| Author |
 Topic  |
|
hateandwar
Gold Member
Australia
524 Posts |
 Posted - 03/18/2010 : 03:26:14
|
Gday everyone.
I firstly apologise if this topic has been covered before, but I just wana hear some opinions.
Firstly, my 50 watt head has 4 electro harmonix 12ax7s, and 2 sovtek 5881s in it.
They were in the amp when I bought it. They obviously still work fine, but how do you REALLY know when to replace them?
Also, what brand of tubes do you like/recommend?
I have heard good things about JJ and tung sol.
Cheers!
Ps apologies for my lack of knowledge on the subject. |
Edited by - hateandwar on 03/18/2010 09:13:02 |
|
|
DasBeef
Gold Member
United Kingdom
704 Posts |
Posted - 03/18/2010 : 09:18:26
|
| I was going to ask the very same question! I look forward to the reponses.... |
 |
|
|
JCDenton6
Bronze Member
USA
101 Posts |
Posted - 03/18/2010 : 09:36:30
|
Like the previous question, this is a difficult one. A simple guide is to replace the power tubes twice as often as the preamp tubes, because they wear out more quickly. An amp that is used every day should expect to replace its power tubes every one or two years. If you notice lower output, strange noises, or a "muddier" tone, your tubes probably need replacing.
In my experience, Tung Sol's are one of the best 12ax7's you can buy! But get the gold pinned re-issue they have just released...
http://thetubestore.com/tungsol12ax7g.html
I put one in place of the Sovtek 12ax7-wa in my Blackstar DISTX ... 
what a difference guys! I just ordered 2 more for my Marshall head.
|
Edited by - JCDenton6 on 03/18/2010 09:57:45 |
|
|
|
RONanFEZ
Bronze Member
USA
85 Posts |
Posted - 03/18/2010 : 10:03:14
|
when a problem arises, such as hissing, popping, crackling, or if you notice an overall degradation of tone. I use JJ  |
|
|
|
Brutalitarian Supremacy
Silver Member
USA
270 Posts |
Posted - 03/18/2010 : 11:47:55
|
if it's a power tube you'll know ...your amp won't work ...preamp tubes are easy to replace ...no biasing involved(you can even pull em while the amps fired up!)so experiment, they're cheap to boot...before I decided on the preamp tubes I bought, just slapped a bunch of diff. brands in diff. combinations before I settled on what I wanted...v1-GT v2 Tsung-Sol v3 Tsung-Sol v4 EH...thats in my Marshall's...Orange Amps get Genalex Gold Lion EL34's down the line...
|
|
|
|
zerksies
Double Platinum Member
USA
3406 Posts |
Posted - 03/18/2010 : 12:16:26
|
| When i have to start changing my tone setting, raising the bass and bringing down the treble is a good sign the tubes are going |
Edited by - zerksies on 03/18/2010 12:59:18 |
|
|
|
silvertone6120
Gold Member
USA
609 Posts |
Posted - 03/18/2010 : 15:25:45
|
Personally I've only ever changed preamp tubes when one died. No need to mess with them like you do power tubes(and some I've had in amps for twenty years now, with regular play).
Power tubes...it just depends on how often you play. Like has been stated, when you notice the tone starting to go, that's when it's time to change.
|
|
|
|
Ollie
Gold Member
United Kingdom
729 Posts |
|
|
FRANZONI
Double Platinum Member
Ireland
3543 Posts |
Posted - 03/18/2010 : 16:43:52
|
Like the other posters.when you start to notice strange things with the amp it's nearly always tube related...
Ollie....some places i've bought tubes and parts out of in the past...
http://www.tubeampdoctor.com/
http://www.tube-town.net/ttstore/
http://www.watfordvalves.com/home.asp
also a local supplier who had so JJ el84's in stock...
watford valves were good but a bit expensive compared to TAD and Tubetown replied to my emails promptly and the stuff arrived packed well,quite quickly as it was coming from Germany and as described...plus tubetown threw a couple of chocolate bars into the box that the little Franzonis loved.....
