Does my 6L6 need changing? Dual rec.

[Sparco]

Not sure how to tell if a 6L6 needs changing or not. It is the last one in line before the rectifier tubes.

The first 3 6L6's look fine. The top of each tube is like looking at a light bulb, bright and clear. The 4th one, is more like the ambers from a cigarette, not bright, dark orange-coloured.

Does this mean I should swap that one out? I swear I could notice my tone not as "alive" as it should be this past week or two. Maybe I'm just crazy.

Also, I'd love to replace all 4 6L6's with EL34's. Anyone play high gain metal with EL34's have some advice?

Thanks!
-Sparco

fyi, Les Paul, Dual Rec, 2 Emperor 4x12 cabs

 

[fluff191]

There may be a problem, but going off of looks alone is not the right way to tell if a tube is functional.

With the amp on and ready to play, tap the power tubes. If you hear a rubber-band like sound the tube may be microphonic.
You can also try switching the power tube into a different position and seeing if the illumination changes with the tube or stays with that position.


As far as EL34's for metal, I highly recommend the Winged C EL34. Huge tigh low end but with the mids more accentuated. Another good EL34 is the Tung-Sol branded variety. Don't cheap out on the EL34, as from personal experience I can tell you the cheaper the tube, the worse it sounds!

Hope that helps.

 

[94Tremoverb]

In any fixed-bias amp (which this is) there's an easy way to test the tube - pull all the other power tubes and run the amp with just the suspect tube. This is safe - it won't sound very good at anything above very low volume, but it will at least tell you if the tube is working. If in doubt, pull it and fit just one of the others, and compare.

You can't always tell if a tube is working OK from the brightness of the filament glow, but if it's unusually dim it *may* be bad - the most likely cause is a faulty solder joint in the tube pin itself... this is quite common and can often be repaired by re-soldering the pin.

(Beware: pulling power tubes is generally *not* safe in cathode-biased amps, so make sure you know what you've got first!)

 

[Metalmike117]

What if the tube is glowing super purple/blue-ish? I seem to have that on my solo 50

 

[thunda1216]

a blue glow is normal for many power tubes, particularly Sovtek WXT+

ty

 

[Sparco]

Update.....

The problem tube is microphonic. I also switched it out to a different position, the problem tube was still dim, no matter where it was. Other tubes in the problem tube position, glowed normal.

Thanks for the help and advice on the EL34's fluff191!! The only thing stopping me now is the price difference between changing one 6L6 or 4 EL 34's!

I still have the mesa 6L6's in there, would it matter if replced the 6L6 with another brand?

 

[iplayguitar]

I loved how my old Soldano had a see through front grill. The tubes would glow blue and you could see them with all the lights dimmed. It looked awesome while at shows!