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Post by ajnewkirk on Jun 16, 2008 16:32:17 GMT -7
When I plugged into my RS-EX today I noticed a huge lack bottom end. I normally run the bass control at around 9 o'clock, and today when I turn it all the way up it still doesn't seem to have much of an effect on the sound. I looked in the back to see if the tubes were lighting up - they all appear good except the EF-86 isn't lit up at all and it isn't putting out any heat (feels almost cool to the touch). Is this normal for an EF-86? I will call the Doc tomorrow but was hoping someone may be able to enlighten me since I have never dealt with an EF-86 tube...this could be completely normal for those for all I know
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Jun 16, 2008 17:55:04 GMT -7
Well you're on the right track, but I'll bet it is your power tubes. How long since you changed them?
It is hard to see the heater in the EF86. If the heater was not on, you would have no sound at all. That said, the problem could honestly be any of your tubes. It's just that the power tubes wear out a lot faster than your preamp tubes.
If you don't have a spare set of power tubes, you should have a set - order some and try that. Then if that doesn't do it, try each of your preamp tubes. I bet you find it before you get to the last tube. But if not, then you're talking technician time.
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Post by ajnewkirk on Jun 16, 2008 18:07:51 GMT -7
Thanks for chiming in benttop I bought the amp new right at 31 days ago, so I haven't changed any of the tubes yet. It would be a tremendous overstatement to say that the tubes could have 10 hours on them yet.. unfortunately I've not had the chance to play much lately due to work. Of course there is no way to know if/how much it may have been played at Willcutt's before I bought it, so the tubes may have more wear than I am aware of. Looking at it again I do see a faint glow in the top part of the EF-86. I was only looking at the bottom part of the tube earlier and it looked totally dark. I will try swapping out some 12AX7A's later this evening as well as the EL-84's. Unfortunately I do not have any spare EF-86's to test with. Any suggestions on brands of tubes for re-tubing this amp - particularly the EL-84's and the EF-86? I have some NOS 12AX7A & 5AR4's laying around if I can find them. I really loved the sound of the amp before today so GT EL-84's couldn't be a bad choice for me...but if you know of something better please let me know.
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Jun 16, 2008 19:11:49 GMT -7
You might have been hit by infant mortality. Usually most of the tubes being sold today have at least some time on them to make sure they are going to keep flying, but every once in a while you'll get a fail after it ships. I had that happen on my THD Flexi-50 - got it home, plugged it in, and it was great for a few minutes, then it started sounding weird and I turned around to see that one of the power tubes was about on fire. They were nice about it and got me a new set that very day. You should call Willcutts - they are a great dealer and will work with you on this, I'm certain. Also, if the tubes in there are GT's, they have a warranty from Groove Tubes and they will make good on them if that's what's wrong. So you're probably double-covered. As far as replacements, the GT's are good tubes. I've been buying JJ's from Eurotubes and they've been working great. Avoid Mesa tubes - they don't sound quite as good, although they are dirt cheap. On the EF86 - that's a place where you want a NOS if you can afford it. They aren't cheap, but if you get through all the other tubes and still have a problem, that's where you have to go. I bought a few NOS Mullards a while back so that I could have some spares. KCANOS tubes has something, I'm certain.
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Post by ajnewkirk on Jun 17, 2008 0:15:30 GMT -7
I'll grab a new set of tubes for sure. I'll try the JJ's along with NOS everything else and see how she runs.
Thanks again for your input!
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