Mesa F30: How long do the tubes last for?

[TheHysteria]

I play about 2-8 times a month at gig volumes or band volumes. How long will the power tubes in the F30 last for? How about the preamp tubes?

 

[ToneAddictJon]

I've had the tubes in my DR for over a year now and they still sound amazing, and I play every day at least an hour at full volume and at practice a good 2-5 hours 3 times a week, plus whatever gigs and session work, so they should last a while. The only time I change tubes is when I really notice things not sounding right, but there is no absolute rule when to change tubes, some last forever, some last 5 minutes.

 

[srf399]

When they blow... otherwise grab another beer and keep going! Besides...you'll know when they go cause the other guys in the band will start saying your sound is poo.

 

[TheHysteria]

Some tubes last forever?!
When it blows, would I have to do something and replace something?

Mesa F30 sounds cool, but I worry about tube change and I don't know when I need to change sometimes. Plus, it gets pricey if I do a full re-tube.

Based on my usage, anyone want to throw out of number of years the amp can remain on the same tubes if I take care of my amp?

 

[ToneAddictJon]

I would say at least a year. As long as they are all glowing and nothing sounds off, they are probably working fine. If a tube blows it will blow your fuse and your amp will shut off. You'll have to replace the fuse and tube, but I've never seen a tube blow, even when I had my Peavey ultra plus with 10 year old tubes in it I never had an issue, and the guy I bought it from didn't take care of it. The F30 should be fairly cheap to retube since it uses EL84's.The eurotubes.com complete retube kit for it (the high gain one) is only $62 and that's all the preamp and power tubes, which is a lot cheaper than the close to $300 it costs to retube both my amps.

 

[TheHysteria]

Well, I don't think it'll cost $300 to retube everything once. In Canada, the shop sells 4 preamp tubes for around $60. Add another $20 for a pair of power tubes.

Still, one year doesn't seem that long. I was hoping for a bit longer..

 

[ToneAddictJon]

At least a year, I've had tubes last well over 5 years, and would of lasted longer but I just got the itch to change them. I was talking about my Mark IV and Dual Recto retubing both at the same time costs me almost $300, your F30 should cost less than $80.

 

[clutch71]

A general rule of thumb is 1 year for power tubes, 2 years for preamps. Of course the people that tell you this will want to sell you more tubes.

Let your ears decide. You'll know when something is not right. Always good to have a back up set anyway.

 

[Rocky]

Preamp tubes are fine until they die, or start squealing.