New Rig Talker. New to Egnater

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Omek72

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Hello all.
First post for a newer tube amp owner. And first Egnater amp. :thumbsup:
I just last week picked up a used Egnater TM4212 combo in trade for my Blackstar HT40.
I planned to have to replace the tubes and have the amp serviced. Even though the previous owner told me this was done about a year ago.
He also told me that the power transformer was replaced. Although there is no "M" in the serial#.
I have the older manual with the missprinted V3 label. Serial# indicates amp to have been built in 2007.
All the pre's with the exception of V2 ( GT silver ) and V8 ( jj ecc83) are the egnater branded GT's
The Power tubes are Non Egnater branded GT 6L6GC. One of them is microphonic and rattles prety good when the volume is above 10PM on full power.
the gain is abbrasive and breaks up like bad pre's.The bass seems very boomy or "muddy".
I am sure new tubes will clean that up, plus some time tweaking.

This amp is a retired gigging amp.
It will be used moderately in a small home studio for the rest of its life.

A friend of mine suggested taking my amp to http://valvequeen.com/ She lives close by.
She has not steered him wrong on his VHT Pittbull. And knows her stuff
But I am getting impatient and not sure if I should take it to her. Or re-tube and bias myself.

I play guitars for personal hobby. I do not work on amps.
But if there is more to it than the seemingly simple Bias instructions in the manual
I do not simply want to put new tubes in my amp, bias and forget it.
IE: Sovtek 6L6WXT+ power tubes. And 8 new pre's of some type.

Is there a list of things I should tell her if she works on my amp?
Are there things she should be looking at when working on this amp?
A place where I can get a schematic that has more info than the user manual?

Should anyone other than Egnater techs work on these amps?
What can I expect to spend beyond roughly 150-250 for tubes?
I am a poor boy after all.

Sorry for all the questions.
I have had this amp for a week.
And I really want to play with it.
Thanks guys. :rock:
 
pm me with where you'd like to start. i can help you with the tubes, the muddy bass and biasing.

also, i've posted a ton on this amp. go to search, type in yeti in the author slot and tourmaster in the subject.

search by topic. you'll find a wealth of reading info there :)
 
Hello Yeti.

Yeah. I have been reading your posts and reply's on most of the Tourmaster threads.
I also read your entire thread on Tube suggestions for the TM.

If you are still using this amp.
What tubes are you currently running in the pre's?
I used to lean towards JJ tubes they sounded great in my Blackstar.
But Bruce mentioned in one of the threads that the TM does not like the JJ power tubes.
I know you reccomend the Ruby's.
I was looking into putting in a set of Sovtek 6L6WXT+ for my power and taking suggestions on pre's .
Based on alot of good reviews and good median price.
I can get an entire set of new Tubes from Sanborn Amplification with the Sovteks I mentioned mathced ,tested, etc, and 8 JJ ecc83 for $140 shipped. :scared:
I have been surfing this site for the last week.
I use no effects. Just my Schecter Blackjack ATX Solo 6 ( Blackouts active) and a cable.
My playing style is all over the place. So I needed a versatile amp.
My main style is cliched as "stoner metal" Err... So I hear that is what they call it now?
I tend to like a very tweakable mid range. And the exact tone I am looking for has eluded me on every amp I have ever had.
From the short time I have had this amp powered up. Less is really alot more with the gain on this amp. MY GOSH! It has a ton of gain on both OD1/2 IMO.
I can almost hear the mid tone I am after in the TM. And I think with a good servicing and new tubes I might finally get the tone I have been searching for......
..... Until I decide I need something different. :D

One last question. for those of you who have done the "M" mods or had them done.
If I were to open the hood and look in there. is there an easy way to tell if these mods have already been done?
There is no "M" in the serial.
But I also read that they may not all have the "M" designation.
Thanks.
 
hold tight for a bit, as my internet time sunday afternoon/evenings is limited.

gotta wait til the witching hour (11pm and after) for any detailed information tonite!
 
it appears that the amp has been serviced, yes.

not sure what that mod would do though, interesting.
 
the boomy/muddiness in the bass is going to always be there, unless you do the "M" mod:
in detail, the c180/r243 mod will tighten up the bass a ton.

i put that mod in, then recently, took it out and put it on a switching system.

actually, i put all the "M" mods on switches, and it's pretty cool to hear the difference between stock and "Mod".

r68 is gain
and r79 seems to cure some of the sizzle and open up the mids a tad.
 
Well the TM is heading out for retube and service tomorrow. :D
I did decide on the Ruby's for the Power section.
And I am getting the pre's that Yeti suggested.
I will also roll pre's in and out to come up with what sounds good to my ears.
Yeti you were correct about Egnater CS I sent them an e-mail a couple days ago.
No reply. Swamped I assume.
Or my gear is just too obsolete and abused for them to bother answering. :aww:
Tried to get a hold of the original owner of the amp.
And I have the mod tracked down to some tech that does contracted work for Guitar Center in Dayton.
No idea who the person is yet.
But it looks I may have this mods origin tracked down.
I will let you know how it goes after I get my amp back on Monday.
Thanks for the tips.
Stay heavy. :rock:
 
good to hear.

just an FYI, that mod, whatever it is, looks nothing like my "m" mod spec when completed. pretty sure i sent you pics, if not, hit me up and i'll hook it up.
 
RANT WARNING

Well I have had my amp back for awhile now.
Sounds great.
Still not happy though. :no:
The wierd "mystery mod" has me thinking I need to get rid of this amp.
It may have bypassed the loop or something.
I never got any response from service. Did not try too hard. I already read that they are swamped. And I understand that.
But to be blunt , It seems I am not "gear snob" enough to even elicit a respectable response from Bruce.
Other than "It was not us."
Well Frikkin duh!
You would think he would say , "I think that "mod" will render this or that messed up".:I reccomned taking it to X and getting it repaired back to stock by X."

Anywhoos.
I just found out that the effects loop is non functional in series or parallel.
No effect at all in parallel. But I get volume. But only form the front end. The "boost patch cable " when I turn the loop on, no boost.
And in series the output is that of a whisper that a deer could not hear on a calm day.
Brand new tube in the V7 along with the rest of the amp.
And the pedal and switch is set correctly.

I guess that is what I get for taking this amp on a trade. Dude rushed me out real quick. Due to having to watch his kid.
Funny we had the trade planned for over a week. I knew something was up.
I expected issues.
It was still a good deal on my end.
But having the effects loop not working is very dissapointing. And no help from the manufacturer at all to boot.
Makes me want to go back to Blackstar amps.
I cannot even figure out how someone would blow up and effects loop!

:doh: :doh:
Anyone ever have this issue? Or is it an easy/cheap fix?
I looked back as far as I could to see if this has happened to anyone.

Looks like I will be going a different route here soon.
Cheers.
 
i would suspect that the mod in there is causing this issue.

i would get my soldering iron hot, and take it right out my friend. im sorry you're having this issue, i know how frustrating things can be when amps go down.

post a few close ups of that mod if you when you have the amp open, and we'll c if i can trace it to being the source of shutting down the effects loop.

things do get pretty busy with egnater, so, i wouldn't hold your breath on your response about your amp not working possibly due to a mod.....these guys seem to be pretty set on "leave it stock, we designed it to work a certain way for a reason" if you know what i mean...even though you didnt do the mod.

let me see some pics of that mod again when you get a chance...i'll keep an eye out on this thread.
 
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