Mesa TA30 head - noisy fan

StefB

I acquired this last week after prematurely letting one go in the past and it is even better than I remember.

But, it has a VERY noisy fan.  Not noticeable at stage volume, but hugely annoying at home, particularly when not playing.

Thankfully the amp doesn't suffer from the much discussed reverb & effects loop noise issue earlier models had (for which I know there is a fix anyway).

I have well over a week of a 14 day return period left and really do want to keep the amp, but not if it is likely to involve much further expenditure as outlay on the amp itself is already at the limit of what I was willing to pay for one of these.

Anyone have any advice?  Will an off the shelf PC style fan do the trick, and is it something I can fit myself if so?

Thanks in anticipation...

snowblind

 Yes and Yes.

Obviously match the specs on the original to replacement as closely as possible  but you might also be able to sneak in a few improvements. If you can find a new fan with the same physical dimensions but either a lower noise floor or rated for higher voltages (so it will run slower and thus quieter) you might be able to end up with something quieter than when it was new. 

Did this recently with an Epiphone BC30. Managed to find a fan spec'd 15dB quieter than the original which had a failed bearing when I bought the amp. 

fretmeister

See if Noctua or BeQuiet have a suitable fan.

StefB

Thanks both. 

ecc83

ICBM will I am sure confirm but I think the fan will be mains powered so swapping it out requires you know WTF you are doing there!

My personal mod would be yes, a quieter fan but I would also feed it from a thermal switch strategically placed. You might find such a switch, one set for 50C for instance, does not trip the fan for several minutes giving you 'quiet time'.

Dave.

fretmeister

Mesa go really cheap on fans.

I had the Prodigy 4:88 bass head for a while and the fan noise was an absolute joke. I traded it in the end and lost a load of money. Didn't even care it was so bad.

As it happens it was also the last valve head I had for bass and cemented my suspicion that valve amps - at least in the power section - are just shite for bass use. Spongy nonsense.