Guitar Center amp rant

[Smallmouth_Bass]

No it won't, not at all. Tubes are not like high temp halogen bulbs. If they were, the printing on the glass would do FAR more damage than any finger oil. This a common myth, but a myth none the less.

Do tubes have an amount of usable life then? I would imagine so if they require changing periodically.

I would think that if they used an ink to print on the tubes, it would be one that wouldn't damage the glass in any way. I work in the aerospace industry, and I know it is common practice to use cotton gloves to handle many (many) parts. Maybe tubes are not susceptible to finger oil damage, but it sure won't hurt be cautious anyway.

 

[Psycho Bass Guy]

Do tubes have an amount of usable life then?

Certainly. Any voltage emitter will eventually use up its free electrons, be it vacuum tube or transistor. It's a puzzlingly well-kept secret that transistors and tubes have equivalent service lives. Transistors are only more abundant because they're cheaper and simpler to make. But by that same token, simply handling a tube does absolutely NOTHING to a tube's longevity (provided you don't break it) because a tube is doing NOTHING when being handled.

I would imagine so if they require changing periodically.

In principle you are correct, however, for anything short of a constant touring schedule or catastrophic defect or failure, a musician should NEVER have to worry about changing tubes. How many amps have you had to "retransistor?"

I would think that if they used an ink to print on the tubes, it would be one that wouldn't damage the glass in any way.

ANY kind of foreign body will serve as heat sink on glass, which is a poor heat conductor. Audio tubes simply don't get hot enough to damage the glass unless they are in extreme runaway, in which case, the tube is already destroying its insides as well as its outsides and the point is moot. There are tubes that cannot use glass envelopes because of extreme heat from conduction. They are transmitter and radar tubes that use metal or ceramic for the envelopes (and you can handle them, too.)

I work in the aerospace industry, and I know it is common practice to use cotton gloves to handle many (many) parts. Maybe tubes are not susceptible to finger oil damage, but it sure won't hurt be cautious anyway.

It's unnecessary; the time and money wasted on gloved handling could be used productively for practice or upgrading your strings/pickups.

 

[ogrossman]

I was in GC yesterday playing some basses and this 20 yo kid comes up to ask if he can help me. We get talking and he askes me what I play. I tell him I've got an early 90's 5 string jazz plus and he says "oh, is that the one with the Lace pickups?"... Hey! way to go kid!! I guess they're not all idiots. (Bobby @ the Edina, MN GC)

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

I've never liked the idea of tubes in a bass head simply for the reason of possible breakage during handling. Glass just doesn't seem too sturdy to me. They can sure sound good though!

 

[Psycho Bass Guy]

I've never liked the idea of tubes in a bass head simply for the reason of possible breakage during handling. Glass just doesn't seem too sturdy to me. They can sure sound good though!

Your fears are ill-founded. Any mechanical shock strong enough to damage a tube will also do serious damage to a solid state amplifier. Tubes don't just break for no reason. If they did, how did the world get by with them for over 50 years?

 

[SamJ]

Ampeg did tell me to keep my head off my cabs, so as not to let the vibration harm the tubes, and also to allow the amp to cool down a few minutes before moving it after use..

as for the topic at hand.. GC... I've only just recently purchased a guitar from them, and that was only because it was just taken out of the box in front of me, and I KNEW it wasn't handled by 50 people in the past week!

 

[daveonbass]

Well, I didn't read ALL the previous posts, but my recent GC experience was: Picked up a Music Man 5 - strings set up SO poorly they were actually ON the fretboard and the bass was unplayable. Mentioned it to a nearby sales rep, showed him the condition. He shrugged it off and left the bass on the floor as it was.

Nice place to check gear out, then buy it elsewhere.

 

[daveonbass]

I've never liked the idea of tubes in a bass head simply for the reason of possible breakage during handling. Glass just doesn't seem too sturdy to me. They can sure sound good though!

I have been beating the crap out of an Ampeg SVT head at 130+ shows annually for years and years now - never broke a tube. Just think of tube heads like tanks. Good sounding tanks. Because they're also almost as heavy as one.

 

[Calaverasgrande]

I have been fiidling with tubes for decades and also was an AV nerd in school. I thik the whole handle tubes iwth gloves idea is hilarious. I have never used gloves on tube sin any of my equipment. And have yet to see any of the tubes develop gassiness due to a weakened glass envelope from hand acidity. I am pretty sure the concept came over from projector bulbs and other high temp bulbs, which will have a problem with finger grease. Dont get me wrong, tubes are delicate, but not that bad. They are vaccum tubes. If they loose integrity and get gassy you will know very soon. they willl get all purple or burn physically. This has never happend to me with new tubes I have installed by hand.

 

[Spector_Ray]

I think the idea of tube breakage came not from acidity but the oils on your hand. The way it was explained to me is that the oil from your hand will draw the head more quickly and leave cold spots on the glass. The difference in temperature can cause the glass to break. Like putting an ice cube in warm water. I've never had a problem with this and thought I do use the cardboard sleeve to handle the tube when I install it, I don't go out of my way to wear protective gear to install a tube.

 

[Maverick Blues]

Any voltage emitter will eventually use up its free electrons, be it vacuum tube or transistor. It's a puzzlingly well-kept secret that transistors and tubes have equivalent service lives.

 

[Psycho Bass Guy]

Ampeg did tell me to keep my head off my cabs, so as not to let the vibration harm the tubes, and also to allow the amp to cool down a few minutes before moving it after use..

