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Coupled with several other design errors that no-one with a lot of real-world repair experience would make, you really have to wonder about their R&D department...
This is nothing new though, the appalling quality of their voltage and impedance selectors in the 1970s was responsible for a lot of blown transformers as well.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Of course this was where the problem was and I seem to recall that they weren't vey helpful.
It might be a myth, but I've heard that Mesa's were designed for the US and don't work so well on European mains voltages.
I can't really see why this would be the case tbh, as I've never heard of this being a problem with anything else.
Some Mesas are a real nightmare to work on as DJH and jpf said.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I think this myth has come about because US MESA amps don't have taps for voltages other than US mains, which of course prevents someone importing a MESA from the US and rewiring the amp to UK voltage, thus avoiding the purchase of a step down transformer or a UK mains transformer.
The cynical view is that this is a barrier to people taking advantage of the huge retail price difference of MESA amps in the US vs the UK.
+1 for Marshall customer service though and their spares are very reasonable.
i haven't delat with Peavey for a while, didn't they shut down or move their UK operation?
All the musical instrument distribution is done from Peavey Europe now. Peavey UK has become a commercial audio installation operation, I think.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
It's clear a number of amp makes fail because of design, so regardless of how well they're made, there's still an issue to overcome e.g. by modding the circuit or the cabinet. But modding a poorly made amp means your chasing the law of diminishing returns as you make good all that poor workmanship as well as design flaws.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
That's not to say that some of them aren't "mugged" by poor design choices elsewhere.
The newer VOXs are OK build quality, and generally I've not seen too many failures due to design faults.
As @ICBM says valve access is poor in some models, and extracting the chassis can be troublesome. I've seen several AC30s where the chassis bolt threads have been stripped, or the T-nut is not gripping.
Regarding modern Vox amps, I have had quite a few mains transformer failures but that said they are Chinese, and I do get a lot of Chinese transformer swaps choose what brand of amp they are in.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein