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how to tell good crystal from bad

You can click on a … If it’s somewhat cold, it can take 45 minutes to two hours to fully warm up. Should I stay with the ECC’s or go to the 12 AX & AU? Any specific advice on my next steps to locate the source of the problem? http://www.thetubestore.com/Shop-by-Amp/Marshall-Haze-MHZ15-Amp, http://www.thetubestore.com/Shop-by-Amp/Peavey-Valve-King-112-Amp, http://www.thetubestore.com/Shop-by-Amp/Rivera-Venus-3-Amp, https://www.facebook.com/travis.hale.92/videos/10155502752443380/, https://blog.thetubestore.com/understanding-blue-glow-in-your-amp-tubes/, Missing Vacuum Tube Pins, Uncovering The Mystery, Building a Tweed 5E3 Kit from Trinity Amps, Tube Matching, Bias and Breakup – How They Work Together, Not Your Grandfather’s Smartphone – Technology Advances, How It’s Made – Omnidirectional Speakers, One Company Proving The Finest Things Are Timeless, DIY – Is it for you? I have Fender Pro reissue circa 2004-5 ish. Regards Stu. I guess if it was the case and only single tube failed it would have sounded much more distorted. Hi , I have a 18watt mini blues breaker style amp, I have only ever played at home . 1. Just replaced all new tubes 5 12ax7, 1 12au7 1 gz34 and a matched quad of electro harmonics el84s. to Priest and Queensryche. Arsenal's Mikel Arteta says fatigue was the reason for a 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace A game to forget. All tubes will amplify tapping to some degree but an unusable tube will be very loud and often feedback or squeal. Both gain channels work ok but clean doesn’t work. However I suggest you find a good tech to look it over if you feel the transformer is to blame. My 5153 died on me. The simplest way to tell apart good and bad robots (i.e. Needing the Gain and Tone I’m hunting for, what Brand would you use along with the Gain or Power Rating? Wattage is Voltage multiplied by Current. Nor smell of burning. It is a stone of protection,… Could this be a tube issue, or it possible that I blew a fuse or something? Basically, I’m needing the Shimmering, Glasslike Clean of Cleans to the incredible Gains of the Metal God!!! Is this tube problem or other problem? Possibly the tube is exhibiting mild microphonics that is a result of the vibrations when turning the volume knob. Hi Jon! Sometimes you will hear strange sounds, loss of power, or heavily distort sound. I stated in my original question that I play from Heavy Rocking Blues, Robin Trower, Joe Bonamassa…ect…to Heavy, Hard Rock….Poison….yuck…. But it’s just weird that when this happens I can’t switch channels or anything. It might just be coming time for a fresh set of tubes. If you have any further questions about your specific situation email us and we can try to walk you through some possibilities. Intolerable noise. For more details on the subject click here. I’ve changed the fuse but still, there was no sound coming from the cab (I was using someone else’s’ cab). Thanks in advance for your wisdom. If you have never replaced the tubes, do you know how many hours of play the previous owner put on them? If the replacement fails immediately it’s often a sign of a failed power/output tube or amplifier fault. Did you have a chance to recheck the bias? Repeat until the noise is gone and at that point you’ll know you’ve removed the noisy tube. Whenever i turn the amp on after a few minutes it starts to pop, or give a loud static even the volume is turned down all the way. I would suggest using a spare set starting with the preamp end (12AX7 and 12AT7) then the 6L6’s to swap out. I have a Randall Diavlo 100 head that started making a buzzing whine noise last night and I noticed one of the big tubes had a purple glow to it. Issue i’m having is… as i’m playing it sounds like the “Treble” is being turned down (this lasts for about 10 seconds) then sounds “Normal” for maybe 2-5 mins, then low treble sound again … At first I thought it was the Battery in my guitar (Active EMG’s) replaced it, turns out was not the case. So now I am suspecting I am possibly having some preamp tubes issues. If not, you’ll need to get a matched pair of power tubes installed. It started with the super high gain channel 4, getting quieter and quieter, and then died. One of the power tubes has a strange stain in the top of the glass and some rust in the inside bottom. I have a 1978 Gibson 335TD also.Great tone. Usually gentle pressure on the bottle is enough to stop the vibration and rattling, and will give you a clear answer as to which power tube is to blame. 