To retube or not to retube!

[kev]

Hey folks, heres a question for you. My 2nd hand fiddy ive had for maybe almost two years now and I was wondering whether the cost vs benefit ratio would be in favour of a tube replacement yet. As far as i know i've got no way yet to track how long the previous owner had these tubes in for, but I believe they are the stock ones and so have been in there ever since day 1 (so i would presume these tubes could be say 5 years old).

Maybe i'll just buy a set and wait until they pop? How many years of use should these give i wonder! That then brings me onto which ones to dump in, but we have countless threads on this so the search function will then be a handy tool.

 

[Trevoire520]

I've just recently retubed my Marshall and to be honest there isn't as much difference as you might think.

I went from the stock Marshall JJ tubes to a set of Groovetubes E34-L's. And some Groovetubes preamp valves (ECC83s)

The amp seems to be a bit tighter and less "saggy" at high volumes (the E34-L's are designed for this) and the sound on the distortion channel is a tiny bit clearer, but for what I paid (£100) there isn't a big difference to be honest. Though I do like the fact that if I stick to the same valves I wont have to rebias.

That being said, I have head that tubes sound better after being burned in, so I'm gonna try and get it running at gig volumes for a few hours and see if anything changes.

 

[Metaltastic]

That being said, I have head that tubes sound better after being burned in, so I'm gonna try and get it running at gig volumes for a few hours and see if anything changes.

Hmm, that seriously reeks of snake oil to me...

 

[RockGuitarX]

Hmmm... snake oil

 

[Metaltastic]

Hopefully it's better than fish oil!

 

[RockGuitarX]

hahaha true that!

 

[Trevoire520]

Yeah seems to be the same kinda stuff you hear about speakers/headphones, even kettle leads if you listen to the hi-fi crowd! I can understand the idea behind speakers/headphones as there are moving parts but to be honest when you're designing a driver you don't want its sound to be changing over time. But mains cables? Thats beyond retarded.

Maybe I'm just hoping that theres a bigger difference to be had for my £100 seriously doubt it though.

 

[slashvanyoung]

People who break in their cables get mixes from Tad Donley...

 

[KeithTidd]

i'd wait until they go kaput.

 

[bibz]

They sound like shit long before they go kaput usually. And I'd say most tubes are 'burnt in' before you get them. Especially if you buy them somewhere reputable like Dougs Tubes. They're tested for microphonics and gain checked and all that good stuff. Anyone see that kickass tube thing I think it was roccaforte made? That rocked.

 

[Sly]

I just swapped the tubes in my 5150, I had JJ and now have SED "Winged C", there is an incredible difference. Much more than I thought. The JJ sounded awesome, very warm with tons of low mids, but lacked tightness a bit. The SED are the exact opposite : very crunchy, tight as hell sound, awesome for recording I guess !!
Really it is night and day.

 

[kev]

Cheers for the info guys! Sly, i'll check out the Winged C's, cheers for the recommendation.

 

[kaomao]

Yeah retubed my mesa with svetlana winged C... not so big difference in tone itself, there was a big difference in tightness.
Now the amp is way tighter, but the tone is almost the same as JJ, less boomy.

 

[Sly]

Amazing choice ! I love those tubes, they sound really tight in a good way