Lazy J20: question for owners

micamused

Hello,

so I have my lazy J20 from last year and played little at home.

I have a few questions after something I noticed last time I used it (maybe it is like that from longer):

After finishing playing (less than 1 hour), the back panel of the amp was really hot, and I noticed that it looked kind of loose, I mean it looks like the back panel has loosen over time, I will post a picture when I get a chance for comparison purposes. Also I touched the tubes and they are super hot too, which I guess is kind of normal but just want to confirm with you guys. I have another p2p amp and I can't remember feeling it that hot after use.

Any comments or photos on yours would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks !!!

hotpickups

The valves will get extremely hot yes so don't touch them immediately after use etc . As for the back panel mine never worked loose but all you need to do is put some dead match sticks into the holes and screw the screws in again and then they will never come out again unless you unscrew the out of course

scovell001

Hi Micamused,

 I was just gonna kinda reiterate what 
hotpickups has said. I regularly play my J20 for 1-2 hrs at a time on variable power/volume levels. When I turn it off I can feel warmth (not scorching heat) from the rear power tubes and If I were to touch them I would surely burn myself.

Having said that, did you know there is a fan installed in the J to help cool it. If you’re experiencing excessive heat & this has caused the back panel to warp then it ‘could’ be another issue. Without seeing the amp it’s hard to diagnose 

micamused

Thanks guys, I will post a pic this week-end to explain better my problem about the panel, maybe it is nothing...

About the fan, is it always on?

hotpickups

micamused said:

Thanks guys, I will post a pic this week-end to explain better my problem about the panel, maybe it is nothing...

About the fan, is it always on?

Yes always on except when it doesn't work

micamused

Is there an easy way to see the fan inside the amp?? or should i just listen to it, like in a PC??

Another question, I used the first knob (power) with a settings different from the minimum and I can feel something happening at about 3/4, like it was engaging a different thing... I don't remember anything about that in the manual. Can you relate with yours?

I took pictures of two things: the loose back panel, and the tubes because I don't know if it is normal the way they are plugged with legs appearing on the sideview (excuse my english)

https://flic.kr/s/aHskJELFzS

digitalkettle

You can take the entire back panel off easily enough...be careful as there's a ground wire attached (but it's long enough to set the panel to one side). Obviously, once you've got the back off, be careful when poking around inside (standard valve amp disclaimer).

My J20 is 5 or 6 years old...I'm pretty sure there's no fan in there...sure it gets hot but I've had hotter.

The tube/valve legs being slightly visible is pretty normal...push the valve back into place if you want...it certainly won't fall out

The VAC control (labelled 'Ground') is very interactive just like the other controls.

hotpickups

Mines about 4-5 years old and I can certainly hear it somewhere. Never bothered me to actually locate it but there is a a faint sound of one

micamused

I will have a look if i can take the back panel off ...

Yesterday I played my fav' LP in the amp with just an Eternity Burst pedal in front, really an incredible amp... I am in love !!!

scovell001

Micamused, looked at your pics. Those are the valve retainer springs. The gap on the back panel looks fine also. The fan is on the back side of the chassis you probably won’t be able to see it

micamused

Thanks a lot, I guess I never realized about that gap, it does not bother me... the amp sounds so good, I just don't want it to have a problem ahahah