Do I sell my Wizard or take Boss to small claims court?

[311splawndude]

"Jose" modded 18 watt Marshall clone... Dime it, knock it down a few db's using a reactive load, add effects to taste. If you blow tube and/or a OT, replacements are cheap.

Sounds bitchin. What was done to the amp? Jose master? or diode clipping?

Other than a "Jose" mod, I don't know? I've played several modified 18 watters over the years, all of which sounded great. I had a GDS/Guytron 18 watt that kicked-ass! It had a series of resistors on top that operated as a load box. The reisistors needed to be refreshed from time to time, but that's it.

Was that your amp with you playing?

 

[WizardSouth-JP]

It’s still not a Wizard

 

[stanz]

"Jose" modded 18 watt Marshall clone... Dime it, knock it down a few db's using a reactive load, add effects to taste. If you blow tube and/or a OT, replacements are cheap.

Sounds bitchin. What was done to the amp? Jose master? or diode clipping?

Other than a "Jose" mod, I don't know? I've played several modified 18 watters over the years, all of which sounded great. I had a GDS/Guytron 18 watt that kicked-ass! It had a series of resistors on top that operated as a load box. The reisistors needed to be refreshed from time to time, but that's it.

Was that your amp with you playing?

Not mine. The amp is a DIY Tube Town PX18 w/Friedman Jose mod. I sold my 18 watt last year. There's a link with schematics.

Here's a clip with the same amp using a load box. Personally, I prefer it without the load box.

 

[Adambomb]

(no dog in the fight, sorry Erik for the trouble - hope Boss does the right thing but I think this will be tough to prove....did SW give you an actual reason why they claimed it was defective? Do you have that in writing?)

I know very little about attenuators but I do know there are 2 basic types. Those that use resistors (like the Hotplate) and those that use a speaker 'motor' like the Weber Mass attenuators.

I have no idea how the Boss Waza works. I didn't even know what it looked like. I just looked it up online and hot damn (no pun intended) it has a lot of features.

Looking at the User Manual I see in the block diagram that the 'Reactive Load' portion of this unit is actually produced by a company called Tube Logic for what's its worth. I also found this warning interesting:

Boss-
"When turning the power off
5.) When you power-off this unit, you must also power-off the tube
amp. If the tube amp’s power is on while this unit’s power is off,
this unit and the tube amp may be damaged."

I also noticed quite a few Warnings on the first page. Looks like you would expect - a company that has been around the block a few times and knows how to protect themselves.

It also states that after you power off the Waza you are supposed to unplug it from the power outlet. How many people do that?

I also found this on the Weber TA webpage when researching whether or not it was 'motor' or 'rotor'. I believe the 'motor' is actually like a coil of metal wrapped up and looks like a rotor lol.

Weber-
"IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT HIGH GAIN AMPS*: *if you have a Fender or similar amp, and play with cleaner tones, this part does not apply to you. High gain amps such as Marshall or clones (with heavy distortion) are hard on attenuators. Unfortunately, an amp’s volume dial is not a good indicator of how much power is being produced. Many amps can reach full power at 3 or 4 on the volume dial, so it is a good suggestion to get an attenuator with 4x the power handling. For example, if you have a 50w high gain amp, you should opt for the MASS 200. If you have a 100w amp, you should still go with the MASS 200 but you should not crank the amp."

PLEASE do your research before you post this stuff. There is no company called “Tube Logic”… it the tech that Boss created. And there are more than 2 main type attenuators, you obviously didn’t list the type we are even talking about, Reactive Load. Also, even though Boss has a “warning” for turning the TAE off before the amp, the TAE has a safety feature (found in their “safety Load Specs”) that has a 16OHM Load when power is off, so turning whichever off or on first will not damage tube amp to Waza unit.

 

[panhead]

Wizard isnt the most reliable customer service. In fact I think that Rick is a Dick.

 

[Meeotch]

Just read this whole thread, crazy story and I look forward to more updates...

Can someone with some knowledge on the topic chime in about 10-amp slow-blow fuses? I also have a VHT 2150 with a 10-amp slo-blo for the mains fuse. The manual states "primary AC protection fuse for both channels and the fan". It also has 2 1-amp normal-blo fuses "individual DC power supply and output protection fuses for channels A and B". It seemed like in the beginning of the thread, others were concerned that 10-amps is too high?

 

[panhead]

Just read this whole thread, crazy story and I look forward to more updates...

Can someone with some knowledge on the topic chime in about 10-amp slow-blow fuses? I also have a VHT 2150 with a 10-amp slo-blo for the mains fuse. The manual states "primary AC protection fuse for both channels and the fan". It also has 2 1-amp normal-blo fuses "individual DC power supply and output protection fuses for channels A and B". It seemed like in the beginning of the thread, others were concerned that 10-amps is too high?

Seems high a 100 watt marshall is 4 I think

 

[311splawndude]

PLEASE do your research before you post this stuff. There is no company called “Tube Logic”… it the tech that Boss created. And there are more than 2 main type attenuators, you obviously didn’t list the type we are even talking about, Reactive Load. Also, even though Boss has a “warning” for turning the TAE off before the amp, the TAE has a safety feature (found in their “safety Load Specs”) that has a 16OHM Load when power is off, so turning whichever off or on first will not damage tube amp to Waza unit.

You're right. I should have never gotten involved. Didn't mean to come across like an expert. I think I even said in my post that I was not. I was trying to wrap my brain around a series of resistors vs a motor heat dissipater and was trying to figure out how this product (WAZA Tube Expander) was 'reacting'. I also didn't phrase my words right. Sorry. I'll remove my post.

