Ask Myles or Chad - amp or live playing questions

[myles]

There have been a few requests for a general post for general amp questions. I have a post like this over at Guitar Player Magazine (actually the "feel free to ask Myles came long before the "ask Zac" that I set up over here).

As of mid 2011 Chad Weaver is on the road with Taylor Swift.

As of 3/19/06 I changed this a bit. I am now adding Chad Weaver into this post. Chad has been on tour for a long time. Prior to being Brad Paisley's tech he was Terri Clark's tech. He is a heck of a player and if you have live performance questions or a Brad Paisley question just toss it here. Just start a post with "Chad ..." and he will get to it when he can. He has a pretty busy schedule. If you look at www.bradpaisley.com in the tour dates you can get an idea of when he is around and when he is on the road.

So ... if you have general amp questions feel free to ask them here of me. If you have live performing questions feel free to ask Chad here also or if you have current Brad Paisley questions. Also ... for Brad Paisley questions and setup questions, Zac Childs (Brad's last tech for a number of years and still very involved with Brad) can be found in the Ask Zac area. Zac is a killer at building rigs and knows a LOT about guitars, pickups, wiring, etc.

Chad is also a good one for questions about major tours:

1. How do you get laundry done?

2. Is it true that the players sleep until noon as they do not want to miss lunch and then go back to the bus to sleep or watch TV, then show up for sound check, play a few minutes, go back to the bus to wait for dinner, eat dinner, get dressed, do the show, and then back to the bus while guys like you are up at 8am for loadout and back on the bus at 2am after things are off stage.

3. Why can't you go poopy on the bus?

etc.



In any case, this area will be for general questions of no particular subject as long as it is amps for the most part. This can be Z or non-Z amps.

This may be easier than searching through all the different Z amp types to make sure I do not miss anything.


June 23, 2008

Update on Fender's purchase of Groove Tubes and where I will be:

I went to work for Groove Tubes in May of 2002 and will be leaving mid August of 2008. Some people have asked me about this so here is a bit of information.

On the issue of me leaving GT .... this is for public consumption ... and you can read about it here www.groovetubes.com/assets/1769_gt_fendercustomerletter.pdf
for Aspen's side of things or at www.groovetubes.com/assets/1769_gt_fenderannouncement.pdf
for Fender's side of things.

I will be around during the transition but will be leaving GT when the transition is complete. If you ever saw a copy of my resume you would be able to see that in the past I worked for some large companies in the world.

In May of 2002 I dropped out of the corporate world to move full time into the music side of my life.

I have no intension of going back to a large corporation where the complex nature of their business makes one a cog in a wheel.

I have worked too long and hard building relationships with people (some of them you folks here) and my continuing objective is to help you people by supplying proper information and problem resolution.

I do not have to tell most of you about the general level and quality of help and customer service you receive from most large companies.

Asking simple questions about a companies own products can be a futile exercise if you CAN even get somebody to speak to in the first place.

Asking a question about products they do not makes such as the differences in a 6V6 versus an EL34 can be humorous if you did not really need to know the proper answer. Biasing, tube selection, how various 12AX7 types differ and the tonal aspects of each are just a few of the questions that are common every day and most of these companies cannot supply proper answers.

An additional issue is the lack of developing a good, trained technical staff with some people service skill chops.

Some of these companies have been around for many decades and their customer technical service and artist support is not what I personally feel by my own standards is adequate at even the most basic level. If you are a big endorsement artist for them you will have better luck but if you are somebody who is not an award winner on TV or big name and you have an amp problem in the afternoon with a gig that evening where are they when you need help?

Many of you have my direct contact information and have called me evenings and weekends. I have worked with many of you in my own home on weekends. Music and performing is not a five day a week eight to five job. It is being on the road 24x7 in many cases and any company that believes that it is an eight to five job does not have a good grasp on the reality of the business.

