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Post by scottunzicker on Feb 15, 2018 9:11:09 GMT -7
Howdy, all.
How frequently do most of you swap out the power tubes on your Z-Lux? I gig ~10-12 times a month, and play pretty loudly. Also, I'm running Tung Sol 5881s, if that factors in.
Thanks.
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Post by zpilot on Feb 16, 2018 4:47:47 GMT -7
How long are your gigs? Do you have any rehearsal time added to this? I've got about 250 hours on the 6V6's in my JAZ, which has basically the same power amp section as a Z-Lux, and they seem fine. However, the previous set, which was the tubes that came in the amp, had about 300 hours on them when they were replaced and I thought they were still OK until I heard the new tubes and realized the old ones were getting tired. You know how that is. All of these tubes were JJ's which are the ONLY 6V6's my JAZ likes. I would bet that your 5881's would last a little longer.
I don't run power tubes right to the point where I think they are going to fail. After I figure out what I can expect from them I then replace them at 75% of that life. It's just not worth the loss of tone or having them fail during a performance. I think you probably feel the same.
I see you have a Vibro-King. What great amp for blues or old R&B. I had one about the same vintage. Yours has the EL84 reverb driver, right? I think the later ones with the 6V6 were even better. I also have a Nocaster. Unfortunately I let the Vibro-King go before I acquired the Nocaster so I never got to hear them together. I'll bet that's a sweet combination.
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Post by sharkboy on Feb 16, 2018 5:42:07 GMT -7
The Z-Lux is a little higher voltage than most of its 6V6 competitors, so I wouldn't expect extremely long life out of those. And yes, 5881s _should_ last longer (and you should have more options for replacement.) Tubes are highly susceptible to mechanical and thermal damage- this can be exacerbated by finger grease and moisture, etc. Modern tubes have some variation in longevity, so I would always keep a spare set, or go completely ape and have several different varieties and be able to roll them.
The most common indicator of tubes going bad is that they start to sound dull, but looking at them regularly may reveal other things, like red plating, cracks, burn marks, etc., and replacing before a hard failure will protect your output transformer and other circuitry.
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Post by scottunzicker on Feb 16, 2018 8:41:54 GMT -7
How long are your gigs? Do you have any rehearsal time added to this? I've got about 250 hours on the 6V6's in my JAZ, which has basically the same power amp section as a Z-Lux, and they seem fine. However, the previous set, which was the tubes that came in the amp, had about 300 hours on them when they were replaced and I thought they were still OK until I heard the new tubes and realized the old ones were getting tired. You know how that is. All of these tubes were JJ's which are the ONLY 6V6's my JAZ likes. I would bet that your 5881's would last a little longer. I don't run power tubes right to the point where I think they are going to fail. After I figure out what I can expect from them I then replace them at 75% of that life. It's just not worth the loss of tone or having them fail during a performance. I think you probably feel the same. I see you have a Vibro-King. What great amp for blues or old R&B. I had one about the same vintage. Yours has the EL84 reverb driver, right? I think the later ones with the 6V6 were even better. I also have a Nocaster. Unfortunately I let the Vibro-King go before I acquired the Nocaster so I never got to hear them together. I'll bet that's a sweet combination. Zpilot - Thanks for the response! Most gigs are around 3-4 hours. And rehearsal!? PSHAW! This is Austin! All kidding aside, rehearsal does happen, but is minimal, as most of the bands in which I play I've been in for a very long time, and we all know the material well. Funny you should mention the Vibro King/Nocaster combination. I've had many people tell me that combo was the best tone they ever heard me get... and that the Nocaster/Z-Lux sounds a LOT like it. My Vibro King is actually an early 6V6 model, and yes, it sounds STELLAR. However, they're so loud, you can sterilize a cat from about 500 yards away with one, and they're heavy as all git-out. There's actually a pretty good crowd of us that were devout Vibro King players for a long time. It all started with Alan Haynes, and if you don't know him, you should (plenty on youtube). Luke Cutchen (who is the guitar player with Midland now) got one, and then I did. Then Eric Tessmer (great local blues shredder), then Gary Clark Jr. got into them, as well. I'm sure I'm missing some folks, but yeah, the VKs are the best amps Fender has made in 50 years, in my and others' opinion. The VK field was crowded, and I went through a phase where I wanted to be more like Anson Funderburgh and Jimmie Vaughan, so I switched over to a '66 Super, which I still break out on bigger stages. The VK currently needs a little TLC, as I've cannibalized it for speakers and parts a few times over the years, but I just bought some Jupiter coupling caps, and F&T filter caps, and plan on refurbing it this year. So why did you put a warmoth neck on your Nocaster? Mine's an '01 and I LOVE the baseball bat profile of the thing. Cheers!
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Post by zpilot on Feb 16, 2018 9:00:32 GMT -7
I couldn't live with the 7.25"radius.
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on Feb 16, 2018 9:51:24 GMT -7
I couldn't live with the 7.25"radius. I put a compound radius Mighty Mite on my little red 50's tribute MIM Strat for the same reason. I hate that tight radius. That plus some Fralins made it a great player.
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