So...I've been blowing a fuse in my Marshall

DewieCox

Blew one, replaced it, blew another....Now, lookin around on the web I've seen different advice. The first stop is to replace the power tubes, since it has a solid state rectifier but a quick question. Should I have heard any audio evidence before the power tubes caused a fuse failure? Both times I was happily jamming along, followed by a few seconds of the amp fizzling out. I haven't had any other issues with the amp whatsoever and it's very possible the amp is due for a tube swap.

Another thought I had.....I had a guitar cable that's a little squirrelly running from the footswitch to the amp. It works once it's set in place, but a little wiggling shuts it down. Since the push button channel selectors on the face of the amp are almost always different than what the footswitch is sayin it could cause rapid channel/reverb/master volume switching. Is this something that could cause a fuse to blow?

Paul Andrews

This wont immediately help you, but what I did with my gear.

A lot of local musicians used to used an old guy called Willy Westlake who ran a service in his shed in Perth. Since the 70s (when he lived in the UK till the 80s) he had been a gear tech, worked in music stores, worked in the factories of some of the big amp companies when they made their classic amps, he toured with bands, all kinds of repairs on amps that bands use for years - and often in emergencies and even on stage during gigs. Heaps of Marshalls, Fenders, Hi-Watt, Savage, Orange, etc etc etc amp experience - since back in the day. The guy shat out Marshall valves and could tell what was wrong with your amp just by listening to it. Touring bands would use him if they needed things done. He was our go to guy: blow up and amp on a Thursday gig and he'd most likely have you playing again on Friday night - or lend you a head if you needed it. Plus he was the cheapest in the land and would always give you a coffee and tell you stories for an hour when you went to get your gear. Unfortunately his big dog liked to try and fuck your leg, but that was the price. A lot of Perth musicians used him and it was all just word of mouth. He was flat out. Unfortunately he died of a heart attack a couple of years ago.

Anyway... find your own Willy Westlake, there is one in every town that has a music scene. Take your amp to him and know whatever it is is sorted. I decided never to self diagnose and then try to fix it myself, just wasn't worth it - I could never get things back to the way I wanted, it needed a better hand and ear then I had. I used to drop my stage amp off to Willy for a service and check up at least once or twice a year. Never regretted it. If it made a sound I didn't like, a hum, a buzz, whatever, I took it to Willy

Go.. find your Willy

DewieCox

Paul Andrews wrote:

This wont immediately help you, but what I did with my gear.

A lot of local musicians used to used an old guy called Willy Westlake who ran a service in his shed. Since the 70s In the UK he had been a roadie, gear tech, worked in music stores, worked in the factories of some of the big amp companies when they made their classic amps, he toured with bands, all kinds of repairs on amps that bands use for years - and often in emergencies and even on stage during gigs. Heaps of Marshalls, Fenders, Hi-Watt, Savage, Orange, etc etc etc amp experience - since back in the day. The guy shat out Marshall valves and could tell what was wrong with your amp just by listening to it. Touring bands would use him if they needs things done. He was our go to guy: blow up and amp on a Thursday gig and he'd most likely have you playing again on Friday night - or lend you a head if you needed it. Plus he was the cheapest in the land and would always give you a coffee and tell you stories for an hour when you went to get your gear. Unfortunately his big dog like to try and fuck your leg, but that was the price. A lot of Perth musicians used him and it was all just word of mouth. He was flat out. Unfortunately he died of a heart attack a couple of years ago.

Anyway... find your own Willy Westlake, there is one in every town that has a music scene. Take your amp to him and know whatever it is is sorted. I decided never to self diagnose and then try to fix it myself, just wasn't worth it - I could never get things back to the way I wanted, it needed a better hand and ear then I had. I used to drop my stage amp off to Willy for a service and check up at least once or twice a year. Never regretted it.

I wish there was somebody like that around here, but I live in a small town surrounded by more small towns. I have some friends that are handy in the electronics department, but they're not gear specialists by any stretch. I'm not in a major bind or anything, but I would like to get back to playing my Marshall a bit, instead of my other rig. Just tryign to figure out what the possibilities are before I have it sent off unnecessarily.

Paul Andrews

I hear ya, they can be expensive to fix and people will try and rip you off on the job - it is finding that person you can trust that is hard. I'm sure someone here will know something about it though, I'd say there are a few Marshall owners here.

keeponrockin

Paul Andrews wrote:

I hear ya, they can be expensive to fix and people will try and rip you off on the job - it is finding that person you can trust that is hard. I'm sure someone here will know something about it though, I'd say there are a few Marshall owners here.

I'm so lucky I've found my 'guitar guy'... It's like a good mechanic, worth their weight in gold.

All Those Yesterdays

Is this a JCM 900 by chance?

I've personally never had a fuse blow for any other reason other then a power tube shorting out. It's odd in my opinion that you can replace the fuse and it works for a period then blows the fuse again.

Now a friend of mine had a problem with a newer Marshall (like the JCM 28zillion or something pointless of a amp) with a fuse blowing twice in a row. He finally looked at the schematic and realized that it came from the factory with the wrong size fuse in it (odd).

Sounds like you should take it in, and have someone go through it for you, your going to need it re-biased...

Good luck and keep us posted.