Metropoulos Forum

Hey guys:

Just picked up a Metro 100 MV build off of Ebay. Grabbed it ASAP as I don't know when they'll be back.

I powered it up, and heard the requisite hum from what I assume are the transformers, but when I hit the standby, there is not even a hiss....nothing. Checked all of the the connections between guitar and amp, then amp to cab. Any ideas?

Thanks for the help!

John

fuse
tubes

Thanks, Roe. Checked the fuses...they are fine. All of the power tubes light up, can't really see that the pre's are glowing, but notice they really don't on the amps I have that work...I appreciate the reply!

Ebay amps can be tricky. DON'T open it up yet - if you paid w/ paypal you have an ace in the hole as they initially will side with the buyer if there is a real issue. Since you know the fuses are good (swap them, don't just look at them), don't just visually check the tubes. You need to roll in a new set of tubes if you have them. Start in the pre and swap out one tube at a time. If is still doesn't work, first thing to do is contact the seller and see what gives. If you can remove the chassis carefully and can preliminarily take a look inside without killing yourself, that would be the next step.

Just because a fuse looks good, doesn't mean it is good.

The same thing as with women

Regards

Robert

Kramer wrote:Just because a fuse looks good, doesn't mean it is good.

+1 With a blown HT fuse the tubes will still light up.

Thanks for the replies, fellas. Weird thing is, sometimes when I hit the standby, it fires up and it plays fine. Then other times, I hit the standby...and nothing...no hiss...nothing. I'm totally perplexed. Other times, after I hit the standby, it will take like 7-8 seconds before the amp makes sound. Just stumped....

If flipping the switch helps sometimes I would ask- Bad connection? Bad or dirty standby switch? Poor solder joint at feeds to standby switch? Bad feed voltage to standby switch?

I had (3) different Marshall 30-watt Artist combos in the past. Great amps, but all three would cut out when you least expect it. Turned out to be the switching jack on the effects loop had an internal make-or-break switching tang to route the preamp signal either thru the effect (when a cord was plugged in), or straight to the power section of the amp (when no cable was present). The contacts either were dirty or arc-ed across the gaps, leaving a carbon build-up. I soldered a jumper across the jack terminals inside the amp and used it for a line-out instead (its effects loop sucked anyway).

Also, I talked today to the USA vendor for Cliff UK, the company that makes the jacks and he told me they are fighting a rash of made-in-China countefeits that actually say Cliff on them (instead of Cliff UK) and they have a major failure statistic.

Just some ideas to check out- co

Wow...good call. Thanks! I had a friend of mine look at the build, and he said it looks really well done....just cannot figure what else it could be. Thanks for all of the advice. When the amp works, it really sounds great. Just so frustrated about this.

Thank you again.

chrisom wrote:Also, I talked today to the USA vendor for Cliff UK, the company that makes the jacks and he told me they are fighting a rash of made-in-China countefeits that actually say Cliff on them (instead of Cliff UK) and they have a major failure statistic.

Where's a place to get the good jacks online? Tubesandmore?

joshwilson3 wrote:

chrisom wrote:Also, I talked today to the USA vendor for Cliff UK, the company that makes the jacks and he told me they are fighting a rash of made-in-China countefeits that actually say Cliff on them (instead of Cliff UK) and they have a major failure statistic.

Where's a place to get the good jacks online? Tubesandmore?

Brian Wallace at Marstran has these and a few other bits.

Panzersonor wrote:Thanks for the replies, fellas. Weird thing is, sometimes when I hit the standby, it fires up and it plays fine. Then other times, I hit the standby...and nothing...no hiss...nothing. I'm totally perplexed. Other times, after I hit the standby, it will take like 7-8 seconds before the amp makes sound. Just stumped....

If I was betting man, I would say you have a bad intermitten standy by switch. I would jump it to test.
I've had to replace a few in that spot. Which is one of the reasons I like using the dual tap tranny with dual bias. Way more rugged switch.

As it turns out, it was a bad preamp tube socket. Took it to a respected amp man in St. Louis where I live, Obeid Khan (Reason Amps) and he figured it out. Not sure if the quality of the preamp tube sockets is suspect, but he fixed it.

Thanks to all for your input. This amp is growing on me, although I may prefer the 100 plexis a bit more.