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Retubing my 5150
| Message Board > Music Chitchat - Heavy > Retubing my 5150 |
| Destroy_The_Flesh User Info... |  | ||
| Brayden User Info... | The EH EL34's have treated me pretty well for power tubes, but what I think is a bit more important for your high-gain tone is the pre's. For those, I can't recommend anything other than Tung Sol 12AX7's. they break up at a really low volume and the gain they put out is incredibly clear and tight. oh, and we sell them where I work (Larsen Music). well that's my two cents. Brayden - Tue, 20 Jan 2009 10:47pm Edited: Tue, 20 Jan 2009 10:47pm | ||
| Lucius User Info... | He'll be needing 6L6's if it's a stock 5150. Cheers, Lucus - Wed, 21 Jan 2009 8:20am | ||
| Rubber Box User Info... | Email Doug at Dougs tubes. He can make some brand suggestions based on the sound you are looking for and usually gets back to you fairly quickly. http://www.dougstubes.com/contactus.html - Wed, 21 Jan 2009 11:26am | ||
| Destroy_The_Flesh User Info... | Thanks for the input guys, I went with a whole whack o JJ tubes, going to try them tonight! Reasonable deal from Larson too - Thu, 22 Jan 2009 2:21pm | ||
| Tyler User Info... | hey, sorry to hijack this thread, but this is relevant: when do you know it's time to retube an amp? I have a Peavey head that used to have a really sharp, british, biting-sounding distortion. recently, it suddenly went from that high-gain sound to more of a dirty 70's muddy growl. is this because of the tubes wearing out? I kind of like the new sound, but it really doesn't suit the stuff I play. - Fri, 23 Jan 2009 1:14pm | ||
| evilkleg User Info... | Hey Dave- How did the new tubes sound? I put JJ's into my 5150 head as well (one of the matched set you can order from them) and they sound pretty awesome. A little less harsh than before and a little more mids. Tyler- tubes degrade with use over several years usually. Retubing could be a solution but do your research. Some tube amps need to be biased and some are fixed bias which means pop out the old and pop in the new (just don't touch the glass with your fingertips!). If your amp needs to be biased, there are recommendations on this site recently. Just search the old threads. Lucius knows all kinds of stuff about this too. - Fri, 23 Jan 2009 5:43pm | ||
| Destroy_The_Flesh User Info... | The new tubes have put the evil back in the beast! The JJ's are wicked, as for biasing and such , Iam not all that edumacated on the subject but would like to learn more about it, It would be cool to hear it modded to pull the tubes out of the cross over distortion that the fixed bias of the 5150 causes. And yeah man your tubes probably are going on you if you noticed a drastic change in your tone. Ahhh if only solid state sounded as good as tubes imagine less amp hassles - Sat, 24 Jan 2009 9:40am | ||
| Tyler User Info... | Lucius - do you know what my problem might be? - Sun, 25 Jan 2009 2:39am | ||
| Tambo User Info... | Tyler, I had a similar problem recently, try making sure no batteries in any pedals/guitars you're using aren't dead, that one tricked me for awhile, and then if not, I'd be it's your tubes. - Sun, 25 Jan 2009 6:48pm | ||
| Tyler User Info... | thanks Tambo! it sounds a little bit similar to a battery-dying pedal, I guess. but it happens even when I go straight into the amp. it's been changing even more drastically now, the distortion sounds way more crackly than 70s distortion and just sounds "broken" now. if I play chords, a few of the notes don't even come through. my guitar is fine. where it used to not feed back, now it's feeding back like crazy. if I play the clean channel, it sounds almost fine, although there's a hint of the crackling. - Mon, 26 Jan 2009 8:37am | ||
| James User Info... | I'm using a 5150 Combo but it's quite similar in sound and tube choices. The first one I had, had Chinese 12ax7's (not sure the brand) in the preamps and they gave off quite a fizzy sound. It sounded fine once you cranked it and turned the pre down a bit. I can't remember what the power tubes were. My current 5150 Combo has Sylvania Preamp tubes and they sound really good (no more fizz or at least a lot less). The power tubes are Sovtek 6L6GB which is not recommended as Peavey recommends using the 6L6GC model which can withstand more voltage. I imagine my power tubes will burn out early but I have no complaints about the sound. It's kinda hard to judge tubes because they all sound different, different depending on age, different depending on combination, different depending on batch. I've heard that replacing the preamp tube closest to the input jack will make the most difference to your sound and some people will run different combinations of tubes there. Tyler: It definitely sounds like your tubes are going. It could very well just be your power tubes. One way to check is to let your amp warm up and wait for them to glow. If there is a really red hotspot it's likely that they need replacing. Normally they glow a bit orange. Be careful when replacing them that you don't touch the glass on the new ones with your hands. If you get any finger oils on them they can get extremely hot in those spots and possibly explode. Use a rag, gloves, or something when taking them out and putting them in. **Sorry for making this any longer but has anyone tried a variety of speakers/cabs with their 5150? I'll probably get a 4x12 cab for mine but I don't mind the stock speakers which is the opposite of a lot of people. - Tue, 27 Jan 2009 2:16pm Edited: Tue, 27 Jan 2009 2:28pm | ||
| Kivarenn82 User Info... | as far as i've heard, JJ's are the best kinda tube you can pop in just about any amp. Also, from what i've read, 5150's are supposedly biased 'cold' at the factory. if your amp hasn't been tinkered with since its creation at the plant, then you may be missing out on some warmth that is inherent in the 5150.. i believe they are biased this way to preserve tube life. ~renn - Wed, 28 Jan 2009 4:43am | ||
| Mike S. User Info... | Tony O. put JJ's in his 5150 back in the day and yah it made it sound way better. Been meaning to try EL34's in my Dual Rectifier.. anyone gone this route? Its abit of an expensive experiment if I decide I prefer the 6L6.. however when I retubed my old JCM 800 with EL's I much preferred them over the 6L6 but thats an entirely differnt amp.. Rectifier = fixed bias with a switch on the back in case one decides to go EL34. - Wed, 28 Jan 2009 8:28am | ||
| Dopebilly User Info... | Tyler try changing V1 (12ax7) your first pre amp tube, could simply be a microphonic tube. tube acts kinda like a mic give it a gentle tap if it comes thru like hitting a mic swapped it for a new one. NOS tubes for V1 are gonna get ya the best sound the other don't matter as much. I got Svetlana's in my JCM 800 they kicked JJ ass. but then again I don't like JJ's if your gonna retube new tube even when advertised as matched don't alway s stay matched. even in a fixed bias amp you should check the Current after you've burnt your tubes in. serious damage could happen to your amp. when I get tubes if i need 4 i'll buy 5 or 6. you can always use spares. for all your tube needs and revues http://thetubestore.com/ - Tue, 3 Feb 2009 1:23pm | ||
| _Griphin_ User Info... | Mmmmm.... MESA!!! - Wed, 4 Feb 2009 12:08pm | ||
| Ward Ensemble User Info... |  | ||
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