Tube Hungry Roadster

[domct203]

Damn :!:

A victim of "The Cathode Follower" ?? This came out of V3. Notice the cracks in the red circle.

Same thing happened to an EH 12AX7 I had there before this GE Longplate. Hmmm.

I stuck a JJ ECC803S in there for now. Funny thing is I finally can say I really like a JJ tube other than the E34L's. The ECC803S sounded good in V1 for cleans too, but my RFT will be staying there instead :wink: .

Oh well, I'll see if I can live with the JJ there for now. I'd hate to kill another Vintage tube.

Dom

 

[LerxstLee]

Damn :!:

A victim of "The Cathode Follower" ?? This came out of V3. Notice the cracks in the red circle.

Same thing happened to an EH 12AX7 I had there before this GE Longplate. Hmmm.

I stuck a JJ ECC803S in there for now. Funny thing is I finally can say I really like a JJ tube other than the E34L's. The ECC803S sounded good in V1 for cleans too, but my RFT will be staying there instead :wink: .

Oh well, I'll see if I can live with the JJ there for now. I'd hate to kill another Vintage tube.

Dom

I am not busting on you at all , but usually when a tube ( especially a Pre-amp tube ) is cracked at the base ,
it is surely not the amp but usually the tube and or the installer weaking that very same spot . Missing tube pin outs
a few times will weaken the base every time . Some tubes do not crack . Some are know to be weak .
The more they have been switched the weaker they become .
I find most vintage tubes have to be slowly worked in , yet the russian and mesa tubes have no trouble .
Just from some of the experience I have notice over the years .
/ Best to you

 

[domct203]

No offense taken, I've been at this a few years as well

It's a possibility as I just returned this tube to the amp after some service. It had been fine for months earlier.

I broke down and ordered another GE Longplate :twisted: The JJ's OK but I miss the "body" of the GE.

Dom

 

[normandk7]

To bad but it seem's that in recent years, tubes are not as reliable as it was...

When i bought my first mark amp, at the beginning of the '90, tubes last years in there without any care.
In the last 2 weeks, i change 2 preamp tubes (Mullard reissue and RFT nos)
I know that RFT is an old one but...

All the russian 2 from mesa had blew and i long to try their new ones (suppose to be JJ...)

?????

 

[domct203]

Although tone-wise JJ ECC83S's are not my favorites, I've found them to be very well contructed. I ran them in (& out of) V2, V3 & V5 for years in a Triple I owned before the Roadster.

I'm sorry to hear about the RFT, that's one of my favorites. I have one in V1 of the Roadster now.

IMO don't waste your $$ on the Re-Issue Mullards. Real-deal 12AX7's can be had for decent prices. I run a Vintage Mullard 12AX7 in V2 that I got from E-Bay and it sounds great. I've got a box of current production tubes (20+) that I don't use, but only a handful of Vintage/NOS that I really like to run in the Roadster.

Dom