Marshall 5275 - Buzzing

[Barnsleyboy]

Hi Guys,

Hope someone can help me out with a bit of advice. I've just bought a Marshall 5275 - 75 Reverb off Ebay.
It should sound like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enRmXTKPKC0

But it doesn't. It sounds like this without anything plugged in (all volume/ gain knobs at zero, nothing connected to the input)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/rcc8tvtfc6...ument.m4a?dl=0

When a guitar is connected, the intensity of the buzzing increases - (Volume and Master on 1)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/k3ecbkfgng...n%201.m4a?dl=0

I've requested a return, and the seller thinks that it may have been damaged in transit (even though it was securely packaged). He believes that it may be that during the shipping a mains filter capacitor has either broken away from it's soldering or maybe a leg has broken off and that it is an easy and cheap repair.

I know that it could be a multitude of things, but my gut feel is that the amp was like this when it left him, and it could be something a bit more serious. He's offered to pay for a repair, but using a local guy who is cheap and I know is not very good (I have had problems with his work in the past). I have suggested a different amp tech who is very good, but is more expensive, and suggested that he claim the repair back through the insurance that he took out with ParcelForce. If the amp has been damaged in transit, there shouldn't be an issue - after all, the insurance should protect against this. He seems to be reluctant to do this.

If anyone has any suggestions on what they think the fault might be, I'd be really grateful.

Cheers,

Paul.

[The Dude]

Of course he's reluctant. The shipping company is not going to pay damages unless it can be proven that they caused the damage, which will be difficult to do. Furthermore, if you've dealt with shipping damage before, you know that they will do everything in their power to escape without paying a claim. As to the repair itself, as you say, "it could be a multitude of things". There's no point in guessing. The amp will need to come apart and normal troubleshooting will need to be performed. You are probably safest to return the amp for a full refund at this point, since you just purchased it. If not, you may get stuck paying the repairs yourself.

[Enzo]

Hum can come from so many sources, but a busted off filter cap is a reasonable suggestion for sure. Don't plug anything into it, let it hum, ball up your fist and whack the top of it. Does that cause the hum to stop, even for a moment? Does it affect the hum in any other way. Inside, either one of the filter caps can be moved around with a wire broken free, or the solder has failed on one of them. Easy to check for.

[Barnsleyboy]

An interesting development, I took the amp to the guy who I don't have much confidence in (on the basis that it would be a simple cheap fix).
He checked it over and has said that he couldn't find anything wrong with it and that it's just down to the age of the amp. Now I know
that this is absolute rubbish as he told me the same thing when he tried to fix my Peavey Classic VT some months back. In that instance,
the other amp tech tracked down the problem and now it is whisper quiet!

I communicated this to the seller - again re-iterating my lack of faith in the first guys abilities, and after originally agreeing that there
is something wrong with the amp is now saying that it's working as it should be. I believe that the guy sold the amp knowing that there
was a problem with it, and he's backtracking and changing his story.

He has however offered me £55 back on the sale so that I can get it fixed (the amp cost me £200 originally). The £55 would effectively
equate to 2 hours labour. The guys attitude really sucks, but if I can get it fixed for the money, I'm willing to go with it.

Having listened to the sound clips, could it be that one or more of the capacitors are dry? They were allegedly replaced in a major service
last year, or could it be a dry solder joint? Am I imagining the problem, and is it really down to the age of the amp? I have a Marshall
Reverb 12 which is of a similar age, and that is super quiet. The Peavey I believe was manufactured in the late 70's, and similar story.

Dude and Enzo many thanks for your replies, any further thoughts would be much appreciated.

[Randall]

Your guy telling you he found nothing wrong with it says more about him than it does the amp. There is obviously something wrong with it, and it very well could have come from shipping. It sounds like preamp noise to me, and I'd bet on a bad ground somewhere, starting at the input jack connections. Even if it was "down to the age of the amp" it should be an easy fix by a competent tech. I would take the partial refund and pay someone who knows what they are doing to do what should be a simple repair. And don't be too hard on the seller, he may very well be right when he claims the amp worked well when he shipped it.