For what it's worth i like JJ tubes for their tone but out of the box some of them can be duds..i've had more dud JJ's than any other tubes over the years including sovtek stuff i bought down the markets on a sunday morning...JJ SERIOUSLY NEED TO WORK ON THEIR QC ESPECIALLY ON THEIR VALVE BASES WITH THEIR LARGER OUTPUT VALVES ..I.E. EL34'S AND KT 77'S ETC.... WHICH IMHO LET THEM DOWN SOME COME LOOSE OR OFF KILTER AND BADLY MANUFACTURED OUT OF THE BOX PLUS DON'T STAND UP TO THE HEAT TOO WELL THAT A VALVE LIKE A EL34 PRODUCES AND CAN SNAP OFF AND BREAK EASILY AFTER ONLY A COUPLE OF MONTHS ESPECIALLY IN AMPS WITH HIGH PLATE VOLTAGES...silverface Fender twins and musicman amps spring to mind..they advertise that KT-77's are perfect in this aplication but i had 3 out of 4 i bought fall apart and considering they were nearly �20 each thats pretty expensive... so far their 12ax7's and EL 84'S have been great... but then there are no bases on these tubes........I have T.A.D branded EL84's in T.A.D. adapters in the Marshall for at least the last 5 years that only now are starting to sound like they need replacing..defo would use him again as well..... |
Edited by - FRANZONI on 03/18/2010 16:49:02 |
|
|
|
Dirk
Platinum Member
Netherlands
1309 Posts |
Posted - 03/18/2010 : 17:15:50
|
quote:
Originally posted by FRANZONI
JJ SERIOUSLY NEED TO WORK ON THEIR QC ESPECIALLY ON THEIR VALVE BASES WITH THEIR LARGER OUTPUT VALVES ..I.E. EL34'S AND KT 77'S ETC.... WHICH IMHO LET THEM DOWN SOME COME LOOSE OR OFF KILTER AND BADLY MANUFACTURED OUT OF THE BOX PLUS DON'T STAND UP TO THE HEAT TOO WELL THAT A VALVE LIKE A EL34 PRODUCES AND CAN SNAP OFF AND BREAK EASILY AFTER ONLY A COUPLE OF MONTHS ESPECIALLY IN AMPS WITH HIGH PLATE VOLTAGES.
Have you contacted JJ about this and how did they reply?
IMO it is important for manufacturers to know this stuff so they
can do something about it.
I for one wouldn't hesitate to email a company about some faulty stuff
right out of the box, I guess in the long run we could all benefit from this. |
Edited by - Dirk on 03/18/2010 17:16:24 |
|
|
|
FRANZONI
Double Platinum Member
Ireland
3543 Posts |
Posted - 03/18/2010 : 18:15:44
|
quote:
Originally posted by Dirk
quote:
Originally posted by FRANZONI
JJ SERIOUSLY NEED TO WORK ON THEIR QC ESPECIALLY ON THEIR VALVE BASES WITH THEIR LARGER OUTPUT VALVES ..I.E. EL34'S AND KT 77'S ETC.... WHICH IMHO LET THEM DOWN SOME COME LOOSE OR OFF KILTER AND BADLY MANUFACTURED OUT OF THE BOX PLUS DON'T STAND UP TO THE HEAT TOO WELL THAT A VALVE LIKE A EL34 PRODUCES AND CAN SNAP OFF AND BREAK EASILY AFTER ONLY A COUPLE OF MONTHS ESPECIALLY IN AMPS WITH HIGH PLATE VOLTAGES.
Have you contacted JJ about this and how did they reply?
IMO it is important for manufacturers to know this stuff so they
can do something about it.
I for one wouldn't hesitate to email a company about some faulty stuff
right out of the box, I guess in the long run we could all benefit from this.
