rectoverb issues

[cap10random]

hello, all. i've owned my rectoverb for about three years now and i'm starting to have some problems. i bought the series 1 rectoverb used because i heard good things about the series 1 vs. the series 2 and i had experience with a series 1 that i really loved, although i opted for the head instead of the combo that i had previously played. anyway, after three years of moderate to heavy use, i think that the tubes might be bad. i noticed some extra noise and reduced headroom months ago, but the amp was still working well enough for my purposes. lately, however, it's been breaking up at low volumes on the clean channel (which i keep in the vintage mode). when i was playing sunday night at church, the amp bordered on unusable because of noise and lack of cleans. i could only keep it a little clean with a really light pick attack. could this be because of tubes? i'm assuming that i need to replace the tubes, especially since i've been playing on them for three years and i bought it used.
anyway, when i bought it from the mesa store in hollywood, they sent me some extra tubes with the amp. i've been doing some reading on this forum (i just found out about it today) and other places on the internet and they all seem to be saying that i can just switch the tubes out and not worry about re-biasing. the tubes are mesa boogie tubes, by the way. should i be able to do this on my own, or do i need to find someone else to do it? is there anything else i need to know before i try?
i'm sorry that my first post is asking for help. i wish that i would have found this forum sooner. any help or advice you have to give is much appreciated. thanks in advance.

 

[mr_fender]

Three years on a set of tubes is a long time. Those things are probably shot, especially if you play loud a lot. If they are Boogie tubes, just swap them right out yourself. Boogie tubes are selected for a specific bias range, so no bias modification is needed. As long as you use Boogie tubes, you don't have to worry about biasing. Just make sure you have the bias select switch on the back of the amp set for the type of tubes you are using (6L6 or EL34). Also replace them both as a pair. Power tubes are usually sold in matched pairs and should stay together. It could also be a preamp tube thats causing problems too.

 

[MusicManJP6]

Three years on a set of tubes is a long time. Those things are probably shot, especially if you play loud a lot. If they are Boogie tubes, just swap them right out yourself. Boogie tubes are selected for a specific bias range, so no bias modification is needed. As long as you use Boogie tubes, you don't have to worry about biasing. Just make sure you have the bias select switch on the back of the amp set for the type of tubes you are using (6L6 or EL34). Also replace them both as a pair. Power tubes are usually sold in matched pairs and should stay together. It could also be a preamp tube thats causing problems too.

Since you have a Series I there is no bias select so you're stuck with 6L6s. Just pull each one out carefully while moving the tube in a gentle, small circular motion to work it out of the slot. When replacing each tube be sure to line up the pins correctly. Turn the head upside down so you can get a good look into the slot and take note of the orientation of the slots for the pins. It's really a piece of cake, but take your time! New tubes should get your tone straightened out and you'll be good for another year or two.

 

[cap10random]

thanks a lot, guys. out of curiosity, is there anything i can look for to let me know which tubes are bad? is it possible that some are still good and they don't all need replacing, or should i just go ahead and replace every tube and start from scratch?

 

[MusicManJP6]

thanks a lot, guys. out of curiosity, is there anything i can look for to let me know which tubes are bad? is it possible that some are still good and they don't all need replacing, or should i just go ahead and replace every tube and start from scratch?

only way to really tell in most cases is to replace the preamp tubes one at a time. You'll want to replace the power tubes as a pair since they need to be matched.

 

[clutch71]

thanks a lot, guys. out of curiosity, is there anything i can look for to let me know which tubes are bad? is it possible that some are still good and they don't all need replacing, or should i just go ahead and replace every tube and start from scratch?

The answer to your question is no and yes. Tubes will glow differently so looking at them is not the best way to trouble shoot unless one is not lit at all. You can tap on each tube gently with a pencil eraser and any noise that comes through is most likely the bad tube. You can then swap them out one at a time. Your VI (you can look at the manual but I believe it is always closest to the transformer) tube is usually going to go bad first since this is the first gain stage.

Mesa recommends an SPAX-7 in this position. They are specifically selected for the extra work load. Personally I find Mesa tubes a little brittle unless they are really broken in.

Tube life is definatley related to the amount of time and volume you play at. Everyone's MMV.

 

[clutch71]

thanks a lot, guys. out of curiosity, is there anything i can look for to let me know which tubes are bad? is it possible that some are still good and they don't all need replacing, or should i just go ahead and replace every tube and start from scratch?

The answer to your question is no and yes. Tubes will glow differently so looking at them is not the best way to trouble shoot unless one is not lit at all. You can tap on each tube gently with a pencil eraser and any noise that comes through is most likely the bad tube. You can then swap them out one at a time. Your VI (you can look at the manual but I believe it is always closest to the transformer) tube is usually going to go bad first since this is the first gain stage.

Mesa recommends an SPAX-7 in this position. They are specifically selected for the extra work load. Personally I find Mesa tubes a little brittle unless they are really broken in.

Tube life is definatley related to the amount of time and volume you play at. Everyone's MMV.