Blown Tube

J

JPP

New member
Ok, so I was playing my Mesa/Boogie F-50 today, when for some inexplicable reason I decided to take a look at the two 6l6 tubes in the back. Anyway, where I expected two find two glass tubes glowing with the glorious orange light of tone, I discovered one tube was dead. No glow.

Well, this being my first tube amp, I am not exactly sure what happened and what I should do. The amp has been making some background hum/fuzz for the past few weeks and I guess this "blown" tube has something to do with it. I assume I should simply replace the blown tube, but should I replace just the "blown" one, or both of them? I've had this amp for approximately a year, so maybe they were in need of a change anyway? The amp still sounds good though...

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks
 
Re: Blown Tube

You will need to replace both...they are a matched set. Most Mesa's do not require you to re-bias, but I'm not 100% sure about the F-50. I would probalby go with Mesa Branded tubes for replacement, as they should be within Mesa's tolerance.

You could call or e-mail Bob at Eurotubes if you want to upgrade to some JJ's. He can provide you some tubes within Mesa specs, and voice them to the appropriate gain level if you tell him what you want. I understand many people think JJ's are a good upgrade for Mesa's, but I'm sure others will chime in.

I know little about 6L6's, more about EL34's.
 
Re: Blown Tube

Thanks for the help Jeff! Any other comments? Is it alright if I continue to play with the amp before I install the new tubes? I have a concert approaching and need to practice.

Thanks
 
Re: Blown Tube

Get some good new tubes, have a tech check the sockets, screen resistors, solder joints, etc. I wouldn't run it that way...
 
Re: Blown Tube

Yea could be a blown tube, but sometimes (with one of my cases) the tube will get loose in the socket and lose connection when it heats up.. my JJs got slightly damaged one time when my amp fell over in my jeep after i had to slam the breaks (going downhill too..) cause of some idiot driver. At low volumes there wont be a problem, but when i give it some power the vibrations from the speakers dislocate one of the tubes and i hear that hum/fuzz you are talking about, so Ive been running my EL34s in it ever since.
 
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