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Post subject: do tubes lose lifespan when you touch the glass?
Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 7:44 am
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Aspiring Musician
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reason why i'm asking this is because i just lost a headlight on my car. the filament snapped, and it may be because i mistakenly touched the glass lens/envelope with my bare hand. the oils in your skin are deadly for those light bulbs...apparently allows iodide gas to leak out. in short, touch the glass, and the bulb's life is shortened dramatically, i guess whenever it heats up.

anyway, i realize we're talking about vacuum tubes, which are a different beast, but i figured they're similar enough in nature to headlamps...so would you say tubes are also prone to skin oil syndrome?


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Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 7:50 am
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Actually, the reason for not touching the glass on the automotive bulb is that the oils on your skin left behind after touching it can cause the glass to break when they boil from the high temps generated by the bulb.

Your amp's tubes do not generate anywhere near the same amount of heat energy as those bulbs so it really is not an issue with them.


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Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 8:41 am
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Nope you won't hurt the tubes. The bulb in you car is a Halogen bulb. It gets seriously hot. Some guys do believe you need to wear white gloves when you touch the tubes. It's total garbage. Way back tubes were used in the military in the field. Do you really think soldiers carried white gloves? Nah.

The first thing I do on my Fender amps is make sure the tubes are tight when I transport my amp. Just because the tube hang upside down and gravity can make them loose. I never wiped them off after. I've done this for decades with no problems.
I wouldn't worry about it.


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Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 1:36 pm
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Objection:
When you touch valves with bare hands it leaves some sweat (water) then when the valve warms it brings a temperature variation which may bring the valve glass structure to break.
Ask Groove Tubes :roll:


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Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 2:01 pm
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Total Bull. Believe what you want. Never had a tube fail from sweat in 40 years. GT just needs another excuse as to why their tubes fail so often.


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Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 5:22 pm
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God I hate Groove Tubes!!

The difference in my DeVille with JJ 6L6GC's biased hot than with the stock GT 6L6B's in 'Factory Cold' is unbelievable!!

I still havn't found out why everyone's Champion 600's come with EH tubes if Fender own GT though?!?!?!?!


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Post subject:
Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 10:26 pm
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Ask "Used Tubes" ?

I like to touch my tubes. :lol:


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Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 5:42 am
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Celtic Cyclonus wrote:
God I hate Groove Tubes!!

The difference in my DeVille with JJ 6L6GC's biased hot than with the stock GT 6L6B's in 'Factory Cold' is unbelievable!!

I still havn't found out why everyone's Champion 600's come with EH tubes if Fender own GT though?!?!?!?!


CC


http://www.guitarpug.com/2008/06/fender ... ove-tubes/

I guess the 600 just sounds awful with them. :D


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Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 5:52 am
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63supro wrote:
Celtic Cyclonus wrote:
God I hate Groove Tubes!!

The difference in my DeVille with JJ 6L6GC's biased hot than with the stock GT 6L6B's in 'Factory Cold' is unbelievable!!

I still havn't found out why everyone's Champion 600's come with EH tubes if Fender own GT though?!?!?!?!


CC


http://www.guitarpug.com/2008/06/fender ... ove-tubes/

I guess the 600 just sounds awful with them. :D



Thats prob so true, but here's the crazy thing Supro, a GT 12AX7 is TOO WIDE for the preamp socket, I could only fit a Mesa or an EH in there.

Wtf?

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Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 9:54 am
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That's ok man, Mesa has a good standard in screening as well..

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Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 11:09 am
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Yeah but my point is: If its a Fender amp then how come it comes with an EH power tube and a Chinese 12AX7 and not come with Groove Tubes and more to the point, how come if its a Fender amp that a Groove Tube 12AX7 doesn't even fit?

I'm puzzled by this, big time!


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Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 11:42 am
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[quote="Celtic Cyclonus"] how come if its a Fender amp that a Groove Tube 12AX7 doesn't even fit?

That might be a good thing anyway. :D

I can't stand GT's. It is strange though.


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Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 11:54 am
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63supro wrote:
Celtic Cyclonus wrote:
how come if its a Fender amp that a Groove Tube 12AX7 doesn't even fit?

That might be a good thing anyway. :D

I can't stand GT's. It is strange though.




Totally! Weird.....


CC

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Post subject:
Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 12:02 pm
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Nope. Touching the glass on a tube hurts nothing. They don't get anywhere near hot enough.


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