These companies sell a lot of gear and they always will ... 10,000 potential new musicians are born every hour in some major cities if you look at the population growth figures. These companies have a steady stream of customers so why should they change their economic model?

The people I work with are friends and my objective is different.

I intend to continue with the GAB side of my life which is supporting players, touring groups, blueprinting services, publishing articles and getting good factual information out there. I will continue consulting with amp designers and manufacturers that develop and sell amps I believe in as part of my faith in them is not only their product but their great customer service and support.

I will still be active on this forum and will still help folks here in any way I can. I already have a strong tube vendor database that will work with me to provide tubes that meet proper specs to all of you and they will generally be cheaper than the same tube from GT.

Myles S. Rose

[prowler]

I have a Mini-Z & want to know if there is a big tone difference between the GT-EL84-R & the GT-EL84-S when used in the Mini?

[myles]

prowler said:

I have a Mini-Z & want to know if there is a big tone difference between the GT-EL84-R & the GT-EL84-S when used in the Mini?

Big difference.

The EL84R (Sovtek) is a good and reliable tube but what you will notice with the EL84S (JJ) in a 5-6 rating, is that the amp will sound like somebody removed grillcloth made out of a felt blanket.

The amp will be even more articulate and defined and the highs will sparkle much more.

If you are near Los Angeles and want to drop by my place in an evening or weekend I will give you one for free. I hate shipping and post offices in general so I try to not ever ship anything. At GT I cannot use their shipping for my personal stuff or blueprinting stuff and they are not all that keen on when I give away stuff for free out of my own pocket as they generally prefer folks to buy tubes I guess but for folks in this forum I have my own way of doing some things.

By the way .... if you ever have a new Z amp and have any tube issues with any of the GT stuff in the amp feel free to contact me as I will cover it under the GT warranty for the Doc.

[kruzty]

I have a question about how an amp "takes pedals." Before I got my Maz Jr, my BiValve was my main amp. With it, I found that I couldn't really boost it that much with a pedal (it just didn't get that much louder). So, what I ended up doing was setting a volume pedal on something less than 100% for rhythm then maxing it out for leads. I've changed my pedal setup with the Jr, though, because I can boost the heck out of it and it gets louder and thicker.

So, is the way an amp "takes pedals" simply a pre-amp stage issue, or is there more to it (for example, the Jr is tube rectified and the BiValve is not)?


Thanks for the info,
Andy

[rpavich]

Myles,
Since getting my Dr Z amps I've realized that swapping preamp tubes really makes a big difference in the tone of my amp; much more than I would've guessed. I recently bought a GT12AX7C tube but haven't installed it yet.

Is there a list of tubes with their "general" attributes, such as "bright", "dark", "gainy", or something like that so we have a general direction to go in when buying tubes?

I didn't think this was such a big deal until the other day when I put in my Ghia; a russian tube, vs the Checz tube that I got from bob at Euro tubes and noticed the big difference at gig volume...I was surprised!

bob

[rcrecelius]

Myles,
What kind of equipment is used when setting the bias on an amp?
Could you teach someone how to adjust the bias on their own amp provided they had the necessary equipment?

[rpavich]

rcecelius,
I've done it; so anyone can! I did it with a weber "bias-rite"...it's a piece of cake...I'm sure that myles can fill in the blanks...

bob

[real oldster]

I played a Strat (Fat 50's?) through a Fender Tonemaster 100 watt head. There was a sparkle to the sound like every note was clinking against a tiny glass. Is this the sound of 6L6's?

thx

[JASON (aka jgleaton)]

Hi, Myles....

1st off...thanks for all you do...for this forum (I think you opened up the floodgates on yourself with THIS thread and with your business/ attitude about helping and sharing.... you are truly unique (as is THIS forum and DR Z) Thanks to you and all the other guy's here...

OK....enough of my digression.....to my 1st question, I just got a Carmen Ghia 2X10 combo.... and I wrote/ asked this question on the ghia board of this forum but I wanted to make sure you saw this....

