Are My Tubes Blown?, how can i tell? |
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Dec 17 2007, 04:13 PM
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hey guys... im fairly new to guitar amps. i started playing bass and am now switching over to guitar. i was able to start with a marshall half stack as my first set up (hand me downs from my dad haha) but this setup is sooo old, as old as i am and im 22 now haha. so i got a new amp.
tho this isnt a "new" amp, it was a friends and he was getting rid of all his stuff cause he was moving. naturally i jumped right to the opportunity to take some music equipment off his hands haha. i got from him an ampeg tube amp. now i thought it sounded great clean. but the distortion was hooorrrible, i just couldnt get it to sound good so i bought the metal zone distortion pedal to fix that. but why does the distortion on the amp itself not work well at all? then after sometime, ive played with some people, two of which asked me, "well why doesnt it work? are the tubes blown?" to which i had no answer haha. i ask when how do i know? and they are like "well you can just hear it"... now im assuming i got the amp with blown tubes. so ive never heard what it "could" sound like. so how do i know? could the tubes be blown? and is this fixable? and how can i find out without just buying new ones? thanks for the help guys this would really be great to get an answer for haha -------------------- Random Person : "got a myspace page?"
Me : "hahaha who doesn't? the url is http://www.myspace.com/maidenmayhem hahah" |
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Dec 17 2007, 04:28 PM
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Hi mate, there was a thread on tubes a few days ago here this may help you with your answer
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Dec 17 2007, 04:36 PM
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QUOTE (Smells @ Dec 17 2007, 07:28 AM)  Hi mate, there was a thread on tubes a few days ago here this may help you with your answer just looked over that page... seemed that other people there were in the same boat as me haha. no one seemed to have a clear answer about it, other then someone saying there are tube testers out there somewhere haha -------------------- Random Person : "got a myspace page?"
Me : "hahaha who doesn't? the url is http://www.myspace.com/maidenmayhem hahah" |
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Dec 17 2007, 05:07 PM
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ya ill probably just have to go about it that way since i dont know what it was originally supposed to sound like and this is my friend amp with tubes. thx for the feedback tho
-------------------- Random Person : "got a myspace page?"
Me : "hahaha who doesn't? the url is http://www.myspace.com/maidenmayhem hahah" |
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Dec 17 2007, 07:31 PM
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Check the tube cover plate or somewhere in the back for a sticker with the date of the last tube change. If the amp has been used a lot (like every other day) and last tube change was 2 yrs ago my guess is that you'd have to change the Power tubes. Otherwise if it's barely used and it's quality they could last up to 10 years I'm sure.
Which in turn is not entirely true since tubes can break if the amp is moved around a lot. Turn the amp on, atch the tubes, play at different volumes and watch the power tubes the entire time. If they don't glow equaly much that could be a sign of that something is wrong. And if one is faulty you have to change all of them /still talking about power tubes) Check if the tubes are clean on the inside, if there's a layer of film inside it's leaking = broken. If when you hit a note it comes with a low frequent buzz, a squeek or similar tubes are likely broken. Regarding pre amp tubes I'd just go by the last changed date and count it so they are changed every send or third time the power tubes are changed. And in general, if they sound crappy why not just change them. It can't get worse, right? QUOTE (Khaos Keith @ Dec 17 2007, 04:13 PM) i was able to start with a marshall half stack as my first set up (hand me downs from my dad haha) but this setup is sooo old, as old as i am and im 22 now haha. so i got a new amp. What???? A 22 year old Marshall tube amp or? You're so lucky! -------------------- My bands homepage
All time favourites: B. Streisand - Woman in Love, M. Hopkin - Those were the days, L. Richie - Hello |
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Dec 17 2007, 08:41 PM
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QUOTE (MickeM @ Dec 17 2007, 10:31 AM) Check the tube cover plate or somewhere in the back for a sticker with the date of the last tube change. If the amp has been used a lot (like every other day) and last tube change was 2 yrs ago my guess is that you'd have to change the Power tubes. Otherwise if it's barely used and it's quality they could last up to 10 years I'm sure. Which in turn is not entirely true since tubes can break if the amp is moved around a lot. Turn the amp on, atch the tubes, play at different volumes and watch the power tubes the entire time. If they don't glow equaly much that could be a sign of that something is wrong. And if one is faulty you have to change all of them /still talking about power tubes) Check if the tubes are clean on the inside, if there's a layer of film inside it's leaking = broken. If when you hit a note it comes with a low frequent buzz, a squeek or similar tubes are likely broken. Regarding pre amp tubes I'd just go by the last changed date and count it so they are changed every send or third time the power tubes are changed. And in general, if they sound crappy why not just change them. It can't get worse, right? What???? A 22 year old Marshall tube amp or? You're so lucky! thanks! ill check all that out... hahaha no the marshall amp isnt a tube amp its the ampeg that is... but yes that marshall is alittle over 20 years old haha... its pretty much falling apart. tho it was that way when i got it from my dad. it was his amp for gigs and stuff so its got so wear and tear damage haha PS: any idea on what it would cost to change out all the tubes for new ones in the ampeg? -------------------- Random Person : "got a myspace page?"
Me : "hahaha who doesn't? the url is http://www.myspace.com/maidenmayhem hahah" |
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Gear: Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster, Gibson '67 RI Flying V, Mesa Boogie F-30 112 combo, crazy pedals.|
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Dec 18 2007, 12:32 PM
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-------------------- Random Person : "got a myspace page?"
Me : "hahaha who doesn't? the url is http://www.myspace.com/maidenmayhem hahah" |
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Dec 18 2007, 03:42 PM
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QUOTE (JVM @ Dec 17 2007, 11:44 PM) Hey MickeM, I when I switch my amp from standby to on, one of the power tubes flashes blue fairly strongly - is that okay? The other one might be doing it too, I can't really tell, but if it is its much less obvious than the other (I think it might just be a reflection of the other tube though). [edit] BTW, if you remember, I bought this used. I kind of doubt the tubes have ever been changed, there's no sticker or anything on the back. It's at least a few years old, but I'm not sure how much it was used before I bought it, though it had a little wear and tear. Just a guess but I don't think that's due to worn tubes, when you go from standby to On you will increase the voltage. Maybe it's not running on the correct voltage on standby so the "jump" is too high. Might want to check the bias there but I suppose there's no panic. -------------------- My bands homepage
All time favourites: B. Streisand - Woman in Love, M. Hopkin - Those were the days, L. Richie - Hello |
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