6550 tube glowing BLUE

Re: 6550 tube glowing BLUE

A blue "halo" inside the glass envelope is okay. Bright orange plates would not be.
 
Re: 6550 tube glowing BLUE

Sometimes, the proximity of the transformers has a magnetic effect on the glow. Usually the tubes closest to a big transformer have less glow.
 
Re: 6550 tube glowing BLUE

This reminds me of a gig I did back around '69-70. We were playing a college dance--I was using a Bandmaster (2x6L6) (which sounded great on 7, LOL!), the other guitarist a Super Reverb (2x6L6), and the bassman was using a Dual Showman (4x6L6). There was this one rather strange hippie who came on the stage and sat in back of the amps. And of course, he lights up a joint the size of a road flare. I was pretty nervous, concerned that he was going to rip us off, or cause trouble of some kind, but he just sat there quietly, puffin' away.

We took our break and I asked him what he was doing back there. By then he was definitely on a different cloud than the rest of us. I don't remember his exact words, but it was basically that he was watching the "magic blue glow" of the tubes--and it was the best light show in town! LOL!

Okay....

Bill
 
Re: 6550 tube glowing BLUE

Blue is good = vacuum. Orange is bad = oxygen, e.g. the tube is cracked or a seal is compromised and you've lost vacuum.
 
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