I think I'm cursed (Archon 25)...

MistaSnowman

MistaSnowman

Play it LOUD!!!
Joined
Jun 6, 2014
Messages
290
Location
Buffalo Grove, IL, USA
This morning I went to power up my Archon 25 and for the second time...no lights, no sound, nothing. Called AMS first and they referred me to PRS, who said that the problem sounds like a blown fuse and all I need to do is replace it. Sounds simple enough but is it wiser to take the amp to a tech or is it simple enough to replace the fuse myself?
 
I'd replace the fuse myself, but I'd want to know why it blew, so you might want to check your power tubes, etc.
 
Although it is unlikely, you might want to check your house wiring to make sure you are getting the right voltage, with a good ground, at the outlet(s) you used when your amps failed. It is possible that a low voltage (say 100VAC) and/or a bad ground will cause something to get annoyed.

I say it is unlikely, but it is also unlikely that two amps fail in pretty well exactly the same way. Plus, checking your house wiring and finding a problem could save you later, both monetarily and/or literally! Bad wiring is dangerous...
 
shinksma said:
Although it is unlikely, you might want to check your house wiring to make sure you are getting the right voltage, with a good ground, at the outlet(s) you used when your amps failed. It is possible that a low voltage (say 100VAC) and/or a bad ground will cause something to get annoyed.

I say it is unlikely, but it is also unlikely that two amps fail in pretty well exactly the same way. Plus, checking your house wiring and finding a problem could save you later, both monetarily and/or literally! Bad wiring is dangerous...
Click to expand...

In my apartment, specifically my living room where the amp was, I'm running two surge protectors. One powers my 50-inch plasma TV, wireless router, Xbox 360 and cable receiver; while the other powered my laptop and amp. Only the amp failed while the other items work fine.
 
MistaSnowman said:
In my apartment, specifically my living room where the amp was, I'm running two surge protectors. One powers my 50-inch plasma TV, wireless router, Xbox 360 and cable receiver; while the other powered my laptop and amp. Only the amp failed while the other items work fine.
Click to expand...

Well, sometimes a part simply fails on an electronic item.

It happens to solid state and tube amps, computers, you name it. The worst of it is that the part usually fails early in the life of the product because that's what a bad part will do. It can test fine, and then fail.
 
MistaSnowman said:
In my apartment, specifically my living room where the amp was, I'm running two surge protectors. One powers my 50-inch plasma TV, wireless router, Xbox 360 and cable receiver; while the other powered my laptop and amp. Only the amp failed while the other items work fine.
Click to expand...

Anecdotal story....years ago I had a Marshall tube amp that would lose volume after about 30 minutes of playing. The volume drop varied from about 50% of what it was to whisper quiet. Happened right out of the box, so I took it back for another. After a couple of months, same thing started to happen with the new one. At that point, I traded it in for a solid state Fender, and stuck with various SS amps for a long time. Years later I purchased a Egnator Tweaker and experienced the same problem. This time I thought it was a cable, or pedal, issue with my pedal board since it seemed to stop after I took my tuner off the board. I went through a year long period of not playing, and never really thought about it again. In November 2013 I snagged a Mark V and started having the same problems with volume drop after 30-45 minutes of playing. This time, I went with a power conditioner. Now the amp and pedal board both run through the power conditioner, and I haven't had a problem in 18 months. Before the power conditioner, everything was plugged into surge protectors.
 
LSchefman said:
Well, sometimes a part simply fails on an electronic item.

It happens to solid state and tube amps, computers, you name it. The worst of it is that the part usually fails early in the life of the product because that's what a bad part will do. It can test fine, and then fail.
Click to expand...

I know that and I didn't mean to be snappy in my last post but, in all, I'm frustrated. As I remarked on another forum...It's frustrating because a) I didn't do anything to cause my amp to fail and b) I loved that amp! I jam weekly at the local Sam Ash two nights a week and this was the week that I was going to debut the Archon and slay. However....

I'm not sure what I'll do next ampwise , as I was spoiled by the Archon. I'll revisit this in July when I get my next bonus!!!
 
Last edited:
bodia said:
Anecdotal story....years ago I had a Marshall tube amp that would lose volume after about 30 minutes of playing. The volume drop varied from about 50% of what it was to whisper quiet. Happened right out of the box, so I took it back for another. After a couple of months, same thing started to happen with the new one. At that point, I traded it in for a solid state Fender, and stuck with various SS amps for a long time. Years later I purchased a Egnator Tweaker and experienced the same problem. This time I thought it was a cable, or pedal, issue with my pedal board since it seemed to stop after I took my tuner off the board. I went through a year long period of not playing, and never really thought about it again. In November 2013 I snagged a Mark V and started having the same problems with volume drop after 30-45 minutes of playing. This time, I went with a power conditioner. Now the amp and pedal board both run through the power conditioner, and I haven't had a problem in 18 months. Before the power conditioner, everything was plugged into surge protectors.
Click to expand...

I will heed your advice as I think this may help me with future amps. As a side note though, prior to the Archon, I had a Blackstar ID that was ran through the same surge protector and had no issues.
 
