Hi,
I'm posting a question for a friend of mine. He's not a GN forum member and really doesn't use the computer much so I wanted to see what I can find for him. He's got a Epi Valve Jr. and recently experienced a problem. He recently lost a lot of volume from the amp and also lost a lot of drive. He frequently used his treble booster on his valve jr. to get a nice Brian May sound. He's wondering if it's a tube issue as the amp still works but it's got noticeably lower volume and has lost drive. He's worried that repairing the problem may be more than the amp is worth. Thanks for any advice you can give.
Mike
"I use heavy strings, tune low, play hard and floor it. Floor it, that's a technical term." - SRV
Changing tubes on a VJ is quick, easy and inexpensive. No tech needed. That's what I'd try first, and I'd bet on the EL84 as being the most likely to peter out.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
>> He's worried that repairing the problem may be more than the amp is worth.
At $150, that might be true if something weird is wrong.
Minimum bench charges are typically $75-$100.
Replacing tubes is easy and might be all that's needed.
EVJ is a simple two-tube affair, so it's really inexpensive (about $30-$40 for 2 tubes).
1 watt of pure tube tone - the Living Room Amp!
http://www.naturdoctor.com/Chapters/Amps/LivingRoomAmp.html
Paper-in-oil caps rule!
Thanks for the advice. I'll pass it along. I think he believes that the tube or tubes might be gone. It might be worth just changing the tubes and seeing if that solves the problem.
"I use heavy strings, tune low, play hard and floor it. Floor it, that's a technical term." - SRV
I'd have a heart attack if someone charged me $30-40 for a 12AX7 and an EL84! That's some high end tubes.
(I've got a big stock of ~$3 Russian bulk tubes.)
If worst comes to worst and your friend decides the VJ's not worth fixing, I'll pay him postage to send it to me. :lol:
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
Would someone who wants to change the tubes themselves have to do any adjustments or bias the tubes or anything or is it as simple as pulling the old tubes out and popping the new tubes in???
"I use heavy strings, tune low, play hard and floor it. Floor it, that's a technical term." - SRV
You can replace the tubes without any adjustment. I had my original el84 become faulty almost from day 1.
