Tube replacement hep

[Ewizard]

How you get a thump from turning a tube amp on with the standby on is beyond me. The filaments haven't had a chance to warm up, so the tubes cannot conduct to produce sound, especially in an amp that is tube rectified ( no voltage is passing through the rectifier when the filaments are cold ).

I also doubt that a thump to the speakers will be their death. The speakers have a higher wattage rating than most amps produce, so how can they burn out in a split-second thump caused by a spike in an amp that can only produce X watts? I bet that is a rare form of death.

In the video, I mention that if the tube rectifier goes into meltdown, it can take out the power transformer, the tubes, and the output transformer. Pretty much the whole amp! While that may not cost $400 - $500 to replace the parts, the labor to replace them will. Never cheat the labor, that's my number one rule.

I'm only saying that there are MANY possibilities, and the reason why is subject to a postmortem. Blown speakers are rarer than tubes that fail. Rectifier tubes are pretty robust and last a fairly long time. The standby method that I prescribe is problematic, has been that way since forever ago now, and the failure rate is still pretty low in the grand scheme of things, but it isn't something to discount. Amps that have solid-state rectifiers are not bothered by the standby switch, only certain tubes in the amp that are affected by having large amounts of voltage on their plate and grid ( like cathode followers, which exist in MANY amp ) are. Just pointing out possibilities, no wrongs, no rights.

[Rex_Rocker]

I actually find the JJ ECC83S's are super reliable. I don't like how they sound, but I've never had one fail on me. They're by far the least microphonic preamp tubes I've tried too.

For JJ power tubes, I've actually never had a set not fail on me, LOL. Don't like how they sound either, personally. I've not tried a huge variety, TBH, but I've had EL84's, 6L6's, 6V6S's and E34L's. Actually, I take that back. The 6V6S's do sound nice, but mine blew.

I hate to be negative, but even Chinese power tubes have been more reliable in my case. And nicer-sounding. But to be fair, I love Chinese tubes, LOL. Too bad they're not making them anymore.

[Gtrjunior]

I actually find the JJ ECC83S's are super reliable. I don't like how they sound, but I've never had one fail on me. They're by far the least microphonic preamp tubes I've tried too.

For JJ power tubes, I've actually never had a set not fail on me, LOL. Don't like how they sound either, personally. I've not tried a huge variety, TBH, but I've had EL84's, 6L6's, 6V6S's and E34L's. Actually, I take that back. The 6V6S's do sound nice, but mine blew.

I hate to be negative, but even Chinese power tubes have been more reliable in my case. And nicer-sounding. But to be fair, I love Chinese tubes, LOL. Too bad they're not making them anymore.

I like the Chinese tubes too!
There’s a newer brand called PSvane or something. I haven’t tried them at this point but I have read good things about them online. And iirc, they are Chinese….don’t quote me on that though. And TAD are Chinese as well. Are they no longer being made?
I haven’t bought tubes in several years now.

[Rex_Rocker]

I like the Chinese tubes too!
There’s a newer brand called PSvane or something. I haven’t tried them at this point but I have read good things about them online. And iirc, they are Chinese….don’t quote me on that though. And TAD are Chinese as well. Are they no longer being made?
I haven’t bought tubes in several years now.

Yeah, I've heard about Psvane too. I heard they were making tubes too now. Don't know how they are. I do know they make several of the TAD STR tubes.

But I meant Shuguang. I haven't tried the old square getter 12AX7's, but those are well regarded because that's what came in 90's Mesas, Peaveys, Soldanos, and Marshalls. But the so-called 9th Gen 12AX7's are also well-regarded as being good-sounding for high-gainers. I quite like them, personally. Solid bottom end, not overly scooped mids like EHX/TS (IMO), a nice grindy high-mid emphasis, and not overly bright highs (again, like EHX/TS). Reliable too. The problem I always had with them is for V1, it's kinda hard to find one that isn't slightly more microphonic than what you need for a blisteringly high-gain amp. But they were so cheap, you could buy a few to cherry pick the nicer ones. The nicer ones definitely had some magic to them.

