How many extra tubes do you take to a gig?

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I just got a new set of JJ's for my Triple (complete hi-gain preamp, 6L6, and GZ34 Rectifiers) and i boxed up the rest of the tubes (the stock Mesas) and bring them with me. I have a head case with a storage 'pocket' on the end.

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Angstram case company from ebay

-AJH
 
I have the same case as MesaENGR412 and keep a couple of each in the side pocket. We don't gig very much, so it's not been an issue for, although, we have a few gigs coming up and I'd probably take my F-50 as a backup. I would dread being dead in the water in front of a bunch of people.
 
I always have a spare pair of power tubes and a preamp tube. But I don't think I would ever use them because I always bring a backup. The last thing I want to try and do during a gig is debug an amp failure, it would totally ruin the mojo of the gig.

I usually bring a Crate Powerblock and a dirt pedal. If my main rig fails, I'll get the backup in place, patch in my effects, and be back up and running again with a decent tone in less than 5 minutes. I use this backup at rehearsals sometimes just to make sure I'm ready.

Chris... 8)
 
I carry a complete (although used) retube. In the event of a failure onstage, I would take the "shotgun approach" and change them all...back in business in 5 min or less. Sort out the problem after I get home. Thankfully this has never happened in front of an audience. When we move our gear out of the rehearsal space to gig (and when we bring it back) we rehearse our setup/teardown, and if a failure occurs during practice, we scramble to fix it just like we were live...just in case.

Along with the spare glass, my "oh **** bag" contains an extra for every cable in my rig, fuses, a DMM, soldering iron, strings, and the necessary tools for amp and guitar maintenance.
 
NoGlassNoClass said:
I carry a complete (although used) retube. In the event of a failure onstage, I would take the "shotgun approach" and change them all...back in business in 5 min or less. Sort out the problem after I get home. Thankfully this has never happened in front of an audience. When we move our gear out of the rehearsal space to gig (and when we bring it back) we rehearse our setup/teardown, and if a failure occurs during practice, we scramble to fix it just like we were live...just in case.

Along with the spare glass, my "oh sh!t bag" contains an extra for every cable in my rig, fuses, a DMM, soldering iron, strings, and the necessary tools for amp and guitar maintenance.

+1

I like that line of thinking.
 
Mesa's used to have an on board pre amp tube holder that was used for such occasions. I wish they still did it. However, it's not hard to velcro some tubes inside your amp.
 
i'll have a complete set of backup power tubes (used mesas) for the first few gigs until i can buy the rest of them. then i'll have a complete retube available and use the shotgun approach.
 
this whole concept is so foreign to me... i gigged from the time i was 15 to 20 years old using a jcm900 half stack, and it never, never, never occurred to me that i should have extra tubes or a backup amp. i was lucky to have an extra pack of strings or a backup guitar even. i guess that's invincible youth for you.. now that i think back on it, i don't remember ever having changed a single tube in the 5 years i owned that amp. i'm glad i've seen a couple of these posts lately cause i will certainly be paranoid about gear failure when i start gigging again (albeit with my mk iv :D ) in a few months.
 
eltrain858 said:
...cause i will certainly be paranoid about gear failure when i start gigging again (albeit with my mk iv :D ) in a few months.

Dont be paranoid...just prepared! Having a backup (or even a few critical spare parts) means one less thing to worry/distract you from your performance. If something fails you know you've got it handled.

No worries=more fun=better playing.
 
Having a backup Mark IV can be costly though. Just take a set of tubes with you. Be sure to pack them nicely though because they might get tossed around when you aren't looking. I wouldn't think you would need more than a pair of power tubes and a single preamp tube in your gig bag though. That is what makes it convenient to use the same tubes and even same color/number grade. I would keep the other pair of the quad at home or in the gig vehicle if on the road though so that you can complete your retube once you get home or back to your gig transportation.

Swapping to a backup amp will only shave off a little time in the big picture. It isn't like having to swap guitars because of a broken string. Though I have seen strings whipped on in seconds between songs with a little creativity on the bands part. In fact, I have even seen the circus of trying to get a string back on while someone was playing. That was nutz...
 
yeah... i guess when you buy a ferrari you have to be prepared to pay for the pirelli's
 
But either way if you get too radical with it you end up in jail. :lol:
 

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