1965… Well if the tubes are original with 50 years of use it is WAY past their life expectancy. A tube like this should be replaced. Or is this a new problem that developed only after swapping out the tubes? I don’t know what is happening. I suspect you just didn’t notice it before because you were happy with the tone and never needed to examine it. Martin. Most techs would recommend you start by changing out the tubes before digging deeper. In the event your amplifier will not power on, it is almost certainly due to a blown fuse. Well with that kind of age I am going to assume he had plenty of hours logged on those tubes to require a full replacement. sound goes away when in standby. If the visual inspections mentioned earlier do not help locate a bad tube we recommend hiring a technician to inspect your amp. What you describe is a common symptom of tubes slowing failing. Thanks this has been very easy common sense way to look at my Leak tl12 s.. A power valve was at fault so I changed it and back to the music it came.. Is it power amp or pre amp? The III is not Peavey. Many tubes do not visibly light as the filament in many designs are not visible at all and may look dead when they are functioning 100%. I recently got a new Marshall DSL100HR. it for one with exact same parameters but when i turned amp on,fuse blow up and i saw something like flash inside one of tubes.does anyone have experience with something like this?? Thanks, If you have a good spare 12AX7 I would swap out the tubes one for one as generally the problem is in one of those positions. The amp is only used occasionally and never gigged. Hi. preamp tubes perhaps? I am going to assume it had a few tube overhauls though along the way Tubes are a good place to start but given the age of the Teisco I would suggest you start looking for a really great technician to recap and check everything, if it hasn’t already been that is. If it was a daily device for someone over those years than they may be in need of some replacement. The amp is perfect other than that. What are the chances that Beryllium or Lead could have leaked out? ive had a few 5150 amps come into my shop, those amps do sound good when functioning well but im not impressed with the build from any companys or different versions of it. The amp now has bedroom volumes, but sound character is similar (not as fizzy when master is turned down), as if it attenuates itself. A week after the gig there is a distinct lack of gain from both the normal and top boost channels. You mention bright orange on one of the power tubes, have you been able to determine if this is filament or heater glow and not red-plating? This is rarely a consistant issue but when it is, it generally is related to installation. But first, make sure you don’t just have a fuzz pedal on. I cannot tell you how often people tell us they aren’t sure they need a replacement only to contact us afterwords very excited about the new life that their amp received by replacing the tubes. I bought a 1965 Teisco 88 15 watt hand wired 6 tube amp with two 8 inch speakers (hence 88) a couple of years ago from the original owner who purchased it at a music store in Japan when he was in the coast guard. Alexander's baby brother and Ben and Kelly’s youngest son. If not, re-install the original tube and move your spare to the next position. You could replace the tubes and see if that solves the issue, but we would suggest taking it in for service to a reputable tech and have a formal diagnosis. He said it got regular use up to about 20 years ago and then it sat in a closet until he decided to sell it. P.S. Chinese 12ax7s etc. I have a problem: there’s a constant 60 cycle hum which sounds same when the volume is changed. Could this be just a tube and bias issue? Think you’re right! Tubes. Check out our Shop By Amp section for tube replacement packages suited for your amp and be sure to have the bias adjusted. And upon closer inspection, I found a long crack in the base of the tube. it immediately quits when I switch back to the clean channel. I have a friedman dirty shirley 40 watt head….. Which I know doesn’t really tell anything because as long as the filiment is heating….. We’ll go over some of the most common scenarios that a guitar player might find with his or her guitar amp. When raising it up it just sound ugly and moody. I have an amp that is taking around 30 minutes to warm up enough to create sound, even in a temperature controlled room. When I connected it to my own cab at home I found that the power went down on all 3 channels plus the distortion channels are not “distorting” until the gain goes over 6-7. And because you didn’t get this amp new, you don’t know what type of other problems it may have. Just wanting to know if my tubes are going to fail prematurely, or if this is normal “wear.’