lifetime of a tube on specified settings

[pie4peace]

Hey all,

I recently got new tubes, Gold Groovetubes EL34 matched quarted or something, I dont remeber the exact name, and they sound really awesome in my Mesa Boogie Mark IV. Now I have one question:
I read an article on internet, and there was this one guy who put his Master Volume on 10, and his lead/rhythm2/clean channel master on 1-2. This makes that all the distortion/overdrive is caused not by the pre-amp tubes but by the end-amp. How long will my tubes last if I let them do all the work and I give the pre-amp only a bit of work?

Greetz

 

[fishyfishfish]

Well, railing the power section to get distortion is a lot harder on the tubes than using the preamp, and it will be loud enough to peel paint off the walls. It will shorten the tube life and your hearing pretty quickly, but by that I mean about 6 months or a year. Nothing to worry about if your doing it once and a while or really big stages where volume is not an issue. the reason Boogies are so popular is that you Don't have to have them on 10 to sound good, but everyone is different. While I might recommend a healthy band/stage volume and adjust the preamp to get the right amount of grind, someone could (and I'm sure does) have a totally different opinion. Have fun and use your ears!

 

[MrMarkIII]

Hey all,

I recently got new tubes, Gold Groovetubes EL34 matched quarted or something, I dont remeber the exact name, and they sound really awesome in my Mesa Boogie Mark IV. Now I have one question:
I read an article on internet, and there was this one guy who put his Master Volume on 10, and his lead/rhythm2/clean channel master on 1-2. This makes that all the distortion/overdrive is caused not by the pre-amp tubes but by the end-amp. How long will my tubes last if I let them do all the work and I give the pre-amp only a bit of work?

Greetz

I think you're confusing the Volume controls with the Gain controls.
At those settings, the power tubes are not being driven hard enough to clip.
You're still cooking a steak with a match.
Unless you use an attenuator, power tube distortion doesn't happen unless it's loud. Period.
Yes, the louder you play, the shorter the power tube life. Pre-amp tubes can last many, many hundreds of hours.

 

[pie4peace]

Thanks for the fast reply, but the thing is I get a totally other type of distortion when I put my master volume on 10 (tweed power,class A, triod) and I put my gain and channel volume down very low. (lead and rhythm2, for rhythm 1 these setting has no effect)
To keep the explanation simple I'll just talk about the lead channel: I was told that when I put the gain down, channel master down, and then with class A, triode and tweed power, my end-tubes will go in overdrive much earlier, so I get a different type of distortion when I put my output master higher. But when I put this one on 10, it's way too loud obviously, so I put the lead channel master down, and I keep the wonderful end-socket overdrive, or is this just an illusion? Sounds great though...

What I is, it's not actually load (as i turn down the channel volumes!), but I just set the total output volume on maximum. Anyways, it sounds way cool with the lead gain on 5-6 now with the output master on 10, channel master on 1. I just want to know which effect this has on my end-tubes .
Oh and the reason I want to know is I like the sound of raw end-socket overdrive more than the "sweet"(all days) pre-amp overdrive

 

[MrMarkIII]

I think that, unless you play really loud, your power tubes will have a normal lifespan. More important than your settings are factors such as using the standby switch properly, always using a speaker load more than 2 ohms, how often and how long you play, and how much physical shock the tubes are subjected to.
So, let the amp warm up and use standby for short breaks like the manual says, don't run the amp without a speaker, and don't drop the amp on it's head.

 

[MusicManJP6]

Mesas get almost all their distortion from the preamp section - unlike the old Marshalls 'in the old days' that relied on power amp distortion. IMO you are going to wear your tubes out much too quickly. It also works all the other components that much harder. If you must do this to achieve the desired tone then by all means do what floats your boat and finds you lost remote! I will say that there is a certain sweet spot where the power tubes and preamp are all pushed just the right amount for the 'best tone'.

 

[pie4peace]

Mesas get almost all their distortion from the preamp section - unlike the old Marshalls 'in the old days' that relied on power amp distortion. IMO you are going to wear your tubes out much too quickly. It also works all the other components that much harder. If you must do this to achieve the desired tone then by all means do what floats your boat and finds you lost remote! I will say that there is a certain sweet spot where the power tubes and preamp are all pushed just the right amount for the 'best tone'.

Ye changed the output volume to 4-5 now and I keep the channel volumes a bit higher than I used too. ... gives raw but sweet tone

 

[MusicManJP6]

Mesas get almost all their distortion from the preamp section - unlike the old Marshalls 'in the old days' that relied on power amp distortion. IMO you are going to wear your tubes out much too quickly. It also works all the other components that much harder. If you must do this to achieve the desired tone then by all means do what floats your boat and finds you lost remote! I will say that there is a certain sweet spot where the power tubes and preamp are all pushed just the right amount for the 'best tone'.

Ye changed the output volume to 4-5 now and I keep the channel volumes a bit higher than I used too. ... gives raw but sweet tone

:twisted: Rock on!!

 

[R_ADKINS80]

Did anyone happed to catch the part about a quartet of EL34's in a Mk IV? I thought you could do all 6L6 or 2x6L6/2xEL34 but not all EL34???????

 

[pie4peace]

Did anyone happed to catch the part about a quartet of EL34's in a Mk IV? I thought you could do all 6L6 or 2x6L6/2xEL34 but not all EL34???????

I have 4 EL34 and on simulclass it sounds like hell! no problems so far...

+ it's a matched quartet, maybe that's why?

 

[MrMarkIII]

Running EL-34s in the inner sockets in Simul-Class is not a good idea. The design calls for 6L6s only. Something will eventually break.
Matched pairs/quads, makes no difference. It's like putting smaller tires on only one side of your car. Sure, it'll sort of still go in a straight line, but it's not exactly good for the car.
You are getting away with it by using Tweed Power and Triode Mode, which reduces internal voltages and other stresses on the amp.
Are you sure you're not really in Class A? That only uses the two outer pair, but the inner pair is still lit up.

 

[pie4peace]

Running EL-34s in the inner sockets in Simul-Class is not a good idea. The design calls for 6L6s only. Something will eventually break.
Matched pairs/quads, makes no difference. It's like putting smaller tires on only one side of your car. Sure, it'll sort of still go in a straight line, but it's not exactly good for the car.
You are getting away with it by using Tweed Power and Triode Mode, which reduces internal voltages and other stresses on the amp.
Are you sure you're not really in Class A? That only uses the two outer pair, but the inner pair is still lit up.

'

Thanks for your comment, but I read somewhere it doesn't hurt... I'll recheck my tubes over a few weeks, but so far nothing happened. I use class A sometimes, but simul class a I use the most for it's huge punch, nothing has broke so far so I'm still happy. Can't u fix the design by having you amp biassed correctly? I know a lot of people who don't believe in biassing, but I think it can help, especially for the voltages...