Hello, I am the new owner of a TC-50 combo. Love the thing, but I already have a tube rattle issue. I isolated it to one tube. Swapped the power tubes from one socket to the other and the problem is definitely in one tube. Holding it gently with a glove settles the rattle down, but not completely. I guess it needs to be replaced. I'm new to tube guitar amps so I am wondering if this is going to be a fact of life as a combo owner. I've read about sound pressure around the tubes in a combo cab. Not a friendly atmosphere for delicate tubes. Thoughts?
Tube Rattle and Combos
- Thread starter bcubed79
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while combos will certainly expose problem tubes I've never had any issues with them in any of mine. If your TC50 is fairly new the tubes may still be covered by the warranty. My TC50 would have clocked up several hundred hours so far including many rehearsals at gig levels. I do keep a few sets of new tubes for the day when something does go bad. the power tubes get replaced in my amps after about 1000 hours as per Mesa guidelines.
Tube rattle can be sourced from a few things. Since you found it was in the tube and not the socket that is good. (swapped tubes and the rattle followed one tube). EL34's in my past experiences seem to be more prone to tube rattle and I have noticed it with Combo amps as well as heads with cabinets. I have an RA100 head and a combo and have found I get more rattle with the combo with some tubes vs the head. However I also get tube rattle in the head but it is related to a loose ceramic base. I had removed the bear claw clamps a while back which contributed to the issue. I used them on the Mark V combo as I had broken two of them. They are inexpensive and bought a surplus from Mesa so all is good there. As for the TC-50, I have not had any issues with tube rattle yet. Still have the stock tubes and no issues.
I would do as JJ suggested and see if you can get the one tube replaced as they are under warranty for a short time, (I think 6 weeks or longer, amp is covered for 5 years).
The small glass envelope and the higher heat levels of the EL34 tend to have some issues with rattle developing after use which may be related to crimped plates, loose support tabs, compressed mica spacers, and the list goes on. Some tubes will be quiet and some will start to rattle after the first few hours of use. The TC-50 does not over stress the tubes by any means so it may be a quality issue of the tube. Since I have other amps that use a quad, I always get one tube that rattles. I think vendors do this on purpose to sell the junk they cannot get rid of. Next time I order tubes it will be in pairs vs in a set of 4.
I would do as JJ suggested and see if you can get the one tube replaced as they are under warranty for a short time, (I think 6 weeks or longer, amp is covered for 5 years).
The small glass envelope and the higher heat levels of the EL34 tend to have some issues with rattle developing after use which may be related to crimped plates, loose support tabs, compressed mica spacers, and the list goes on. Some tubes will be quiet and some will start to rattle after the first few hours of use. The TC-50 does not over stress the tubes by any means so it may be a quality issue of the tube. Since I have other amps that use a quad, I always get one tube that rattles. I think vendors do this on purpose to sell the junk they cannot get rid of. Next time I order tubes it will be in pairs vs in a set of 4.
