Power tube glowing blue & other general tube ?s

[GuianM]

Yeah, so I just got a hold of a Peavey Ultra Plus head and first off, I must say, this is my first experience with an all tube amp and it kicks freakin donkey balls!! Oh tubes...where have you been all my life!!?? There's no going back friends!

On to my question, so I was just tweakin the eq a bit tonight and finding a good sound for me and also messing with the fx loop when I noticed that one of my power tubes were glowing blue! Is this normal? Also, the one sitting next to the blue one is a little loose, it functions but it wobbles a bit also. Is the blue one burning too hot?

Sorry guys, I may have been playing guitar for a number of years now but I have only had experience with a tube amp for 2 days! Help brothers!

Thanks,
Guian

 

[GuianM]

Re: Power tube glowing blue?

Re: Power tube glowing blue?

:smack: Oops, I just googled about glowing blue tubes and found an answer here:
Blue Glow In Tubes

But while I'm on the section of tubes, I plan on doing a full tube replacement seeing as how I'm not sure how much life there is left in these tubes. I actually think they're the original 6L6GC's!

Should I just go with a full replacement kit from Eurotubes consisting of JJ 6L6GC's and ECC83S's or should I try something different like EL34's? I know a few forum members love their Ultra Plus's so I'd really appreciate if anyone could shed some light on the matter.

The sound I'm going for is basically high gain, tight distortion in the likes of As I Lay Dying or something like that.

Thanks everyone!

 

[firebirdVII]

Re: Power tube glowing blue & other general tube ?s

You want glow? Here's some glow for ya:

Not mine, but it should suffice for a little oh that's cool factor.

Part of the fun of owning a tube amp is being able to swap after market tubes, so don't be afraid to ask which ones may sound good in your amp. I personally won't be able to help you, but just out of curiousity, what tubes are in it now?

 

[GuianM]

Re: Power tube glowing blue & other general tube ?s

OoOoOOo...niiiiiiiice...gloow....haha

Right now the power tubes are 6L6GC's

 

[firebirdVII]

Re: Power tube glowing blue & other general tube ?s

Yeah, I like a good 6l6 amp, but what I actually meant was what brand is it

Amp companies often sell amps with cheaper tubes in them, so you may want to eventually change the tubes out, although getting to know the amp a bit before making any changes is probably a good thing.


Congratulations.

 

[GuianM]

Re: Power tube glowing blue & other general tube ?s

Ahhh oops lol

Yeah I opened her up yesterday and the tubes looked super old and it said like made in china on em. I think I remember reading that Peavey used Ruby tubes or something.

 

[firebirdVII]

Re: Power tube glowing blue & other general tube ?s

Yeah, you will eventually have to change tubes, and when you do, I suggest...


Nothing :smack:



I don't really know about your amp, but new stuff is always fun.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Power tube glowing blue & other general tube ?s

www.revolutionguitar.com Get a quartet of JJ 6L6's and Groove Tube 12AX7C's.
That's the set that I've found to be the best in channel switching highgain heads.......and I've done a lot of tube swapping. Of course, there's other great tubes out there, but you'll pay more, for no reason.

I'm not sure about your amp.....does it have a bias switch on the back panel, so you can use EL-34's too? If so, I'd try the amp with both types and see which ones you prefer. If it doesn't have that switch, you can't just pop in EL-34's.

 

[muttonchopsrule]

Re: Power tube glowing blue & other general tube ?s

+1 the the groove tubes 12ax7's for the preamp. that what i have in the V1 slot in my dual rec, and i find it to sound best, as opposed to a tung sol, JJ, electro-harmonix, or sovtek.

 

[GuianM]

Re: Power tube glowing blue & other general tube ?s

Thanks for all the helpful advice guys!

To Gearjoneser, I opened the back up yesterday and I didn't see any bias switch, but this whole time I assumed it must have one since it's design is similar to the Triple XXX, sorta I guesslol. Oh well:smack:

I looked up those Groove Tubes 12AX7C's on Revolutionguitar, they're Chinese made?

 

[devastone]

Re: Power tube glowing blue & other general tube ?s

Just FYI, even though EL34s and 6L6s fit in the same sockets, they aren't interchangeable unless your amp has a switch for EL34/6L6 tubes. There is some slight wiring differences and the bias voltage (actually current) is different so you can't just pop one out and replace it with the other.

Not sure if the Ultra Plus is configurable, just thought I'd let you know since you are new to the tube amp world. While I'm at it, welcome to the tone-soaked tube amp world.

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Power tube glowing blue & other general tube ?s

The blue is just ok, it shows that it is working, no need to worry.

 

[Metalman_666]

Re: Power tube glowing blue & other general tube ?s

www.revolutionguitar.com Get a quartet of JJ 6L6's and Groove Tube 12AX7C's.
That's the set that I've found to be the best in channel switching highgain heads.......and I've done a lot of tube swapping.

Sorry for the hijack... :fingersx:

GJ, did you find the GT/JJ (pre/power) combo to work better than having a complete set of JJ's in an amp?

 

[pinto79]

Re: Power tube glowing blue & other general tube ?s

I looked up those Groove Tubes 12AX7C's on Revolutionguitar, they're Chinese made?

There are only a handfull of tube manufacturing facilities left in the world. There is nothing wrong with buying a Chinese Tube, especially since Groove Tubes do a QC check on them before selling them.

Here's GT's Description:

A new offering from China, warm round and fat tone, not too bright

 

[GuianM]

Re: Power tube glowing blue & other general tube ?s

Sorry for the hijack... :fingersx:

GJ, did you find the GT/JJ (pre/power) combo to work better than having a complete set of JJ's in an amp?

+1 I'd like to know this answer as well :fingersx:

 

[GuianM]

Re: Power tube glowing blue & other general tube ?s

Just FYI, even though EL34s and 6L6s fit in the same sockets, they aren't interchangeable unless your amp has a switch for EL34/6L6 tubes. There is some slight wiring differences and the bias voltage (actually current) is different so you can't just pop one out and replace it with the other.

Not sure if the Ultra Plus is configurable, just thought I'd let you know since you are new to the tube amp world. While I'm at it, welcome to the tone-soaked tube amp world.

Thanks for the info man, and thanks for the warm welcome! I'm officially addicted and I'm NEVER EVER EVER EVER going back :banana: