What a pfaff. Valve amp

[la bam]

So.... after years of searching I found  Bugera BVV3000 infinum all valve 300w bass amp. Came with large 1x15 and 1x12 cab.

I've had valve amps before - Laney Nexus tube and Ashdown CTM300 - sold them because of impracticality and they were quite valuable.

Anywho, this Bugera was shown working perfect on pick up, and worked perfectly here at home for a few days. Glorious SVT sound. A better sound in my opinion than the other 2 all valve amps - VERY svt.

So, I thought I'd try it with my 4ohm barefaced cab. The previous cab only used jacks, so I used the Speakon on this. There was an instant white noise like a detuner radio. It did settle, but was very valve break up like at low volume.

I then tried a Speakon to jack lead and no change.

I've now brought in the original cab and theres no sound and all the lights on the rear are lit.

What a pfaff. Really dont need this.

So, unless anyone knows a quick fix itll be up for sale. The previous owner also gave me x4 6650 sovtek valves as spares.

It was always connected to a load, and always switched on and off correctly.

Gutted, because it sounded awesome.

[itu]

 

 

I know, I just had to.

[Microbass]

1 hour ago, la bam said:

...........

Gutted, because it sounded awesome.

Unfortunately, having learned from experience, it's always worth getting a second hand amp checked out by a tech unless you know the actual history or have a recent service certificate. 

Not familiar with issues of this model, so maybe someone will have the solution, sadly there could be a multitude of issues that only a tech can sort. 

[la bam]

9 minutes ago, Microbass said:

Unfortunately, having learned from experience, it's always worth getting a second hand amp checked out by a tech unless you know the actual history or have a recent service certificate. 

Not familiar with issues of this model, so maybe someone will have the solution, sadly there could be a multitude of issues that only a tech can sort. 

Yeh, I've contacted a tech to have a look. See what he thinks.

[itu]

Are all valves in place? Anything loose?

Cables checked? I do not rely on any component, if this kind of issue was found.

Put the first cab back. Turn the amp on. Take a pencil or similar wooden stick and knock all valves through. Any funny noise or change in the behaviour, and you have probably found the place of the fault.

[BassmanPaul]

Do the battery test on the cabinets to see if they are working properly.

Make sure the SpeakOn plugs are wired properly and are made by Neutrik. 

Is there an impedance selector on the amp and if so is it set appropriately.

Edited May 22, 2021 by BassmanPaul

[Phil Starr]

Just working from the sequence of events it looks like the speakon socket or lead was the source of the problem. It will probably be directly wired to the jack which may be why that has stopped working. If you are really unlucky it could have caused other damage. If the previous owner used jacks only the socket may have been unused for years, it may have been faulty from new or time may have taken a toll. If you are lucky it may be as simple as replacing the socket or even resoldering a wire. The thing you want to avoid is running a valve amp open circuit so get it to the tech tell them what you told us and with any luck it can be sorted. Hope it goes well.

[la bam]

I've dropped it at the tech, but my gut feeling says the speakonnwas the issue and it's probably wiped out the valves.

It was just very odd. As if you could hear them losing power.

The amp has individual valve leds on the back and theyve all now come on....

We'll see.

[itu]

Dropping the load is fatal to the output transformer and it can melt. That is more expensive and complicated to replace than valves. Wish you luck with the unit.

[Sparky Mark]

On 23/05/2021 at 11:01, la bam said:

I've dropped it at the tech, but my gut feeling says the speakonnwas the issue and it's probably wiped out the valves.

It was just very odd. As if you could hear them losing power.

The amp has individual valve leds on the back and theyve all now come on....

We'll see.

Any news yet?

[la bam]

Frustratingly it's still at the tech's, they still havent even had a look at it yet to let me know what's wrong.

[la bam]

On 01/06/2021 at 23:23, Sparky Mark said:

Any news yet?

Picking it up from the techs today.

Theyve fixed it, so should be all singing and dancing by this afternoon!

[Beedster]

9 minutes ago, la bam said:

Picking it up from the techs today.

Theyve fixed it, so should be all singing and dancing by this afternoon!

Good stuff. As per the above, getting a high power tube head checked by a tech, ideally before buying it, is a good shout. Glad it worked out OK

[la bam]

Had it checked by a guy who used to be a top ampeg tech.

He said the amp sounds great and is built great too.

The main issue turned out to be the valve prongs were a little too short to connect 100% solid all the time so they were slightly moving and causing arcing in the end which did the fuses in.

All fired up and sounding great now.

[la bam]

Just gave it a proper loud 2 hour blast at the studios.

Flippin great sound!!!!

Very, very very SVT.

Very happy.

Now, just got to sit here an hour to let it cool down before I can move it!

 

[Sparky Mark]

5 hours ago, la bam said:

Just gave it a proper loud 2 hour blast at the studios.

Flippin great sound!!!!

Very, very very SVT.

Very happy.

Now, just got to sit here an hour to let it cool down before I can move it!

 

Brilliant news. I agree that these sound amazing and appear to be very well put together. I replaced the nasty spring valve retainers with a set of Ampeg birtcher style clamps to keep them seated firmly without scratching the bottles.

I wonder what happened when you connected your Barefaced cab via the Speakon output that caused the valve seating to become intermittent? Did you put the amp down heavily when moving it at some point?

Edited June 4, 2021 by Sparky Mark

[la bam]

No, I think the tech said it was always happening even when using the jacks, but the Speakon fuse reacted more quickly and recognised the issue and therefore deliberately failed.

[Sparky Mark]

Most of the problems with the BVV3000i seem to be caused by failing valves blowing fuses. As long as these fuses are easily accessible to check/replace, looking after this amp should be relatively simple. 

[Nibody]

I have been gassing for a BVV3000 for years - never see them come up. Suprised you found one.

[la bam]

3 hours ago, Nibody said:

I have been gassing for a BVV3000 for years - never see them come up. Suprised you found one.

Yeh, me too. I always keep an eye open, but thought they'd all long gone. So I'm happy to have got this one.

[la bam]

4 hours ago, Nibody said:

I have been gassing for a BVV3000 for years - never see them come up. Suprised you found one.

I could be tempted to part with it, as my gk is my main amp. This was just for the odd jam and to scratch the valve itch.