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Post subject: Effects Pedals Question
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 7:13 am
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Do overdrive stompboxes decrease the life of your tubes? I mean it has to have some affect doesn't it? It is intentionally overdriving your tubes to get the sound you want.

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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 7:16 am
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Possibly, but turning up your amp to overdrive it is going to kill tubes too. I wouldn't worry about it, everyone does it, and tubes still last a long time if you do the right things to ensure long tube life, like letting them warm up and cool down, and not moving them while hot, etc...

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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 7:19 am
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Thanks. I appreciate it. I just got my first tube amp and I don't know exactly how long the tubes will last or what can contribute to shortening the life of the tubes.

Thanks again,

Bill


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Post subject: Volume...
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 9:28 am
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Volume would have the biggest implication on your tubes, not the pedals.


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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 9:44 am
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You can cook your tubes/circuitry with an overdrive/distortion pedal if you run them in your effects loop. Effect loops are best for modulation effects like delay and phase. Overdrives, distortions and fuzzes should be run through the front of your amp.


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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 10:21 am
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If you are using an overdrive/distortion pedal because you can't turn your amp up loud enough for tube distortion, then the preamp tubes will go faster. But rememer, no matter how hard you push the tubes, they will pretty much last a long time because tubes most of the time don't wear out fast unless you geta lemon.

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Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 6:40 am
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every one on here has made god points. I wouldnt worry about and keep pushing your amp. It is no differetn then cranking your amp and pushing the tube to break up!


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Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 6:45 am
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every one on here has made god points. I wouldnt worry about and keep pushing your amp. It is no differetn then cranking your amp and pushing the tube to break up!


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Post subject: Re: Effects Pedals Question
Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 8:18 am
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bmcmillin wrote:
Do overdrive stompboxes decrease the life of your tubes? I mean it has to have some affect doesn't it? It is intentionally overdriving your tubes to get the sound you want.

Thanks,

Bill


Admittedly my Princeton Stereo Chorus isn't a tube amp... but it's typical of high end amps that the "effects loop" bypasses the tone controls completely...

I take the mono output from the amp channels, run them into my ToneWorks AX1000 and bring back the stereo wet signal to the effects in...

NO distortion is generated in the amp, it's all done inside the pedal...

The power transistors(tubes in other amps) never see any overdriven signal, they're just amplifying music and sending it on to the speakers...

Your particular hookup may be different, especially if you're plugging the guitar into a pedal and then running that output into the channel in on the amp... instead of using the effect loop connections...

In that case you're cascading a distorted signal through your pre-amp and all bets are off on what gets to the next stage...

You could be getting a clipped signal (too high a voltage being cut off at the top and bottom of the waveform... which ends up being a "square wave" or DC voltage hitting the final amp and/or speakers... )

Most of the tube designs were right out of the manufacturer's spec book, no compression/anti-clipping circuits at all... so you CAN abuse them seriously...

As a 30 year tube mechanic (starting with USAF radio gear in the bad old days) I'd advise using effect loops when possible and NOT cascading multiple effects with the amp's built in overdrive/distortion unless you're keeping it real and using non-hearing hazardous levels of sound<VBG>

It's better to get a good sound and mike it up to the PA (or get a bigger amp) than to have someone like me charge all the market will bear to fix it later...

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Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 8:49 am
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Cool. Thanks guys. I appreciate it! A lot of that info goes right over my head, but I get the gist of it.

Again, thanks!

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