Crate v18 Catastrophe

[junkyard]

2x12 model
2-el84
3-12ax7

amp gets too loud, too quick, and if the gain is all the way up, level(master) has no effect.
notes squawk with an extreme high pitched treble-ish volume. (not at all subtle)
tone controls effects are negligible.
i opened it up checked the tubes, one socket seems to be lacking (dimmer) regardless of the tube in it.
planning on a retube, what else should i look into?
thank you anyone for your help!

[g1]

Is the tube that is dimmer one of the preamp tubes? If so are both sides of the heater lit up? If not maybe the socket is bad or needs to be resoldered if it's board mounted.
The problem with the controls could be 1 or more cracked pots or bad solder connections to the pots.

[junkyard]

forgot to mention...

Is the tube that is dimmer one of the preamp tubes? If so are both sides of the heater lit up? If not maybe the socket is bad or needs to be resoldered if it's board mounted.
The problem with the controls could be 1 or more cracked pots or bad solder connections to the pots.

yes it is a preamp tube socket v3 and is board mounted, the sockets seem to be of poor quality. both sides are lit but very dimly.

im goint through the circuit via multimeter today so well see what comes of that...

[jboots00]

2 things you might check. Crate put a solid state switching supply in the V18. They're cheaper than conventional supplies. Make sure the output voltages are correct and if you have a scope, check to see if there is excessive ripple on the outputs. Switching supplies operate somewhere in the 40kHz plus range and that noise can create havoc if it gets into the amp. Also pull the power supply loose from the amp and ohm out the power supply input. The amp is only fused at about 300mA or so (if I remember right) so if you read some low resistance on the power supply input to the amp, something is shorted or almost shorted.