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First Cab: Ampeg SVT or Portaflex or other?

#41
Soberglitch said:
What kind of maintenance cycles should be expected on something like the SVT 7 Pro? I guess I should have asked around about this first before trying to jump into a tube head.

I'm becoming more open to the idea of a Portaflex 350 or 500 head or even the 112 or 210 Rocket Bass combo. Just really tough since the only Ampeg amps that I can try in person is a 110 combo.
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Maintenance cycle? Maybe you'd need to replace a tube now and then. There's only one tube in it and it could last for years. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Replacing a single tube costs about $15-20.
 
#42
JimmyM said:
Maintenance cycle? Maybe you'd need to replace a tube now and then. There's only one tube in it and it could last for years. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Replacing a single tube costs about $15-20.
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Fair enough. Must be some people over exaggerating "how expensive and painful" tube amps are when I did some Google searches. I figured it wasn't going to be an issue.
 
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#43
Soberglitch said:
Fair enough. Must be some people over exaggerating "how expensive and painful" tube amps are when I did some Google searches. I figured it wasn't going to be an issue.
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7 Pro is what's known as a "hybrid" amp. The preamp will have a tube, in some cases more, and the power amp is solid state. Now full-on tube amps can be more expensive to re-tube, but honestly, rare is the time I ever had to fully retube.
 
#45
JimmyM said:
7 Pro is what's known as a "hybrid" amp. The preamp will have a tube, in some cases more, and the power amp is solid state. Now full-on tube amps can be more expensive to re-tube, but honestly, rare is the time I ever had to fully retube.
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yep, this. Hybrid amps are nice because preamp tubes last basically forever if you don't beat them down too bad. It's not unheard of to hear of vintage amps with the original preamp tubes still alive and kicking. The power tubes are what tend to need replaced, because they handle much more signal.
 
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