MESA Studio 22+!!

[Tokaigi]

Hi peeps!

Im new to the forum so hello all!

I have a question about my Studio 22+, probably a few by the time im done typing this!!

Basically my question is this, when do i know a tubes going in my amp?

I've had the amp for about 8 - 9 months now, maybe longer, im not really sure because i cant quite remember when i bought it! Memory span of a gold fish, where was i... haha anyways I know there are two types of tube, pre amp and power but im not sure which are the ones that get changed regularly through playing the amp a lot... is it the pre amp or power???

i have changed the tubes since owning the amp but this was done by a friend of mine at the time and he's no longer around, so its prolly been about 6 - 8 months since they were changed. Im playing quite regularly, mainly at bedroom volume but occaisionally at near gig volume when we get to practice so the tubes im guessing will be nearing replacement time.

Also, is there a way to distinguish between the pre amp and power amp tubes when they are on their way out? Im playing with a LP copy (Tokai LS150 gorgeous guitar) if that makes any difference at all what with power of pickups being a factor too, i dunno, maybe, im a novice!

And finally... (i knew i'd have more than one question)... im in South Wales UK, and i'd like to find someone that i can trust to place orders with for tubes etc now i've not had a look around my local area yet but i was wondering if you guys had any suggestions of places i should stay away from or maybe places that are usually really good for tubes??

Anyway, thanks for takin the time to read. Hope to hear from u soon guys, take it easy.

Tok

 

[LHanson]

Nice amp, studio .22+

I have a .50 cal. +, it's big brother- same preamp, 6L6 power tubes.

Basically my question is this, when do i know a tubes going in my amp?

Well, preamp tubes (12ax7 or 12at7) can last a very long time, depending on how hard you drive the preamp, how much you play, quality of the tubes, etc. Most folks around here believe that every tube sounds different, and the road to nirvana is to buy and swap tubes around until you love the sound.

The power amp tubes (EL84) are longer than the preamp tubes in your amp. They will need changing before the preamp tubes nearly every time.

Change preamp tubes when there is noise, feedback you can't explain, etc. unless you want to play with tube swapping. I always have an extra 12ax7 with me when I play.

Change power amp tubes when there is a loss of bottom end, punch, or the amp just sounds "dead". The EL84s in a .22 run hot, and wear out fairly quickly. If you played an hour a day at decent volume, you might need power tubes in 6 months to a year. Of course, you (or I ) might not hear the difference, because they tend to go away slowly.

I would suggest you surf through the Mesa Boogie site, and read up some. Also, try searching something like "tube valve amplifier guitar" on Google or your favorite search engine. Lastly, there is "The Tube Amp Book" by Aspen Pittman. I am about 5 editions behind, but it is still a storehouse of knowldge.

 

[Tokaigi]

Hey Hanson

Sorry for the delayed response, been away from a pc for a while haha

Thanks for your advice, i'll have a look because the main thing is finding something that i can read up on to tell me how to notice these things and how to fix them when they happen.

Also would like to find something that tells me how to prolong the life of the amp because i love it, she plays so well with the tubes i've got in her at the moment that i would really like to stick to the set i've got, but swapping and changing the tubes does seem like a good idea to find other sounds. The only bad point to it is that i dont know where to get the tubes from.

Any ideas who is a good stockist?

 

[RR]

Down load the manual:
http://www.mesaboogie.com/manuals/Studio%2022%20Plus.pdf

It has two paragraph discussing when tubes need changing and the symptom to look for.

 

[jcalabro]

i just had a quick question about preamps.
im not quite sure what they really do!
could someone give me a breif explaination? i have a mark IV and was just wondering what a preamp, specifically a triaxis would do for me
thanks!