Tube Swaping

I'm going to install a new set of ruby tubes here. I'm going to be replacing the power amp tubes on this amp. It's a EL84s that are going in this amp. EL84CZJJ set balanced clock that will be going in. The first step is to release the retaining devices on this amp. And you just slide them out of the way like that. They're kind of joined at the bottom there. And these tubes have a very simple socket design. You just simply wiggle it a little bit and pull straight back. And it'll pop right out. And looking at the tube, you'll see that there's a space bigger on one section of the tube. And it's going to match the plug. So if you just line up that big space, you'll see it. It's really obvious. And then you just insert the new set. The ones that came in the amp are Sovtek's. I'm not impressed. I never have been impressed with Sovtek tubes. I've had a couple amps with them. They usually come stock in amplifiers. If you like the sound of them, that's fine. But if you're looking for a richer, fuller sound and you want to customize your amp tone, you'll have to spend some money to experiment using different kinds of tubes. I've had other amps and I never really got into the tube swapping side of things. And with this amp, I can. This is a Crate V33. The one that's on sale at all the online stores for about $250 right now. It seems to be built well, but it doesn't sound very good with these stock tubes. So I've already replaced the preamp tubes, which I'll show you here in a minute. And also, a little word here about power amps. You can insert... This is a 33-watt amp. So I can run just two of these amps and cut the amplifier power down by half. It's not going to make an enormous difference. So I run all four. But if you really want to try it, you can. You can run either the two inside tubes by themselves and pull these two tubes if your amp's just too loud. Some people do that. I've just never really ventured there. I just use a volume control. It seems to work for me. And if you have some other kind of device, like a guitar processor in front of your amp or in the amp's loop, you can have a volume control on your effect that will allow you to drive your preamp tubes pretty hard while not blowing the neighbors away. And that's it. That's all there is. I just make sure they're nice and flatly seated. This is at an angle. And just... there you go. A new set of JJs. Now, you may have heard the word biasing. Now, this is a Class A amplifier, and it's self-biasing. I don't need to take it to a tech and have all kinds of adjustments done on the inside. I just plug in the power tubes. Now, if you've got another type of tube than an EL84, you're probably going to have a problem with that. So if you're running 6L6s or EL34s, and you've got a 100-watt stack, you're going to want to take it to a tech and have it properly set. I could technically take this in to a guitar tech or an amplifier technician and have them actually set this amp specifically for this set of power tubes. And that's the route some guys take. These just like to snap right off there. On the preamp set, that's V1, V2, V3 here. These have little steel cases on them, and they're loaded with a spring. And they have little indents that catch them. And all you do is push straight down. You can see that that moves. So push it down and twist counterclockwise, and it'll pop up. So you just wind up with that. And this is a preamp tube just like the power tubes. It's just the power tubes are twice as tall. But they have the same setup on the bottom. And just line up the holes, plug it in there, make sure it's nice and firm, and line up your catches right here with the catch on the case, push it all the way down, and then turn it clockwise. And it'll lock it right in place and hold your tube there. And so these things kind of secure the tube so you don't get too rattled. And that's it. That's all there is. Just experiment with a lot of tubes until you find what you like.