All-Tube Amplifier Question?

Posted by admin in Tuesday, June 2nd 2009

RoWidZ asked:

I recently bought an 100W all-tube Peavey amplifier. It has four distinct tubes within it, which sound amazing. I’ve heard that tubes can be fragile and usually end up broken if you gig much and are hauling it around to shows. Ive also heard that tubes are also a pain because they are constantly blowing up. Is any of this stuff true? If so, how can I avoid breaking my tubes when I’m hauling my amp, how often does a person have to replace tubes generally (due to wear and tear)…and are they expensive?

Check mortgage score free

Sphere: Related Content

2 Comments

Daniel K said in June 5th, 2009 at 3:58 pm

Pretty much “yes” to all your questions. Just make sure the amp has cooled down before you move it around a lot. Tubes do not like being subjected to shock when they are warm. They are pretty expensive and many musicians have a spare set on hand. They should last a few years with normal playing. You might consider getting a solid state amp for gigging - they are much more durable.

Saul said in June 6th, 2009 at 8:29 pm

I disagree.

Tubes are much less fragile than you might think - the only times I’ve ever broken tubes is when I a) leave them out in the garage or wahtever and they are subjected to freezing temperatures, b) when I’ve dropped them, c) when I’ve not paid attention to the retaining clip while taking them out of their socket and twisting too hard.

I’ve never had a tube blow on me. I’ve also never purchased the cheapest tubes I could possibly get, though. Maybe that’s a problem with some people? You get what you pay for to some extent….

You should take care of your tubes, though. Always use your standby switch, leave it on standby for 1 minute before you power up all the way, if you aren’t playing it for a while (ie 15-30 minutes or more) then put it back on standby, and leave it on standby for 1 minute before you turn it all the way off.

I have normally replaced my tubes every year, although this is usually overkill. Every 2-3 years should be sufficient if you’re only playing a few times a week.

Preamp tubes aren’t expensive - maybe 12-20$ a pop. Power tubes *can* be expensive, and they need to be matched, which can raise the price a bit. I wouldn’t bat an eye at paying over 80$ for a matched quad, I would completely expect it to be in that range.

Tubes rule, especially when you can swap them out for other types of tubes. An amp that takes 6L6’s can also take EL34’s and KT-66’s, for instance - and each type has a different sound to it. You will need to have your amp rebiased, but that’s not too crazy.

Congratulations on the new purchase… the only real drawbacks to tube amps is a) they’re heavier than solid state amps, b) 100 watts is a lot of power - you’ll have to turn your amp up to get it to sound really good. Consider getting an attenuator (ie THD Hot Plate, etc) so you can turn it up and get that “cranked” sound but still have reasonable volume levels. Another option is to get a booster/overdrive pedal to hit the tubes harder and get a more wicked crunch without having to turn it up so much.

Saul