Tube Talk with Dr. Rock
I am constantly asked what I charge to re-tube and bias an amp. This question raises many more because it means that whatever is going on with that person's amplifier, they have reached the conclusion that the tubes are the problem, that changing them will fix it, and they want to do that at the lowest possible price.
I am all for doing stuff at the lowest possible price, which is why I shake my head every time I get an amp in for repair after the owner has spend $200 on a full set of new tubes and still has the original problem. I guess it's human nature to feel more comfortable buying a part than paying for labor, but throwing a full set of tubes at an amp in the hopes it will fix a problem is not your lowest cost option for repair.
Fact: The large format output tubes, 6L6's, EL34's and the like, have a designed life span of 10,000 hours (do the math for your usage. At 10 hours a week, that's 19 years). At the end of that time, the tubes aren't dead, but output has degraded to 70.7% of the designed level.
please continue »
|
 » Dr. Rock Amp Repair
» Repair home page
|
