tube amp maintenance question..

[Thor Von Clemson]

So I've had my 5150 for a good 8 months now and it has been great so far. I'm close to getting the tone I want but I am having problems with the cleans and It would be nice to have a little less fizz and a tighter low end.

I've been reading threads on ways to accomplish this and while I could always throw a boost in the mix I got to thinking about tubes.

I am wondering, since I bought the amp used from Music Go Round would it be a good idea to completely re-tube it in the near future. If not completely re-tube it, then should I bring it in to someone to have them look at it? I am not sure how much good, if any that would do. New/different tubes seem to contribute a lot to one's sound. I bet they would help me get the tone I am looking for.

I think the main question I am looking to have answered is how often should you change your tubes.

Another question is how much should I expect to pay for tube installation? I have a faint idea on what tubes I will be getting and how much they cost. It seems that from there, I need to install them and bias them. Installing them seems pretty easy. Is biasing a difficult thing to do?

I am sure these are dumb and/or basic questions to some of you but I am still pretty new to this whole tube amp deal. I know I love the way they sound compared to a modeller or a ss amp and I want to do everything I can to make my 5150 the best amp it can be.

Thanks!

[Cleveland Metal]

Actually the 5150 is a fixed bias amp, and are usually biased cold.

A big mod for them is to install a variable bias resistor since they are often running so cold they sound fizzy. Being able to run your amp bias a bit hotter helps get more punch and less fizz with that unit, so maybe this is a thought for you.

I like SED Svetlana Wing C 6L6s power tubes for that amp myself. I'd recommend trying different preamp tubes. I liked JJs in mine when I had them, also used some Sovtek LPS's that were ok. Tung Sols are ok in some amps, they seem fuzzier and even darker than my JJ's in my CAE tho'.

YMMV.