My tube amps bite is gone...

It could be many things, but usually it is the tubes. They may just be old and on their way out. It's possible the cold affected them, but more likely playing the amp full out caused the problem.

I would try a new set of tubes first. Even if that is not the problem you will have a spare set. But more than likely it will be the tubes.

Or you could take it to your local shop and let them check it out first.

Tubes are extremely fragile when hot, and you should NEVER move it around without giving it time to cool down. Take it back to the shop and let them check it out, they'll be able to tell what exactly went wrong. I don't think anything besides tubes will be damaged, and with some luck only one or two tubes will be somewhat malfunctioning.

Yes, you need to allow tube amps to cool down before even moving them, even if its off an ext. cabinet. Yes, extreme temperature changes are also not good as you now have found out. It could be anything from tubes to capacitors freezing or even the voice coil in the speaker. If possible try to transport it inside the car. Put it in a seatbelt in the back set. If you allow it to cool down then cover it with a blanet or sleeping bag then maybe (just maybe) in the trunk.

Did you allow it to warm up to room tempature when you got home before you plugged it in an used it? Unless you have the proper equipment/tools, I would take it to an amp tech and have it checked out.

joe

Don't put your equipment in the trunk. In the summer it'll get too hot and the winter too cold. It's best to put it in the back seat after you've cooled off/warmed up the interior of the car.

The amp's back and tubes were burning hot after playing and then within a minute of being turned off it was put out in a cold cars trunk, where it stayed for the next hour and a half ride home.

That wasn't a nice thing to do to your tubes.

Always let them cool before you move the amp. Plus, the extreme temperature change didn't help things much at all.

The one-two punch probably killed 'em. Take your amp to a tech and have the tubes checked out.

Good news guys! Its alive! Turns out the jack on my guitar was loose. Unscrewed everything, tighened it up, and everything sounds wonderful again. Although I'll try not to do what I did to the amp ever again, I could see a few more of those killing the tubes. Thanks guys.

By the way, the tubes are probably(definitly) going to be the first to go, unless you drop it or something. So dont think that your amp is gone all of the sudden. Tubes die out alot easier than the other things in a tube amp usually.

What?

What did you say?

It was your stupid guitar cord?

And you had everybody going crazy worrying about your amp?

You know when you say your amp blew, it caused a lot of tension, fear, and panic. Because we ALL worry about our expensive amps breaking down! It can't be helped. We all see ourselves in that position worrying what might possibly be wrong.

Don't do that again. :roll:

:cry: I swear i'll always make sure to check that stupid jack from now on...

Geezzz... I started reading this thread about losing crunch, and I'm looking across the room at my 29 year old tube amp (and thinking about all the times I throw it hot in the back of my van after gigs, and although I practice with it at 4-5 with the guitar full up, I always gig at 9-10 and control volume from the axe - I just hate the visual of guys tweaking all the time on stage, you know?)... and I'm thinking I should probably lay in another set of tubes...

and then I get to the punch line. Glad you got out cheap, RollnRock.

Geezzz... I started reading this thread about losing crunch, and I'm looking across the room at my 29 year old tube amp (and thinking about all the times I throw it hot in the back of my van after gigs, and although I practice with it at 4-5 with the guitar full up, I always gig at 9-10 and control volume from the axe - I just hate the visual of guys tweaking all the time on stage, you know?)... and I'm thinking I should probably lay in another set of tubes...

and then I get to the punch line. Glad you got out cheap, RollnRock.

I was sorta dissapointed, I thought it would be somthing more interesting that happened.

Always good to hear it was easy fix. As I recall those amps really should have these installed to protect the tubes. Tube retainers and Tube Guard. The tube retainers keep the tubes snug in the amp and the Tube guard keeps things from hitting against them. Something to think about anyway.

Well have fun playing.

Joe

Ive been trying to get a tube guard, but the guy is out that makes em, and doesn't know if hes gonna make anymore. What exactly is a tube retainer?

Noteboat
Twenty-Nine year old tube amp and still stock? You might want to start thinking about having it re-caped. Caps will break down with age and you might not notice the difference in noise and tone.

I cut my teeth working on tube radars years ago and we would replace all the caps with the exception of the HUGE electolitics every five years. After a re-cap job everything worked much better in terms of signal-to-noise levels, bias adjustments would last longer, and so on. They age slowly enough that you might not notice a difference unless you did a S/N test on. I'd bet you would notice a difference after having the work done.

Tempature shocks will cause tube gear much grief. We would avoid turning the filaments off unless we had to do major work on the equipment. In other words the gear would be on "standby" 24/7 to keep the tubes at a steady tempature. I know that you can't do that with most guitar amps. But you should give tube amps time to reach room tempature before moving them. Then let them warm up before applying power. Let it run in standby for a half hour if you can before playing it. That will stablize the tempature and keep the screens from shorting.

A tube retainer is a spring loop that clips over the tube to hold it in the socket. There are also tube shields with springs built in for retention.

Too much hassle? Buy a modling amp. Transistors aren't as sensitive to thermal shock as tubes are. If you must have a tube amp you have to be ready to treat it as the delicate instrument it is.