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Tubey Goodness

#102
Thew tubes in my Mesa Bass 400 are fragile, but the amp is built like a tank... I'd say take along some extra tubes and a fuse(even for S.S.), but there is definately no need for a backup amp..

To consider that amp more unreliable than an S.S. amp is absolutely unfounded and ridiculous, indeed..:rolleyes:
 
#104
I understand now... Jerrold didn't agree with him, therefore he should be thought of as a "lower" person....makes perfect sense!

Why didn't I see this before? ...sooo simple, and yet no one understands him, and then they have the nerve to bash him or disagree with him..or call him a "monkey of the sea"

(in Slingblade accent) "Poor Little Feller":scowl: ...........mmm hmm.
 
#106
Jerrold's point was that, without getting into the durability of tubes themselves, the amp itself is generally more durable if its a tube amp because its got fewer connections. That said, my tubes in my 400+ have lasted very well so far, no failures at all. Some have had tubes lasting longer than 30 years. Some throw their amps around and in concequence have shorter tube life. Take care of your gear, regardless of what type of amp it is. My experience has been that SS is more resistant to vibrations and such than tubes, but thats about the extent of durability issues.
 
#107
I'm reading through the Ampeg manuals that SeaMonkey brought up and he must have skipped this part...

Ampeg Manuals said:
However, there were (and still are) many serious listeners who realized that the sound produced from a "transistor" amplifier is signifacantly different from that produced by a tube amplifier identical specs. They considered the sound produced by these new solid-state devices to be hard, brittle, and lifeless. It was determined that solid-state devices produce a less musical set of harmonics than tubes. When pushed past their limits, they tend to mute the tone and emphasize the distortion.
Click to expand...
 
#109
seamonkey said:
Apparently you did have an agenda here. Getting on the slam wagon.
Maybe the left hand of Ampeg could tell the right hand what it should say?:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

"Tubes are made up of a number of separate mechanical components that have been vacuum-sealed in a glass
envelope or bubble, making them somewhat fragile..."

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Tubes are made up of a number of fragile mechanical components that are vacuum-sealed in a glass envelope
or bubble...."

Here's a good old book that could probably expand your education:
http://z05.zupload.com/download.php?file=getfile&filepath=5441

Some names you might want to keep hand for when you're joining the peanut gallery: "Shrimp boy", "Brineshrimp", "tube hater" - but none are more ridiculous than "seamonkey" - no need to beat around the bush.

Somehow I had thought higher of you. Worked good though - I'm back down to the jerk level of slamming. That actually makes me feel more like crap than what these other anti opinion bigots could ever say.
Click to expand...


Sorry about this personal attack. I crossed the line. I was wrong.
 
#114
seamonkey said:
Apparently you did have an agenda here. Getting on the slam wagon.
Maybe the left hand of Ampeg could tell the right hand what it should say?:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

"Tubes are made up of a number of separate mechanical components that have been vacuum-sealed in a glass
envelope or bubble, making them somewhat fragile..."

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Tubes are made up of a number of fragile mechanical components that are vacuum-sealed in a glass envelope
or bubble...."

Here's a good old book that could probably expand your education:
http://z05.zupload.com/download.php?file=getfile&filepath=5441

Some names you might want to keep hand for when you're joining the peanut gallery: "Shrimp boy", "Brineshrimp", "tube hater" - but none are more ridiculous than "seamonkey" - no need to beat around the bush.

Somehow I had thought higher of you. Worked good though - I'm back down to the jerk level of slamming. That actually makes me feel more like crap than what these other anti opinion bigots could ever say.
Click to expand...


You are supposed to CARRY your amp down the stairs, not THROW it. Mechanical fragility of tubes is NOT an issue to failures due to useage, which are electrical in nature. You can kill anything with enough abuse - that's a pointless argument!
 
#117
I haven't read every single post here, but has anybody brought up the fact that the majority of the tubes which are around today are design descendents if not outright clones of WW2 era tubes? Before all of the solid state electronics we have today, tubes were the mainstay. And by mainstay I mean for consumer electronics, scientific equipment, and MILITARY APPLICATION. Considering that the Soviets continued to use tubes in their MIG fighters FAR after the US switched over to primarily solid state electronics, I think a durability claim is pretty well justified. Many of the tubes used for military application were ruggedized (you can still find many 6l6, 6v6, el34s and others with the ruggedized design), denoted by the GT spec I believe, and modern iterations of those ruggedized versions are stock in modern guitar amplifiers.

Point condensed, I'm pretty sure that if a el34GT can withstand multiple G turns, takeoff and landing, and "shellshock" from aerial combat in a MIG fighter jet, they can handle the rigors of musician gigging. If you're worried about durability, then the solution is to not be a jackass and throw your equipment down a flight of stairs. And in the event that such a thing does happen, don't be upset with a manufacturer because their product didn't withstand an event it was never intended for.
 
#119
seamonkey said:
You'll have to ask Ampeg what they meant. Why they bothered to publish this a few times over.
Click to expand...

I just looked at the rest of the pdf file from which you took this partial quote.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

"Tubes are made up of a number of fragile mechanical components that are vacuum-sealed in a glass envelope
or bubble...."

I think its important to include the rest of that paragraph which states

"...The tube's longevity is based on a number of factors which include how hard and often the amplifier is played, vibrations from the speakers, road travel, repeated setup and tear down, etc."

... and throwing down stairs

(ok, it didnt really say that last line in the manual) :)
 

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