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The only configuration I've ever seen for amps is with the components and voltages inside the chassis, and the tubes and switches outside it. If you don't remove the chassis, there is no danger, because there is no voltage. If something goes terribly wrong and there is dangerous voltage on the chassis, you're going to be in trouble as soon as you touch the power switch. If the amp is unplugged, there is no voltage on the chassis. There are lots of old wives' tales circulating about the dangers of amplifiers, but they are just exaggerations as long as the chassis is in place and the components aren't reachable. Tubes are made of glass, and glass is an excellent insulator. The only real danger is grabbing a tube while it's still hot and burning your fingers, but they don't really get hot enough to cause a blister.
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06-12-2019 07:05 PM
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Being its a newer Fender,you should be able to replace the tubes your self. Just go on to Fenders website and see what they recommend. Or go to a store like Tubes and More and see what they recommend.
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FWIW, I changed the power tubes to matched Mullards and left the inverter tube alone when I started to get mud break up at low volume. They seem to have a have a more linear sound than the stock tubes which I think are JJ’s, but Fender probably uses a few different brands in these amps based on $ savings, and, maybe, quality.
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I ended up getting a matched set of power tubes and preamp tube, all JJ’s. I had thought JJ’s were OEM based on stuff I had read on the Internet, but the originals were Groove Tubes.
I installed them and so far they sound the way they are supposed to. MUCH more power than I have had in the amp recently, even before the one power tube went belly up.
Despite many comments on the web about needing to bias this amp (even the day after you bring it home from the store), some amp authorities have stated that cathode bias tubes are basically self-biasing, as long as the power set is matched. I can’t verify if this is true or not.
I don’t think I want to play around with the biasing myself, so I’ll ask some local guys who work on amps and my fiancee’s ex-son-in-law, who works for a guitar store in the area, for their opinion.
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Good deal. Good that you got a balanced pair. I don't think biasing is mandatory.
If it sounds good you should be OK.
If the new tubes are getting really really hot, I'd take it to a shop for bias adjustment.
Otherwise I'd just play it and forget it.
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Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff
John
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Originally Posted by Strbender
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On biasing fixed bias amps: It's only mandatory in hindsight, if you redplate the new tubes. Or, though not perilous in any way, end up with such cold bias on the new tubes that they sound dead.
A lot of times, you can get away with not checking bias, no problem. Sometimes you don't.
MD
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Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff
John
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Originally Posted by John A.
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