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Post by twotoneguitars on Jul 2, 2013 19:19:54 GMT -7
Most people seem to describe AGING EL84's as being dull and lifeless. But I wonder if anyone hears it as fizzy and harsh?
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Post by nmz on Jul 2, 2013 19:23:04 GMT -7
I get the fuzzy/harsh thing not dull.
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Post by Maddog on Jul 2, 2013 19:52:21 GMT -7
You guys need to play a Z-Wreck or a Stangray.....
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Post by twotoneguitars on Jul 2, 2013 20:01:56 GMT -7
Haha, I am referring to my StangRay, maddog. The new Mullards just didn't last very long at all.
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Post by Maddog on Jul 2, 2013 20:04:01 GMT -7
Man, I had a Ray with crappy JJ's in it, and it was pretty nice.... What speakers are you using?
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Post by Maddog on Jul 2, 2013 20:07:41 GMT -7
Whoa...my bad.... I totally missed the word "aging" in the OP.....I'll quietly disappear.....
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Post by twotoneguitars on Jul 2, 2013 20:26:13 GMT -7
My Ray has been good until these Mullards wore out. The original JJ's were good (that was back when JJ's were good). Now I have NOS and it's glorious.
I use several different speakers depending on the mood. Blue, Greenback, Weber Blue, they all sound a little different.
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Post by nmz on Jul 2, 2013 22:31:49 GMT -7
You guys need to play a Z-Wreck or a Stangray..... Maddog, I'll PM my address so you can send me one!
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Post by brayks on Jul 2, 2013 23:25:27 GMT -7
Whoa...my bad.... I totally missed the word "aging" in the OP.....I'll quietly disappear..... I missed the aging as well Lee. Dull/lifeless and flabby to my old abused ears.....
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Post by Maddog on Jul 3, 2013 5:01:37 GMT -7
You guys need to play a Z-Wreck or a Stangray..... Maddog, I'll PM my address so you can send me one! It's an one day trip from your house to mine, and we're both "off" tomorrow..... I'll have the amps warm and the beer cold!
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Post by BritInvasion on Jul 3, 2013 6:32:30 GMT -7
I've had 'em go both ways... dull and lower volume , like a blanket over the amp. Other times ratty and fizzy , also with some volume loss.
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Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2013 7:44:50 GMT -7
I've had a quad of TAD EL84-STR's in my Mazerati for almost a year now with moderate use. They are fizzing/dulling out a bit but holding up well. fwiw I'd describe it more as clarity loss.
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Post by Dustin on Jul 3, 2013 10:28:30 GMT -7
The last set of Sovtek's (I think) in my Rx Jr had both a massive volume loss and went fizzy/harsh just as you described. Luckily it happened at the rehearsal BEFORE a show and not on stage.
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Post by nmz on Jul 3, 2013 15:01:54 GMT -7
Maddog, I'll PM my address so you can send me one! It's an one day trip from your house to mine, and we're both "off" tomorrow..... I'll have the amps warm and the beer cold! Man I sooooo wish I could bring you a cold six pack for tire kicking!
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Post by twotoneguitars on Jul 3, 2013 18:39:37 GMT -7
I see how it's easy to skip right over that word "aging" in OP. So, I put some emphasis on it to curb the confusion of future readers.
My Mullards seemed to go slowly over time and when the amp was played clean, it sounded ok. Not great, just ok. But when I started to drive it hard, the sound got really nasty and harsh. The more it was punched, the worse the sound. Now, I do like a broken type overdriven sound, but this was just horrible. These new tubes that are in there now are REALLY nice.
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Post by Maddog on Jul 3, 2013 19:39:41 GMT -7
^^^^^ That's pretty interesting.... I remember years ago when I would start getting tired of my Maz Jr and thinking about trading it off, all I had to do was install new power tubes, and its beautiful magic came roaring back!!!!
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Post by muzacman02 "Jamie" on Jul 6, 2013 16:31:33 GMT -7
My Ray went through Tubes FAST as well, as the same for my EL84 Plexi Head. I have tried NOS and Just new Tubes, I found the TAD TUBES last the Longest , it also depends how you run it too, Air Brake, Pushing it really HARD with stompboxes etc... Don't get rid of any Z amps Speaking from exp! LOL
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Post by twotoneguitars on Jul 9, 2013 19:52:09 GMT -7
Not complaining about the Ray, just the state of tubes these days. I do run the Ray kind of hard. Volume at 4-5, pushing pedals and such. And it's my main amp for the constant church gigs.
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Post by T-R☼CK ♫ on Jul 9, 2013 22:34:13 GMT -7
My '07 Ghia..... STILL, has the factory EL-84s in it (approx. 900 hrs. on them).
I changed the PI, to a VOS 12BH7, & swapped the VOS RCA recto 5Y3, to a VOS Sylvania 5Y3.
SUPER happy, happy, happy...........
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Post by zpilot on Jul 10, 2013 6:51:27 GMT -7
I did some work on a guy's Crate VC-30 about 2 years ago (replaced diodes). His EL84's were redplating. He was short on money so I installed a USED quad of Sovteks I had. He is still playing on the same tubes and he puts 5-10 hours a week on this amp. I think sometimes it's just the luck of the draw.
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Post by wubberdubber on Jul 10, 2013 12:48:56 GMT -7
My experience with aging EL84's is usually "dull/lifeless"...seems like every time I've had "fizzy/harsh" is right before one goes OUT.
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Post by zpilot on Jul 23, 2013 4:37:19 GMT -7
I change my EL84's when they have about 200 to 300 hours on them so I've never had a tube go bad on me. I just consider it a cost of doing business, just like strings, etc,. That's why I have several used sets lying around and I can use them for repair work. I sell them to customers cheap to recoup some of my costs. I always tell them that they are used tubes. I don't really know what they sound like when they are getting ready to fail. My experience with other tubes is that they start losing high end and I have to turn the treble control up to compensate.
I actually did let the original set of Sovtec EL84's fail in my first Dr. Z amp just to find out what I could expect. That was about 12 years ago and it was a Maz 38 w/reverb. I don't remember what they sounded like but it had the usual severe loss of volume. The EL84 amp repair work I do is mostly on AC-30's and an occasional Peavey Classic.
I think you should pull those tubes when they get about 300 hours on them and keep them on hand at gigs for spares. Don't wait until they start sounding funny. Besides, a failed tube can cause other components to fail also and if that happens you aren't really saving any money on operating cost.
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