Their power tubes kinda follow the same recipe of big solid bottom-end and angry-sounding mids. But they had a huge variety making them for several resellers like Ruby, ARS, Groove Tubes, TAD, etc.

But now they're gone. They've been out for a few years now because the factory burned down. Supposedly, they've been trying to get it up again, but it's been a few years, so who knows.

I think Psvane has something to do with Shuguang. As far as I understand, Shuguang is government owned, and Psvane isn't?

[Gtrjunior]

Yeah, I've heard about Psvane too. I heard they were making tubes too now. Don't know how they are. I do know they make several of the TAD STR tubes.

But I meant Shuguang. I haven't tried the old square getter 12AX7's, but those are well regarded because that's what came in 90's Mesas, Peaveys, Soldanos, and Marshalls. But the so-called 9th Gen 12AX7's are also well-regarded as being good-sounding for high-gainers. I quite like them, personally. Solid bottom end, not overly scooped mids like EHX/TS (IMO), a nice grindy high-mid emphasis, and not overly bright highs (again, like EHX/TS). Reliable too. The problem I always had with them is for V1, it's kinda hard to find one that isn't slightly more microphonic than what you need for a blisteringly high-gain amp. But they were so cheap, you could buy a few to cherry pick the nicer ones. The nicer ones definitely had some magic to them.

Their power tubes kinda follow the same recipe of big solid bottom-end and angry-sounding mids. But they had a huge variety making them for several resellers like Ruby, ARS, Groove Tubes, TAD, etc.

But now they're gone. They've been out for a few years now because the factory burned down. Supposedly, they've been trying to get it up again, but it's been a few years, so who knows.

I think Psvane has something to do with Shuguang. As far as I understand, Shuguang is government owned, and Psvane isn't?

From what I understand the people that started Psvane are former Shuguang employees.
Was looking in tune depot’s website earlier today and they still have Shuguang tubes in the menu. I didn’t click on them to see if they actually had stock of them though.
But I agree with your assessment of them. I always liked the tone and reliability of pretty much all of the Chinese tubes I have tried over the years.

[beaubrummels]

How you get a thump from turning a tube amp on with the standby on is beyond me. The filaments haven't had a chance to warm up, so the tubes cannot conduct to produce sound, especially in an amp that is tube rectified ( no voltage is passing through the rectifier when the filaments are cold ).

I also doubt that a thump to the speakers will be their death. The speakers have a higher wattage rating than most amps produce, so how can they burn out in a split-second thump caused by a spike in an amp that can only produce X watts? I bet that is a rare form of death.

In the video, I mention that if the tube rectifier goes into meltdown, it can take out the power transformer, the tubes, and the output transformer. Pretty much the whole amp! While that may not cost $400 - $500 to replace the parts, the labor to replace them will. Never cheat the labor, that's my number one rule.

I'm only saying that there are MANY possibilities, and the reason why is subject to a postmortem. Blown speakers are rarer than tubes that fail. Rectifier tubes are pretty robust and last a fairly long time. The standby method that I prescribe is problematic, has been that way since forever ago now, and the failure rate is still pretty low in the grand scheme of things, but it isn't something to discount. Amps that have solid-state rectifiers are not bothered by the standby switch, only certain tubes in the amp that are affected by having large amounts of voltage on their plate and grid ( like cathode followers, which exist in MANY amp ) are. Just pointing out possibilities, no wrongs, no rights.

Clarification: I get a spike to the speakers with the amp "not in standby" and just turning the power on. I don't know the right way to say it. I thought 'open' meant not engaged, e.g. not in standby mode. Or maybe a standby 'closed' is 'not in standby'. However you say it. But in particular, my AC30 without a standby at all puts out the loudest spike just by flipping the power switch.

[Ewizard]

When I say on, I mean in the Play and make noise position. As to how, or why your particular amp does is beyond me? It shouldn't, but if it does, there may be something to look at. There are so many variations of AC30 that it is truly a matter of detective. Psionic Audio has a lot of know-how on AC30's specifically, he is a good source for learning about their shortcomings and strong points over the years. There are some models that he is not fond of, to say the least. Check him our if you want to glean some knowledge about your amp more specifically.