So...my question is with the combo I just got... couldn't I re-plug the combo's output into the 4 ohm jack with the 2 10" speakers in the combo and then come off of the last 10" speaker (from the two open speaker clips on it) in the combo w/ a cord I have made with a couple of speaker clips on one end and a 1/4" jack on the other to my 8 ohm 1X12 Z ext. cab...would be same as/ or like running two 12" 8 ohm speakers from a 4 ohm out right??? (myles???..anyone...)

2nd question....whats the difference between the 12ax7C and the 12ax7M...I bought a bunch of the 12ax7M's for my tweeds and I LOVE them...would they work well in a Z (taming the Highs a little) I use all single coils and really have to watch the highs on ALL of my Z's...

also, I have ordered direct from Groove tubes before and this time I was gonna go ahead and order a complete set of tubes for the new ghia... I was gonna write a note on my order telling you the tubes were for my ghia and let you pick out the RIGHT ones to make it really BLUES..... and looking at KCA for NOS tubes, a 5Y3 and 5751's..I like the GT 12AX7M's but have heard they may not be as good in the ghia...I've got some GT12AX7C's what tubes do YOU recommend from GT or NOS? I was thinkin maybe a combination?

Anyway...thank you very much Myles,

Jason

[Mike]

Hey Myles, I have a Mazerati head I play through a Vox cab with blues. Im not looking for distortion or overdrive but my clean sound seems to be a little to transparent sounding. I am experimenting with two 12ax7's as opposed to a 5751 in either slot. That seems to fill it in the tone a little bit, but I wanted your opionion since I dont hear of too many guys using 12ax7's in both preamp slots. Thanks for your time and wisdom.

Myles,
What brand 12AY7 do you recommend in the PI slot of a Z-28?

[Curt]

jgleaton said:

Hi, Myles....

1st off...thanks for all you do...for this forum (I think you opened up the floodgates on yourself with THIS thread and with your business/ attitude about helping and sharing.... you are truly unique (as is THIS forum and DR Z) Thanks to you and all the other guy's here...

OK....enough of my digression.....to my 1st question, I just got a Carmen Ghia 2X10 combo.... and I wrote/ asked this question on the ghia board of this forum but I wanted to make sure you saw this....

So...my question is with the combo I just got... couldn't I re-plug the combo's output into the 4 ohm jack with the 2 10" speakers in the combo and then come off of the last 10" speaker (from the two open speaker clips on it) in the combo w/ a cord I have made with a couple of speaker clips on one end and a 1/4" jack on the other to my 8 ohm 1X12 Z ext. cab...would be same as/ or like running two 12" 8 ohm speakers from a 4 ohm out right??? (myles???..anyone...)

2nd question....whats the difference between the 12ax7C and the 12ax7M...I bought a bunch of the 12ax7M's for my tweeds and I LOVE them...would they work well in a Z (taming the Highs a little) I use all single coils and really have to watch the highs on ALL of my Z's...

also, I have ordered direct from Groove tubes before and this time I was gonna go ahead and order a complete set of tubes for the new ghia... I was gonna write a note on my order telling you the tubes were for my ghia and let you pick out the RIGHT ones to make it really BLUES..... and looking at KCA for NOS tubes, a 5Y3 and 5751's..I like the GT 12AX7M's but have heard they may not be as good in the ghia...I've got some GT12AX7C's what tubes do YOU recommend from GT or NOS? I was thinkin maybe a combination?

Anyway...thank you very much Myles,

Jason

Hey Jayson, I retubed my Ghia with all NOS from Mike @ KCNOS, sounds killer !! I'll find my receipt so I get you the right info, most were Myles suggestions, If you want to send me your email I can email you a clip of a blues tune I wrote, Strat>Cord>Ghia>V-30, sounds purdy good according to Tas, RPavich, G'olpeachphan, etc. Let me know, and I'll send it and my tube info.

