Graham Posted April 13, 2007 Report Share Posted April 13, 2007 i just bought a valve amp ( this one http://www.aberdeen-music.com/forums/equipment/42538-fender-super-60-tube-amp-sale.html.) this is the first valve amp i've owned and was wondering if anyone has any tips on them? got a few from the previous owner such as to switch the power on for a couple of minutes before the standby, but when will i know when the valves need changing, how do i go about choosing valves, is it easy to change them myself, etc. any tips or information is much appreciated. thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lame Guitarist Posted April 13, 2007 Report Share Posted April 13, 2007 i just bought a valve amp ( this one http://www.aberdeen-music.com/forums/equipment/42538-fender-super-60-tube-amp-sale.html.) this is the first valve amp i've owned and was wondering if anyone has any tips on them? got a few from the previous owner such as to switch the power on for a couple of minutes before the standby, but when will i know when the valves need changing, how do i go about choosing valves, is it easy to change them myself, etc. any tips or information is much appreciated. thanks!aah the pleasure of valve amps.Well trust me you will know by the sound when the tubes are needing a changing! The amp will prob lose a bit of volume and sound like shite!!Do you know when it last had a set of new valves in it or a service? i usually revalve an amp every year. Just to keep it in tip top condition if i am using it a lot throughout the year. You can easily replace the valves but its when it comes down to the amp needing biased. I know nothing about that amp but most valve amps need biased and be very careful if you attempt to do that yourself. I learned the hard way and been shocked a few times by tinkering about inside a valve amp. some amps like certain marshalls can be biased without opening the amp out but others cant and you have a lot of voltage in there that can give a very bad shock and make you shit yourself! get a pro to do it..but anyway yeah, switch the power on and let the valves heat up for a couple of mins and then hit the standby button and your usually good to go!when it comes to needing new valves i recommend watford valves. good supplier..valves can be expensive.I have a Diezel that costs over 200 a year to revalve. 6 power tubes and 6 pre amp tubes.thats the joys of loving them.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan G Posted April 13, 2007 Report Share Posted April 13, 2007 aah the pleasure of valve amps.Well trust me you will know by the sound when the tubes are needing a changing! The amp will prob lose a bit of volume and sound like shite!!Do you know when it last had a set of new valves in it or a service? i usually revalve an amp every year. Just to keep it in tip top condition if i am using it a lot throughout the year. You can easily replace the valves but its when it comes down to the amp needing biased. I know nothing about that amp but most valve amps need biased and be very careful if you attempt to do that yourself. I learned the hard way and been shocked a few times by tinkering about inside a valve amp. some amps like certain marshalls can be biased without opening the amp out but others cant and you have a lot of voltage in there that can give a very bad shock and make you shit yourself! get a pro to do it..but anyway yeah, switch the power on and let the valves heat up for a couple of mins and then hit the standby button and your usually good to go!when it comes to needing new valves i recommend watford valves. good supplier..valves can be expensive.I have a Diezel that costs over 200 a year to revalve. 6 power tubes and 6 pre amp tubes.thats the joys of loving them..Who do you get to revalve your diezel?It's just that I have had mine for just over a year and know that sooner or later it will need to be redone... it still sounds fine though, but then again I only use it for live/recording. [Must have played about 50 half hour sets with it] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HateEvent Posted April 13, 2007 Report Share Posted April 13, 2007 I haven't had to re-valve the ENGL yet but no doubt it'll need some soon!As you said in the first post - allow a few minutes to let the valves heat up a bit prior to playing. I do the same when turning the amp off - let it sit on standby for a few minutes before powering down.Enjoy it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaun Posted April 13, 2007 Report Share Posted April 13, 2007 i just bought a valve amp ( this one http://www.aberdeen-music.com/forums/equipment/42538-fender-super-60-tube-amp-sale.html.) this is the first valve amp i've owned and was wondering if anyone has any tips on them? got a few from the previous owner such as to switch the power on for a couple of minutes before the standby, but when will i know when the valves need changing, how do i go about choosing valves, is it easy to change them myself, etc. any tips or information is much appreciated. thanks!how much did you get the amp for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lame Guitarist Posted April 13, 2007 Report Share Posted April 13, 2007 Who do you get to revalve your diezel?It's just that I have had mine for just over a year and know that sooner or later it will need to be redone... it still sounds fine though, but then again I only use it for live/recording. [Must have played about 50 half hour sets with it]#I do mine myself. i put ruby EL34's in - same as it was stock. hook up a multimeter to the external points at the back, take each pairs fuse out and adjust till the pairs are at 65ma each.Thats the good thing about the herbert having the external points, saves opening up the bugger..theres info telling you how to do the VH-4 on diezels website. bit more to that one as i think you have to remove the chassis to bias but its still easy enough. i am prob being a bit fussy i guess doing it every year. just depends on how much you use them - even then you hear stories of valves lasting heavy users 3 years and others only a year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Posted April 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2007 how much did you get the amp for?it was 175. