How to extend the life of my tube amp?

[IMENATOR]

For different reasons in the past I was not able to get me a tube amp. Finally I pulled the trigger and got me this Bassbreaker 30R. I have always read tube amps have "special" needs in term of maintenance and care. I am already reading articles on the internet with tips on how to extend their life but I would like to hear from you, and also I have some questions.


* Share your tips on how take care of a tube amp to extend its life in general.

* Electrical voltage can vary a bit sometimes at home, I know protection against high voltage peaks is a must, but what about voltage regulation? Like those that you can hear switching internally to try to maintain nominal value when voltage drops? What do you use and why? I live in Mexico, if you ever watched that Electroboom video you know what I mean

* This amp has 4 EL84s and manual recommends buying quad pack of matched tubes. Do you really have to change all 4 just because of one filed? Or can you get away with just replacing a matched pait when one failed?


Any help is appreciated.

 

[jeremy]

my main gigging amp is a 1966 fender. its beat to hell but sounds great. i dont do anything to it unless there is an issue. if a pot id dirty, i use deoxit. if a tube goes, i replace it and check the bias. if theres some other issue, i diagnose it and fix it.

in general, no amp liked being physically banged around. water is bad. crappy power is bad and can cause issues. a power conditioner is a good thing. in the us, the nominal home voltage is 120v 60hz. it used to be a bit lower, 115v-117v. at my house, i have 127v. its a bit too high, but at least its stable and clean. i think its about the same in mexico?

 

[IMENATOR]

my main gigging amp is a 1966 fender. its beat to hell but sounds great. i dont do anything to it unless there is an issue. if a pot id dirty, i use deoxit. if a tube goes, i replace it and check the bias. if theres some other issue, i diagnose it and fix it.

in general, no amp liked being physically banged around. water is bad. crappy power is bad and can cause issues. a power conditioner is a good thing. in the us, the nominal home voltage is 120v 60hz. it used to be a bit lower, 115v-117v. at my house, i have 127v. its a bit too high, but at least its stable and clean. i think its about the same in mexico?

Thanks for the comments. And yes, nominal voltage here in Mexico is 127Vac, now that you mentioned that I doulbe checked the part number of my amp, it is the same one for US which on paper is labled as 120Vac, 60Hz. I mean, I need to check the actual value next time I plug it but a voltage drop to 120V should not be a problem then (I assume), that is interesting.

I have a Furman AC-215A in my radar, it is pricey but it looks like lots guitar players have written good reviews. I wonder if others use something similar.

 

[jeremy]

if the amp is built for 120v but you have 127v (as i do) then all the voltages in the amp go up by like 5-6%, not a huge difference but maybe noticeable. furman usually makes good stuff, i dont know what model i have, but i rarely use it outside the house

 

[Securb]

My Fender is 52 years old and still sounds great. I gigged the hell out of that amp and it took a lot of abuse. Boston has a lot of old buildings so I played in a lot of clubs with crappy power. Add to that the amp was pushed to the limit and boosted most of its life. Normal maintenance and you will be fine for years, tube amps are more resilient than you think.

 

[Seashore]

My Fender is 52 years old and still sounds great. I gigged the hell out of that amp and it took a lot of abuse. Boston has a lot of old buildings so I played in a lot of clubs with crappy power. Add to that the amp was pushed to the limit and boosted most of its life. Normal maintenance and you will be fine for years, tube amps are more resilient than you think.

Same story with my Traynor. On the other hand my mid 2000s VHT has needed 4 retubes and a new main power transformer in the past 16 years. Both dragged around, both gigged, both run off the same dirty power... just not created equal.

 

[IMENATOR]

My Fender is 52 years old and still sounds great. I gigged the hell out of that amp and it took a lot of abuse. Boston has a lot of old buildings so I played in a lot of clubs with crappy power. Add to that the amp was pushed to the limit and boosted most of its life. Normal maintenance and you will be fine for years, tube amps are more resilient than you think.

I would trust ampst that old to be able to keep going forever as point to point wiring can be somewhat easy to repair. This amp is not wired like that, also good tube amp repair shops are not that common, I better take the extra precautions.

 

[Securb]

I would trust ampst that old to be able to keep going forever as point to point wiring can be somewhat easy to repair. This amp is not wired like that, also good tube amp repair shops are not that common, I better take the extra precautions.

That is true, but outside of a good power conditioner or surge protector, there is not really much you can do besides keep it covered and cross your fingers.

 

[IMENATOR]

That is true, but outside of a good power conditioner or surge protector, there is not really much you can do besides keep it covered and cross your fingers.

Well, I have been reading things like "let it cool before you take it out in a cold night" which makes sense, big temperature changes can crack the glass. I just want to hear whatever people are doing, I can decide later if it is in my hands to apply it. Yes, the voltage regulation/limit and surge protection is something should really help a lot.

 

[Securb]

Living in New Hampshire, where sub-zero temperatures are common, I’ve never had an issue with tubes cracking or amps being damaged by the cold. While I suppose it could happen, I’ve personally never experienced it. Or have even seen it. Typically, there’s at least a half-hour between turning off the amps and loading them out after a gig. If I were to turn off an amp and immediately carry it outside in the freezing cold, I could see how a tube might crack. I’m sure it’s possible, but it’s not something I’ve ever had to worry about.

 

[jeremy]

it does make sense to let it cool down before taking it into the cold, i guess i do that without thinking about it

 

[Securb]

The only time I had an issue with cold was my pedal board. I had a rehearsal after work in the dead of winter. I brought my guitar in work and left the board in the car. I got to practice and when I stepped on the Crybaby, it was stiff. I hear a cracking sound inside the pedal and it never worked again.

 

[ehdwuld]

On my rack I have a Carvin power conditioner

On my home electronics, -TV entertainment center-
I have APC UPS

My power is super flakey at home
I have watched my morning tv picture shrink and expand at 530am every morning

Went through a bunch of CRT TVs before getting the UPS

My tube amps sit on a wire rack in my Office

I am particular about my amps and yet i still have them fail on irregular basis

Take care of them but be prepared to repair them

BTW
When the voltage is high, the amperage is lower

When you have lower voltage, the amperage increases and that causes more damage as it increases the heat

 

[IMENATOR]

On my rack I have a Carvin power conditioner

BTW
When the voltage is high, the amperage is lower

When you have lower voltage, the amperage increases and that causes more damage as it increases the heat

Well, I did not expect that. But certainly I am including in my plans to include a device for automatic shutdown on too high or too low voltage.

 

[Chistopher]

Two biggest ways to extend the life of a tube amp:

1 - Don't slip the clutch
2 - Don't over rev it when starting from a stand still

 

[misterwhizzy]

I think the best way is to play it. As soon as there starts to be a problem with it, you'll know it and fix a small problem as opposed to letting the issue get out of control. Plus, that's what they're meant for.

 

[IMENATOR]

I think the best way is to play it. As soon as there starts to be a problem with it, you'll know it and fix a small problem as opposed to letting the issue get out of control. Plus, that's what they're meant for.

This is like asking a person to use a termomether to know how bad his fever is, while suggesting to use a coat would reduce the chances to catch one. Just askig for tipst to avoid, of course I play it now, that is why I got it