Feel I've Been Had - NOS

yeti said:

anyone try tube dampers in combos?

i bought some of that clay window sealant..it's supposed to settle things down.
mortite, i think it's called?

that hiss rattle that tubes do drives me batty!

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and you stick the clay sealant where exactly????

arount it...just like one of those dampers. fashion it into a dumper type ring.

i didnt try it yet.

but just read upon checking....

http://herbiesaudiolab.net/ultrafq.htm

only good for speaker damping...which is what i bought it for in the first place but read or heard it would work with tubes....always felt like it'd melt though..so i didn't.

it tightens up speaker cabs though.

i might just try those dampers...unless someone else has a better option!

The damper thang might work just fine, just costs too much for me to bother with.

For some of my 12ax7's, I went down to the local electronics store and got some one inch heat shrink tubing. I cut it to length where it will fit on the side of the bottle from where the tube socket skirt comes up to all the way to the top of the bottle side, then heated it up to shrink it into place. Then I repeated the process with a second layer. If you don't want to use a metal shield over the tube, add a third layer. On some amps metal shielding on preamp tubes has no difference in sound. If you're worried about that wrap a thin layer of aluminum or copper foil between the layers. As the tube bottle heats up, the heat shrink gets rubbery and improves the vibration damping. Won't eliminate it completely, but does help microphonic tendencies in 12__7 tubes. I would not use that method with power tubes.

All preamp tubes have some degree of microphonics.When you tap on them,in particularly in a high gain amp,you will hear something.The same tube you describe as being microphonic in your Mesa amp will seem dead quiet in,say,a Fender Deluxe.If the tube doesnt act up while playing it is fine.If it only makes the noise when you tap on it,then common sense tells you "dont tap on it".It is quite difficult to find an old stock tube that doesnt make some degree of noise when you tap on it in a Boogie type amp.I've amassed over a hundred preamp tubes of all brands and almost all will make noise to some degree when tapped in my Boogie amps,but work fine and are quiet enough when played.Any that ring while playing go into one of my lower gain Fender type amps and perform well.If a seller tests them in his Fender and it is quiet,then you buy it and put it in a Mesa high gain amp and it makes noise,you really cant fault the seller,its kind of just the nature of the high gain beast.

Amen!

i like when my pre-amp tubes are microphonic!!
they're the ones i roll in when the wife is screaming for me to turn it down!

then, that way, i dont have to listen to her...i can "turn it down" while i test my pre-amp tubes.

yeah, i wear the pants!

yeti said:

i like when my pre-amp tubes are microphonic!!
they're the ones i roll in when the wife is screaming for me to turn it down!

then, that way, i dont have to listen to her...i can "turn it down" while i test my pre-amp tubes.

yeah, i wear the pants!

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soooo from now on I specify "micro-phonic required".....

no

most people dont like them

i was saying, if a tube is microphonic, it's not a big deal at bedroom levels, at least to me. unless of course it's out of control squeal.

but, if it's just getting squeally at high volumes, thats not a big deal to me.

and, when i do play in live situations that require my "good" tubes, then i just do that.

it's just not a be all end all...just another facet of tone. some preamp tubes can be microphonic at loud volumes, but sound quite nice when used at less than wall shaking or gig volumes.
it's all subjective. find what you like and use it!

a lot of microphonic tubes will stick right out in a combo amp used at high volume settings, but not as much so in an amp head...especially if you put your amp head next to the cabinet, not on top of it..or on something other than the cabinet to isolate it a bit from the sound vibration.

All quite interesting.....

I've only had tube noise - of any kind - twice.

Once was a "nos" black plate 12AX7 I got from Doug's, and he told me before I bought it that it would sound good but might be microphonic at louder volumes. I stuck it in a Mesa Subway Rocket, slowly cranked it up and played. Sure enough, it was the best sounding preamp tube I've ever had. Cranked it up more to about 7 or 8 and it started to get microphonic......exactly like he told me it would. But that black plate tone was awesome!

The other time was when I set my head right in front of the speaker, about 10-12 inches. The louder I turned it up, the more it sounded like a glass rattlesnake was inside the speaker. After several minutes of frustrated gain tweaking and grabbing things, I picked up the amp head to move it and as soon as I moved it the noise stopped. Put it back in front of the speaker the noise returns, move it away the nosie stops. I concluded it had to be speaker SPL vibrating the tubes. Set the head to the side and never had that problem again.

I too am leary of ebay tube sellers, I've stuck with Doug's and Tube Store or Tube Depot, mostly Doug's, and have not been disappointed in any tubes since.

ebay tube-ing can be a LOT of fun.
just check the dude's feedback...most people with good feedback ratings and NO negatives in the past month or two, with a lot of good feedback in the last month, esp about tubes, are fine to buy from.
im so addicted, it's not even funny. i got myself a cheap tube tester, learned how to use it, and..im SO addicted.

yeti said:

ebay tube-ing can be a LOT of fun.
just check the dude's feedback...most people with good feedback ratings and NO negatives in the past month or two, with a lot of good feedback in the last month, esp about tubes, are fine to buy from.
im so addicted, it's not even funny. i got myself a cheap tube tester, learned how to use it, and..im SO addicted.

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addiction can become an affliction

tubes are better than most anything else i could be "addicted" to though!

at least from an outside looking in perspective!

I highly recommend Mark at the Tube Museum on Ebay. He is friendly, very, very helpful and if you have any issue what so ever with a purchase he goes way out of his way to help.
I just bought a 1957 Tungsol toaster plate 5751. It didn't suit my amp (MK3) but the tone was absolutely amazing, just didn't like the noise. We eventually swapped it for a 1960 O-getter 5751 and it's just fantastic, the spank off this thing would knock you off your chair and the bell like quality to each note is astounding. He is without a doubt great to deal with and you can rest easy on your purchase.

Martin said:

I highly recommend Mark at the Tube Museum on Ebay. He is friendly, very, very helpful and if you have any issue what so ever with a purchase he goes way out of his way to help.
I just bought a 1957 Tungsol toaster plate 5751. It didn't suit my amp (MK3) but the tone was absolutely amazing, just didn't like the noise. We eventually swapped it for a 1960 O-getter 5751 and it's just fantastic, the spank off this thing would knock you off your chair and the bell like quality to each note is astounding. He is without a doubt great to deal with and you can rest easy on your purchase.

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Welcome to the thread late comer!

I'll be checking that tube store you mentioned. Thanks!

I still haven't settled on a cocktail yet - its a process.

Some of the tubes I've purchased so far sound pretty good but occasionally pick local radio stations!

The tube rolling will continue until tone improves.....

have you tried an RFT in v1?

yeti said:

have you tried an RFT in v1?

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I haven't......yet. I have a couple in the Que tho.

Right now I still have a NOS Tungsol in there .....for like 5 or 6 gigs now.

Next week I'll stick the RFT in there and leave it for a few gigs and see how it goes.

It's really hard to judge overall behavior of a tube roll without playing the change thru a few different venues.

Opps, just checked my list - haven't bought any RFT's yet. I'll get on it.