My amp is making a lot of noise even with the cable unplugged from the head. Would this be the tubes? I have a Carvin MTS 3200. My tubes are about 8 years old or so. Also, what brands of tubes do you guys like? I like a fair amount of distortion but nothing crazy. I also like them to be as quiet as possible. I've been looking at JJ's but I have no experience with anything other than ol Groove Tubes.
bad tubes?
- Thread starter shanejw
- Start date
Try and describe the noise. Hissing, popping, buzzing, clicking, can you hear radio stations - no, seriously!
8 years is generally speaking considered 'old' for a tube. Some people say that you should change tubes every year, but your mileage may vary. I only change them if I feel I need to.
I've got JJ's in a couple of my amps and they are great. I've used Groove Tubes standard ECC83/12AX7's before, and they were fine too. I've got a pair of Mullard EL34 in a Marshall clone which are nice. Price is a factor. You can pick up cheap chinese tubes that sound like poo for next to nothing, but then you can spend hundreds of dollars on NOS (New Old Stock) tubes. How much do you want to spend?
Also kinda depends on what sound you are looking for. Jack did a thread on some tube testing he carried out on one of his amps which might be quite interesting for you. I think it was in his BlackHeart Little Giant head thread.
8 years is generally speaking considered 'old' for a tube. Some people say that you should change tubes every year, but your mileage may vary. I only change them if I feel I need to.
I've got JJ's in a couple of my amps and they are great. I've used Groove Tubes standard ECC83/12AX7's before, and they were fine too. I've got a pair of Mullard EL34 in a Marshall clone which are nice. Price is a factor. You can pick up cheap chinese tubes that sound like poo for next to nothing, but then you can spend hundreds of dollars on NOS (New Old Stock) tubes. How much do you want to spend?
Also kinda depends on what sound you are looking for. Jack did a thread on some tube testing he carried out on one of his amps which might be quite interesting for you. I think it was in his BlackHeart Little Giant head thread.
mayfly
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Also, if it's a 60Hz hum, it may not be the tubes - especially if the amp is sounding fine otherwise.
Other things to look at are dying resistors - especially the grid suppressors on the power tubes. If those start to go, you'll get all kinds of zzzZZZZzzzchunkcacacachunk.....zzzzzchunk kind of noises.
BTW, JJs are great - They're all I use these days.
Other things to look at are dying resistors - especially the grid suppressors on the power tubes. If those start to go, you'll get all kinds of zzzZZZZzzzchunkcacacachunk.....zzzzzchunk kind of noises.
BTW, JJs are great - They're all I use these days.
