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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Gear »

Permalink Tube swaps?

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DannySnyder
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Joined: Mar 02, 2006
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Berkeley, CA
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Link Posted on Oct 23 2006 09:26 PM

I'd like to hear some first hand experiences of tube swaps. Power tubes or preamp tubes. How drastic a difference resulted? Was it worth the money? etc... go ahead, be specific.

Thanks,

—

Danny Snyder

"With great reverb comes great responsibility" - Uncle Leo

Playing keys and guitar with Combo Tezeta

Formerly a guitarist in The TomorrowMen and Meshugga Beach Party

Latest surf project - Now That's What I Call SURF

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Joelman
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Joined: Sep 07, 2006
Posts: 1490
Redlands, CA
United States
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Link Posted on Oct 23 2006 11:06 PM

Danny I have a Hot Rod Delux. I had used it for a year.( I bought it new) and I started getting pops and crackles so I took it to a shop. The amp specialist there said I was being to rough when I moved it and it could use being re soldered. I told him to fix what ever it needed fixing. He ask what type of music I played and I told him a mix bag, but mostly surf style.
The amp specialist suggested changing tubes to get a warmer and clearer sound. I said, give it a try.
Short of the story.....
The amp sounds so great once it warms up that I can't believe it is the same Fender amp. It cost me about three hundred dollars and eight weeks of waiting to have the amp gone over.
Was it worth it?
Heck Yeah!! Very Happy
Would I do it again? In a hearts beat!
Joel

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PhatTele
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Joined: Jun 05, 2006
Posts: 445
Link Posted on Oct 24 2006 11:09 AM

Experimenting with tube swaps can be both satisfying and frustrating. If you hit on the right combination, it can be magic. The frustration comes in all the money you'll spend trying to find that magic.

Any advice we give is going to be purely subjective and may even lead you to spend a significant amount of money investing in some tubes. However, until you put them in your amp and play them with your rig, you'll have no idea if the investment was worth it or not.

My biggest pieces of advice are (prior to buying a lot of tubes):

1) Get your amp properly serviced (especially a cap job if it hasn't had one in the past 30 years)

2) Properly bias your amp (especially if you have a new one from the store...they're often biased too cold and sound sterile)

3) Get your SF Fender amp's "bias balance" circuit changed to the BF "fixed bias adjust" circuit to take proper advantage of your matched power tubes

4) Use a fresh set of matched power tubes (whatever brand you want)

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kick_the_reverb
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Joined: Feb 26, 2006
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Escondido, CA
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Link Posted on Oct 24 2006 11:42 AM

Hell yeah, they make a difference.
When I first got my amp, I had it serviced at what I thought was a good place. He suggested I use Sovtek 5881 WXT, and based on the old cowabunga gear FAQ (where a lot of people said they were good), I agreed. The amp was distrorting non stop, and sounded pretty crappy at that. The "good" tech did all kinds of things to try to change it, and in the end it was the tube's fault. I changed to Philips 7581A, and suddenly I could play chords without a flubby bottom end. It sounded sterile, but as I found out later, that was the doing of the amp tech. Once another tech got everything back to the right specs, the amp sounded wonderful. Only problem now is what happens when I run out of these tubes (they have become really expensive).
I also tried changing all of the pre-amp tubes, and it made a diffenece, though not as pronounced as the power tubes.
I also changed tubes in my reissue reverb unit, and the greatest improvement was after changing the 12AT7 tube. I did try different brands, and could hear difference between them.

Ran

—

The Scimitars

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dp
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Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 3546
mojave desert, california
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Link Posted on Oct 24 2006 11:48 AM

i think Ran (above) hit on something that is crucial: having the amp properly set and serviced. I play the Bassman 50, which is commonly modified into a Stevie-Ray-Vaughn-Blues-Guitar-Amp...

when I took this amp into the tech-dude, their first inclination was to set it up like a screaming blues-type amp...after much discussions, I was able to get them to understand that the sound I was trying for was pure stock Fender.

I ended up with stock wiring and adjustments as well as 2 GE 6L6 power tubes and a set of Mullard 12AX7 and 12AT7 preamp/tone tubes...

sounds very sweet and powerful...in a very-stock-Fender sort of way.

-dp

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D22
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Joined: Apr 20, 2006
Posts: 2054
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Link Posted on Oct 26 2006 01:26 AM

Speakers and pre-amps will make the most dramatic shift in your sound without having to take it to a tech. This process can be time-consuming and expensive. If you have a sound in mind find out what those people used and make the switch and see what you get. Experimenting can be very expensive to do just for the sake of trying.

Ran's experience is noteworthy. If possible, use tubes that are currently offered. NOS purchases can be expensive-depending where you go. The 12AT7 drives the reverb OT (in a typical Fender circuit) so yes, different tubes may affect the sound of the reverb.

—

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MikeG
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Joined: Mar 29, 2006
Posts: 309
Springfield, Oregon
Link Posted on Nov 02 2006 11:52 AM

Not that this has anything to do with "tube swaps", but thought I'd mention if you use a Musicman amp like me, be aware that due to the high plate voltage (600V IIRC) the EL34 power tubes tend to get eaten up pretty quickly. I think part of the problem is that the newer tubes just don't have as hard a vacuum as old NOS tubes like RCAs and Sylvanias, plus the new tubes seem to be built rather shoddily. A large percentage of the newer tubes I've bought rattle right out of the box.

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