 

[155]

8 ohms of load is 8 ohms of load ..speaker or load box , im not convinced the amp didnt fry itself , unless the TAE wasnt supplying any resistance at all, even then sounds fishy.. boss will never in a million years cover this there are far too many factors involved to ever pin it on them...

 

[311splawndude]

OP......What ended up happening?

Not mine. The amp is a DIY Tube Town PX18 w/Friedman Jose mod. I sold my 18 watt last year. There's a link with schematics.

Here's a clip with the same amp using a load box. Personally, I prefer it without the load box.

Holy Shit dude. That was good stuff. I'm glad this thread was bumped and I'm glad I waited for the metal part. Great tones and it all sounded original to me.

 

[ErikT]

Just read this whole thread, crazy story and I look forward to more updates...

Can someone with some knowledge on the topic chime in about 10-amp slow-blow fuses? I also have a VHT 2150 with a 10-amp slo-blo for the mains fuse. The manual states "primary AC protection fuse for both channels and the fan". It also has 2 1-amp normal-blo fuses "individual DC power supply and output protection fuses for channels A and B". It seemed like in the beginning of the thread, others were concerned that 10-amps is too high?

It's with Rick getting the MKii updates along with the new OT. Unless my ESP V sells it'll be in the classifieds here and in local NYC tri-state listings as soon as I get it back. Hoping to have it next week, we'll see.

I finally got a response from Boss after complaining on social media and tagging Sweetwater. They've got my back now as well. They're waiting to review the unit that Sweetwater said was defective and sent back.

 

[ClintN667]

Unfortunately social media is the way to go as far as big companies go. I usually send an email directly to the parties involved several times. If I'm not acknowledged in a reasonable time frame I will post to their official account. Usually when their are a lot of eyes on how they handle it they seem to care more

 

[Adambomb]

Any updates on this?

 

[ErikT]

Any updates on this?

Got the amp back about a week ago and haven't even plugged it in yet. Sweetwater gave me $500, which was awesome of them. Boss was giving them silence pretty much as well.

Was literally just thinking about listing it and moving on, been a cloud over me and need to shake it. Reinvest some of that into flipping some gear locally to make money back and press on. Will be up in the classifieds shortly. Cheers.

 

[DanTravis62]

Got the amp back about a week ago and haven't even plugged it in yet. Sweetwater gave me $500, which was awesome of them. Boss was giving them silence pretty much as well.

Was literally just thinking about listing it and moving on, been a cloud over me and need to shake it. Reinvest some of that into flipping some gear locally to make money back and press on. Will be up in the classifieds shortly. Cheers.

Not surprised SW took care of you; my experiences have always been good. Sorry to hear about your MTL. That's absolutely heartbreaking.

I personally would never trust my Larry Dino with an attenuator (and the master volume is so good it doesn't really need one anyways)...

but as far as design goes, if I wanted to go that route; the Suhr stuff, Torpedo live, Ox Box, and Fryette power station all seem like relatively safe options for their varying use-cases.

Boss not revealing the impedance curve was just a massive, glaring red flag to me.

 

[ErikT]

Yeah it worked great with my Two Notes Captor. I just wanted something to play in a NYC apartment. Should have bought a Fryette power station. Live and learn.

 

[DanTravis62]

Yeah it worked great with my Two Notes Captor. I just wanted something to play in a NYC apartment. Should have bought a Fryette power station. Live and learn.

Did that experience with Rick sour you on your Wizard? Or the accident with the TAE?

And as an earlier comment said, that really does sound like a "I don't want to fucking deal with this" repair price, especially for the other components that were fried besides the transformer. I've never had an experience like that with Larry.

 

[ErikT]

Did that experience with Rick sour you on your Wizard? Or the accident with the TAE?

And as an earlier comment said, that really does sound like a "I don't want to fucking deal with this" repair price, especially for the other components that were fried besides the transformer. I've never had an experience like that with Larry.

Didn't sour me with Rick, moreso the crappy experience with the TAE and getting the run around from Boss. Took them 2.5 months to even respond (after I blasted them on social media and Sweetwater started bugging them) and basically said nothing. Then when I emailed them again a few weeks ago they say my unit wasn't on the pallet that Sweetwater sent. Just want to move on and make my money back, leave this in the past and maybe grab another Wizard in the future. Absolutely amazing amp.

 

[DanTravis62]

Didn't sour me with Rick, moreso the crappy experience with the TAE and getting the run around from Boss. Took them 2.5 months to even respond (after I blasted them on social media and Sweetwater started bugging them) and basically said nothing. Then when I emailed them again a few weeks ago they say my unit wasn't on the pallet that Sweetwater sent. Just want to move on and make my money back, leave this in the past and maybe grab another Wizard in the future. Absolutely amazing amp.

Boss gets a lot of love around here, but your story is very similar to what happened to me when my ES5 shat the bed. I had to make it public on social media, etc, to even get a response from them after a couple months - and even after, getting my warranty work done took 3 more months. I got my ES5 new from a local mom and pop, and Rolands attitude about warranty service wasn't what I expected when buying something brand new at full retail.

 

[kt88killer]

Found this on a google search for midi relays...

EE here that designs tube amps.

Doubt the load was the issue. Its true that the impedance rating is reactive based off frequency, but its just that. It varies.

Since you still have the boss, it should be simple enough to test its load profile and prove its the culprit. More than likely it has a purely resistive minimum impedance that would safe guard against this type of failure. The rest of the impedance profile is added for "sound". Its far more likely there was a defect with the amp. Attenuator mfgs have long became the target of similar accusations, but the truth is that attenuators only reveal the issues with the amps...well most of the time.

However, +1 for sweetwater once again.

Are the Wizard transformers handwound? Surprised the boutique company was willing to subject their customer to this fuss.