I can't take it anymore.

I have owned a Tourmaster 4212 for exactly one year this month. Within the first two weeks of ownership it had tube issues and I was without the amp for approximately two weeks while this problem was diagnosed and fixed. Next the power transformer went and I was without the amp for exactly two months before getting it back with the assurance that I would not have any more problems. Now OD1 and OD2 are dying on me, when I switch from either Vintage 1 or 2 the volume drops significantly, almost to the point where the guitar is barely recognizable amongst all the static. I had extremely high hopes for this amp and thought it would be with me for many, many years. But unfortunately I can not take it anymore as I am a gigging musician and I just can risk this kind of behavior becoming a problem in the middle of a gig. This amp is downright unreliable. I understand that many have no problems whatsoever but I have been plagued by problems and one of my first orders of business is to get this amp fixed and then march down to my local music store with it and get whatever I can as a trade in on a Vox AC30. I wish it didn't have to come down to this but it has.

If you basically like the amp why not just exchange it for another one? I had a 4212 for years with no problems at all.

Hi Len,
Maybe I got a rare lemon, I don't know. All I do know is that I have a bad taste in my mouth as far as Egnater goes and I will most likely never buy one again.

michalvox":4xqv7sjy said:

Hi Len,
Maybe I got a rare lemon, I don't know. All I do know is that I have a bad taste in my mouth as far as Egnater goes and I will most likely never buy one again.

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cant blame tube problems on eggie

I'm honestly trying not to blame Egnater but this amp has been nothing but a headache since I got it. What kills me is that when it is in working order it is probably one of if not the best sounding amp I have ever played through. To keep it short, I am hoping that when I open her up this weekend it is just a tube issue.

If you like the amp, it still seems to me you should try just exchanging it for another one and see what happens if that is possible. What's to lose? If you have problems with a second on then go on to something else. Up to you of course.

michalvox":23dtvi6b said:

I'm honestly trying not to blame Egnater but this amp has been nothing but a headache since I got it. What kills me is that when it is in working order it is probably one of if not the best sounding amp I have ever played through. To keep it short, I am hoping that when I open her up this weekend it is just a tube issue.

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I loved my tm, but had a early version with the transformer problem, I sold it-too heavy and too many tubes for my current need. I loved the tm, but have been gigging with a Rebel 30 for a year with no problems. If they get rid of that 50 lb transformer, I may buy another tourmaster.

well, the TM power plant is 13 lbs. i know, i sent mine 6 weeks ago for replacement (as per nate) and got my new one yesterday.

i was pretty pumped to reinstall it, since it got here while i was at work, and my wife said that something heavy came from california. but....there were some concerns upon closer inspection, as she had also noted to me. as soon as i saw the box i just got that fucking feeling that it was gonna be a shit show. and it was. the clip that holds the two blue wires in place for specific placement in the amp, it was broken. i was able however to solder the wires to direct to the board when i reinstalled it, but still.

was it a UPS issue? maybe. id say it was ups and their notorious treatment of pckgs and also chalk it up to a shit packing job. i know when i sent the old one in, it was packed better than this new one...actually double boxed since it was so heavy, and i wanted to ensure it got there as i sent it...not working, but not damaged from shipping that would allow for any "wiggle room" regarding performance.

all in all, this whole transformer deal has been a headache, but, one i learned a lot from.
SO, i can definitely sympathize with those of you that have had shipping issues/qc issues/general CS issues and have posted about it recently. i have other opinions, but they're honestly just best kept to myself, but i did want to post and give some insight into my experience with this whole deal.

michalvox":gthk2dsc said:

I'm honestly trying not to blame Egnater but this amp has been nothing but a headache since I got it. What kills me is that when it is in working order it is probably one of if not the best sounding amp I have ever played through. To keep it short, I am hoping that when I open her up this weekend it is just a tube issue.

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Pretty much sums up my experience. First my PT went, then she died again right before I had to go on stage about a week ago, and now I am having some bizarre reverb issues. Luckily this weekend at the House of Blues she came through for me like a charm. Although that doesn't mean I still don't do a brief "you are not the father" type dance every time the moment of truth comes to turn the amp on before a gig and it actually turns on.

