Could it be the tube?

[RaszBasz]

So, my EBS valve drive is not working anymore, I havn't been using my pedals for maybe 2 years soon, what a shame, but havn't had the chance to go and play.

So the other day I found my lovely pedals, but the EBS valve drive doesn't work, the sound level doesn't change, no EQ-change and so on.

I wanna ask you guys, could it be the tube?

IF so, is it just so freakin' simple to go to the musicshop, buy a tube fitted to the valve drive, remove the screws and switch the tube? Or would you have some with experience to do it? Or rather just buy a new one?

The sound is going to change is my guess, any one who has good experiences changing tubes in preamps?

Best, Razz

[bongomania]

It's pretty simple. The tube is a 12AX7, also known as an ECC83, which is super common. You unscrew the metal cage, pull out the tube (pulling in a straight line, not twisting), and push in the new tube, making sure the pins line up with the holes.

Whether the sound changes, or by how much, is another story. Sometimes you can hear more of a difference, sometimes no difference. In fact, with one of my preamps, one time I put in a $130 vintage tube, and it didn't sound as good to me as the cheap Chinese tube that was in there before.

The other thing though is that if the tube was bad, there would probably be NO sound at all, or just a quiet, fizzy sound. So it may be something else that needs to be repaired inside the pedal. The switches on those Valve Drives tend to break, so I'd suspect the switch first.

[RaszBasz]

Originally Posted by bongomania

It's pretty simple. The tube is a 12AX7, also known as an ECC83, which is super common. You unscrew the metal cage, pull out the tube (pulling in a straight line, not twisting), and push in the new tube, making sure the pins line up with the holes.
.

Im glad it was simple!! Thanks for answering!

Originally Posted by bongomania

Whether the sound changes, or by how much, is another story. Sometimes you can hear more of a difference, sometimes no difference. In fact, with one of my preamps, one time I put in a $130 vintage tube, and it didn't sound as good to me as the cheap Chinese tube that was in there before.
.

Yeah, the possibility is that the sound will change, perhaps into sth better or worse, if you somehow could contact EBS and make them ship their tubes, if they do some sort.

Originally Posted by bongomania

The other thing though is that if the tube was bad, there would probably be NO sound at all, or just a quiet, fizzy sound. So it may be something else that needs to be repaired inside the pedal. The switches on those Valve Drives tend to break, so I'd suspect the switch first.

I was afraid of something like that. Any idea how to troubleshoot that? Perhaps buy a tube to see if that changes anything?

[bongomania]

Yeah, even if the tube isn't the "prime suspect", buying a tube is cheaper and easier than the other diagnostics, so give the tube a try first.