Keep Pickin'
Curt

[JASON (aka jgleaton)]

TELE62

"Hey Jayson, I retubed my Ghia with all NOS from Mike @ KCNOS, sounds killer !!"

Thanks Curt,

Just ordered 2 NOS 5751's and 2 NOS 5y3's
from KCA NOS today... also ordered a few tubes from GT and included a note for MYLES.....

I will send you a personal message w/ e-mail and I'd love to see what you've got in yours and hear what it sounds like cause I'm fixin to start mixin and matchin.....

BTW maybe you know....I heard you could use a GZ34 rectifier instead of the 5Y3 for a louder/ bigger sound out of the ghia...is this true, cause I also got a couple of NOS GE GZ34's today too.... gonna use it as a grab n' go amp and would be neat if I could get some more volume out of it if I need to jus by swappin the rectifier....

pretty set on my other Z's but I'm in uncharted water with the ghia.....can't wait to get it... and let the tube swappin begin!!!

Jason

[Curt]

jgleaton said:

TELE62

"Hey Jayson, I retubed my Ghia with all NOS from Mike @ KCNOS, sounds killer !!"

Thanks Curt,

Just ordered 2 NOS 5751's and 2 NOS 5y3's
from KCA NOS today... also ordered a few tubes from GT and included a note for MYLES.....

I will send you a personal message w/ e-mail and I'd love to see what you've got in yours and hear what it sounds like cause I'm fixin to start mixin and matchin.....

BTW maybe you know....I heard you could use a GZ34 rectifier instead of the 5Y3 for a louder/ bigger sound out of the ghia...is this true, cause I also got a couple of NOS GE GZ34's today too.... gonna use it as a grab n' go amp and would be neat if I could get some more volume out of it if I need to jus by swappin the rectifier....

pretty set on my other Z's but I'm in uncharted water with the ghia.....can't wait to get it... and let the tube swappin begin!!!

Jason

I have not tried thisyet, but for more head room Myles
suggests a 12BY7 I think, do a search or shoot him an email. I'll get my tube info and clip to ya shortly.

[myles]

kruzty said:

I have a question about how an amp "takes pedals." Before I got my Maz Jr, my BiValve was my main amp. With it, I found that I couldn't really boost it that much with a pedal (it just didn't get that much louder). So, what I ended up doing was setting a volume pedal on something less than 100% for rhythm then maxing it out for leads. I've changed my pedal setup with the Jr, though, because I can boost the heck out of it and it gets louder and thicker.

So, is the way an amp "takes pedals" simply a pre-amp stage issue, or is there more to it (for example, the Jr is tube rectified and the BiValve is not)?


Thanks for the info,
Andy

Andy,

The Bi valve does not have a gain stage that is cascaded in a manner of speaking as the MAZ 38. The front end is easily "squashed" with most dual triode (12AX7) front ends. The more gain in an amps front end generally the less pedal friendly it will be.

But ... with a pentode front end as in the Z-28, Route 66, KT-45, and Delta 88 you will find these amps to be more pedal friendly.

But don't think an EF86 in the front end will make the amp pedal friendly all the time .... Z implements the EF86 is a much different way than anybody else.


'

[myles]

rpavich said:

Myles,
Since getting my Dr Z amps I've realized that swapping preamp tubes really makes a big difference in the tone of my amp; much more than I would've guessed. I recently bought a GT12AX7C tube but haven't installed it yet.

Is there a list of tubes with their "general" attributes, such as "bright", "dark", "gainy", or something like that so we have a general direction to go in when buying tubes?

I didn't think this was such a big deal until the other day when I put in my Ghia; a russian tube, vs the Checz tube that I got from bob at Euro tubes and noticed the big difference at gig volume...I was surprised!

bob

Bob,

On my GAB website there is a button on the first page that takes you to "tube Primers" .....

www.guitaramplifierblueprinting.com/Primers.html


This is a 2 part 200 page document that you can download and it gives a breakdown of a lot of this tube info and their characteristics.

