Hey guys, i just scored a fender hot rod deluxe, brand new in the box, never turned on for $400! The guy posted it in the madison wi craigslist asking for offers. I checked on the new price, went by the unwritten craigslist tradition of paying half of new price, but i never thought he'd settle for that as new as the amp is. I fired off my offer of four hun, and he emailed me back, telling me since i was the only one of nine emails that actually made an offer, he'd accept it. a few hours later, i'm peeling the plastic off of the fender deluxe plate of a brand spankin' new $700 amp that i paid $400 for. I'm wondering if any of you experienced tube guys could offer any advice on breaking in, and general care of a fender tube amp. Thanks very much for any advice guys!

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I believe in Christianity as i believe that the sun has risen. not only because i see it, but because by it, i see everything else. C.S. Lewis

Hey congrats on your new purchase davemercier!!!

I have a Marshall Haze, a Valve Jr. and a Blues Jr. When I got them, I opened up the box, removed the amp, plugged in and let 'er rip. All seems well so far (other than a slight loss of hearing).........

Beaubs

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I Can't Explain

There's not much to it, really... tubes are like light bulbs; they function as they should most of the time, but occasionally they will fail through age or overuse. Sometimes they become more microphonic over time, or the vacuum inside is lost (each tube is "flashed" with a dark substance that turns white when it oxidises, so typically a dark, smoky-looking tube is a healthy one. If you see white residue, it's probably on its way out)... Let the amp warm up a bit first -- if there's a standby switch, throw that one before you turn the master power switch on. If you're feeling curious, I'd recommend unplugging the amp (very important!) and -- using a cloth, perhaps, so you don't get unnecessary oils from your fingers on the tubes -- gently work the tubes out of their sockets so you can see how they plug in. Very much like a light bulb, hey? It's good to reassure yourself that they're just replaceable parts which do, in fact, need to be replaced every so often... or just if you're feeling like a change. That's a nice aspect of tubes: they can have very different characters from era to era or manufacturer to manufacturer, and a well-chosen set can alter your amp significantly (although one doesn't want to get too caught up in chasing exotic NOS tubes)...

Enjoy your amp; you should be a happy bloke with that score, mate
(sorry... couldn't resist)

P.S. I forgot to mention that my own tube consumption is well and truly out of control... I'm by no means an expert, but I can tell you that they're not as unreliable as they're sometimes made out to be. Of course, if you blow a power amp tube just before you take the stage you'd feel a little differently. Unless you belong to a particularly rowdy church, you're not likely to push your amp to the point of failure! If you play at maximum volume all the time, you will wear tubes out more quickly... at the lower end of the scale, they can go for years (decades, even) without drama.

If you eventually decide to get NOS tubes, I would start with changing out the preamp tubes; change what is called V1, the furthest away from the transformer. In my Marshalls, I have a Brimar 12AX7 (ECC83) in the Super Lead 100, and I'm putting in a Telefunken in the JMP50. 12AX7s are the most common preamp tube for guitar amplifiers. There are many really good NOS tubes out there besides Brimars (British) and Telefunkens (German); both of these can be pricey. Others are RFTs, Sylvanias, Raytheons, RCAs, Philips, Amperex, and so on. For NOS, I would stick with European and American production tubes.

Play with the amp the way it is for a long while...get to know the tones, both clean and dirty. Then you can hear the diferences even between different preamp tubes, both NOS and CP (current production).

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Current Gear: Ron Kirn Barnbuster Tele,
Marshall: 1971 SuperLead 100>1997 1960-TV, bunch of pedals
and a 1987 Porsche 911 Carrera coupe named Veronica

I have the same amp and I think it's great. I'm a little disappointed that it doesn't dirty up very good even with the drive turned up, but I figure I can always get a pedal if I want some grit. It's got a great blusey sound, I now know the reason people rave over tube amps. I wouldn't recommend that you turn it up too high because it is LOUD! Good luck with your purchase and have fun.

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"Hope is the thing with feathers, that perches in the soul..."

-Emily Dickinson

Just turn the standby on then the power , wait 2 minutes turn standby off and play.
Don't be sticking your hands in there if you don't know what you are doing, there is things in there charged you don't want to touch.

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson