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Post by jesusdriven on Sept 15, 2009 23:06:51 GMT -5
so is all this biasing stuff really necessary??? Scott said that if I buy the same rated tubes from him I shouldnt have to worry about biasing at all. I basically just want to plug and play. I really dont want to get into having to have a bias tester, especially if they arent even accurate. You can buy tubes with the same rating from Scott or other places, but the tube ratings are not always accurate. Stratkiller51 just bought a matched quad of tubes from some place on line, and one tube was way off. It happens. Any tube amp will go through tubes. Most guys set the bias hotter on a Marshall than factory specs because they sound better that way. Splawns have a real high plate voltage so that will put a strain on tubes also. I had never biased an amp before I bought my Quick Rod. I bought a Weber Bias Rite before I re-tubed and it made things pretty simple. It will save you money on amp techs and you will really know what is going on inside your amp. You should be fine just sticking in new tubes with the same rating from Scott. The tubes that came will my QR were Mullards rated at 61ma. That was a real high odd ball type rating that Splawn had only received twice from their supplier New Sensor. I was not not going to hold my my breath waiting for Splawn to receive 61ma tubes so I bought a Weber Bias Rite for $125.00 and re-tubed with some Tung Sol EL34B's. I can explain how to bias your amp if you want to PM me. I also posted some old threads on the subject. There are plenty very accurate bias testing units out there though some are a little more expensive (within a hundred dollars) than the Weber. My Weber work great and I just set everything 2ma higher. If I am trying to set my bias at 31ma I turn the amps bias adjust screw until the Weber reads 33ma. It is real easy once you have done it once. I am NOT an amp tech type guy in any way, though I have actually kind of come to enjoy biasing my amp. It feels good to know what is going on inside of it. I don't want anyone else messing around inside MY amp, other than Scott if it ever does need repair. There was a time when I thought the bias was drifting on my QR and I sent it back to Scott for repair. To make a long story short the problem had nothing to do with my amp. The problem had to do with a couple of Rocktron Xpression multi effects units which had the same issue. I started to get a static, noisy, fizzy sound that I attributed to bias drift. The problem was actual caused by a problem with the Rockton's DSP chip, a problem that some of these units have common to them. My third Xpression unit seems to be working great. Rocktron replaced the other two. They were cool to deal with. The quality of EL34 power tubes is not what it once was. You may get a couple of years out of your tubes, or you could possibly run into a tube issue with a new amp not long after purchase.
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Post by stratkiller51 on Sept 16, 2009 7:36:48 GMT -5
well i never knew you could buy tubes from scott that didnt need biased? mmm i though it was to be set per amp but its a easy bias with the weber, i have to say guys that went to rehersal last nite and it was the first time i could open up the amp with the new cab, vol at 9:30 and solo boost at the same and using first gear, i was very impressed!!! THIS IS NOT A BEDROOM AMP! my qr just begged to be cranked and although my clean settings were a little on the sterile side and somewhat flat the amp on the gain side was killer! and the new sb 4-12 cab was perfect! i hit that sweet spot and held on to it all nite! i just cant desribe how a simple string shake makes the amp makes you feel the guitar and the amps authority! this qr doesnt have the volome the loop (i guess im going to break down and get a suck knob tk) but at playing levels i didnt need it, but it would be helpful at bedroom levels. i think with the cab finishing off the matching set my qr absolutly turned heads! i cant imagine how good it will sound when the new cab gets broke in, it only has @ 15hrs on it.also jd has done his homework on biasing and did a great job helping me off the ground, im not prefect at it but its something all tube amp owners should have and do to save $$ now will the qr sound killer twice in a row?
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Post by SmokinPaul on Sept 16, 2009 7:40:14 GMT -5
I don't know about all this.....Sometimes it's better to find a really good tech that you can trust. I use my amp for about 2 hrs. almost every day, and gig out 1 to 2 times per month. It gets taken in and serviced with full re-tube every 6 months religiously. I've been doing this with all my amps and with the same tech since 1985. I've never had any problems or failures to speak of in 24 yrs. I always take spare tubes and fuses to gigs but I've never needed them. ;D
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Post by stratkiller51 on Sept 16, 2009 8:08:30 GMT -5
yea if you have someone you can trust and have access to good tubes its a comforting thought to never worry, but i had problems with my tech (only one for many miles) and you can only get groovetubes or if you get mullards they run $139 a set so for me its something i would rather be saving a little money but you are definatly right a good tech is priceless!
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Post by dcf on Sept 16, 2009 9:21:23 GMT -5
have to agree with jesusdriven, it takes longer to warm up amp than it does to remover, bias then reinstall
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Post by sasquatch on Sept 16, 2009 9:59:55 GMT -5
Stratkiller,
Did you ever figure out what caused the change in tone with the new cables and all? Sounded like you had the amp dialed in at rehearsal. I was gonna suggest a VHT Valvulator for your pedal board. I put one of those in my pedal board about six years ago and will never play without one. It basically converts your guitar signal to a low Z signal eliminating the problems typically caused by multiple patches, long and/or multiple cord runs and pedals that step on your signal. It also provides several isolated power supply patches to power your pedals. You'd be amazed at how much your tone comes back to life and how much better your pedals sound (quieter too). As for tube life and biasing... like many in this forum, I've owned numerous hi-gain amps over the years (Boogie MK III, MK IV, Rectumfriers, Framus Cobra, Marshall and now Splawn) and they've all been pretty hard on tubes. Some are easier to bias than others and some (Boogie) don't need biasing at all. I never expect more than about a year out of my power tubes. I've only had the QR for about 8 months so I'll be re-tubing it in a few months I'm sure.
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Post by stratkiller51 on Sept 16, 2009 10:31:10 GMT -5
i need to get a dc brick or one of those you vht units i do get some varience i tone i also was reheasing in a house with excellent ac power it seemd for sure cleaner than my power source where i have been rehearsing, im sur some of the problem was power and i have noticed(idont know if anyone else has this problem) with my mxr carbon copy some times pops when switching on and off, i think its second on the loop chain, i might swap it around with my verbzilla to see if its a problem, i bought all new cords to change from 20 ft to 25 feet, its almost like a mini snake with all the loopcords and front cable and and footswitch cable combined, i think i have to rethink my pedal board when i look at it (it does work fine but...) it reminds me of spagetti ha!
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Post by sasquatch on Sept 16, 2009 11:08:01 GMT -5
I don't know much about the DC Brick... only what I've seen in ads. I think it's just a power supply and distribution gadget??? The cool thing about the valvulator is that it converts your guitar signal to a Low Z, buffered signal. That's basically the heart and soul of how it does it's thing. It uses a 12AX7 tube to accomplish this. It's like running your whole pedal board at line level instead of instrument level.
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Post by jesusdriven on Sept 16, 2009 11:25:38 GMT -5
well i never knew you could buy tubes from scott that didnt need biased? mmm i though it was to be set per amp but its a easy bias with the weber, i have to say guys that went to rehersal last nite and it was the first time i could open up the amp with the new cab, vol at 9:30 and solo boost at the same and using first gear, i was very impressed!!! THIS IS NOT A BEDROOM AMP! my qr just begged to be cranked and although my clean settings were a little on the sterile side and somewhat flat the amp on the gain side was killer! and the new sb 4-12 cab was perfect! i hit that sweet spot and held on to it all nite! i just cant desribe how a simple string shake makes the amp makes you feel the guitar and the amps authority! this qr doesnt have the volome the loop (i guess im going to break down and get a suck knob tk) but at playing levels i didnt need it, but it would be helpful at bedroom levels. i think with the cab finishing off the matching set my qr absolutly turned heads! i cant imagine how good it will sound when the new cab gets broke in, it only has @ 15hrs on it.also jd has done his homework on biasing and did a great job helping me off the ground, im not prefect at it but its something all tube amp owners should have and do to save $$ now will the qr sound killer twice in a row? I think you bought your QR used Ronnie, so I doubt that you had the original tube boxes which are marked with the power rating of the tube. The set that Scott sends with his amps all have the same rating and the owner's manual tells you to keep the boxes so you know what power rating to order when you buy more tubes. The rating might be something like 43ma or 52ma. Tell Scott that you want a quad or duet of whatever he sent with the amp and you should be fine. When you buy used and do not have the original boxes, you will have no way of knowing the rating of the tubes in the amp. The tubes in a used amp may not be original either.
