Time to retube Rocker

[Ronnie Robinson]

But which make to buy? EHX , Tungsol or JJ's?

EHX are cheapest and are what came on the Amp. I've. Used tungsol pre
Amps before and they are good but never tried the power tubes. . I know a lot of guitarists like JJ's but Ive never used them, cheers

[enricoromanielo]

But which make to buy? EHX , Tungsol or JJ's?

EHX are cheapest and are what came on the Amp. I've. Used tungsol pre
Amps before and they are good but never tried the power tubes. . I know a lot of guitarists like JJ's but Ive never used them, cheers

Thinking about changing the tubes in my Rocker as well... Although they are not showing any signs of failure, I have a gig (first in like 15 years since I last played live) this weekend, and I don´t want anything to go wrong... The tech I am taking the amp to suggested JJs. Think I am going to follow the suggestion.

[billyp77]

when i bought mine it was retubed with jj's and i love it. i do have a set of winged c's as back up because they seem to get alot of love around here

[Jondog]

I use EH and like them alot. Have Mesa boogie EL34's in right now and they sound good. Have a nice warranty on them too.

[Woodsie]

I emailed Doug at Dougstubes.com. He get's a lot of raves over on TGP and other forums. I told him what had and what I was looking for and he made some recommendations. For m RV50MKII, it was a combo of Rubys, Sovteks and Penta Labs. He told me that he never recommends all the same preamp tubes in every position. He directed me to a Ruby AC7HG+ that is graded for V1, Ruby AC7HG for V2 and a Ruby 7025ss Hg for V3, a Sovtek LPS that is great for the PI and Penta Labs12AT7 for the reverb drivers. I am still running my Winged C EL34s. I put the new preamps in Saturday and it sounds fantastic. I plan to use him again, when the time comes

[OU818]

EH6CA7 or JJ KT77 are the two front runners in my opinion.

The Svetlana Winged =C= EL34s are also the cream of the crop.

I have a quad of them in my Hiwatt and it sounds huge!

[Gray]

JJ.

[Randy Bass]

...Thinking about changing the tubes in my Rocker as well... Although they are not showing any signs of failure, I have a gig (first in like 15 years since I last played live) this weekend, and I don´t want anything to go wrong... The tech I am taking the amp to suggested JJs. Think I am going to follow the suggestion.

It is very important to keep in mind that tubes are most likely to fail in the first few hours of use. For that reason, it is recommended that you "burn-in" new tubes with at least a few hours of loud playing before you trust them for live use. According to the laws of probability, your properly functioning (a.k.a. known good) existing tubes are more reliable than new tubes fresh out of the box that have not yet been stressed for any appreciable length of time.

[a.hun]

...Thinking about changing the tubes in my Rocker as well... Although they are not showing any signs of failure, I have a gig (first in like 15 years since I last played live) this weekend, and I don´t want anything to go wrong... The tech I am taking the amp to suggested JJs. Think I am going to follow the suggestion.

It is very important to keep in mind that tubes are most likely to fail in the first few hours of use. For that reason, it is recommended that you "burn-in" new tubes with at least a few hours of loud playing before you trust them for live use. According to the laws of probability, your properly functioning (a.k.a. known good) existing tubes are more reliable than new tubes fresh out of the box that have not yet been stressed for any appreciable length of time.

BIG +1 to that!

I was about to say if you've got a gig coming up then DON'T change the valves. At the very least I'd make sure before gigging them that new valves have survived a few good practice sessions, say 10-20 hours minimum!!!
BATHTUB CURVE


Andy.

[enricoromanielo]

Thanks for the advice! I better not mess around with the valves then, since they seem to be working just fine.

[irish_admiral]

But which make to buy? EHX , Tungsol or JJ's?

EHX are cheapest and are what came on the Amp. I've. Used tungsol pre
Amps before and they are good but never tried the power tubes. . I know a lot of guitarists like JJ's but Ive never used them, cheers

They're all decent makes and you shouldn't go wrong with any of them. I've had all three brands and they're fine. Can always tweak your EQ a shade to fine tune if needed.

JJs are a bit warmer & darker. EHX and TungSol are a bit brighter, with the EHX having a little more fizz when you really push the gain.

+1 to Randy & Andy's advice...

[Ronnie Robinson]

Thanks Guys

[Woodsie]

Now I'm nervous. I just replaced all preamps, reverb and fx loop drivers, on Saturday. And I do have a gig on Saturday. I did play it for 3 hours on Sunday, during band practice and a couple of hours since.

[tarfungo]

Now I'm nervous. I just replaced all preamp, reverb and fx loop drivers, on Saturday. And I do have a gig on Saturday. I did play it for 3 hours on Sunday, during band practice and a couple of hours since.

Leave the new tubes in your amp if you're happy with the new tubes. Purchase a small Pelican Camera case with pick and pluck foam large enough to contain your old tubes and carry those as backups in your gig bag or whatever you use to carry your odds and ends. Really no different that carrying extra guitar strings. Guitar strings have been known to sometimes bust too shortly after being put on new too! Would you go to an important gig without replacement strings in your gig bag?

I NEVER play anywhere with a tube amp without carrying long a full compliment of appropriate replacement / backup tubes - just in case. They don't have to be the best or your first choice; just something that can be used in an emergency so the show doesn't come to a complete stop. In this case, just carry your old tubes. This and a screw driver (or whatever is required to swap out tubes in your amp) should have you up and going in a few minutes should a tube pop on you - assuming no further damage occurs as result of the first failure.

[Woodsie]

Now I'm nervous. I just replaced all preamp, reverb and fx loop drivers, on Saturday. And I do have a gig on Saturday. I did play it for 3 hours on Sunday, during band practice and a couple of hours since.

Leave the new tubes in your amp if you're happy with the new tubes. Purchase a small Pelican Camera case with pick and pluck foam large enough to contain your old tubes and carry those as backups in your gig bag or whatever you use to carry your odds and ends. Really no different that carrying extra guitar strings. Guitar strings have been known to sometimes bust too shortly after being put on new too! Would you go to an important gig without replacement strings in your gig bag?

I NEVER play anywhere with a tube amp without carrying long a full compliment of appropriate replacement / backup tubes - just in case. They don't have to be the best or your first choice; just something that can be used in an emergency so the show doesn't come to a complete stop. In this case, just carry your old tubes. This and a screw driver (or whatever is required to swap out tubes in your amp) should have you up and going in a few minutes should a tube pop on you - assuming no further damage occurs as result of the first failure.

Oh, of course. I had a friend bring his brandy new, off the shelf Marshall to a gig and a tube failed. No spare. I always carry at least one spare of everything.