I ordered a new PS-100 using Amazon and it arrived yesterday. I had been using it for about 4 hours and it seemed to be working fine. Then, all of the sudden, it made a high pinched squealing sound that lasted about 3 seconds. I looked at the PS-100 and could see from the top looking down that one of the tubes was bright red. A burning smell quickly became apparent and then the tube lost its brightness. After that, the smell subsided. The green on/off switch still works and so does the fan. I can still play in bypass mode, just not in operate mode. I would like to open a support ticket using this thread. Please advise on next steps.
Hi Chris,
I didn’t know you could buy that on Amazon! Was it from an Amazon shop for a Fryette dealer?
If you send proof of purchase and its serial number, I’m sure the shop will send you out replacement tubes. See here for how to do that, How can I make a replacement part request?
Regards,
Dan
Had the exact same problem: got PS-100 today, had PS-100 working for about 2 hours, then both tubes emitted a squeal for 5 seconds. Tubes then went bright red, followed by a burning smell. No color from tubes. On/off switch and fan work, unit only works in bypass mode.
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Hey @micklerd01 and welcome to the community 
Sorry to hear this! Are you following the above advice too?
Regards,
Dan
@dan @DavidPhelge Could you and the team at Fryette please get to the bottom of this? This is the fourth or fifth time this same exact issue gets reported.
Squeal sound and the unit smells like fire or smokes and stops working. My unit would squeal if the attenuated amp was on a high gain setting. You guys said to use the ground lift and my unit ended up blowing up.
I got a replacement from thomann but I’m terrified of using it and risking damaging my amp if this happens again and the unit catastrophically fails.
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Yes Dan, We’ve already been talking together and thanks for your help so far. For anyone reading this thread, yes PS-100’s are offered by pitbull audio on Amazon. My understanding is they are an authorized dealer. Thanks
I have not, I’m working on a tight timelines and can’t afford delays dealing with a replacement parts request process that could take days or weeks when I can reliably order the parts for next day delivery. Besides, if the replacements are Fryette-branded tubes, I don’t trust that they won’t fail either.
To give you a sense of the magnitude of the problems I’ve had, I have had four PS-100s come into my studio in the last two months. It is a vastly superior product to what else is out there…when it works. Of the four units I’ve had, three have had the exact same failure: sudden, high-pitched squeal followed by burning smell, green on/off switch and bypass still works. The solution: replace old set of tubes and fuse with new ones (JJs are the tubes I use, the brand I trust most). No problems since.
A more detailed history:
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The three PS-100s that failed were all purchased from Guitar Center or Musicians Friend (same company).
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The one that hasn’t failed (so far) was from a small shop in Texas, Guitar Sanctuary.
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They all had Fryette branded tubes (made by Sovtek). All purchased online in October, November and December 2024.
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I returned the first one from Guitar Center, purchased in October 2024. It failed within the first 20 mins of use. They sent a replacement that was non-functioning, so that replacement got sent back, purchase was refunded.
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Decided to try my luck with Musicians Friend. Replacement for the replacement for the first one lasted two days before it failed.
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Did research online discovered this was a common issue and that changing the tubes to JJs and replacing the fuse seems to fix the issue for good. The time to replace the PS-100 was longer than the time to get new tubes and a fuse, so decided to try my luck with repairing myself. It worked, no problems since.
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Really loved the PS-100, decided to get another for one of the auxiliary studio rooms. Purchased from Guitar Sanctuary in November 2024. This one has worked with no problems.
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Decided to get a third one for the third auxiliary room, purchased just two weeks ago (December 2024), on sale from Guitar Center. This one lasted two hours before the same failure happened. Replaced tubes (JJs) and fuse, no problems since.
Three out of four that I got failed (I’m not counting the non-functioning one GC sent to replace the first one.) The Fryette-branded Sovtek tubes appear to have a high failure rate in spite of the QC done before they are shipped. I have an extra sets of JJs and a fuse on standby in case the second one purchased from Guitar Sanctuary fails.
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Thanks for the report and the details of everything you tried.
The shop is aware of this issue—I’m not sure of the full details. But yes, doing what you already did (replacing the power tubes) is the solution.
Regards,
Dan
Be more concise. The root issue is not resolved by simply replacing the tubes. You must replace the tubes with a different brand of tube in order to improve reliability. Not mentioning that is a dis-service to others who will undoubtedly experience this same issue. Such a disappointment.
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Hi Chris,
This is an annoying issue—for us too. I’ll let you know if Fryette has come to a conclusion about whether it is a tube brand issue or maybe just an issue with a batch like @micklerd01 suggested. Of course we want to inform our customers well. I’m checking with the shop if they have any particular advice, as they have the full picture.
Regards,
Dan