Looking for an amp advice

  • Thread starter Thread starter LucifersGhost
  • Start date Start date
LucifersGhost said:
Yeah, thats exactly what he said.

I started off by saying that I didnt know exactly how old the tubes were and that I was considering having them changed.

He said: "Well if the amp works and sounds good, they dont need to be changed."

I said: "I bought the amp used so I really have no basis for comparison. The clean channel sounds really good but I find the distortion rather lame."

He said: "Alright then. The new tubes, depending on how many there are, will be several hundred dollars. But its not as simple as just changing them. They will more than likely need to be biased. So there is an extra electrician charge of another several hundred bucks."

To which I said: "Uhhhhhh, ok. Thanks."

I figured it wasnt right because at $500+ thats insane.
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You could spend "several hundred dollars" on a couple of 6L6s and a handful of 12A whatevers, but I'll hazard a guess that you don't really want to put in the most expensive tubes you could possibly find - NOS Mullards or other extremely rare bird tubes. And another several hundred dollars for biasing? Do you have the word "sucker" tatooed largely across your forehead or something?

Run, don't walk, to the nearest exit.
 
ggunn said:
You could spend "several hundred dollars" on a couple of 6L6s and a handful of 12A whatevers, but I'll hazard a guess that you don't really want to put in the most expensive tubes you could possibly find - NOS Mullards or other extremely rare bird tubes. And another several hundred dollars for biasing? Do you have the word "sucker" tatooed largely across your forehead or something?

Run, don't walk, to the nearest exit.
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I would have thought that by not agreeing to pay several hundred dollars and coming here to inquire about it, would have avoided the whole "sucker" tattoo.
 
ocnor said:
You can get a full retube kit and instructions on amp bias at Eurotubes.
https://ssl.eurotubes.com/cart/index.php?page=view_products&category_id=81&sub_category_id=87
http://www.eurotubes.com/euro-video.htm
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Wow. Thanks for those links. I really appreciate it.

Looks like the "several hundred dollars" for the tubes was a bit off. I'm up in Canada so probably like $125 - $135 exchange and shipping included. Not bad.

I'd probably be more comfortable bringing it to someone to get biased, be it an electrician or at least someone who has biased tubes before. For one, I dont have any of the proper equipment (that probe thing, a multimeter, etc). For two, electronics has never been my forte, for some reason. Im good with wood working but I dont believe that will help me here :P

EDIT: I checked the amp last night. Tube compliment is as follows:

(2) 6L6 GT/5881
(4) 12AX7
(1) 12AU7
 
LucifersGhost said:
I would have thought that by not agreeing to pay several hundred dollars and coming here to inquire about it, would have avoided the whole "sucker" tattoo.
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I did not mean to cast any aspersions on you, but on the establishment that was trying to rip you off. I did not mean that I thought you were a sucker, but rather that the shop owner (or tech, or whoever) apparently perceived you as such. I apologize if my remark gave you the wrong impression.

Peace,
Gordon in Austin
 
ggunn said:
I did not mean to cast any aspersions on you, but on the establishment that was trying to rip you off. I did not mean that I thought you were a sucker, but rather that the shop owner (or tech, or whoever) apparently perceived you as such. I apologize if my remark gave you the wrong impression.

Peace,
Gordon in Austin
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Oh gosh, not at all. Takes a lot to offend me.

Actually, relooking at my post, I realized that I should have put a "haha" or a smiley face at the end of it.

My turn to say: my apologies if you thought that I thought that you thought I was a sucker :P
 
LucifersGhost said:
Oh gosh, not at all. Takes a lot to offend me.

Actually, relooking at my post, I realized that I should have put a "haha" or a smiley face at the end of it.

My turn to say: my apologies if you thought that I thought that you thought I was a sucker :P
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Oh. Well. My apologies if you thought that I thought that you thought that.... Oh, never mind. ;^)
 
Soooo I have been talking to a bunch of different people, both who play guitar and those who dont, and it seems the field is rather split on biasing new tubes.

One guy, who has been playing for 35 years (friend of my dad) said he has changed tons of tubes in his day but never biased them. Just changed 'em up and played. Another guy said he always has them biased and wouldnt play new tubes without biasing them. Of course, another one said that, it helps to bias but generally isnt essential.

Booooooo :P

EDIT: One guy was also saying that if my BV6212 is "authentic," then its a Mesa clone? I didnt respond to it and simply said "thats neat" but I found it rather difficult to believe.
 
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Well, how does one bias a single tube amp? My son has a Laney 65W TF200, it has a single ECC83 in the pre-amp. I was told it needed to be biased. I passed, thank you very much. I got this amp for him four years ago and I recently offered to upgrade him to the 120W version of the same amp that I found used for $300 at the same shop I purchased his. He tried it out and he declined saying he like the tones of his present Laney better. This amp spent three years going back and forth to his middle school for his jazz band class and other gigs as well. With the exception of a failed cap, a fuse holder that worked loose, and the speaker wire jack gave out. nothing else has ever been done to it. Not a bad track record. he has effects peddles but he almost never uses them, instead getting his amp toned the way he wants it.

Here is a link to him playing his last show with his then middle school in May of this year. In three years of classes, this was his only solo. The Laney has some punch. Single 12" speaker and a Laney 2X10 extension cab and no toys. Just try to grin and bare it with the horns. The red Epi was his first guitar I got him at age six and it is fitted with .012 Dean Markley blue steel strings . He has a Gretsch, Epi LP and he chose this guitar for his 'big solo'. Keep in mind he was 14 when this was filmed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eslj6HaR7vU
 
Except my amp isnt a single tube amp. It has (2) 6l6's.

I also read something else that was interesting. I read that my amp might be self-biasing? That possible for that model?
 
Some amps just don't have the option to bias the tubes. In which case, people often get mods done. I recently retubed my Peavey 6505, and never biased them. I just threw them in, and from what I was reading I'd have to get a mod done to the amp to bias them. The thing sounds fine to me anyway.

You may have to do a bit of google searching to find out about that particular amp.

As far as the cost of tubes goes, I got mine from http://www.banzaieffects.com/ The JJ 12AX7's I bought were about £5 each (about $8). Only bought new preamp tubes. Power amp tubes I've noticed tend to cost a little more.
 
arcaxis said:
Probably good that you passed. From what I could find on the Laney TF200, it appears to be a "hybrid" amp that uses that ECC83 as the preamp as you noted and the rest of it is solid sate including the power output. A tube power output section using a push-pull configuration is what normally gets rebiased and some are self biasing that don't need to be touched at all. Your ECC83 preamp tube would need no rebiasing what so ever.

If you had simply told the shop that you had a tube amp, he may have generalized and thought you needed to have a rebiasing. If you took the amp into the shop and he looked at it and said it needed rebiasing, don't go back there.
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No, not quite. This was after it was opened when he told me to have it biased, so no, he doesn't get my money any more. I know it's a hybrid amp. We spent maybe a month of trying out amps and the Laney was the one my son kept going back to, so I got for for him. Alex really wants to try a full tube Laney with a stack but dealers around here are far and few in between.
 
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