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When should I replace the tubes?

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Fayne
2601
Dec 24, 2019
Below is a list of reasons to replace tubes outside of the sonic pleasure of tube rolling:
  • If a channel goes dead.
  • If a channel goes super quiet.
  • If a channel goes super loud.
  • If a channel develops very loud buzzing.
  • If a channel (or channels) are too microphonic.
Until the tubes are burnt in a good 30-60 hours, you may get a bit of buzz. It likely will go away. If tubes are acting up, before buying replacement tubes swap the tube positions and see if the problem happens on the other channel. Don't swap both 6ZH1P and 6N24P at the same time, and ***DON'T*** try and swap the tubes when they're hot or powered up.
Swampy
203
Dec 18, 2019
They should last thousands of hours. You should hear a deterioration of audio quality before they start going. Of course, you can also try tube rolling if you want to try a different sound.
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