Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange
Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [vacuum-tube]

A device controlling electric current through a vacuum in a sealed bulb, usually made from glass. Vacuum tubes are now less common, but they are used in high end guitar, bass and some other amplifiers.

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How do I know when it's time to change a tube on my amplifier?

I think this would be a wonderfully instructive question to people who are new to tube amplifiers. In short, how do I know that it's time to change a tube, and what's a good strategy for figuring out which one to change (preamp vs power vs…
Jduv
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Why do tube-based guitar amplifiers sound so good?

Is it just a cultural thing ("they've always sounded that way") or is there some basis in music theory for this?
fitzbog
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When should I be concerned about calibrating the bias of vacuum tubes in an amplifier?

I think it would be useful to discuss the concept of bias as it pertains to guitar amplifiers. I have read some articles saying that you should always rebias your amplifier when you change the power tubes--and some even say you should do this even…
Jduv
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What do the different tubes in an amplifier do?

Preamp vs Phase Inverter vs Reverb vs Power vs Rectifier. Many people get really, really confused when they try to understand anything about tubes. I spent a very long time myself trying to understand it enough to be able to perform basic…
Jduv
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Tradeoff between powering off and leaving tube amplifier on during breaks

The life span of a tube(both pre-amp and power-amp tubes) depends on the amp "usage" and how often you turn on/off your amp. But I need some clarification on the definition of the word "usage". I just discovered something new. There is a dummy load…
Spring
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What is the value of having tube amp in guitar power amp?

Do we really need tube amp for power amp? I understand that the tone change is done in the preamp. And preamp with tube sounds a lot better than solid state amp as it's more rich and full in tone. However, as solid state amp can easier generate…
Kwun Yeung
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What's the best choice to get more gain out of a tube amplifier

The story behind this question: I got myself a nice little combo for my bedroom-workouts (related to playing guitar, of course :D ), a Blackstar HT1-R which is a lovely little 1 watt 2 channel amplifier. My only problem is, that the…
Markus Schwalbe
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How to buy the "right" power attenuator for a tube amplifier?

I want to get a tube amplifier, but the tube amplifiers I fancy are generally at least 22W. I live in an apartment with thin walls, so I have to get it down to conversation/TV volume. This brings me to a series of questions: How to measure the…
JBeurer
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Do vintage guitar amplifiers really sound better when run at lower voltages?

I got a Marshall JCM800 2203X about a year ago and on the back of the amp it has selectable input voltage settings for 110V, 220V and 230V. Since I live in the US, the voltage that comes out of the wall here is around 120V. Back of the…
tjwrona1992
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1 of 4 power tubes went bad; buy a matching quartet or replace the one?

I have a Peavey Windsor running Ruby EL34B-STR's. One of the power tubes went bad. I can order another Ruby EL34BSTR and re-bias the amp (idk if it has a bias for each tube or not) and I assume it'll be fine. However, everyone's talking about…
ImmutableDusk
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Is it mandatory to let tube amps warming up ? What are the risks of not doing that?

I heard literally everywhere that it is really important to let my amp warming up for some minutes before playing the guitar (or give some audio do the input). Strange thing is that the recommended time is different everywhere ! I red between 30 sec…
Welgriv
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What is a buffered effects loop in a guitar amp?

I've just purchased an Orange Rocker 15 combo valve guitar amp and one of its features is a valve driven effects loop also referred to as a buffered effects loop. What does this actually mean? I'm familiar with the "send/return" nature of effects…
Matt Hogan-Jones
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keeping tube amps in optimal condition

Over the holidays I acquired my first tube amplifier, a VOX VT20X. I'm not really sure whats required to keep a tube amp sounding its best for as long as possible or if they even require special treatment. what do you suggest I do for keeping it in…
Matthew Mccall
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Preamp Valve gone in 'hissing' amp?

Roughly 3 years ago, I purchased a VHT Special 6 Ultra (Combo) Valve Amp. It has recently been 'hissing' (not sure if this is the correct description), and this noise increases with higher wattage and higher volume. It also occurs without the guitar…
nef
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Can I use headphones with tube guitar amplifier without headphone jack?

Newbie here (no electrical knowledge). Question: For a 15 watts tube amplifier without a headphones output, is it safe to use the external speaker out jack to plug it to headphones, mixer or USB interface, while short-circuiting the FX loop (that…
flen
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