Frequently Asked Questions

The Standby switch traditionally removes the high voltage from the tubes giving the filaments a chance to heat the tube. In guitar amps it is a lot less critical than is general thought, and can even cause a reduced tube service life if misused. You only need to have your amp in standby for 15 -20 seconds before applying the high voltage and if you need to mute your amp to take a break, its much better to just turn down the volume. For a deeper dive I recommend the Valve Wizards page on the subject:

http://www.valvewizard.co.uk/standby.html

The service life of a tube is highly variable and dependent on many factors such as build quality, circuit implementation, bias, how hard you push them into saturation and just pure luck.

Generally preamp tubes last far longer than power tubes. Ive seen original preamp tubes in 60 year old amps, still going strong. The most common problem with preamp tubes is that they go microphonic over many years of being thrown in the van. I would say that if your amp sounds good, there is no reason to change your preamp tubes for reliability.

Power tubes tend to not last as long, but it is extremely variable. If you play the tubes in a very clean amp at low volumes a couple hours a week and never move it, the power tubes can last 50 years just fine, but if you play a super hi gain amp at full volume, saturating the power amp completely a couple hours every night on tour, they can go in a 6 months. I would try to replace well used Power tubes at least every 2 years at a minimum, and definitely before any major tour or recording session.

It really depends on the amp. Preamp tubes can generally be replaced by anyone, being careful to do it properly. For power tubes I would check the owners manual for your amp before attempting to replace them. Most amps will require a tech to set the bias of your new tubes in your amp, although some have user adjustable bias, or possibly dont even need biasing. Again, all this information will be in your owners manual. If you do decide to attempt to replace your own tubes make sure you do it properly. You can look online for instructions, or contact us and we can walk you through how to do it safely.

Absolutely! First you should always check to make sure it is actually your amp that is the problem. Test it with a different guitar. Test with a different cable. Take any pedals that might be in your signal path out of the chain. Does it still give you problems using a different cab or speaker?

If you have determined the problem is definitely in the amp, there are other things you can check before sending it in. Check that the fuse is still good, and that its the proper fuse! PLEASE PLEASE DONT WRAP IT IN TINFOIL AND TRY TO FINISH THE SET! If you are comfortable replacing tubes you can attempt to see if its a bad tube.  70% of problems with tube amps are in the tubes themselves. Remember there are very dangerous voltages in your amp and you should always be careful when dealing with anything inside your amp case. The tubes can also be very hot, so let them cool before touching them. One by one replace each preamp tube with the amp off, checking to see if it fixes the problem after replacing each one. If the preamp tubes arent the problem, try the same thing with the power tubes, being mindful of the bias setting of your amp.

These general troubleshooting steps can save you a lot of money and headache.

Ground breaking technology….