Wtf??!!

[Riffmeister]

I got some new preamp tubes today. I pop them in and no sound, so I do all the double and triple checks to see if they are seated correctly , all lighting up etc.

After 5 hours oof this crap with it working then not, on and off. I thought I had a bad tube, and had it narrowed down to which one. So I left the 2 new ones in I though worked and put back one of the originals. Didn't freaking work again!

So in the end, I don't have a bad tube, but one tube position will only work with one of the tubes that it came with , and not ANY of the 3 new ones I got.

It came with JJs and I got svetlanas. Is there some stupid reason I don't know about as to why it will only work with the JJ in this particular spot? I tried EVERYTHING, different tubes in differnt spots and this is definately they only way it will work, with one of the JJS in that particular spot.

[Cygnus X1]

Which amp is it?

And which tube position?
Some amps are extremely touchy about what gets used in the
phase inverter (PI) position.

[nhspike]

Listen to the Cygman
He knows the tube things well

[Riffmeister]

It's a Peavey Valveking 112. I'm not sure which slot is the phase inverter slot, but the slot in question is the one closest to the input jack.

[Riffmeister]

Ok , from what I can find, the slot in question is labeled V1 and I was told this is basically, the clean tube spot.

[nhspike]

Mesa sells an ultra clean (tested) tube for their V1 position, and it's worth the extra coin.
Try one of those.

[Riffmeister]

Someone has pointed out that the pins on the JJ tube are thicker than the Svetlanas and they also appear to be a tad shorter.

Is this something that is common among different tubes, and if so, does this mean I am stuck using a JJ or can you do something to fix the issue , if that is indeed it?

[Spivonious]

I've never heard of this happening. Very interesting. The pin size could be it, but I can't believe that Peavey would be so cheap as to install tube sockets that only accept large pin-sized tubes.

[Riffmeister]

Ok, I tried the Ruby tube that came in the amp in this socket and it wouldn't work either! So I contacted the place where I got the new tubes from and told them I realized it isn't an issue with my new tubes and asked if they could help.

The guy suggested that I bend the pins in SLIGHTLY on the new tube, and now it works fine, SO FAR.

[Cygnus X1]

Thanks spike, and that was going to be the next thing I would suggest,
"dirty" sockets.
Funny how they can stay that way for years with no issue
until you go to change a tube.
Deoxit can sometimes work.
Or...
Not always easy to get to, but use a sturdy hardwood toothpick
and slightly bend the pin sockets inwards to make contact.
Do your best not to break off the toothpick.
It has to fit between the socket and the pin.
Not inside the pin.

That is essentially what you did by bending the pins, to force contact.

A dental pick can also be used but I highly recommend everything is unplugged and DISCHARGED before doing so.
Caps are like high powered batteries, they can hold
gremlins that can toss you like a rag doll.
They need to be discharged before poking any metal around any part.