@Yeti - that picture of the dilapidated box cracked me up because the box mine came in looked exactly the same. Luckily nothing was broken though.

yuk, i just hate reading this, and honestly, hate even worse some other things about it that i won't express openly.

i do that same dance, and im just a simpleton cellar dweller for the time being...when i get back rolling on the club circuit, i won't be gigging this amp, that's a 100% guaruntee.

wait, your amp DIED AGAIN?

what was it last week? the PT? how'd you get one so fast? it took 6 weeks for mine? hahah

yeti":3jr5lftl said:

wait, your amp DIED AGAIN?

what was it last week? the PT? how'd you get one so fast? it took 6 weeks for mine? hahah

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No, my PT went out a couple months ago and luckily it only took 2 weeks or so before I received my replacement. Last week I was all set up before a show and clicked on the power and......nothing. Pulled out the fuse in the back and it had blown another fuse. I have absolutely not idea why it did this. I replaced the fuse when I got home and the amp turned on luckily. Its been working since, but I do not know why it blew another fuse.

strangely, RIGHT after i put my PT in and got the amp up and running, THE SAME THING happened to me dude..i shit you not.

knock on wood, been working since. really odd!

I sincerely hope yours keeps working because it seems like I go through the exact same issues as you (just further down the road). Give me a heads up if something else breaks so I can go ahead and mentally prepare

dude, i'm in the same boat as you....saving money week to week, that i shouldn't be justifiably doing anyways for a new amp....and, well, you know the story from there......

i'm just more prepared now, knowledge wise. but, who's to say a new marshall or boogie can't break down either....there are horror stories with everything and you read about it more instantly on the net..

either way, here's to a brighter future, eh?!

Search my post...talked my buddy into this amp and now he is going through issues..Mine shit the bed right out of the store. I did get it fixed and keeping my fingers crossed that this stupid ass reverb issue on mine gets fixed with the new transformer that has taken sent 2/19 not yet received 3/24. Called Nate 3/23 he sent another out he said so

yeah, i was thinking about this tonight, if these were vehicles, they'd have been recalled, right?

An accomplished player I know says he can do any gig with a Tele, a BOSS SD-1, and an AC30.

I have been in the same boat too! First clean channel 1 went out and hardly produced any significant volume. Then the contour controls started going in and out on their own. Led light started acting up too. Then the power transformer fizzed out. I sent it out for repair at a certified warranty location. I got it back and within a week later the contour button on od1 and clean channel 1 started to not switch in and out again properly and the amp during play would sound as if the contour would by itself would activate and de-activate. Nate asked me to check the preamp tubes (which I just replaced). Looks like re-seating them resolved the issue for now. I hope thats it. However, I feel that the overdrive hum on od1 and od2 is louder since I got it back and the amp sounds like its too bright on every channel and not enough Bass / treble adjustment to fix it. I'm thinking this last one may be my ears though and the fact that the combos use the Elite 80s and not the vintage 30 speakers like the cabinets have. Its been too long for me to say for sure but I feel as if it still doesn't sound like the day I bought it. :-(

I'm torn between sending it next to Egnater for a complete checkout since I already tried a warranty certified shop in my area or maybe just dealing with it and giving it to one of my amp techs who have some Egnater experience to check it out and modify some parts if necessary. I know this breaks warranty if I do. I just don't know if the repeated sending off for long intervals of repairs and non use, back and forth to either the warranty shop here or to Egnater in Cali is worth the trouble even under warranty when I have a really good amp tech just 5 minutes from me and the money I would spend shipping it to Egnater could go to my tech here for the improvements he'll make.

I'm trying my best to stay hopefull as I did love the sound when I first got it and to be fair, not every amp is going to be 100% perfect. Its still an Egnater and the sound was phenomenal before. So I want to keep it and just see where I go from here to getting it back to par. I know if I part with it, I'll miss it. :-(

the new PT is definitely a bit louder. you said you're not sure if you're power grid is working.

go into detail about that if you can, or , again...LOL pm me.

sometimes too, it seems, the power section is noisier than other nights....when NOTHING in my house changed (lights, stuff on the circuit, etc)....it's just noisier with the same guitar, same cord, etc. strange.