. Basically has a preamp tube and solid state power section. I am using Teslovak KT88’s for the outputs. Here’s my issue. When did you last retube your amp? Try swapping your 12AX7 tubes around to determine if the problem is related to just the clean channel tube or a combination. Overall, this amp is decent. Thanks for lending your expertise. If you have an extra set of tubes you know are good in another amp than swapping them out temporarily will answer your question if it is a tube causing the problem or if it is something more sinister. I connected my guitar into a return jack and it sounded alright. or with the channel squealing so loudly am I looking in the wrong direction? if its a tone control cap you will hear a very scratchy sound when turning certain controls in the preamp. An absolutely good article. Start with the power tubes if you don’t want to order a full set. Was rehearsing at home with it yesterday and it sounded great. I don’t know what the problem would be, nor do I know these amps typical noise floor level unfortunately. I have an Egnater Tweaker 88 to compare it to – running through that 1936 cab. Thanks for the informative post. Staying with the ECC’s and EL’s or switching to something else? I set the clean (green) channel to the pushed mode and crank the gain to 10. If there is no warranty left I would suggest swapping out the 12AX7 tubes one at a time for a known good tube. Considering you are running a fixed bias amp and the tone is changing once they have gotten plenty hot, I would guess the power tubes are starting out at an adequate bias for the amp but then drifting out of proper range once you have the amp running for a bit. Well, tonight while working on some new stuff, I begin to notice a Ringing sound or High Frequency Feedback/Squeal on all 3 Channels, low or high volume, with or without Effects. If you have a spare 12AX7 preamp tube try installing it in place of each position, one at a time, to see if things improve. The pre amp tubes all seemed good though so I am thinking the problem may be power tube related. I found some glass tubes that are in their original boxes but don’t have a ‘getter’ on the glass. If you have any other 12AX7 in your possession then I would suggest swapping those out one at a time to determine if that is the source of your problems. The narrow pins on 9 pin tubes such as the 12AX7 do bend quite easily and I assume this is the tube you are referring. Despite the tube still lighting up, it could have failed in a different way that is preventing amplification. Found a 12ax7a with white getter. Cheers. It’ll work fine for a few minutes and then fade back down or “pop” off. I replaced all the tubes as well as biased (correctly I hope), and I went down the second night after replacing the tubes. This could be a tube issue but could also be various other sources from caps to connections. The last time i played it today it made like a noise kinda like how when a taser is shot and makes that crackling sound. This is sometimes due to wrong biasing of the amp, which really isn’t a tube problem. But keep in mind the same issues will arise in hifi stereo tube amplifiers and preamplifiers so audiophiles will find this article useful too. It’s common for tubes to cast different amount of light and not a certain sign of any issue. Please don’t put me on an email mailing list. As soon as i get Tube advice from you, be looking for an order….but that doesn’t mean, suggest the most expensive, Golden and Cyrogentically Frozen Tubes y’all offer!!!!! Due to the fine internal components all it takes is a bump the wrong way or just some random bias drift to cause a tube to malfunction. Tahha, stop telling people dumb stuff for nothing. He was very keen to take me on as a client.At one point I mentioned my ideas of how to show people Tarot cards online and to my shock he then proceeded to tell me that he would not design any website that was associated with Tarot and nor would he do a porn website. Have a technician check it over for you. You have just completed the standard burn in period of usage and the changes you are describing are that of normal beginnings of tube life. I would say to swap the 12AX7 tubes possessions around and see if anything changes. Milky Quartz Crystal Healing & Properties Information For what and How Does One Use it? Also, on two of the tubes I have noticed a darker patch on the getter, where perhaps that portion of the tube has gotten hotter. Hello, when I turn on the amp (boogie mark iv) I let it heat for about 2 minutes. Think about the people in your family and consider who is supportive and understanding. If you have a backup use that, but if not, try swapping the 12AX7 with one from V3 and see if that changes anything. How many hours and how often are you moving it? Rest assured it is very unlikely to find multiple bad tubes all at once. That tube is bad. