Tube problem wiht f 30?

[recto preo]

Hi...I recently bought a second hand f 30. now the thing is i played a brand new one at a local shop,and the distoriton channel sounds WAY WAY better than my f 30. the distortion is thicker and just better. why is that? So is that a tube problem? my f 30's tubes are supposed to be like a year old. the amp is like 2 years old.

thanks.

 

[recto preo]

so would that be the preamp tubes? they effect the tone the most don't they?

 

[recto preo]

also...could it possibly be a newer model? maybe the newer model sounds better?

 

[stokes]

Your pre amp tubes may be okay.I would try changing the power tubes first.They could be getting old and losing some punch.It could also be that the power tubes in the amp you tried at the store had a different "breakup" quality than the ones in your amp.Check the Mesa website for info on their power tube ratings.

 

[recto preo]

thanks stokes.

well i just bout some groove tubes for my power tubes. and some jj ecc83s for my v1 and v2 in my preamp section. sounds much better now. it sounds like the one at the store almost. but its diffrent .

I've got another question though. do i need to replace the output and teh phase envertor tubes? what do they do to affect the sound?

 

[stokes]

Its a good idea to change the PI along with the power tubes.Although the PI looks like a preamp tube it is part of the output section,and gets hit with a bigger signal than the earlier stages in the preamp,and tends to wear out sooner.The phase inverter or PI,is also the stage that drives your power tubes,so to get the max power out of your power tubes you want as strong a signal from the PI.

 

[dennq45]

JJ makes a really nice EL-84 power tube, probably the best one right now. Pop in a couple of those and your amp will be better than new. I promise. I run them in my Nomad 45.

 

[recto preo]

ok thanks guys. um one more question hehehe. teh V3 position is used for teh effects send and return. and i never use it. my question is,do all the preamp tubes work together? casue maybe i coudl switch teh V3 tube wiht teh V4

 

[stokes]

You can safely switch all the 12AX7 tubes with each other.The main thing you should look for is which tubes give the quietest operation in the V1 position.

 

[recto preo]

thanks again stokes.

also i've noticed that teh new 12ax7s glow much brighter than the old ones. is that cause they are newer? like the PI tube barely glowing compared to teh new jj tubes in the v1 and v2 position. should i change the PI tube out?

 

[stokes]

Thats not an indication of any kind of problem,it is just the heaters you see glowing.Some are brighter than others.Some NOS preamp tubes look like the heaters are going to blow on initial start up,they glow so bright till they settle in.As I said earlier it is a good idea to change your PI when you change the power tubes,but the brightness of the heater means nothing.The heaters are connected in series so if there were a problem with one tubes heaters it would affect them all.

 

[recto preo]

thanks again.

now i have noticed that when i have full gain on,and i turn teh master volume past 12 o clock i get this nasty feedback sound. i know its not my guitar cause i unplugged it. is that a microphonic preamp tube? i also tapped on each tube and i could hear it thorugh my speaker,whihc i know is normal but teh v1 tube dindt make any noise at all. teh v2 position had a really loud tap but v1 was quiet. is that normal? the v1 and v2 position tubes are new.

 

[stokes]

You gotta have real quiet tubes if you turn that gain up full.I wouldnt say the tube is full blown microphonic,all preamp tubes are microphonic to some degree,but maxing out that gain is going to require very quiet preamp tubes.Try switching them around and see if you can minimize it,and isolate it to one tube.

 

[recto preo]

thanks again stokes,i just tried swapping them and yea its much quieter now.
it also sounds better!!

 

[recto preo]

hi, one FINAL question. hehe

um i just read somewhere that you should only use mesa tubes for teh f 30 because they are the right bias. is that true? I am using groove tubes at the moment should i switch back to mesa tubes?

 

[stokes]

GT sells tubes graded for Mesa amps,if the tubes you have were graded for use in the Mesa you are okay.I dont use the Mesa or GT tubes in my amps,but I believe if the GT's are graded between 4 and 7 they are okay.Maybe someone who uses them can jump in here and confirm or correct this.

 

[recto preo]

oh ok well i think mine are graded 6, so i guess its fine then.

but i read that someone has called mesa in the past and mesa said that the only tubes that will work for the f 30's bias are mesa tubes. but oh well i hope its fine.