That's different. That isn't recommend to prevent breakage of the enevelope, but instead to mimize microphony. When a tube is hot and its internal parts have expanded from that heat, vibration can cause the internal structure to become loose and the tube will amplify mechanical noise and not just the audio signal it is fed.

I think the idea of tube breakage came not from acidity but the oils on your hand. The way it was explained to me is that the oil from your hand will draw the head more quickly and leave cold spots on the glass. The difference in temperature can cause the glass to break. Like putting an ice cube in warm water. I've never had a problem with this and thought I do use the cardboard sleeve to handle the tube when I install it, I don't go out of my way to wear protective gear to install a tube.

Whoever "explained" it you has no idea what they're talking about.

Before you go making editoral comments like this, you MIGHT want to do some research. In case you're actually interested in fact, you're definitely in for a surprise.

 

[thebeatcatcher]

Well let me just tell you guys that you probably see a lot of my basses for sale because I am the internet sales manager here in Indy. Whenever you see a somewhat decent bass for sale online from Indy, it's my doing. We have some really beautiful basses here in the store and it's a shame that more people out there don't get a chance to see or play them. Now this is not me promoting GC, this is me ranting about how I wish I could reach more people! Here in Indy we really run a show we're proud of and everyone around here looks at us as more of a mom & pop store than good ole' Corporate America. So there is still hope for Guitar Center... although yes, there are still a lot of freakin idiots!

i've had good results at GC in indy, kudos. you do have a lot of nice basses in there, i just can't afford any of them!

 

[Maverick Blues]

...you MIGHT want to do some research. In case you're actually interested in fact, you're definitely in for a surprise.

Wise advice, directed at the wrong party.

 

[Gene Leone]

GC is the worst. Prices are too high and intelligence too low.

Recently I needed strings. I had a gift card that wasn't used so I go to GC, who don't have the strings but can order them.

OK cool. Later I find out that they charged me $2.00 shipping and handling for ordering strings that they don't have in stock.

I wait almost two weeks, no one bothers to call, so I call and yep "they just came in."

When I get them I tell the sales guy I'm not happy about the two buck surcharge. He says it's store policy. I talk to the manger, who logs on to juststrings.com and says "see, they charge a delivery fee."

I say true but their price is also lower, and the strings come to my door in a few days, not weeks, and I don't have to pick them up.

The sales guy chimes in with "well you had a choice to buy here or not to buy here so it's your fault."

Now there's a way to make friends and influence people huh?

I really didn't care about the two bucks, it was just the principle of the thing. They don't have the strings, make me pay in advance, wait two weeks, then charge me for shipping and handling of a product they didn't have in stock.

I was so pissed mostly at the sales rep and the managers attitude more than anything that I went elsewhere and bought a rack case the same day. A sale they could have had but instead felt "well I had a choice." Cool, so I make one and went elsewhere.

I them emailed the corporate office and told them I'd never deal with them again and because Musicians Friend was an affiliate, I wouldn't deal with them either.

I never argued with them, never raised my voice, never gave them a hard time. I simply used my dollars to speak for me.

What a bunch of jerks.

 

[EASonBass]

Back to the original poster . . .

Minor annoyance.

Is it such a big deal to turn the eq back to flat or wherever you want it from there?

I find it more annoying to have to re-adjust the seat position in my car after my wife drives it. Should have opted for the memory.

Now that's worth a rant!

 

[tlwaps]

There's only 3 people at the guitar center here that i'll work with. One guy ran sound for my old band, another guy played in a band that we played with and the other guy is the manager. Those are the only 3 dudes i'll deal with in there, in regards to buying a bass/cab/head/compressor...etc. Strings and what not i'll deal with anybody.

Now sam ash I can not stand. I went in there and asked a guy in the pro audio department if they had a dbx 160a compressor and the guy proceeded to tell me that "It doesn't exist because he's been running sound for 10 years and has never heard of that compressor." Then he looked in his computer and found it. Needless to say I didn't buy it from sam ash. The last time I was in sam ash I was going to buy an Ampeg SVT810E cab because they said they could get it for me for $699 brand new directly from the factory. Well a month and a half went by without a phone call from them, so I called them to find out what's going on with my cab and they said, "We no longer deal with Ampeg. However if you want that same cabinet I have a used one here i'll sell to you for $800." I told him to have my money ready for me to pick up when I got there and went to guitar center and bought it.

 

[Psycho Bass Guy]

Wise advice, directed at the wrong party.

...maybe you don't realize you're conversing with an electronics engineer who has been servicing amps of all kinds for a VERY long time.

 

[Curry46]

Doesn't it suck when you realize you're in the wrong tab and posted in some random topic instead of making a new topic? Yeah, it does.

Anyways, guitar centers. The one in KC actually is pretty good. The employees seem pretty nice and helpful but not too pushy. Probably because another store, Guitar Source, stole all the idiot employees before GC came into town. I hate that place...

 

[WesC]

You know its pretty much true of every music store I've ever been to. You have low-paying commissioned sales positions that pretty much only high school and college kids are going to take, maybe the occassional guy who works there to get a discount on his gear (like I did for 2 years). And on top of that its one of the only two mainstream retail ventures where you can haggle on the price... the other being care sales.

At that rate you just can't expect good, knowledgable service. That doesn't mean that you can't find it once in a while, but you can't expect it.

I've had horrbile and decent service at GC. I dunno if I would really invest a lot of money there, but if you know what you want, its in stock, and you're willing to pay their price, its not so bad.