Which one of you bastards did this...?

Elx

...send a faulty Mesa Boogie Fifty Fifty across the pond to The Netherlands?

I traded an amp I hated with a passion (doesn't matter which one) for it today...

The problem is, the moment I turn it on, it cuts the power off for half of the neighbourhood...well, in half of my apartment at least, the wife wanted to kill me, she missed an important scene in Gilmore Girls

It's a UK plug, but the voltage is the same of course (another thing I learned today, I could have easily spent the rest of my life thinking you guys were on 110V), so I bought an adapter plug and I thought I'd solved the problem...But, something is not quite right...

Help a brother out please!

Gassage

That's not a UK plug!!!

Richardj

That's a North American style plug if I'm not mistaken.  Really should check it runs on 230-240V rather than 110V as it looks.

Elx

Great, thanks guys!

I had no idea what plug it was, I went to a shop and they told me it was UK and gave me the adapter! Stupid idiots...

Richardj

That is definitely not UK, very much US style.  Double check the voltage so you don't blow it (and yourself/partner/family/neighbours) up!

Elx

Yeah, it's US...it's going back I'm afraid...

Gassage

Elx said:

Great, thanks guys!

I had no idea what plug it was, I went to a shop and they told me it was UK and gave me the adapter! Stupid idiots...

Oh well- they can sell you a new input transformer instead now.

Elx

Gassage said:

Elx said:

Great, thanks guys!

I had no idea what plug it was, I went to a shop and they told me it was UK and gave me the adapter! Stupid idiots...

Oh well- they can sell you a new input transformer instead now.

Is there any reason not to do it with a transformer? I got a good price on the amp, I'd like to keep it, if another 30-40 EUR will solve the problem I'll be happy...

jpfamps

You can use a step down transformer to run US voltage amps in the EU. Would cost around 40 Euros or so.

You may however have caused significant damage to the amp by plugging it into the wrong voltage.

If you get a transformer, and the amp still blows fuses it will need looking at.

ICBM

See if you can find someone who can lend you a stepdown transformer to test it first. No point in buying one if the amp is going to need a new internal transformer, because you should just fit a European one instead.

Being a Mesa there is a better chance than usual that the amp has survived, but as jpfamps said there is still a significant risk of damage.

Did the seller not mention it was a US voltage model? Or do you mean you bought it from the US, not the UK? If so it isn't really the seller's fault...

UnclePsychosis

I've only ever plugged in a 110V device to 240V once.

Needless to say I won't ever forget the smell and I'm very glad that someone else had to pickup the repair bill (it was at work). 

Hopefully you haven't done anything too permanent!! 

sweepy

Aren't some Mesa products  auto-sensing ?

ICBM

sweepy said:

Aren't some Mesa products  auto-sensing ?

Not as far as I know.

It would be very difficult to make a traditional valve amp so - it only usually applies to modern equipment with Switch-Mode power supplies (eg computers etc). Many amps have manual voltage switches, but not most Mesas.

In fact Mesa seem to go out of their way to make their amps single-voltage - because by doing so (and charging a fortune for replacement parts outside the US) they protect the excessive mark-up their overseas distributors are allowed to make.

Elx

The amp has survived but it's going back. Instead of the Fify Fifty I'd like a single rack unit power amp, so I can use a rack power conditioner...Much lighter and more convenient to power everything from a conditioner..I've been trying to locate a 20/20 for a while and only went for the Fifty/Fifty one out of frustration...Where are all the 20/20s, why is it so difficult to locate one? Also, why do companies discontinue great products?

57Deluxe

...oooer - nearly an opportunity to say Dutch Caps....

bignorm

I have a marshall 20 20 for sale if you are still looking
Cheers

Elx

bignorm said:

I have a marshall 20 20 for sale if you are still looking
Cheers

Check your Inbox...

ICBM

Elx said:

The amp has survived but it's going back. Instead of the Fify Fifty I'd like a single rack unit power amp, so I can use a rack power conditioner...Much lighter and more convenient to power everything from a conditioner..I've been trying to locate a 20/20 for a while and only went for the Fifty/Fifty one out of frustration...Where are all the 20/20s, why is it so difficult to locate one? Also, why do companies discontinue great products?

I think the 20/20 is rare because they were so overpriced outside the US that almost no-one bought one. Mesa rack gear is pretty much pro-only over here, and most who could afford that could afford anything, so went for the Simul 2:90 or the 50/50 rather than the 20/20.

They - like other great mid-priced Mesa amps like the Dual Caliber series - were discontinued because they were becoming too expensive to make in relation to the price point the company thought they needed to hit in order to keep selling them. (I have this direct from Randall Smith by the way, so I know it's the exact reason… I don't like name-dropping but in this case it's useful I think.)

The Marshall is not a bad unit at all and is easier to find and cheaper. Just be careful you give it plenty of ventilation in the rack, they have a tendency to run very hot.

richardhomer

ICBM;357042" said:

I have this direct from Randall Smith by the way, so I know it's the exact reason… I don't like name-dropping but in this case it's useful I think.

I met 'Randy' at a NAMM show - he was a cool guy....

Elx

@ICBM, thank you...I've decided to go for the Matrix in the meantime...

http://uk.matrixamplification.com/rack-amplifers/gt-1000-fx-1u.html