|
Post by humphreyaudio on Jun 24, 2006 0:16:50 GMT -7
I posted last March 26th about tossing a power tube in the middle of a show after my amp had been fading in and out.
Well, I tossed another one June 17th playing live, and had to switch power tubes again. This Will be my 3rd set of power tubes in 10 months. I don't run the amp that hard. Pre gain @ 11:00 MASTER VOLUME @ 9:00-10:00 and I can't figure out why she shells out tubes so often.
I may have to send it to the Doc for a once over I guess, Just hate to part with it.
Any comments or advise is appreciated as always. Thanks,
Mark Humphrey
|
|
|
Post by Bill on Jun 24, 2006 4:34:12 GMT -7
I've been having the same problem with my Stingray, and also usually run it at about half speed, although it's not certain to be tube related. Boxed it up Wednesday and shipped it up to the good doc to see what's up. You should probably do the same, because 3 sets of output tubes in 10 months is way off. I gigged a Maz Jr hard, two or three times a month for four years and only changed the tubes once.
I understand about not wanting to "part with it". In the 'rays absence, I'm lugging my son's Marshall half stack to an outdoor party tonight...it's either that or a Mesa .22 (which I WILL NOT USE!) ;D
|
|
|
Post by joekondziella on Jun 25, 2006 4:17:39 GMT -7
Nothing like fresh tubes. Just when I think I'm not diggin my Z I'll pop in a set of tubes or power tubes and ZING - all is right in the world. I've had my maz18nr for just under a year and I'm on my 4th set of power tubes as of a couple of weeks ago. If your amp is on alot you're just racking up the hours and like Myles says they're only good for 300 hrs or so.Average out 4 hours a day and that's 120 hours a month. I gig pretty steady and love to shed (and I get side-tracked by family stuff and space turning it off). I guess I'll have to shed a little more w/ the painful POD which makes the maz all the better when it comes time to get real.
|
|
|
Post by mazmaster on Jun 25, 2006 22:09:32 GMT -7
I posted last March 26th about tossing a power tube in the middle of a show after my amp had been fading in and out. Well, I tossed another one June 17th playing live, and had to switch power tubes again. This Will be my 3rd set of power tubes in 10 months. I don't run the amp that hard. Pre gain @ 11:00 MASTER VOLUME @ 9:00-10:00 and I can't figure out why she shells out tubes so often. I may have to send it to the Doc for a once over I guess, Just hate to part with it. Any comments or advise is appreciated as always. Thanks, Mark Humphrey There's definitely something wrong there. Mine have lasted over two years and only get dull-sounding, but never die.
|
|
|
Post by guitarboy02451 on Jun 26, 2006 3:01:16 GMT -7
My el84's are going on 2 years old... probably have over 1000 hours on them... put in a set of new ones and they sounded the same, so I put the old ones back in to get some more mileage out of them.
|
|
|
Post by ke4unr on Jun 26, 2006 9:07:45 GMT -7
I also have more than a couple of years on my other EL84 amp.
Is there something different about Dr. Z EL84 amps that's causing some of you to have to keep feeding 'em power tubes?
I've only had my Maz Jr just shy of 4 months, so I don't have a lenghty track record to go by.
Mark, I'll be very interested to hear what the Dr. has to say about your amp!
Ray K.
|
|
|
Post by humphreyaudio on Jun 27, 2006 5:29:58 GMT -7
The Doc says it's not a typical problem at all, and has suggested tube seating, which I always approach first upon encountering any problems, also the loop issue. I just began using my loop recently. I don't think that's it. I let you know what else I hear from him as we are emailing bak and fourth currently.
MH
|
|
|
Post by humphreyaudio on Jul 2, 2006 18:13:44 GMT -7
I also have more than a couple of years on my other EL84 amp. Is there something different about Dr. Z EL84 amps that's causing some of you to have to keep feeding 'em power tubes? I've only had my Maz Jr just shy of 4 months, so I don't have a lenghty track record to go by. Mark, I'll be very interested to hear what the Dr. has to say about your amp! Ray K. I finally had time to perform some troublshooting on the amp, and upon pulling the recto tube, the pins looked like they were melted/welded. I ordered a SovTek replacement and stuck it in prior to my show last night, and the amp performed flawlessly and sounded tighter. MUCH tighter BTW. Now we'll see if it tosses any more power tubes. MH
|
|
|
Post by kledbet on Jul 2, 2006 22:53:51 GMT -7
You might want to invest in a good Mullard gz34. Even a used one on ebay will last for years with no problems. If you want a little more sag then check out the philips/sylvania 5aR4. KCA NOS tubes has some in stock. I used one in a Chicago Blues Box amp to give it a little more sag and it worked well.
|
|
|
Post by ke4unr on Jul 3, 2006 7:24:57 GMT -7
I finally had time to perform some troublshooting on the amp, and upon pulling the recto tube, the pins looked like they were melted/welded. I ordered a SovTek replacement and stuck it in prior to my show last night, and the amp performed flawlessly and sounded tighter. MUCH tighter BTW. Now we'll see if it tosses any more power tubes. MH I hope that does it for you. Would be a nice/simple fix. What did you have in there? JJ? Ray K.
|
|
|
Post by humphreyaudio on Jul 3, 2006 19:21:24 GMT -7
[/quote] I hope that does it for you. Would be a nice/simple fix.
What did you have in there? JJ?
Ray K.[/quote]
Yep, and my opinion of the JJ tubes has changed for the worse since I've been a Z owner. The only JJ tube I would recommend in the MAZ 18 is the long plate ECC83 for PI.
They (JJ) don't fair well or sound great in other other positions, BUT if I had a Fender, Marshall, etc, I'd be using JJ tubes in them hands down.
MH
|
|
|
Post by ke4unr on Jul 5, 2006 8:14:21 GMT -7
Yep, and my opinion of the JJ tubes has changed for the worse since I've been a Z owner. The only JJ tube I would recommend in the MAZ 18 is the long plate ECC83 for PI. They (JJ) don't fair well or sound great in other other positions, BUT if I had a Fender, Marshall, etc, I'd be using JJ tubes in them hands down. MH I don't think my question was clear. What power tubes have you been using? I'm in agreement with you about the JJ's in other positions on these amps. Otherwise, I love them in my other amps. I still have JJ EL84's in my Maz. They sound fine, I'm just wondering about the reliability/life issue with them. Ray K.
|
|
|
Post by humphreyaudio on Jul 12, 2006 17:43:58 GMT -7
Yep, and my opinion of the JJ tubes has changed for the worse since I've been a Z owner. The only JJ tube I would recommend in the MAZ 18 is the long plate ECC83 for PI. They (JJ) don't fair well or sound great in other other positions, BUT if I had a Fender, Marshall, etc, I'd be using JJ tubes in them hands down. MH I don't think my question was clear. What power tubes have you been using? I'm in agreement with you about the JJ's in other positions on these amps. Otherwise, I love them in my other amps. I still have JJ EL84's in my Maz. They sound fine, I'm just wondering about the reliability/life issue with them. Ray K. Yes, JJ power tubes, which I DO prefer in these amps, I just had bad luck with JJs in the other positions. The recto was my problem all along I think. I'm still a bit puzzled as to why the amp would work once I installed new power tubes every time though..... Thanks Ray, MH
|
|