Peavey ALPHABASS All tube monster

Not all tube tho. The graphic is SS.

 

If you want to go there then no amp can be all tube. Transformers are not tubes wire is not tubes pots are not tube the chassis is not tube a majority of the electronic devices in the amp are not tubes . Someone always has to be the wet blanket.

 

Very cool amp! Tube amps do require some regular maintenance. But it all depends on how hard you push them too.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to have a good tech go through it if you can afford to. Just clean the pots and check the caps and whatnot.

I bet it sounds HUGE through 4 10s and 2 15s!

 

That's what I'm talking about. Be careful with that spray Eugene.

 

Ooooh, that looks like a monster!!! I would LOVE to crank that thing an go nuts!

How does it the sound? Is it comparable to any of the big wattage classics? SVT? Bassman? Hiwatt? Marshall Superbass? Or is it completely it's own thing?

Is that 6x 6L6GC? Around 150w? With those massive transformers I have a feeling it will deliver clean headroom for every last one of those watt ,lol! It looks MASSIVE!

I love the fact that they've used 6L6GC in such a powerful amp. I wouldn't be surprices if the reason was a lack of reliable 6550/KT88 production at the time. But I personally love 6L6GCs in powerful bass amps. They sound so much sweeter than 6550/KT88 when pushed hard IMO. Plus they're usually more reliable, at least for current production tubes.

The output tubes will need changin at some point but if everything works fine I wouldn't touch a thing. Output tubes need biasing so if you're not 100% sure about the procedure, bring the amp to a tech. And remember: There are HIGH VOLTAGES that can kill you inside tube amps. Even when they've been switched off and disconnected from mains. These voltages can remains for a very long time. If you are not experienced with electronics and tube amps you should NEVER even remove the chassis. You could find yourself seriously hurt or even kill yourself. I'm serious, this is no joke!

If there's even the slightest sign of something not quite right, like crackling, volume drop, lack of clarity/highs, etc. I would take it to a tech. If it works fine I would just enjoy it and not worry about any maintenance needs that may occur down the road.

 

Preamp tubes are plug'n'play though and as easy to change as a lightbulb. It will require opening the chassis though so unless you know how to safely drain the caps you are playing with fire whenever you start messing around inside it. Let me repeat it one more time for safety: Those voltages can kill you, even when the amp has been switched off and disconnected from mains.

 

These amps were designed for guitar, originally for Lynryrd Skynyrd. The Peavey Mace. The Mace went out of production and Peavey reconfigured it in a rack mount bass amp. Prolly to use up the stock of trannys. It had nothing to do with 6550 availability.

 

The Alpha bass is a very good head and versatile too. General rule if it aint broke don't fix it. As mentioned before you can roll pre amp tubes they plug back in and go . Power tubes have to be biased when you replace them .

 

Also, those look like original PV branded USA Sylvania tubes! Chances are- they are fine and I would avoid changing them unless they are really “bad”!

 

Rule number 1 for tube amps. DO NOT power up the amp until you have all your speakers connected. I won't even plug mine in till the speakers are hooked up.

 

Congrats to a killer amp! Get a footswitch for the graphic eq, it's a great feature to be able to have one sound with the passive eq and another with the graphic connected. I bought mine out of curiosity since it was so cheap and it quickly became a favorite. I had an Ampeg V4BH at the time and I ended up selling it, liked the Alpha better.