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Post by fishman on Mar 10, 2006 12:44:18 GMT -7
I am wondering.... as an old fender guy it seems these El84's run alot hotter than the 6L6's I am used to. I have used cooling fans in some of my fender combos and have had no ill effects. I am wondering if I installed a fan in my MAZ Sr. 1-12 NR if it would make any difference. I understand that tubes have to get to temp. to really sound good, and with that in mind, I would not want to cool things down too much as I think it would effect the sound in not such a good way. In any event, has anyone experimented with the fan thing? I have the hardware, just waiting for opinions , experiences. I guess I could go ahead and put it in, and if I need it...ie. hot summer days-outside sun gigs etc, then I would have it and if not, I don;t suppose it would hurt anything just mounted there? Whats the take on it?
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Post by kruzty on Mar 10, 2006 13:04:46 GMT -7
I guess my take is that the Doc would have put one in there if he thought it was necessary. I'm not saying you shouldn't, I just don't know how much it would help. Plus, EL84s are cheaper than 6L6s, so let 'em cook!
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Post by billyguitar on Mar 10, 2006 15:03:11 GMT -7
My Maz sr reverb 1-12 combo DOES have a fan from the factory. If you put your hand on the chassis anywhere after it's been on for a while, is it uncomfortably hot? If it is I would get some kind of fan. Doesn't take much. A computer fan from rat shack, a little personal desk fan from an office supply or the good old clip fan from Wally World. I don't like tube amps getting soaked in heat. As far as the tubes getting hot, don't worry about that, they're heated from the inside.
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Post by fishman on Mar 10, 2006 15:39:52 GMT -7
well, lets put it this way, after a half hour you can;t hold your hand on the chassis above the power tubes and the face of the amp is warm as well, and the actual top...I was told a long time ago by a tech that heat is the enemy and if you can dissapate it , tubes will last much longer to the point of years....as I said, I am an old fender guy and there was some heat from those too....i am not crazy about a fan whirring in the background but if it will extend the life of the tubes and the amp, whats the harm in that....like I said, if I don;t want to use it, then I will just not plug it in.....i have a fan in a custom made 69 bandmaster reverb 2-10 combo and the power tubes are at least 5 years old and test as new on my Hickock tester.... But thats a fender and these are not......I don;t know if the Dr. designed these to run hot, like a Vox or what....I don;t know why my MAZ 38 NR did not come with a fan, but the guys at Zworld said it don;t need one..and therefore one is not included.... Well. its in now....used a 3" metal cooling fan from the shack, and a couple of corner braces bent with some channel locks and 2 small wood screws to mount it to the side of the cab, couple of bolts, lock washers and nuts... and there you are.... air conditioning!
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Post by billyguitar on Mar 10, 2006 15:59:22 GMT -7
Some Voxes would catch on fire! I'm more concerned with heating up the caps and resistors than the tubes. I don't think they really care. I'm sure you've looked in those old Fenders. You can sure see that things look pretty crispy in some of them. Those little fans are almost silent. It doesn't take much, just any air circulation will help. For the last 15 years at least I always use a fan to cool tube amps on gigs and rehearsal. For just playing at home for an hour or so it wouldn't really matter. It's just that heat soak that I'm concerned with.
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Post by fishman on Mar 10, 2006 17:05:47 GMT -7
i agree with you...I have been using fans for years as well.....and with no loss of sound quality in my fenders.....and I have some sweeeet sounding fenders....as you also mention I have checked some of the fenders and things inside can get real brittle and fragile after 30-40 years of heat.... I just don;t want the Z to go down that road.....maybe the Dr. will offer fan options in all his amps....just a thought. Since this is a 115volt fan, and I did not tie it in with the power switch, it runs off a totally independant source...so it is not connected to the amp in any way..... The only modifications are two small screws that hold the mounting brackets to the side of the cab....could take it out, paint a small piece of pine black, sand it and use the black sawdust to fill the holes ...mixed with a little glue and paint over it and all traces would effectively dissappear.....
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