Never bothered or thought about that to be honest but now that you mention it i think your right..i'll fling an email off and see what comes back....three large output tubes packing up within a couple of months(one broke straight out of the box the other two i found in the back of the amp with the bases still in the tube socket.. ) was pretty expensive not to mention a pisser as decent tubes are not too easy to get on the shelves here so usually it's a order on the 'net job with a 5 day lead in time..the old sunday morning market was great but thats gome a long time now and only overpriced fender branded groove tubes or marshall branded stuff available here over the counter... |
Edited by - FRANZONI on 03/18/2010 18:25:13 |
|
|
|
zerksies
Double Platinum Member
USA
3406 Posts |
|
|
Witloofboer
Gold Member
Belgium
513 Posts |
Posted - 03/18/2010 : 23:00:01
|
I change them when they stop working.
I use EHX & Mullard tubes in my preamp section. They're good & not to expensive.
The poweramp has 4 x EL34 Radiotrons. My small amp has a 6L6GC Radiotron. |
|
|
|
starr36
Platinum Member
Canada
1172 Posts |
Posted - 03/20/2010 : 08:19:56
|
Use mesa boogie amps
- preamp 12AX7's basically never need changing. ONLY IF THEY GO MICROPHONIC! You know this by ver ligtly tapping on them they will literally ping
- any good amp will be hard biased correctly, so don't mess with them pre-amp tubes
- i put EHXs in my mesa and they stunk, but the factory STR 7022 back in and the boogie just smoked and sparkled back to life; tried some JJs and meh ..... I got a mullard date coded 1960 from a garage sale 4 years ago and haven't tried it ... some dude on ebay was selling them for $100+ so i'm thinking of not cooking it.
- power tubes - yep, you lose tone or they go muddy BUT, make sure all your SPEAKER WIRES have good connections, a weak speaker connection can have your tube amp's output transformer not see the correct load and suck the life out of your tone - this probably damages the amp and the tubes over time, but if you catch it early, you might be able to save the price of new tubes with a two minute solder job. USE CORRECT SPEAKER WIRE!!!! haha, how many clowns put a coax guitar cable between their head and the cab... don't do it!
- always keep matched extra power tubes handy, just play your amp until they die.
- honestly HAVE YOU EVER HEARD ANYONE'S TUBES DIE IN A GIG???? NO, you have not.
- nasty reality, tubes are never the same, so if you got good ones enjoy em, you might not get that same sound once they die ...
- Finally, all the bs about biasing, play a quality amp and there are no biasing adjustments needed. read any of mesa boogie amp owner's manual or their article on their website - i'm not an engineer and only took digital electronics/computer tech and what mesa says about the biasing makes sense ... coming from a guy who gave Carlos Santana his orginal boogie sound, methinks the man knows what he's talking about! |
|
|
|
hateandwar
Gold Member
Australia
524 Posts |
Posted - 03/20/2010 : 08:29:19
|
Wow thanks a lot guys for all the advice.
Jcdenton6, how did you get the new tube in your blackstar??
I pulled apart my htdual and I couldn't work out how I would be able to put a new tube in, and get the old one out!.
I've ordered one of those 12ax7s you recomended as im starting to dislike my htdual.... I am leaning towards my MIJ SD-1 and my MIJ SS DS-1.
My amp isn't making any strange noises or anything, I was just thinking that maybe if I replaced the 12ax7s and the 5881s it may be a nice refresh for it, as I don't know how long they have been in it for, but they do still work fine.
I need to pull her apart and see what power tubes are in it also.
I had a look at JJ output tubes, but they don't make a 5881 tube , is their 6l6 the same thing as a 5881? (Sorry n00b question)
Again, thanks for the great advice guys. This is one of the reasons why I love this forum so much. |
|
|
|
hateandwar
Gold Member
Australia
524 Posts |
Posted - 03/20/2010 : 08:34:09
|
| Yeah I was told to just use any old guitar cable, but I went and bought a really nice planet waves speaker cable. Looks extremley tough and I've had no problems with it. |
|
|
|
Topic |
|
When do you KNOW its time for new tubes?
