.
I didn’t delete it - haven’t seen it. You might have triggered the potentially offensive filter. I check those every few weeks but haven’t in a bit.
I had my Boogie Mark 3 (circa 1985) rebuilt and restored by Mike Bendonelli at Mesa. Even he said the 400 volt orange drop caps were prone to failure.
Sounds awesome
Nice work Lyle, even if the next owner is buying a ticking time bomb, you've slowed the clock down substantially ;)
Bang your head! Mesa boogies will drive ya mad! 😅
Came hear to say that...
Nice work again & Rock On!
A cap directly across a switch? I hope the traces have enough resistance to keep the current spike within the switch's tolerance.
Rock out with your bad self!!!
Have you played the HX stomp through many power amps? I’m just curious how you set up the HX for it. …not super related to the video… but you have very experienced ears 👂 so I’d like to know your thoughts.
Thanks. Pretty basic, Placater model with the output section kept clean, added a little mod delay, no cab or IR because of the real speakers and mic here, plate reverb, and rolling off above 6K and below 30Hz. This was at instrument (-30dV) output level but I did confirm everything was working at -10dB output as well.
Do you remove the boards when replacing the caps or can they be replaced okay from the accessible side?
In this case it was safe to work from the top. I peeked below with a dental mirror first.
@@PsionicAudio; nice; thanks.
I got it. LOL
Were the film caps they used not rated for the job, or were they cheap? Any thoughts on that?
400V caps with more than 400V across them. Easy math that Mesa never quite did. Good caps wasted in the wrong application.
@@PsionicAudio Yeah, sorry I missed the previous video where you went over that. I just caught up and came back to delete my comment.
Was the standby switch switching AC or DC? I presume that the purpose of the cap was to protect the switch from arcing, and/or prevent pops when taking the amp out of standby. A 400 volt cap is presumably lower-rated than the DC working voltage B+ in the amp. Coupling caps will of course absolutely fail when there's 120VAC on them; they need 600 volt rating at minimum, and a 1KV X or Y class cap would make more sense. For purposes of proecting a 120VAC on-off switch, a "spark killer", a coupling cap with a series resistor built in, was once common in 70's-80's audio equipment, but those devices were rated foor 230VAC and I dont know if they'll work to protect the switch at 450 volts DC.
DC with spikes and some AC ripple.
Orange Drops are rated only to 85C at their listed voltages (400VDC) and CDE recommends they be limited to 50% of their rated DC voltage (200VDC) at 105C, while the cheaper Panasonics are 105C rated at a full 630VDC. Tube amps get HOT, so Orange Drops make little sense IMO, even if audiophiles prefer their film and foil construction over the Panasonics metallized film.
Audiophiles hear with their wallets
2:20 cough.
Shame about the caps, cuz that sounds great!
alot of mesas have a great sound, shame they arent built like steel. tho their warranties are 5 years compared to marshalls 1?