Considering the purchase of a triple rectifier stack - What do I need to check?

  • Thread starter Thread starter MaximusJ
  • Start date Start date
You want to use Deoxit5 to clean the pots, jacks, switches, tube sockets, etc.

I would pick it up before you get the amp.

If not run for five years let it run on standby at least 5 minutes.

After that without the guitar plugged in turn on the standby and let the loud hum warm up the speakers for several minutes. The coils not being used for years this is very important to do.

Play on it moderate volume a few minutes before you crank it.

Congratulations. It's a great stack.
 
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MaximusJ said:
Hey man,
Couldnt figure out how to PM yet but it may be because my account is new.

Here’s my head’s serial. Hoping you can provide some details 😁

Thanks in advance!
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Hey yours is just 195 younger than mine.

The date code on the electrolytic caps in mine is 48th week of 2003 so I would expect it was made in 2004 at some point, maybe later depending how long those caps are on the shelves before being used.

If you open it up you can check revision written on the board on the edge by the large blue capacitors. I’m guessing revision E which I think was the final revision for this model (which mine is).

Silverwulf on the boogie forum was writing a big long article about the various revisions as he did for the 2 channel models but I guess he lost interest and stopped half way through, back in 2016.

https://boogieforum.com/threads/the-3-channel-dual-triple-rectifier-guide.72482/
 
mnemonic said:
Silverwulf on the boogie forum was writing a big long article about the various revisions as he did for the 2 channel models but I guess he lost interest and stopped half way through, back in 2016.

https://boogieforum.com/threads/the-3-channel-dual-triple-rectifier-guide.72482/
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Yes I saw that. Very unfortunate that he didnt continue. That was some very valuable info.

At least now I seem to have a pretty good idea of the revision of the head.

Now the next question is; what types of speakers are usually in those cabs (V30's?), and will they be the original ones. Seller says that they are original.

I saw this on boogie's forum
C30XXX
Traditional 4x12
V30's made in September of 1999

C44XXX
Traditional 4x12
V30's made in January of 2003

C2-64XXX
Traditional 4x12
V30's made in August of 2007

Considering my serial are 46680 and 46585, I suspect they were shipped around 2004'ish
 
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MaximusJ said:
Yes I saw that. Very unfortunate that he didnt continue. That was some very valuable info.
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That’s actually me 😄 I did finish it, just didn’t post it all. The Boogie Board was slowing down, I wasn’t spending as much time on forums, and everything I used to post ended up in someone else’s blog and/or videos without a single mention or link to where they got it from. Didn’t bother wasting my free time much after that. I went years without posting much of anything on forums. Just busy and wasn’t how I spent my free time.

I’ve been posting a little more over the last couple months, but most people just send PMs or texts these days.

Yes, that’s a Rev E you’re looking at. They’re cool amps.
 
And that’s why I love this place. There’s a ton of people on here with lots of knowledge who don’t mind helping someone out.
 
stephen sawall said:
If not run for five years let it run on standby at least 5 minutes.

After that without the guitar plugged in turn on the standby and let the loud hum warm up the speakers for several minutes. The coils not being used for years this is very important to do.

Play on it moderate volume a few minutes before you crank it.
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Well the thing is the guy he bought this amp from said it had not been run for 5yrs, but then turned it on and ran it to check it out.
It probably should have been run on standby for awhile, then ran on spongy/lower-voltage for a while longer before ever trying it on full voltage.
 
dave74 said:
Well the thing is the guy he bought this amp from said it had not been run for 5yrs, but then turned it on and ran it to check it out.
It probably should have been run on standby for awhile, then ran on spongy/lower-voltage for a while longer before ever trying it on full voltage.
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He might or might not have; impossible to know. He just started recording as he started playing. But I suspect he was playing at a very low setting since the camera was kinda close to the stack and the mic would have been clipping like crazy if he played louder. Hopefully he warmed it up before doing so.

I’ll find out soon enough. But I made my offer accordingly; assuming I might have to change the tubes. So I deducted the price of the power tubes from his asking price and this is where I started the negotiation. We settled just $100 over my initial offer price.

So at this price, I was comfortable taking the risk.
 
Yes Caig DeOxit works well. Man I envy you for discovering the sheer pleasure of playing thru a 100W tube amp full stack. It is one thing that will blow your mind, if you haven't experienced it already...
 
BTW, the best way to clean pots is first to blow air inside (compressed air) to remove any kind of dirt/particles. Then you can clean further/degrease using naphta or lighter fluid (which is what Caig DeOxit is made of mainly) and then add some PTFE silicon free lube grease to lubricate. Caig is the same in an expensive smaller package.
 
Jack Luminous said:
Yes Caig DeOxit works well. Man I envy you for discovering the sheer pleasure of playing thru a 100W tube amp full stack. It is one thing that will blow your mind, if you haven't experienced it already...
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I did before, but mainly Marshall half stacks with my old Ibanez RG back when Metal Zone was the standard in metal. My guitar teacher was rocking a Mark head back then and it’s always been a dream of mine ever since to get a Mesa stack. Well, today is the day!

I am super stoked, it’s a 8h drive back and forth and I am leaving in an hour or so. Wont be able to plug everything before I get back home tomorrow. It’s going to be a loooong evening!
 
MaximusJ said:
I did before, but mainly Marshall half stacks with my old Ibanez RG back when Metal Zone was the standard in metal. My guitar teacher was rocking a Mark head back then and it’s always been a dream of mine ever since to get a Mesa stack. Well, today is the day!

I am super stoked, it’s a 8h drive back and forth and I am leaving in an hour or so. Wont be able to plug everything before I get back home tomorrow. It’s going to be a loooong evening!
Click to expand...

Half-stack is great, full stack is mind blowing ! Have a safe drive ! :rock:
 
Jack Luminous said:
Half-stack is great, full stack is mind blowing ! Have a safe drive ! :rock:
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Made a pitstop in an airbnb after a 7 hours drive; and i’m blown away by the condition of this amp. It’s immaculate. Everything checks out, even got some freebies to bring back home. Every pot is clean, lamps looks good. Sound squeaky clean.

Bit it has some history. The owner bought it from his friend’s estate after he passed away. Since then, he never found anyone else to jam with. So that’s how it didnt got used in over five years.

I’m super happy with this deal! Now, cant wait to get back home tomorrow and make those tubes scream! I’ll give this amp a hell of a third life!

Thanks again everyone for all the cues! I appreciate it a lot.
 
Sorry about the delay posting clips. I've been on the road for work for the last week and I set it up during the weekend. I'm still dealing with some oscillation interference when I dial my gain to the level where I need it to be (It's getting worse past 11 o'clock). I thought the sound was clean when I picked it up, but the seller had young kids so I didnt push the amp as far as I would have liked to. It's very manageable straight out of the amp, but when I activate my tube screamer pedal, it's getting worse.

I saw online that either my pre-amp tubes or capacitors may be the culprit. Any cues to see what can be the reason why i'm having this? Seems very unusual for pre-amp tubes to fail this way from what I understood; but I might be wrong here!
 
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