Generally, most of my GAB clients have sets I make up for them. The basic set is:

12AX7C - general use, warm, linear, good for blues and 60s blues rock.

7025 long plate - bright, lots of high end, too bright for a Marshall with single coils but if you have pedals that suck high end and you want it back these are great. I like these in Ghias at times as they are much like the Telefunkens.

ECC83S - the Brit tone .... short plates, lots of mids. 80s rock tube. Tube used in the original Marshall, Vox, Selmer, Hiwatt, etc. Agressive tube and in a Fender Black Face will make the amp have more of an edge.

12AX7M - my favorite "Fender" tube and I use a lot of these long plate tubes in Marhall, Mesa, and Z amps. In Fender BF amps I use these almost exclusively in V1, V2, V4, and V5. V1-V3 in Marshalls with V3 always being a SAG-AX7-MPI which is selected of the M.

For Brad Paisley's amps Zac had (and passed it on to Chad, and then I added more) ....

12AX7M
ECC83S
7025
12AX7R
12AX7R2
12AX7R3
5751
EF86

about a half a dozen of each of the above but all spec'd and traced with different numbers and marked.

For phase inverters I have for Brad and Gary...

12AX7M
12AX7R2
12AY7
5751
12AU7

[myles]

rcrecelius said:

Myles,
What kind of equipment is used when setting the bias on an amp?
Could you teach someone how to adjust the bias on their own amp provided they had the necessary equipment?

I use a GT bias tool .... www.groovetubes.com/product.cfm?Product_ID=1191 and have used these long before I came to GT.

There are many of these on the market ... Weber has one as do other folks.

Many have meters built into the tool. I personally do not care for the meter as I think any good tool box needs a meter already. So, the non-meter ones that use an external meter fit in my toolbox easier and don't have the "if the meter fails I am screwed" aspect. They are also much less pricy as you can use any radio shack sort of $9.95 meter with them.

Nobody really uses the old signal generator / scope method anymore. Most amp makers even give out biasing info such as "30mA" to be used with the bias tool.

Learning to use one of these is fast and easy and the documentation is very complete. If you have any problems I can step you through it all over the phone in a matter of minutes.

[myles]

oldster said:

I played a Strat (Fat 50's?) through a Fender Tonemaster 100 watt head. There was a sparkle to the sound like every note was clinking against a tiny glass. Is this the sound of 6L6's?

thx

This could be a lot of things. You may have a physcally microphonic output tube.

Try tapping each output tube lightly with something non-conductive such as a pencil.

[myles]

jgleaton said:

Hi, Myles....

1st off...thanks for all you do...for this forum (I think you opened up the floodgates on yourself with THIS thread and with your business/ attitude about helping and sharing.... you are truly unique (as is THIS forum and DR Z) Thanks to you and all the other guy's here...

OK....enough of my digression.....to my 1st question, I just got a Carmen Ghia 2X10 combo.... and I wrote/ asked this question on the ghia board of this forum but I wanted to make sure you saw this....

So...my question is with the combo I just got... couldn't I re-plug the combo's output into the 4 ohm jack with the 2 10" speakers in the combo and then come off of the last 10" speaker (from the two open speaker clips on it) in the combo w/ a cord I have made with a couple of speaker clips on one end and a 1/4" jack on the other to my 8 ohm 1X12 Z ext. cab...would be same as/ or like running two 12" 8 ohm speakers from a 4 ohm out right??? (myles???..anyone...)

