So anyway, yeah, apparently old dead tubes can negatively impact the way your amp sounds. Who knew?

dmn23

dmn23

Duller than cardboard
I bought a used Mesa 5:25 Express Plus a while back and I've been thoroughly underwhelmed with it. But I ordered a new set of JJs (from Eurotubes) for it anyway, and holy sweet merciful Spaghetti Monster, this goddamn thing sounds fucking glorious.

Apparently a tube (or tubes) got damaged in shipping and since I had nothing to compare it to, I didn't know any better.

:facepalm:
 
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At the risk of being Capt. Obvious....
It's all about the tubes...swap in some different brands in V1 and the PI slot and see how the tone takes on different characteristics.
 
gtrjunior said:
At the risk of being Capt. Obvious....
It's all about the tubes...swap in some different brands in V1 and the PI slot and see how the tone takes on different characteristics.
Click to expand...

I've nothing but good things to say about Eurotubes. Tell 'em what you want (in my case, gobs of clean headroom) and two days later you get a handpicked and tested set—with clearly marked V1 and PI tubes—that will make you feel funny in your daddy parts.

I'm sure there are other companies that offer identical services but I haven't tried them. I've used Eurotubes for years though and I can recommend them without reservations.
 
I buy tubes for my MESA from eurotubes. My express runs its power tubes biased way hot. Sbesides modding the bias circuit to cool it down, I contacted eurotubes with the numbers I was seeing in the power section. They hand picked a set of JJs and gave me the specifics of what to order next time. I'm two sets of power tubes into 'em at this point.

Yeah, it turns out tubes wear out. Replacing a tired set is like getting a new pair of keds when you were a kid.
 
I have two tube amps and am deathly afraid of swapping tubes lest I fall down yet one more rabbit-hold in search of the Holy Grail of tonez...
 
It's not necessarily the age of the tube but how used it is.
I have tubes from the 60's I'm my amps and they sound phenomenal
 
bsman said:
I have two tube amps and am deathly afraid of swapping tubes lest I fall down yet one more rabbit-hold in search of the Holy Grail of tonez...
Click to expand...

It's not as life-sucking as you imagine. It's more of a functional thing. If you want your amp to be a crystal clear as possible, you use tube X... if you want a little more breakup a little earlier, you use tube Y... and if you want more gain but less volume, tube Z.

There's not that many tube manufacturers and some are harder to get than others. Just a little googling and maybe the purchase of 3 or 4 extra tubes to try in key spots and your work is done.
 
baimun said:
It's not as life-sucking as you imagine. It's more of a functional thing. If you want your amp to be a crystal clear as possible, you use tube X... if you want a little more breakup a little earlier, you use tube Y... and if you want more gain but less volume, tube Z.

There's not that many tube manufacturers and some are harder to get than others. Just a little googling and maybe the purchase of 3 or 4 extra tubes to try in key spots and your work is done.
Click to expand...

Agreed. As much as I flip gear and try everything, I've never gone down a tube hole before.
 
gtrjunior said:
It's not necessarily the age of the tube but how used it is.
I have tubes from the 60's I'm my amps and they sound phenomenal
Click to expand...

You've fallen prey to the propaganda of BIG TUBE. /jk

I have a cedar cigar box full of various tubes that I swap in and out of my amps. In my current fave, the Orange Tiny Terror, I've settled on an NOS 5751 in the V1 position. Has about 70% of the gain of a 12AX7 and produces a more vintage, "spongier" breakup that I dig.
 
GDSmithTX said:
You've fallen prey to the propaganda of BIG TUBE. /jk

I have a cedar cigar box full of various tubes that I swap in and out of my amps. In my current fave, the Orange Tiny Terror, I've settled on an NOS 5751 in the V1 position. Has about 70% of the gain of a 12AX7 and produces a more vintage, "spongier" breakup that I dig.
Click to expand...
I just meant that just because a tube is "old" doesn't mean it's useful life is over. Rather it's how worn it is from the use it has gotten. There's only so many usable electrons in there.
 
How do you guys swap out tubes?

I have no idea how to bias them if I tried it. I've watched videos on how to do it and still don't know what the flock they are talking about :shrug:

Plus, isn't there a shock danger?
 
Jbird said:
How do you guys swap out tubes?

I have no idea how to bias them if I tried it. I've watched videos on how to do it and still don't know what the flock they are talking about :shrug:

Plus, isn't there a shock danger?
Click to expand...

Some amps don't need to be biased. I've never biased or had an amp biased either.
 
bsman said:
I have two tube amps and am deathly afraid of swapping tubes lest I fall down yet one more rabbit-hold in search of the Holy Grail of tonez...
Click to expand...


At the risk of sending you down that hole... as baimun said different tubes can get you very different tones. And... different tubes sound different in different amps. I never liked JJ preamp tubes... they turned my Peavey classic 50 head into a muddy mess. Flash forward 10 years, was looking at changing tubes in my Blackstar HT40 and per a GilmourRules suggestion I tried a JJ. Wow, sounded great!

Power tubes make a difference too, you should bias after changing power tubes and install matched sets when you change them. How to bias an amp varies radically from amp to amp... Google is your friend, and if that fails, find a good tech. I changed the TAD stock power tubes in my Blackstar to Tung Sols and the sound changed quite a bit, more "oomph" but a little less gain. Worked well for me.

Preamp tubes are cheap and easy to change, try that first. Power tubes will make a difference but are more expensive and more complicated (biasing etc...)

Don't be afraid of that rabbit hole... you may come out the other side with a much better sounding amp!
 
Jbird said:
How do you guys swap out tubes?

I have no idea how to bias them if I tried it. I've watched videos on how to do it and still don't know what the flock they are talking about :shrug:

Plus, isn't there a shock danger?
Click to expand...


Yes, big time shock danger... lethal voltages. If you're apprehensive about it have a tech do it.
 
Jbird said:
How do you guys swap out tubes?

I have no idea how to bias them if I tried it. I've watched videos on how to do it and still don't know what the flock they are talking about :shrug:

Plus, isn't there a shock danger?
Click to expand...
Preamp tubes don't need to be biased....just swap and swap again. The power tubes may or may not need to be biased, as Chad said. Some amps "self bias" others have a bias adjustment inside the chassis. If you're particular amp needs to be biased, bring it to a tech if you're not comfy doing it yourself.
I know some guys here don't bother with biasing etc...I don't recommend it. The amp/tubes are meant to be run at a particular voltage setting....for a reason. At the least, you're tubes won't last long....worst case scenario, a tube blows out and takes a screen resistor with it....now you're definitely going to a tech for that repair.
If you have a bias probe (or multi-meter), it's a simple procedure. I can bias my amp in about 10-15 minutes.
 
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