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is a 2014 American family comedy film directed by Miguel Arteta from a screenplay written by Rob Lieber. What could it possibly be? According to the unit’s diagram, I have an array of tubes and only a few light up. Audiophile Review – EL34 Family Tube Comparison, How to Get the Best EF86 – A Tube Comparison, The Strange Phenomenon of Musical ‘Skin Orgasms’, 30-Day Tweet-Sized Guitar Maintenance Workshop. I know that it’s hard to guess what happened but do you think the power tubes are gone or the power transformer is defective or something else? Swap the tube if you have a spare, otherwise you might want a tech to look it over. What you are describing sounds a lot like a microphonic tube in your clean channel. with knobs at zero it kinda sounds like a low volume version of a 15watt with the overdrive cranked. A little compressed air, and it works perfectly again. I bought it USED maybe 4 years ago, Only gets “bedroom” played, Low Volume (6-8 hours a month) Thank you. I do believe that it could be my power tubes. The tubes are new. Once you are in the bathroom, quickly go to our website and ask the crystal ball what she thinks about the exposition. This is because tapping any tube near the bad tube appears to be bad as well. I think it’s likely tubes or a transformer? It’s easier to look at the tubes. Great article! I could not get a clean tone at very quiet settings. Thank you for your time and also, an extraordinary article!! It may just be time to retube the amp completely for safety sake or at least getting a back up set to have on hand if you rely on this amp 24/7. Do you have any suggestions in what to do? Evh made by fender in Mexico. I put it into the preamp gain stage and now I can’t even hear the guitar (but the buzz is gone). Very similar in tonal quality. V1 is your main gain stage and if that tube is pooched you are going to kill the volume. I suspect the 12ax7 is failing. Hi, I have a laney Pro tube AOR series combo amp and I love the sound. Any suggestions? Thanks. A tech could also check for failed capacitors and broken/cold solder joints that might be giving the same symptoms. Also, the day before this happened the amp was humming a bit more than usual. http://www.thetubestore.com/Shop-by-Amp/Marshall-Haze-MHZ15-Amp. I did change power tubes and that helped blue lighting, but the volume was still very low and the amp was buzzing. Despite the all clear from a local amp tech, the issue remains. Choose one person to tell first. 2. A sudden loss of vacuum would require physical damage to the tube. mine is a 2014 model and i have a 5 year warrenty with it i should just sent it in but would like some advice first. Maybe the tubes are getting tired. 3. lately I change my stock 12AX7 tubes to vintage tubes, it was found that 1 of the channel speaker produce sharp noise when turning the amp volume knob, but it is OK when did not touch the volume knob. If everything looks to be ok then I would suggest a technician have a look. From what you are describing for hum I would say it very well could be your 12AX7. Replaced fuses, no change. I have a Rivera Venus 3 which has only been used in my room since I’ve had it for the past 4 years and it has seen very light and infrequent use. We’ll start with visible signs. Typically this is a sign of either a bad tube, or bad capacitor. Thanks for reply. Power tube labels are faded noticeably. Being a used amp it is always hard to determine the amount of abuse those tubes went through. If for some reason a tube did not fix the problem then I would suggest you get it looked at by a technician. If the problem still displays than replace the power tubes. Here is a link to what the amp sounds like, the volume is at 8, and it super gritty and distorted.. https://www.facebook.com/travis.hale.92/videos/10155502752443380/, I have a dsl100h and sometimes when I’m playing the sound cuts to almost inaudible levels and it won’t let me change channels when this happens. Output tubes can also be microphonic. The amp is a very nice boutique combo amp, and should sound great. Sounds like the switch is not working. Any ideas about that? The rattle or course is, and same with muddy sound. I have ordered new tubes, thought I’d replace all. The drifting bias issue has been repaired and the amp has recently