Ok whats the deal with tubes? What do you guys use in your amps? How much difference does a tube make as far as sound?

I have a RI twin reverb with stock groove tubes in them, and a recently aquired showman with svetlanas in them. Id like to possibly use the same tubes for both amps, or is this a bad idea?

If say, I get either amp, or both, rebiased for say some NOS tubes are these things always available? Will they run out at some time thus making me rebias the amp(s) again?

I dont dont diddly about tubes (or amps) so any help would be appreciated.

eddiekatcher
I have had the best luck with Ruby output tubes. So far the ones I've used (matched quads) have sounded really good and lasted a long time. I've tweaked the bias of my quad 6L6 amps from one end to the other and usually end up at about -52v. My amps seem to run slightly cooler at about this point. I use Gerald Weber's method to set the bias. I plug it in, load it down and play till I run my wife nuts upstairs and all the while monitoring the bias voltage with a digial volt meter. When the amp sounds happy, I'm happy........ed

Dude, you have to dumb it down a tad..."Matched quads" just means the 4 big ones are the same right?

In addition to the aforementioned Rubies, I can highly recommend both the Electro-Harmonix 6L6GC's (currently gettable from Reverend Guitars for like $23 a matched pair!) and the Sovtek 5881's (usually around ten bucks a pop). If you're aiming to use the same tubes in both the TRRI and the Showman, I'd go for the Sovteks; they won't break yer bank account, and they are especially well-suited for surf sonics. NOTE: do NOT confuse the Sovtek 5881 with the Sovtek 6L6! The latter is by all accounts pretty crummy sounding by comparison. The 5881's come in both a large base & small base form; pick the large base if you have the "wing" style tube retainers in your amps. If you have the spring-n-halo retainers, either one'll do swell.

In a case like this, I wouldn't bother doing the NOS thing, especially with eight tubes to contend with. The aforementioned current models sound as good as you'd want, for a fraction of the price. Another thing to consider is that a lot of the NOS "mojo" has to do with tubes' distortion characteristics, and as you know, the Twin Reverb & Showman's power stages very, very seldom get pushed into distortion territory. A Deluxe or Bandmaster might be a different story altogether... but for high-power rigs like yours, stick with the Sovteks. Heck, you could practically buy another amp with the money you'd save on tubes...

Hey guys great info thanks!
I just have a dumb question, how do I remove the tubes? I took a pic of my showman to show what 'style' the holders are or whatever, are these 'halo' that someone mentioned. (I keep forgetting its a dual showman, if that makes a difference as far as tubes go.)

Also, do the little tubes have to match with the big ones or just each other? And finally, which tube powers the tremolo in the showman and the trem/reverb in my TRRI?

Thanks!

I too can speak favorably for the Electro Harmonix 6L6's thats whats in my ProRev right now. I have heard plenty good of JJ's too and I have a pair of them in waiting. If I get time, I may swap in the JJ's and do an AB comparison with the Electros. As for removing your tubes you need to try and spread the metal wings gripping the base a little bit while pulling the tube straight down. Kind of a two handed job although I have gotten to where I can do it with one. If the metal wings do not grip the base of the new tube when you install it you need to re tension them so they do.

2012-2013: FILTHY POLAROIDS

vacuum tubes. dinosaurs. whatever. i've had good luck with ruby tubes, sovteks and groove tubes. like the ruby tubes the best. tubes may be from the defunct school of thought technically but they sure sound great for surf peace

yes they do sound good. but i have heard tube amps amps that sound like shit and solid state amps that sound great. my point was---tubes are an old technology--they are fairly unreliable, they are environmentally speaking horrors to produce and only luddite guitar players seem to want their continued existence and production. solid state technology has taken over---------pcs, stereos, anything related to computers, your ipod thing, tvs. whatever. tube are dinosaurs on their last legs. the number of musicians still clinging to the use of tubes is miniscule at best. kinda of like women getting the vote--the days of women not being allowed to vote are gone. time moves on iron. sorry for the problem with my point. the tube tyranny will pass eventually and rock and roll eventually will pass too. not my rules---its THE WAY things are, all things must pass. i've got a blues jr with tubes but it ain't forever. sorry for the rant, just my opinion. peace

IronMaiden
all the bands were using tube amps
And were talking 16-20 year old kids.

This is true for Id say 99 percent of every show I go to.

I dont see tube amps dying out, or Rock and roll either.

Keep in mind, too, that when a tube amp goes kaput -- which doesn't actually happen all that often, in my experience -- it's generally not that big a hassle to fix (the exception being some of the newer channel-switching "all-tube" amps such as the Hot Rod Deluxe et al, which actually have a dizzying amount of op-amps & other solid-state stuff in 'em). When a solid-state amp dies, often it meets the same fate as the modern TV & radio when they get problems - straight to the scrap heap! And I can tell ya THAT ain't an environmental delight either!

It's true there's lotsa great-sounding solid-state amps out there, but the problem is, for them to sound anywhere as good as a tube is gonna take like a dozen parts for every one in a tube amp. And asided from the arguable tonal benefits, with fewer parts involved, tube amps have a lot fewer things to go bad -- and ironically, are probably MORE reliable than solid-state as a result. The only tube amps I've seen crap out live have been at least thirty years old (usually silverface Twins beat all to hell!), and way overdue in terms of maintenance. Considering ya almost never SEE a thirty-year-old solid-state amp still in service, it's hard to compare reliability in this circumstance. But one significant thing I've noticed: the tube amps I've seen crap out onstage were back in action a gig or two later. The solid-state amps I've seen crap out, alas, were never seen again. Not only are they harder to diagnose & fix -- a lot of shops won't even bother -- but it usually just isn't worth the money to GET 'em fixed. It doesn't make sense to spend $200 to fix a $350 amp that you got for its purported reliability, and most repairmen'll even tell ya that upfront.

Don't get me wrong, I'm no Luddite by any means, and I have no problem using solid-state stuff when it sounds good (or wonderfully awful). But honestly, I think the whole idea of it being more reliable & efficient is a complete myth*. I think the best reason to use solid-state equipment is for the price. No shame in that! You can get some great-sounding, versatile combos for peanuts these days -- but honestly, if one of those conks out on the road, you've HAD it... there ain't NOTHIN' you can do. With a relatively lo-tech tube amp, though, you can pack some extra tubes, a spool of wire & a soldering gun, and you're protected against most anything that's gonna happen to ya...

(... knock on wood...)

*(And a lot of this is due to modern manufacturing methods as much as anything. I've got an old Peavey Standard transistor head that is an absolute MONSTER, totally bulletproof, which has withstood all manner of abuse & neglect without a whimper -- but if ya look inside, it bears NO resemblance to the spit-em-out boards ya see today).

The percentage of professional guitarists that use tubes over solid state must be astronomical.