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general tube amp maintenance/preventative maintenance

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  • #1

    general tube amp maintenance/preventative maintenance

    my dual rectifier that i bought used about 3 months ago is from'96, IIRC. it was freshly tubed with groove tubes throughout the entire amp, and everything on it has worked and sounded great ever since i got it, and still does.

    but now it is 9, almost 10 years old. should i be worried at all about any parts inside the amp (filter caps, ect.) going bad, or is that something that happens over a longer period of time? i've been considering taking it to a tech just to have it looked over and make sure everything is in good shape, but i figured this forum would be a good starting point regarding the things i should look out for. any suggestions? thanks.
    gear:

    '05 gibson les paul studio vintage mahogany (DiMarzio Super Distortion/ SD Jazz)
    '04 gibson SG standard (BurstBucker Pro's)
    mesa/boogie 2-channel dual rectifier (with EL34's)
    marshall 1960A 4x12
    and a few pedals
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: general tube amp maintenance/preventative maintenance

    After buying a used amp, I generally suggest taking it to a tech and having them look it over. When I bought mine I took it in to get retubed since the previous owner wasn't sure of lifetime on the tubes. I also had him do a general checkup on the amp at the same time, and he said everything was in order.

    The way I look at it: It can't hurt you. Its like getting a checkup at the doctor. They could find something that might be going south eventually, or you could be in perfect condition.

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    • #3
      Re: general tube amp maintenance/preventative maintenance

      cool, sounds pretty logical to me.

      not to sound like a cheap *** or anything, but how much was it for you to have it looked over (minus the cost of the re-tube)? i'm just curious so i know what to expect, or at least what ballpark it will land me in.
      gear:

      '05 gibson les paul studio vintage mahogany (DiMarzio Super Distortion/ SD Jazz)
      '04 gibson SG standard (BurstBucker Pro's)
      mesa/boogie 2-channel dual rectifier (with EL34's)
      marshall 1960A 4x12
      and a few pedals

      Comment

      • #4
        Re: general tube amp maintenance/preventative maintenance

        I bring my amps to Tom Schalipp once yearly, regardless of age and whether they´re causing problems or not... a 35 dollar checkup is much cheaper than a 200$ repair that took something else with it
        Zerberus Industries: Where perfection just isn't good enough.

        Listen to my music at http://www.soundclick.com/infiniteending and www.subache.com

        Comment

        • #5
          Re: general tube amp maintenance/preventative maintenance

          Originally posted by muttonchopsrule
          cool, sounds pretty logical to me.

          not to sound like a cheap *** or anything, but how much was it for you to have it looked over (minus the cost of the re-tube)? i'm just curious so i know what to expect, or at least what ballpark it will land me in.
          To be honest, I don't remember how much the checkup was along with the retubing. I think he charged me a small fee for "de-oxing" some of the components. I'm not quite sure what that even is, I could only find minimal results on google. But it looks like it is basically cleaning some of the pots to make sure they aren't scratchy. Everything else pretty much checked out. Any competent tube amp technician should be able to look it over for major problems in a few minutes, so I wouldn't expect it would cost much.

          Just call around and get some quotes if you can.

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