been professionally retubed (new JJ power tubes and one preamp tube). Show the glass of wine as you say this to make all this more real. I am a technical person but not an engineer, so in my logical mind I am now focused on the possibility of an amp/pre-amp vacuum tube acting up. But there are times when a properly biased amp has a tube that begins to red-plate. Another symptom is when tone controls seem to have little effect and the sound frequency range has become very narrow. But I would say because you know you have tube issues now, replace them as a first step and see what is resolved. So I have a fender hot rod deluxe and when I turn it on the only thing coming out of it is a humming noise, ive tried it with multiple different cables and guitars but I noticed that one of the 12axy preamp tubes aren’t lighting up like the rest of the tubes, could this be the problem? Great article, learned a lot from it. Some guitar amps with more features can give you clues to where the issue is. 1. I have a Marshall 100w Slash Signature head that has always performed very well. For example our Perfect Pair #40 rating can replace the same or close rating if such a set is already installed in an amp, and safely avoid rebiasing. Thoughts? The tube must be heated in order to function. The milky appearance is caused by many bubbles of un-solidified quartz solution floating in the crystal. As the amp warms the pop sound stops.I must say that I used this amp very rarely, maybe 3 times in one year. I was thoroughly impressed with the tone the first few days I practiced on it. Sounds like you have a microphonic tube. Ok… i have a blackstar 100 ht and when i crank the master volume it just start sounding bad. When I turn it on and start playing it sounds fine. Would that be the tube or something else? In some cases the damage can be from bending the pins on installation/removal which can pop the seal between the metal and glass. The amp is made in 2017. I use Mogami cables. In this guide you will find such topics as dealing with abandonment, depression, anxiety, and self-acceptance. Possibly your replacement tube is microphonic or defective. The issue is always there unless I bypass preamp by plugging a guitar directly into a return jack. The squeal can be a sign of problems. Where can the problem be? I have had it since they were first made available. If it doesn’t, you know the noise is caused by another tube and you can repeat this procedure one tube at a time until you find it. Or else the person who listed the tube on their online store accidentally (or ignorantly) used a picture of an expired tube? The amp with its volume set to 10 is as loud as it might be normally at 1 but very distorted and breaks up. Have you checked the bias on the amp? I noticed all this when I noticed the dim power tube…. First, I understand that only Preamp Tubes DO NOT have to be biased as long as you stay with the same model….if I replace my ECC83’s and 82 with the same, no need to Bias unless I change to the 12AX7 and the 12AU7. Upon close inspection most people can detect a hairline crack in the glass that is the cause. Watch for the silver/reflective getter flashing to dissipate or turn white, signalling a leak. http://www.thetubestore.com/Shop-by-Amp/Peavey-Valve-King-112-Amp. Is the sound issues and Ringing Tube related? But yes it could be something else like power tubes. Here’s the demonstration: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Hi3qxqN0s-8. The tubes glowing is only an indicator of heater function. The amp turns on, channel 1 you can hear but weak and get nothing from channel 2. The issue that I am running into is that while I am playing at low volumes (around 1 1/2 on the master volume and 5 on the gain) on the clean/overdrive channel the amp volume will either “pop” or fade to nothing. I forgot to mention that the tubes are all original according to the original owner. Just tell your girlfriend that you really want to have this discussion but you first need to go to toilets. Some times there is no noise and other times there is a strange crackly white noise sound , it will stay for a bit and then pass and in a few mins come again . Possible Tube problems, a Diode that assist the Overdrive’s or is it just a Piece of Poop Amp I need to throw away until I can afford something else? Much love from from Dr. Frank. If the problem followed the tubes then it is more than likely the tube is the issue. If you have a spare 12AX7 from a different amp you can cycle it through and see if things improve/change at all. I have a TSL 100 and it blew its HT fuse when I cranked it up. Elise/Zoey Vargas as Trevor Cooper, youngest