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zerksies
Double Platinum Member
USA
3406 Posts |
 Posted - 03/20/2010 : 11:56:41
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quote:
Originally posted by starr36
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!
ok that line about not needing biasing is totally bs I play through a fender twin reverb you gonna say that is a bad amp. i just changed my power tubes. I measure the voltage before i replaced them i had a reading of 37mA,i then put in the new tubes and had a reading of 35mA, in forms of tone a big diffrence |
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silvertone6120
Gold Member
USA
609 Posts |
Posted - 03/20/2010 : 13:57:20
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quote:
Originally posted by hateandwar
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)
Yes, 6L6s and 5881s are the same, the 5881 is more of a military grade though. |
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FRANZONI
Double Platinum Member
Ireland
3543 Posts |
Posted - 03/20/2010 : 14:11:54
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quote:
Originally posted by FRANZONI
[quote]Originally posted by hateandwar
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.
Wouldn't recommend it jake.... better off bringing it back to where you got it and asking for a speaker cable instead or getting your money back and making your own...you can even use a piece of electricial cable and just use two of the wires solder onto a couple of jacks... ...i know a guitar cable will work but at higher volumes it i think guitar cables build up resistance due to the way their construted and thats NOT what you want for your output tubes and transformer....
guys... on the biasing thing i can see both sides of that coin..yes you should bias when replacing tubes in some amps...but i've replaced tubes in the past when i knew no better and the amp worked perfectly fine for years after with no noticeable tone loss...
As for tubes going bad during a gig....i've had a output tube go bad..well redplate is more accurate.... .......
P.S ..i use these in my Marshall to lower the output and they let me get the volume knob up off 2 and get the power amp section cookin'..they also bring a bit of a Vox vibe to the proceedings and the sound i can get with the Strat,Marshall and Lauries HZD in the front end is tops... ..so much so i was thinking of scaling down the pedalboard.... ..i only said i was thinking about it...!!!
http://www.tubeampdoctor.com/product_info.php?cPath=41&products_id=669
Plus EL84's are a lot cheaper to buy and usually easier to get locally over the larger pentode output tubes like a 5881 or 6L6 etc.....
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Edited by - FRANZONI on 03/20/2010 14:24:44 |
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zerksies
Double Platinum Member
USA
3406 Posts |
Posted - 03/20/2010 : 14:19:01
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quote:
Originally posted by FRANZONI
quote:
Originally posted by FRANZONI
[quote]Originally posted by hateandwar
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.
Wouldn't recommend it jake.... better off bringing it back to where you got it and asking for a speaker cable instead or getting your money back and making your own...you can even use a piece of electricial cable and just use two of the wires solder onto a couple of jacks......i know a guitar cable will work but at higher volumes it i think guitar cables build up resistance due to the way their construted and thats NOT what you want for your output tubes and transformer....
guys... on the biasing thing i can see both sides of that coin..yes you should bias when replacing tubes in some amps...but i've replaced tubes in the past when i knew no better and the amp worked perfectly fine for years after with no noticeable tone loss...
As for tubes going bad during a gig....i've had a output tube go bad..well redplate is more accurate...........
Even these non adjustable bias amp are adjustable you have to change a few resistors in the amp.but it is tone and tone is subjective to us all. |
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JCDenton6
Bronze Member
USA
101 Posts |
Posted - 03/22/2010 : 09:53:48
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quote:
Originally posted by hateandwar
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.
Oops, I've missed your reply
Here's a link with pics:
http://www.seymourduncan.com/forum/showthread.php?t=162768
The key is unscrewing all the nuts on the input/outputs and the footswitch first before unscrewing the bottom, as this holds the second PCB in place (the one the tube is mounted to) Make sure to watch out for the clear plastic washers they used on the input/outputs, easily loseable.
As you pull out the first PCB after you pull unscrew the bottom off,
press the footswitch down to free the second PCB, which gives you access to the Sovtek inside.
Then you have to play with the wire holding the tube in place in order to pull it out. it's definitely worth the effort
Despite what the poster at Seymour Duncan's forum said, you can't switch out the tube from the top grill, you don't have enough space to work
I'm really impressed with the high quality components Blackstar used in this pedal though. I'll eventually take HQ pics of the innards myself.
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Edited by - JCDenton6 on 03/22/2010 11:22:44 |
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JCDenton6
Bronze Member
USA
101 Posts |
Posted - 03/22/2010 : 09:58:29
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quote:
Originally posted by hateandwar
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.
I always use the highest possible quality cables myself, It's what is channeling your signal to your amp/cab after all, right?
Monster cables and planet waves are where it's at! |
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FRANZONI
Double Platinum Member
Ireland
3543 Posts |
Posted - 03/22/2010 : 14:40:46
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quote:
Originally posted by JCDenton6
quote:
Originally posted by hateandwar
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.
I always use the highest possible quality cables myself, It's what is channeling your signal to your amp/cab after all, right?
Monster cables and planet waves are where it's at!
Shielded guitar cables can't cope longterm with the output between an amp and a speaker you need a speaker cable or i wouldn't like to speculate on the longterm health of your output tubes and transformer..or make your own like i did..just get a piece of heavy duty speaker wire and solder two jacks on either end... |
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JCDenton6
Bronze Member
USA
101 Posts |
Posted - 03/23/2010 : 01:26:51
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quote:
Originally posted by FRANZONI
Shielded guitar cables can't cope longterm with the output between an amp and a speaker you need a speaker cable or i wouldn't like to speculate on the longterm health of your output tubes and transformer..or make your own like i did..just get a piece of heavy duty speaker wire and solder two jacks on either end...
That sounds good too, I'm going to have to look into that in the near future!
I'm using a planet wave thick gauge speaker cable between the head and cab:
http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/-Speaker-Cable?sku=336105 |
Edited by - JCDenton6 on 03/23/2010 01:32:29 |
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hateandwar
Gold Member
Australia
524 Posts |
Posted - 03/25/2010 : 13:13:33
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| That's the same cable as I use. Please see the blackstar thread about my ht dual =) |
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visserman
Platinum Member
1072 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2010 : 12:04:02
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Here is a smiple thing I do:
When I hear funny noises, I take out the preampvalves, wipe the ends and spray them with contactcleaner. Power up again and problem gone.
Do you really need to change your valves from time to time? Depending on your personality. HOw often do you change strings?
As long as you do not have major issues I would keep my valves in the place where they are without touching them. |
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FRANZONI
Double Platinum Member
Ireland
3543 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2010 : 13:59:35
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quote:
Originally posted by visserman
Here is a smiple thing I do:
When I hear funny noises, I take out the preampvalves, wipe the ends and spray them with contactcleaner. Power up again and problem gone.
Do you really need to change your valves from time to time? Depending on your personality. HOw often do you change strings?
As long as you do not have major issues I would keep my valves in the place where they are without touching them.
Yep... my feelings also ..unless i notice a major problem or a loss of bass and treble from wear and tear on the output valves i tend to leave well enough alone....
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Topic |
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When do you KNOW its time for new tubes?
