6505+ Tube question.

[hunter1970]

I just got a 6505+ yesterday from a guy that only played it at church,he said the head was serviced 8 months ago and was biased then, he didn't know what that meant.
Well it has 3 sovtek 6L6WXT+ tubes and 1 RubyGCMSTR,I'm assuming the Ruby is the original, but why would they only change 3 tubes, he has no idea who did the work on it and never messed with a tube amp before.Should I replace the power tubes ASAP or wait for something to happen, could it damage the head if they aren't a matched set. I mean it sounds good as it is,it gets really loud and has a killer ass tone.

[DonP]

You can mix different brands and still have a matched set. Matching is done by tube specifications, not by manufacturer.

[Twitch]

Id be willing to bet by experience that the Sovteks are the original and the Ruby is the odd man out, furthermore, most Peavey amps are fixed bias, meaning, the bias cannot be adjusted therefore you have to replace the tubes with the exact same rating otherwise your tone will change slightly, therefore the amp couldnt have been biased recently unless its been modified to have an adjustable bias, which I doubt it did. Simplest thing is contact Peavey, give them the amp model and serial number and tell them you need/want replacement power tubes. Or Eurotubes, tell them model and they will be able to assist you as well.

[hunter1970]

This is what's on the back panel.

[hunter1970]

After finding the manual online it stated that there is a bias adjust knob behind the panel.
I'll leave this up to the professionals.
And the manual had the power tubes as 6L6GC's, ao I'm assuming the Ruby is original and the Sovtex replacements.
I've got alot to learn,now I see why alot of people just stick to solid state.Man but the tone from this head is the sound I've been looking for.

[DonP]

If it's working fine what is the problem?

[hunter1970]

No problem it's just whenever I noticed one tube looked different I got concerned.
As the old saying goes "If it ain't broke don't fix it"

[Twitch]

This is what's on the back panel.

Cool, looks like Peavey got their act together finally, now if Mesa would follow suit.

[JACKSONFREAK]

They come with chinese 6L6's if im not mistaken So if the tubes were replaced they couldve been replaced with s sovteks and one Ruby. As long as the tubes are all matched and the amp was biased properly. there shouldent be any issues. tubes dont need to be all the same brand just the same rating.
Gil

[DonP]

Tats' what's cool about the RM100. It appears (I've never owned one) that you can bias each of the 4 tubes independently. You don't need to buy a matched set at that point.

[warlok]

^^ Yup.. I love that feature. Each individually biased from the back panel. Lots of people run different tubes for inners and outers too. 6L6's inside with EL34's outside, etc..