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Post by jesusdriven on Sept 16, 2009 11:31:21 GMT -5
I don't know about all this.....Sometimes it's better to find a really good tech that you can trust. I use my amp for about 2 hrs. almost every day, and gig out 1 to 2 times per month. It gets taken in and serviced with full re-tube every 6 months religiously. I've been doing this with all my amps and with the same tech since 1985. I've never had any problems or failures to speak of in 24 yrs. I always take spare tubes and fuses to gigs but I've never needed them. ;D I never biased an amp before I bought my QR, but it is pretty cool to not need an amp tech, and pay an amp tech, to bias my amp. I change my tubes anytime I want now. I can also try different tubes every week if want to. Right now I am using JJ EL34's and am really liking them. I might pop in some SED Winged C's I bought next to check them out. Biasing is real easy once you do it a few times. I can walk you through it if you ever do decide to take the biasing plunge.
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Post by dcf on Sept 16, 2009 11:46:45 GMT -5
made a 5 way bypass pedal, but in the end your just using longer cords,, hello. I put a VHT valvulater on my Christmas list, but I've been a bad boy this year, sssssshhh don't want Santa to know,
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Post by stratkiller51 on Sept 16, 2009 13:48:16 GMT -5
ha! but he knows, he knows, where to get a vht device? hey jd i think i'll get my next set of tubes from scott, his price is as cheap as anyone and i never noticed the power rating, im liking the mullards so much i sold my tungsols with out trying them to a bud.. but they werent from scott. if it can sound as good as it did with what i run and that new cab i would recomend the sbs they made my sound complete, also i was running against a fender twin 85 watt and a marshall tsl and i slaughtered them!!
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Post by sasquatch on Sept 16, 2009 14:21:34 GMT -5
ha! but he knows, he knows, where to get a vht device? hey jd i think i'll get my next set of tubes from scott, his price is as cheap as anyone and i never noticed the power rating, im liking the mullards so much i sold my tungsols with out trying them to a bud.. but they werent from scott. if it can sound as good as it did with what i run and that new cab i would recomend the sbs they made my sound complete, also i was running against a fender twin 85 watt and a marshall tsl and i slaughtered them!! You can get 'em lots of places on line, but Musician's Friend usually stocks 'em and they're easy to deal with.
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Post by stompboxfreak1972 on Sept 16, 2009 18:30:57 GMT -5
Man JesusDriven I would be in heaven ( no pun intended) if you could post a video of biasing a Splawn. I watched the Eurotube video and it made zero sense to me. I don't know ANYTHING about the inside of an amp. Besides swappint preamp / power tubes on my Mesa DR I have never done anything more. I am very apprehensive to try biasing for fear that I will make toast of myself.
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Post by tonemonster on Sept 16, 2009 20:08:54 GMT -5
Thanks for all the info here. a great read. I am going to buy one of those bias testers. either the bias king or the compu bias. any idea which tester is better?? I will most likely buy tubes from Scott. mainly because I will want to continue doing biz with him and I would rather buy from him than other places. but It will be cool to learn how to bias my amp. that way I know its good. and I can use the tester to bias my old Laney and My Marshall rack power amp as well. lots of good info here fellas!!!!!
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