Posted on 07/17/2013 5:32:54 PM PDT by Straight Vermonter
Longer than a year? Try running the amp on a Variac? Dialed down to about 105V ? I don’t think you’ve tried that.
No, LOL, I haven't tried that. Really though, it's my problem. I buy cheap tubes!
I'm gonna try Sovtek or (better yet) Tung-Sol.
Someday.
Really.
I promise......
=:-)
You promise??
Anyway check your line voltage, your location may be so close to the substation that you’ve got close to 130 coming out the wall. Now add a few spikes to that and say “short life” to a lot of gear.
Being a buyer of cheap tubes, you will need to search a long while to find an honest Variac for a fair price. My guess there about hmm ... btwn 50 and 75 would be nice. Maybe you could borrow one (for a year?) maybe not
There are simple cheap mods you can do to a tube amp to drop the supply voltage, assuming you like the sound of running “slightly starved” ..
I’d call the sound a sweeter more melodic harmonic :-)
but I build and play archtop jazz guitars
Perhaps your musical tastes are running 180 to that, so hmm
you could crank that Variac up to about 150V and really blow that thing!
Someone had it on Mars from the look of the ruined tubes in the Martian landscape at places.
The steampunk potentials are enormous!
And that’s why Mrs Murphy will be first to ride it!
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