2nd question....whats the difference between the 12ax7C and the 12ax7M...I bought a bunch of the 12ax7M's for my tweeds and I LOVE them...would they work well in a Z (taming the Highs a little) I use all single coils and really have to watch the highs on ALL of my Z's...

also, I have ordered direct from Groove tubes before and this time I was gonna go ahead and order a complete set of tubes for the new ghia... I was gonna write a note on my order telling you the tubes were for my ghia and let you pick out the RIGHT ones to make it really BLUES..... and looking at KCA for NOS tubes, a 5Y3 and 5751's..I like the GT 12AX7M's but have heard they may not be as good in the ghia...I've got some GT12AX7C's what tubes do YOU recommend from GT or NOS? I was thinkin maybe a combination?

Anyway...thank you very much Myles,

Jason

First off ... to you and everybody above ... sorry for the delay in replying. I am normally much faster but with NAMM here and some other projects my time was a bit short.

You need to make sure the amp has the proper load. If the internal speaker is 8 ohms and you have a second 8 ohm cab you want to grab a Y adaptor and plug the two speakers into that adaptor and then plug the adaptor into the four ohm tap on the amp chassis.

The 12AX7C is brighter than the M and has less current output. it boils down to personal taste. I prefer M's in many Z amps, in tweeds, and especially in Fender BF amps as they tame the top end and in Marshall amps as they have better output than most other preamp tubes. When I talk about output I am talking current and not gain. These are two very different things. I talk about that on my website somewhere. I cannot even keep track of what is where on my site anymore

Anything you order direct from GT online .... just have a note in the comment section to give me "Myles" the order and tell me the amp in the comment section and I will hand trace and spec the tubes. This is normally $10 per tube but for folks in this forum I will do this for nothing.

If your Ghia is not going to be on the road and used for 200 shows per year then a Telefunken 12AX7 is amazing in V1. Teles are long light plates and can go physically microphonic pretty easily. They are more happy in Hi-Fi gear that sits on a shelf somewhere but if you are careful with the guitar amp they are amazing. I have one in my own Ghia.

You can also used a hand selected Ei 7025 (GT-7025) which is produced on the old Telefunken tooling. These are great if they are selected.

[rcrecelius]

myles said:

rcrecelius said:

Myles,
What kind of equipment is used when setting the bias on an amp?
Could you teach someone how to adjust the bias on their own amp provided they had the necessary equipment?

I use a GT bias tool .... www.groovetubes.com/product.cfm?Product_ID=1191 and have used these long before I came to GT.

There are many of these on the market ... Weber has one as do other folks.

Many have meters built into the tool. I personally do not care for the meter as I think any good tool box needs a meter already. So, the non-meter ones that use an external meter fit in my toolbox easier and don't have the "if the meter fails I am screwed" aspect. They are also much less pricy as you can use any radio shack sort of $9.95 meter with them.

Nobody really uses the old signal generator / scope method anymore. Most amp makers even give out biasing info such as "30mA" to be used with the bias tool.

Learning to use one of these is fast and easy and the documentation is very complete. If you have any problems I can step you through it all over the phone in a matter of minutes.

On Z's fixed bias amps such as the Z28, do you have to remove the chassis to adjust bias?

[myles]

mike said:

Hey Myles, I have a Mazerati head I play through a Vox cab with blues. Im not looking for distortion or overdrive but my clean sound seems to be a little to transparent sounding. I am experimenting with two 12ax7's as opposed to a 5751 in either slot. That seems to fill it in the tone a little bit, but I wanted your opionion since I dont hear of too many guys using 12ax7's in both preamp slots. Thanks for your time and wisdom.

Which 12AX7s are you using?

I have done this in both V1 and V2 but you need to have a relationship in rise time between the phase inverter and output set to keep thing from getting flat and squashed.

[myles]

bwags said:

Myles,
What brand 12AY7 do you recommend in the PI slot of a Z-28?

If Mike at www.kcanostubes.com has enough of these in stock ....

kcanostubes.com/content/estore_details.asp?product=56

Have him match you up one on his VTV. The 6072 is a very highly selected low noise 12AY7 that was for critical microphone and preamp use. It is what I use in a lot of my Fender Tweed amps in V1.

