Lets talk about retubing amps. when it is necessary? or is it?

[tonemonster]

Is retubing an amp really necessary?

I mean if hte amp is working fine, sounds fine, etc..... do you really need to retube it?

I have had a Laney AOR for 23 years. It had original tubes until about 2004 or so. I changed them up because people said they were way too old. but they worked fine. and I really didnt notice any change in sound quality after I changed them.

I have had a set of power tubes crap out in my mesa, and I replaced them, and I didnt really notice any better sound afterward.

I have a Marshall EL34 poweramp with orignial tubes from 1997. still works and sounds great.

Now there are 2 schools of thought on this:

1. if it aint broke dont fix it. leave them be unless they are giving you trouble.

2. you need to change them because tone degrades over time.

What is fact, and what is fable?

I guess I would like to know what you people think of retubing.

Lets hear it.

[Twitch]

I agree if its working fine and you havent noticed any muddiness or loss in gain or volume leave it alone.

[Ward]

I was brought up in the 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' school of thought. I've got a Marshall head with original tubes from 2002 and a Mesa with original tubes from 1995 I think. Both sound great. I bought a new set of tubes for the Marshall just to try it, and it sounded the same to me. So I put the original tubes back in and I now have a spare new set.

[Cygnus X1]

Like oil, need to be changed according to mileage and severity of use.
It would be nice to have an "Hours Run" meter on amplifiers.

People change preamp tubes far too often IMO.
Power tubes need to be changed whenever they sound differently.
Get them tested and keep them as emergency spares for gigs.

[tonemonster]

I basically wont replace them unless they give me problems. if they sound funny or make noise, then I will replace them. I keep a full set of spares for each amp I own.

[Cygnus X1]

I added my vote.
All in agreement so far.
I like debate, this can't be good!

[Scooter]

Only time I've ever changed a tube is when one burned out.
I firmly believe if it aint broke, don't fuck with it, or it'll get screwed up somehow.

[Trem]

Tubes sound best right as they are red plating, just before your amp catches on fire, no seriously.

[tonemonster]

Tubes sound best right as they are red plating, just before your amp catches on fire, no seriously.

If I were a wealthy rockstar, I would find a way to have an amp modded to sound like this, and have a crew of firefighters on standby around me at all times.

[DonP]

The tubes in my DSL100 have been in since 1998.

Who is to say? Maybe we like tubes with some wear on them to soften up the edges?

I love the way my amp sounds. Why F with it. It's even got the original POS chinese preamp tubes. Down in the basement I have boxes upon boxes of NOS RCA 12AX7's, EL34s and others. Someday I might get off my lazy ass and try to A/B between tubes, but I have better things to do with my time.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

Preamp tubes when they are noisy.

Power amp tubes when they have issues. Especially a blown fuse.

[Dreamland_Rebel]

If you like the sound, preamp tubes never need to be changed unless one fails.

Power tubes do wear out over time.

[bratfink]

Preamp tube don't run hot enough to wear in the same way power tubes do, but they will fail eventually. Power tubes I change in pairs to try to keep them near the same in bias. If you have 4 power tubes they will operate in 2 pairs.

I tend to change tubes when I want the amp to sound different and by change tubes I mean I will buy a completely different brand that is known for different tube characteristics or a different tube type that will work in the same socket. Like going from Sovtek to JJ EL34 power tubes or changing a JJ 12AX7 for a Mullard 12AT7 on the preamp side. That can produce some very different sounds.

Currently I have 4 different preamp tube makes in the different slots on my TSL100. They work in a cascade fashion so having a smooth tube in v1 gives me a good clean and having JJ's in v2 and v3 makes it more dirty on the gain channels. If I want lots of dirt I have a JJ in v1. v4 is the phase inverter so I keep a high quality (balanced) RCA in there to ensure both sides of the power stage get even power.

In reality, none of that matters. So only change tubes when they go bad