There's usually 2 fuses. There is one on the power supply and one on the board. The power supply fuse should cover shorts and over power issues whereas the one on the board is there to stop run away bias or issues such as red plating. When you get the replacement I would ask them to burn it in and bias it properly before you get it. Also make sure you are letting it warm up in standby for at least 2 minutes before going to town on it and make sure you always put it in standby before powering it down. That will save your power tubes. With no lights or anything I would have thought it would be the power supply fuse. When the board fuse blows it breaks the power to the power tubes but the lights usually still light up.

Also, keep in mind a surge suppressor only stops spikes of high voltage. They do not condition the power or compensate for low voltage. All the other items you listed are DC powered so the power supply is acting as a rectifier to convert AC to DC which will also do some conditioning, at least enough for it to function.
 
DHW said:
There's usually 2 fuses. There is one on the power supply and one on the board. The power supply fuse should cover shorts and over power issues whereas the one on the board is there to stop run away bias or issues such as red plating. When you get the replacement I would ask them to burn it in and bias it properly before you get it. Also make sure you are letting it warm up in standby for at least 2 minutes before going to town on it and make sure you always put it in standby before powering it down. That will save your power tubes. With no lights or anything I would have thought it would be the power supply fuse. When the board fuse blows it breaks the power to the power tubes but the lights usually still light up.

Also, keep in mind a surge suppressor only stops spikes of high voltage. They do not condition the power or compensate for low voltage. All the other items you listed are DC powered so the power supply is acting as a rectifier to convert AC to DC which will also do some conditioning, at least enough for it to function.
Click to expand...

I will definitely keep this in mind for future amps.
 
I totally understand your feeling.

The volume pot on my PS McCarty Singlecut failed last month and I had to send it in to be fixed. The guitar is only a few months old. But what can you do? Guitar potentiometers are notorious for a high failure rate. PRS doesn't manufacture volume pots, even if they spec' em. Similar stuff happens with other electronic gear.

So despite being concerned, I sent it in, and was without the guitar for less than a week. Fixed, done, nothing to be worried over. It came back perfect!!

I think one problem we enthusiasts sometimes experience is that we so strongly identify with new things that are really important to us, that we tend to psychologically reject the dream item if it has a normal problem, because it has somehow "let us down."

For my part, I've finally adopted the attitude that if something breaks on a piece of gear, I'll have it fixed or replaced, and simply not worry about it. My PRS gear has a fine warranty, I'm going to let them take care of fixing it if it breaks, or let them replace it, send it back to me, and I'll enjoy the heck out of it.

I'm done punishing myself if something has an issue. The gear serves me, I'm not going to serve it. So fix it, replace it, send it to me so I can get on with what I got it for in the first place! :top:
 
LSchefman said:
I totally understand your feeling.

The volume pot on my PS McCarty Singlecut failed last month and I had to send it in to be fixed. The guitar is only a few months old. But what can you do? Guitar potentiometers are notorious for a high failure rate. PRS doesn't manufacture volume pots, even if they spec' em. Similar stuff happens with other electronic gear.

So despite being concerned, I sent it in, and was without the guitar for less than a week. Fixed, done, nothing to be worried over. It came back perfect!!

I think one problem we enthusiasts sometimes experience is that we so strongly identify with new things that are really important to us, that we tend to psychologically reject the dream item if it has a normal problem, because it has somehow "let us down."

For my part, I've finally adopted the attitude that if something breaks on a piece of gear, I'll have it fixed or replaced, and simply not worry about it. My PRS gear has a fine warranty, I'm going to let them take care of fixing it if it breaks, or let them replace it, send it back to me, and I'll enjoy the heck out of it.

I'm done punishing myself if something has an issue. The gear serves me, I'm not going to serve it. So fix it, replace it, send it to me so I can get on with what I got it for in the first place! :top:
Click to expand...

This is totally me...Thanks for those words...Whole new perspective now...
 
MistaSnowman, I can totally feel your frustration...I owned 4 Dual Rectifiers, all bought them new from different dealers....On ALL of those at least one pot died out within a 2 year period. So what are the odds? Everyone is talking about Mesa's lasting a lifetime, well not for me...This is frustrating and I am now totally rejecting my former dream amp...But this lead me to the Archon...And glad it did:proud::proud:
 
iR4lf said:
MistaSnowman, I can totally feel your frustration...I owned 4 Dual Rectifiers, all bought them new from different dealers....On ALL of those at least one pot died out within a 2 year period. So what are the odds? Everyone is talking about Mesa's lasting a lifetime, well not for me...This is frustrating and I am now totally rejecting my former dream amp...But this lead me to the Archon...And glad it did:proud::proud:
Click to expand...

Thank you for your insight!!! :) Make no mistake, I love the Archon and because of the power conditioner suggestion, I may be looking at a new Archon. Since this morning, I've been looking at other amps that 'lost out' to the Archon the first time. The only one that came close was the EVH 5153 combo because it had the extra features that I was looking for (onboard reverb, headphone out, preamp out) but it lost to the Archon then and more than likely it'll lose the Archon again. The only change I might make is to upgrade to the 50-watt 6L6 model.
 
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