[Mike]

Myles I asked about the 2 12ax7's in my mazerati. Right now I have two GT12ax7m's in there. I also have a JJ and some RCA's out of a twin reverb on hand. Thanks for your help.

[myles]

mike said:

Myles I asked about the 2 12ax7's in my mazerati. Right now I have two GT12ax7m's in there. I also have a JJ and some RCA's out of a twin reverb on hand. Thanks for your help.

On the M's ....

When two 12AX7s are used I like to know what their actual gain, current, plate resistance, and transconductance is to optimize this in the Mazerati that was designed around a 12AX7 in V1 and 5751 in V2.

[myles]

rcrecelius said:

myles said:

I use a GT bias tool .... www.groovetubes.com/product.cfm?Product_ID=1191 and have used these long before I came to GT.

There are many of these on the market ... Weber has one as do other folks.

Many have meters built into the tool. I personally do not care for the meter as I think any good tool box needs a meter already. So, the non-meter ones that use an external meter fit in my toolbox easier and don't have the "if the meter fails I am screwed" aspect. They are also much less pricy as you can use any radio shack sort of $9.95 meter with them.

Nobody really uses the old signal generator / scope method anymore. Most amp makers even give out biasing info such as "30mA" to be used with the bias tool.

Learning to use one of these is fast and easy and the documentation is very complete. If you have any problems I can step you through it all over the phone in a matter of minutes.

On Z's fixed bias amps such as the Z28, do you have to remove the chassis to adjust bias?

Yes ... you remove the chassis but it is very easy as there are four long machine bolts that go into captive nuts on the chassis so there are no bolts or washers to loose.

The bias pot is right there in the open.

It is so easy to do that on Gary Hooker's (Brad Paisley guitarist) Z-28 combo I once pulled the chassis, rebiased, and put it back just a few minutes before sound check.

When you are ready to rebias you can even call me at GT in the mornings or at home on evenings or weekends and I will be happy to step you through it.

Myles, what if any thoughts do you have on the failure rate amongst the Dario EF86's used in the RX ES ?

My ( new ) RX ES just started a "rattle" that sounds like metal vibrating in glass when I play certain notes ( mainly LOW notes ). I was making sure all the screws were tight ( which they were ) and then I thought maybe an output tube had gone microphonic. I tapped all the EL's with a butter knife and they didn't clank, but the EF86 seem to make a noise when touched with the knife. The tube has this weird plastic hood on top of it and I was wondering if they have a history of going micro and the hood is a dampener.

Any thoughts before I go track down someone who stocks these tubes ?

Thanks

chad

[Strato]

Myles,
What do you recommend doing for "breaking in" a brand new amp? My Maz should be in with the next month or so. I've been told that it is important to let the amp sit on standby for an extended period of time. Any ideas?

[bukowski]

myles what are your favorite speakers with the mazerati and ghia ? and do you prefer open back or closed back?thanks jason

[bukowski]

myles what are your favorite speakers with the mazerati and ghia ? and do you prefer open back or closed back?thanks jason

[myles]

chirpy72 said:

Myles, what if any thoughts do you have on the failure rate amongst the Dario EF86's used in the RX ES ?

My ( new ) RX ES just started a "rattle" that sounds like metal vibrating in glass when I play certain notes ( mainly LOW notes ). I was making sure all the screws were tight ( which they were ) and then I thought maybe an output tube had gone microphonic. I tapped all the EL's with a butter knife and they didn't clank, but the EF86 seem to make a noise when touched with the knife. The tube has this weird plastic hood on top of it and I was wondering if they have a history of going micro and the hood is a dampener.

Any thoughts before I go track down someone who stocks these tubes ?

Thanks

chad

I have had great luck with the Darios. They last at least ten times longer than the Sovtek EF86.

Mike at KCA genrally has these in stock and other great EF86's at times.

Most will be microphonic to a degree when tapped but when one is bad you will hear it just by tapping the chassis!