it's official.........it was the power amp module which burnt out..............I originally bought the amp from GAK in Brighton as 'B' stock and was assured by the salesman(line 6 retailer) that it was brand new and simply did not have the packaging with it,apparently the person who bought it did not like the 'pop' sound when it was turned on,I was told that it was perfectly 'normal'......stupidly I believed him.....now after 2x150 mile round trips (away touring at the weekend so time was a factor) and £157 lighter the amp no longer 'pops' when turned on.......I was informed by a member of their staff at Rugby that I was just 'unlucky' and that there is a bad one in every batch,in saying that I can't praise the guys in the workshop highly enough.....so to summarise.....dodgy amp leaves factory,dodgy amp gets returned to retailer who passes it off as 'perfect' and end user stumps up cash to have it fixed........happy? not really, but I guess that I don't have to go out and hire an amp and some pedals for the tour......thanks for your input though DickFoster