But... can anyone tell me how to tell if I have a blown tube in my amp? My amp is acting weird, and I am wondering if it is a tube or something much worse....
Off Topic!!!
- Thread starter Lethe78
- Start date
April Etheral
Scottish Metalhead
Nuk3m
AKA Porn-Fingers
Kenneth R.
Cináed
details? is the volume dropped out? is it just one channel that's dead?
do NOT buy a solid state amp
do NOT buy a solid state amp
I will play it at normal volume *loud* using my normal distortion *very heavy*, and it will play fine for about a munite. Then the volume kind of cuts in and out (not completely--morel like a 60's vibrato gone very wrong)... It's really starting to fuck with my happiness. I am guessing it is a tube, but not sure, and right now I don't have the coin kicking around to get it looked at because all the music stores within a 50 mile radius are ripoffs..... It never even occured to me to try the other channel.
I appreciate anyone's help in this disturbing matter.
I appreciate anyone's help in this disturbing matter.
Kenneth R.
Cináed
check your cables as well, and if you got one, try another guitar. if it still does that, you probably need to get a tube replaced.
Lethe78 said:
How coincidental!!
I am having a very similar problem with my amp (a DeVille), and it is making my very sad. I will play it for about 15 minutes at a loud volume, then the volume goes to insanely soft, almost inaudible. I was puzzled as to why it happened, and I brought it to the shop, and they were puzzled as well.
Anymore hints?
Weakness
Senior Citizen
Silent Song said:
I tried several guitars, new cables, etc. All my equipment works fine through my other stack.
Thanks for the advice though
.
Kenneth R.
Cináed
JoeVice
Member
yah, that sounds like it could be a tube thing.....
another thought though....i had the same problem once too...i took it in to a repair shop, and they found nothing wrong with it. i then unplugged it from the power-strip, and straight into the wall...not only that, but at the same time, we had our house re-wired....tube amps to draw a lot of power, and if you are in an older house with sub-par electricity flowage or plugged into a power-strip, that could be a problem.
another thought though....i had the same problem once too...i took it in to a repair shop, and they found nothing wrong with it. i then unplugged it from the power-strip, and straight into the wall...not only that, but at the same time, we had our house re-wired....tube amps to draw a lot of power, and if you are in an older house with sub-par electricity flowage or plugged into a power-strip, that could be a problem.
the_drip
Martriden K
There are two main reasons why amplifier tubes need to be changed. The first reason is that the tube(s) simply burn out, causing a malfunction with the amplifier. On certain amps such as the Marshall JCM900 series amplifiers, there is the failsafe fuse, which is built in to indicate power tube failure. The tubes need to be changed immediately so damage to the transformer is avoided. Tubes have no definite life span and can burn out at any time. (Thus Marshall's 90-day warranty on them!)
The second reason and perhaps the more important, is to improve the performance (tone) of your amp. The effect the tubes have on your amp is much like the effect that strings have on your guitar. The more often you play and the more aggressive you play, the faster the tubes/strings will wear out. Playing loud and hard will cause your tubes to lose power and tone long before they finally die. This wear down process is very gradual and most people wouldn't recognize the difference in tone until new tubes were put in and biased by an authorized technician.
Tip: If a power tube goes, you should replace all of them so they will have equal wear over time. This will help provide a more even tone and back up tubes are always a good thing.
A common problem that we've all seen with tubes is a 'microphonic' pre amp tube. This is the culprit that causes that high end squealing even without a guitar plugged in. A way to check this is to unplug the amplifier, remove the back panel, turn the amp back on and then let the tubes warm up. Take a pencil and gently tap each pre amp tube to see which one has a loud ringing or crackling sound. They will all ring to a certain degree but the "bad" one will be much more noticeable. Replace this one immediately. A second way to find it is to pull out the suspect one(s) and replace it with new ones. This is simple because as you know there is no bias procedure for pre amps tubes and anyone can do this without hurting themselves, the amplifier or others. Plus it's always a good idea to have replacements for gigs anyway.
Q: "How do I know if my tubes are wearing down?"
A: These are the most common signs that tubes need replacement:
1) Excessive noise (hiss, hum) including squealing or microphonic tubes
2) Loss of high end. Little or no treble.
3) A muddy bottom end; Sounds like there is too much bass and note clarity is lost.
4) Erratic changes in the overall volume. Can go up and down but generally it goes much lower.
A blown H.T. fuse. (H.T. = high tension (measured in hundreds of volts)
5) The amp doesn't work!
The second reason and perhaps the more important, is to improve the performance (tone) of your amp. The effect the tubes have on your amp is much like the effect that strings have on your guitar. The more often you play and the more aggressive you play, the faster the tubes/strings will wear out. Playing loud and hard will cause your tubes to lose power and tone long before they finally die. This wear down process is very gradual and most people wouldn't recognize the difference in tone until new tubes were put in and biased by an authorized technician.
Tip: If a power tube goes, you should replace all of them so they will have equal wear over time. This will help provide a more even tone and back up tubes are always a good thing.
A common problem that we've all seen with tubes is a 'microphonic' pre amp tube. This is the culprit that causes that high end squealing even without a guitar plugged in. A way to check this is to unplug the amplifier, remove the back panel, turn the amp back on and then let the tubes warm up. Take a pencil and gently tap each pre amp tube to see which one has a loud ringing or crackling sound. They will all ring to a certain degree but the "bad" one will be much more noticeable. Replace this one immediately. A second way to find it is to pull out the suspect one(s) and replace it with new ones. This is simple because as you know there is no bias procedure for pre amps tubes and anyone can do this without hurting themselves, the amplifier or others. Plus it's always a good idea to have replacements for gigs anyway.
Q: "How do I know if my tubes are wearing down?"
A: These are the most common signs that tubes need replacement:
1) Excessive noise (hiss, hum) including squealing or microphonic tubes
2) Loss of high end. Little or no treble.
3) A muddy bottom end; Sounds like there is too much bass and note clarity is lost.
4) Erratic changes in the overall volume. Can go up and down but generally it goes much lower.
A blown H.T. fuse. (H.T. = high tension (measured in hundreds of volts)
5) The amp doesn't work!
