How do I change the tubes for my preamp?

myhatbroke said:
I have a VTB pre and I want to switch the stock tube for this baby http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Tungsol-12AX7-Tube?sku=212231

is there soldering involved?Is it easy?
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No soldering, just a socket. It is easy. Order it now and enjoy the lush warm creamy steamy tube lusciousness that makes you want a cup of hot chocolate by the fire looking at the christmas tree with the snow falling gently onto the frozen ground hugging a beautiful princess taken from heaven bundled up in swaddling blankets hearing the crackling of th fire with dead silence and deer in the woods too.
 
Ok, you made me laugh pretty good. And from what you said, I'm assuming this tube will be pretty warm.

Not so sure how serious to take you on the "it's easy" part.
 
a tube is seriously just something that you put into a socket...

it's probably the easiest thing to replace in the gear world, short of replacing the entire unit....

the bottom of the tube has X amount of prongs sticking out...and a clearly marked guide...so you know which way it goes in...it won't go in any other way...

pull the other one out...gently push the other one in...take no more than 2 seconds to make sure you aren't bending the prongs.....and voila!
 
for even more reassurance...

the tubes on my mesa boogie 50/50 (a power amp, but tubes is tubes) are exposed on teh back and have small metal flanges that bend around the base to help hold them in....

to change the 4 power tubes with new tubes takes upwards of 1 minute
 
Well, the tube in the VTB-1 is a little tricky to get to, but I am pretty sure it's not soldered in. I opened mine up one day and decided it wasn't worth the effort to take it out, since I rarely use the tube blend feature anyway.
 
myhatbroke: lemme jump back in quick and say i've never opened up a vtb-1...

if you are careful, you should be to open up and see how tricky the process is to get to the tube without damaging anything...


are you sure it wasn't the local music shop guy who says your tubes died...tells you parts are 100 bucks, and labor is 150....and does it on a smoke break from a real job? :PPP
 
myhatbroke said:
Ok, you made me laugh pretty good. And from what you said, I'm assuming this tube will be pretty warm.

Not so sure how serious to take you on the "it's easy" part.
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Well, just to be thorough, the VTB-1 is like every other toob pre in that the tube is sidechained into the signal path for effect. It is not a real tube pre. It uses a starved plate (lo-volts) design to force the tube into saturation early. The idea is that it will add "tube warmth" to the sound. In reality, the pre will sound its best when this feature is "off". I really don't think you will find any kind of dramatic quality change in sound with a more expensive toob, but, you have your mind set so try it out.
 
MCI2424 said:
Well, just to be thorough, the VTB-1 is like every other toob pre in that the tube is sidechained into the signal path for effect. It is not a real tube pre. It uses a starved plate (lo-volts) design to force the tube into saturation early. The idea is that it will add "tube warmth" to the sound. In reality, the pre will sound its best when this feature is "off". I really don't think you will find any kind of dramatic quality change in sound with a more expensive toob, but, you have your mind set so try it out.
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aawww man. Are you serious? And there is now way of turning the feature off? I always thought it was a real tube preamp till a guy told me a few days ago too :(
 
MCI2424 said:
Well, just to be thorough, the VTB-1 is like every other toob pre in that the tube is sidechained into the signal path for effect. It is not a real tube pre. It uses a starved plate (lo-volts) design to force the tube into saturation early. The idea is that it will add "tube warmth" to the sound. In reality, the pre will sound its best when this feature is "off". I really don't think you will find any kind of dramatic quality change in sound with a more expensive toob, but, you have your mind set so try it out.
Click to expand...
+1 to this, I did the little tube changing idea with a presonus tubepre (same thing, sidechained tube...) without any noticable effect. But, YMMV... ;)
 
scrubs said:
Well, the tube in the VTB-1 is a little tricky to get to, but I am pretty sure it's not soldered in. I opened mine up one day and decided it wasn't worth the effort to take it out, since I rarely use the tube blend feature anyway.
Click to expand...
I actually did replace mine...but I got my hands on a Mullard 12ax7...I remember iy being tricky...I reccomend being sober for it.
 
myhatbroke said:
so....what is a "real" preamp
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You mean tube pre? I believe the cheapest tube pre that is a true tube pre is the Brick. The more expensive ART's may be true tube also. Other than that there are a lot of "real" preamps.
 
FWIW, I remember opening a VTB1 I ordered which was broken on arrival because I thought the tube was loose but had a hell of a time trying to completely remove it I ended up leaving it alone and sending it in for a replacement.
 
I have the VTB-1, and have changed the tube.

Not worth the effort - there are a bunch of screws to undo, knobs to pull off, potentiometer nuts and washers to undo, XLR in/out socket screws, 1/4" jack nuts and washers to place to one side, then fart about pulling out the PCB (because the tube is UNDERSIDE).

The tube effect is thrown in 'sidechain' to the main, solid state (SS), signal path, which always remains just that: SS.

If the signal path was tube all the way, then changing out the tube(s) may improve things, but in my experience, and I suspect yours will be also, swapping out the tube of a VTB-1 is just a waste of time.

I do like the VTB-1 though, as a good quiet preamp.
 
thanks for warning me. Oh and the Brick? I found no such thing....


Anyone else have a suggestion for a "REAL tube preamp"
 
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