To retube or not to retube on a used amp

Hello. I bought a used Tremoverb yesterday. The age of the tubes is unknown. I've had a 3 channel dual recto in the past so I have a good idea of what this amp should probably sound like. When I first fired it up, there was a low hum for about 5 seconds which resolved. The tone is just a wee bit muddy but pretty darn good overall. When I flick the 6L6s, one of them has a distinct sound (somewhat of a thud, rather than the bell sound of the other 3).

Given that the amp otherwise sounds pretty good, would you guys go ahead and swap out the 6L6s or wait until there is a distinct issue?

If you don't know the age of the tubes it would be a good idea to replace them regardless.

I would change the power tubes, don't wait for one to fail or you'll be risking other components in the amp.

Dom

Sounds good. I'll get a couple pairs of 6L6s. Given my description, is it reasonable to leave the preamp and rectifier tubes alone?

noiseordinance said:

Sounds good. I'll get a couple pairs of 6L6s. Given my description, is it reasonable to leave the preamp and rectifier tubes alone?

Click to expand...

Pre amp tubes more often than not out live the power tubes by a long shot- when you replace your power tubes if you encounter in the future other microphonic issues then you can simply replace the trouble pre amp tube then.

As a good practice when ever you buy a used tube amp- go ahead and factor in the cost to replace the power tubes as suggested previously--

Good luck!

It's my understanding that rectifier tubes last a very long time and they don't do damage when they fail, so they are pretty safe to run old.

You might replace V1 just to get a fresh front-end tube.

I'd replace the PI with the power tubes.

Thanks! Ordered new power tubes and a replacement 12ax7 for v1!