of the Cooper children. Is this just faulty power tubes? Daily use seems to be a year on average. Keith. I’ve tried unplugging the foot switch but nothing. Be sure that the pins are straight before installing and that you do not subconsciously install at an angle or twist the tube as you install it. The valves were all replaced about a year ago when I bought it from local music store. Perhaps the most obvious thing to look for is any loose parts that have broken off inside the bottle. I would start by trouble shooting preamp tubes. All preamp tubes seem to be ok. Amp powers on, but the volume is very low and distorted on both clean and overdrive channels. man im so upset i have a 5150 III 1X12 just replaced power tubes with JJ and bought a sovtek LPS for the PI and 5x JJ preamp tubes and im still getting this like volume drop where ill have it turned up not to loud and after few minutes its like it turns its self down low. So you know of anyone in the San Diego area. I’m just learning about tubes. So you can see that the Roaring Twenties is just one of many possible economic scenarios and, even if it comes to pass as many hope, there are still many possible pathways and denouements. I need my Amp to go between Rockin’ Blues to Real Hard Rock. Most tube amp guys would be willing to let you borrow a 12AX7 for this test so I suggest asking a friend if you don’t have a backup. both power tubes are lighting up and all the fuses are intact. You’re doing sound check before a gig, something sounds wacky, and now you’ve got to figure out what’s happening. I would suggest you have a technician take a look at the amp to be sure there isn’t something more sinister happening in the unit. For your playing style I would expect it to do well. Tried it again today and the same issue. I interchanged preamp tubes and found that most probably the FX Loop tube (cathode follower stage I guess) was faulty. I have a Line6 Spider Valve 112 “Bogner” (part Tube/part Digital)… Takes (2) 12AX7-B and (2) 5881 … I JUST started getting a throbbing noise coming out of the amp, not guitar related as I’ve changed out guitars and get the same issue. Does this sound like a typical Tube issue? Try replacing the fuse (get extra for back up, no we don’t sell fuses) and rebiasing the amp. Iused to run it through a Marshall 1936 cab, more recently I was able to (finally) pick up the full stack A +B. It is possible that it is not your power tubes but one of your preamp tubes (12AX7) failing. The die hard who uses his amps daily might only get 6 months to a year before needing to retube. It seems to sound pretty good when first turned on but I seem to be losing tone about 5 songs into the set. I’m not positive I know exactly what you’re asking, or if perhaps your not sure what you’re asking, but I’ll do my best. Otherwise I suspect you have one or more failing tubes. My Masa Boogie amp has a dying fuse tone to it? It was my grandmother’s. Have a fender 4×10 60watt super amp. If I turn the master volume up it will pop back to life. Tubes have been in the amp for a long time but they don’t have more than 400 or so hours on them. I have a blackstar ht stage 100 and when im on distortion mode at low volume it sound ok. Either way, just get any 12AX7 spare you may have on hand and try it in each position. Practicing extreme metal will simply not allow this misbehavior. Any thoughts? The purple glow around wires or other elements indicates leakage and a tube with this should be discarded. You don’t have to tell multiple people at once unless you want to. If the problem goes away or changes you can be sure it is in one of those tubes and probably should look at replacing the set. This seems like it would happen randomly and for no particular reason. I will take ANY and ALL Advice your Brain has to offer in both Tube and Speaker Types and Models…..right now, the Tubes being more importment!!! The volume kept dropping at my last jam. Any thoughts? Tube noise such as sputtering, hissing, popping can be tougher to find in a guitar amplifier. However, after about 30 minutes of play it suddenly goes into am amazingly bad sound – massive distortion, crackling, …. The American naming standard is 12AX7 and the European standard is ECC83 for example. Not sure what is a normal noise floor.. thanks. also “motor boating” from not enough power supply filtering in the preamp. But it won´t make any sound when i plug in my guitar. They can serve as your support system when you are ready to tell more people. Do you believe this is a tube issue or something else? A fascinating article and so many comments!

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