I have heard many tired amps and pres benefit from a simple tube replacement. It may be oversimplified to say it, but better all around would be the description I would use.gamblor wrote:great timing for a tube thread to start!! let me give you my dilemma.
i have been in the studio recently with curtis basque recording our band's album. right now, the guitar rig i am using in the studio consists of a vintage traynor yba-3 custom special head going into a vox V412BK cabinet. for some very crunchy/stonery marshall meets vox type distortion, i am using a tech 21 double drive pedal. my guitar is an epiphone dot, with a stock humbucker in the bridge, and a gibson p-94 in the neck. now that im done giving you the background (aka - shamelessly bragging) about my rig, lets move on to the actual question :)
weve just finished recording all of the guitars, and apparently my tone seems to be lacking a bit of life to it. curtis has suggested putting some new tubes in the yba-3, which i believe still has the original tubes in it. from what i hear, this can be an expensive procedure, so before i make an investment i have a few questions.
#1. do brand new tubes make that much of a difference, and if so, what IS the difference?
I am very lucky to have oddioguy now hosting this forum. He is a wealth of information, as well as Weatherstation and some of the other "regulars" in this very new little hang out.gamblor wrote:#2 will the universe implode if i use a different kind of tube other than what is in my amp now? i believe the type of tubes i have now are called EL34's (does this sound right?).
#3 if using different tubes is an option, what do you suggest?
#4 where in the solar system can a person buy vacuum tubes for guitar amps, and how much do they cost?
you seem to know what you are talking about when it comes to these things, so let me know if tubes would be a sound investment or if i should look elsewhere to put my tone over the top (ie. different pedal, guitar pickups, cabinet.... etc)
thanks a bunch! and that was a very interesting article you posted by the way.
U1176 wrote:Try many different preamp tubes since many cost as little as $10.
You will not find a cheaper place locally to buy tubes than Munro's.
I recently did a 12AX7 shoutout with a tube mic and preffered the Sovtek 12AX7 LPS over all others. Funny thing is that it was one of the cheapest, and the most expensive (EH) was by far my least favourite.
I use WA's in my SPL Vitalizer 9530 and I use WB's in my tube pre.
Oh and Weatherstation just outed Oddioguy.
U1176 wrote:If you decide to recondition your rig do not hesitate to PM me. I have a fully outfited repair/maintenance shop in my studio where this can be facilitated.
(waiting for spank from Malcolm)
You'll need to continue taking care of that for yourself...U1176 wrote:(waiting for spank from Malcolm)
oddioguy wrote:Garnett Session Man? Don't remember it...
The crackling can definitely be from the tubes, which were indeed in hard shape. Seems to me I had to replace one of the 12AX7'a as it was dead. The others weren't far behind.
Tubes take time to reach operating temerature, so "yes", all tube amps need time to warm up.
Your amp uses 2 x EL34's, 4 ( I think) x 12AX7, 1 x 12AU7, and 1 x 6JW8.
Plan on dropping $100.00.
Tubes are very easy to install yourself. The only caveat is to watch the power tubes closely for 30 minutes or so after you install them. If the plates start glowing red hot, turn the amp off and have it checked over. The bias may need to be set for the new tubes.
oddioguy wrote:EL34's ( the big tubes) are keyed so they cannot be inserted improperly. The small tubes don't have an actual key, but the pins are arranged so that they can only be inserted one way.
Malcolm Boyce wrote:oddioguy wrote:EL34's ( the big tubes) are keyed so they cannot be inserted improperly. The small tubes don't have an actual key, but the pins are arranged so that they can only be inserted one way.
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