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Posted April 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2007 what happens when the amp is biased and how would i know when it would need that done? also when it sounds like it needs new valves how do i tell if its the big valves or the smaller sized valves that are also in the amp that need replaced? and whats the difference between the smaller and bigger valves? sorry if these questions are really obvious, just i don't know much about valve amps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diesel Posted April 14, 2007 Report Share Posted April 14, 2007 what happens when the amp is biased and how would i know when it would need that done? also when it sounds like it needs new valves how do i tell if its the big valves or the smaller sized valves that are also in the amp that need replaced? and whats the difference between the smaller and bigger valves? sorry if these questions are really obvious, just i don't know much about valve amps.Try this site - lot's of really useful info...Duncan's Amp PagesHappy hunting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuartmaxwell Posted April 14, 2007 Report Share Posted April 14, 2007 for revalving and mods speak to Home - Preamplifiers, amps for professional musicians, recording studios - Emerson Williamsdennis marshall, the man has dedicated his life to toneTHE best amp tech in scotland, very reasonable prices indeed and he doesnt charge on top for the price of valves. plus he will do some other work on your amp while inside, noise reduction et ali cant reccomend this enough, bobby went to him last week and got his mesa single rec fully revalved, with an effects loop mod on it an all for about 160!!!!!! his amp sounds fucking phenomenal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lame Guitarist Posted April 14, 2007 Report Share Posted April 14, 2007 for revalving and mods speak to Home - Preamplifiers, amps for professional musicians, recording studios - Emerson Williamsdennis marshall, the man has dedicated his life to toneTHE best amp tech in scotland, very reasonable prices indeed and he doesnt charge on top for the price of valves. plus he will do some other work on your amp while inside, noise reduction et ali cant reccomend this enough, bobby went to him last week and got his mesa single rec fully revalved, with an effects loop mod on it an all for about 160!!!!!! his amp sounds fucking phenomenalwhy pay for a single rec to get revalved?? all you have to do with them is replace the valves. Mesa single recs dont need biased as its a fixed bias amp i thought, so its just a case of popping the new valves in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lame Guitarist Posted April 14, 2007 Report Share Posted April 14, 2007 what happens when the amp is biased and how would i know when it would need that done? also when it sounds like it needs new valves how do i tell if its the big valves or the smaller sized valves that are also in the amp that need replaced? and whats the difference between the smaller and bigger valves? sorry if these questions are really obvious, just i don't know much about valve amps.when you have valves in an amp they need to run at the correct current for that amp, which is done by measuring the plate voltage. in most cases you can find this out through the makers of the amps or in some amp manuals, if the amp aint biased corectly the valves will either run too hot or too cold giving you a harsh sound if its too cold or if its too hot the valves will burn out quicker(as happened to an amp i sorted out for a mate who had EL34's running way too hot, he never biased tha amp after putting new valves in) this is only the big ones (power amp valves), the small valves such as 12AX7's have a longer life than the power amp valves. I go through heaps of these trying to find ones that are nice and smooth, have a clean tone but also high gain. i like TAD (Tube amp doctor) brand. these are a simple case of swapping over and dont need biased.when it comes to power amp valves though, make sure your replacing them with the same type such as EL34'S 6L6'S etc.. or else your going to have a bonfire for an amp.If your stuck just gimme a shout. am not a tech or anything but i learned over the years to revalve, service and mod my amps to save cash and stop being ripped off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaun Posted April 14, 2007 Report Share Posted April 14, 2007 it was 175.if it doesn't work out, y'know you and the amp. i'd happily take it off your hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonhenry Posted April 14, 2007 Report Share Posted April 14, 2007 Disclaimer: Tube=Valve, I still don't have the hang of it....the little ones are your pre-amp tubes. you can just replace those anytime, there's no bias setting needed. The big ones are your power tubes, they're the ones that need to be biased, which is really just a way of making sure that all the voltages are right for the tubes. You can, however, save yourself tons of money by:1. Always buying matched power tubes 2. Learning how to set the bias yourself.There is plenty of good reference material to learn this, it ain't rocket science. And if you can find a good repair guy, best let him go through it soner rather than later.There's lots of internet angst about owning a tube amp, but they sound great and if you do a little preventative maintenance they're really well behaved- replace the tubes when they wear. If they start making whistling noises or sound flatulent, it's time for a new set of tubes. Replace them all, keep the old ones for an emergency.Oh, with a fender you can also drop the fuse rating as an added measure of insurance. For example, my Pro Reverb has a 2-amp fuse, but I run it on a 1-amp fuse. It's fine, works great and never gives me a problem *UNLESS* the line voltage in a club is bad, or I've a power tube starting to fail. In those cases I like the fuse to go early before all the expensive stuff inside my amp gets trashed (transformers, etc).You may need to experiment with the right voltage with a super 60, and as long as you always go down in amps rating you'll be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lame Guitarist Posted April 14, 2007 Report Share Posted April 14, 2007 totally agree buy learning yourself, saves the time of the amp having to go away for a while to be done and also the cost, i dont even know what techs charge now for it but i wouldnt be suprised if it was over 100. just get good reference material and learn up about valves and the amp you are working on and be very very careful when working on them.Or you could do the easy thing and buy a fixed bias amp, although they can sound cold compared to others.i could never turn back from tube amps. nothing nicer than a cranked tube amp!! what a sound Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuartmaxwell Posted April 15, 2007 Report Share Posted April 15, 2007 why pay for a single rec to get revalved?? all you have to do with them is replace the valves. Mesa single recs dont need biased as its a fixed bias amp i thought, so its just a case of popping the new valves in.i knwo they dont need biased, however he was getting a mod on the effects loop + he wasd buying the valves direct from dennis (at warehouse prices) no harm in getting him to stick in em either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longhorn Posted April 16, 2007 Report Share Posted April 16, 2007 Tip #1Never run the amp without a speaker or load connected to it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alkaline Posted April 16, 2007 Report Share Posted April 16, 2007 Tip #1Never run the amp without a speaker or load connected to itChrist, you'd have to be a total dopey cunt to do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longhorn Posted April 16, 2007 Report Share Posted April 16, 2007 oh yeah, Dennis Marshall is an awesome dude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuartmaxwell Posted April 16, 2007 Report Share Posted April 16, 2007 hahahaha i sold a guy an amp on ebay last year, he did that and went mental at me, calling me a bastard, threatening me and all sorts of things.fucking idiot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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