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So I swapped out the power tubes....


bohoo2u

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My amp was making all this random popping and crackling so I took it apart and swapped out all the tubes one by one to find the problem. It ended up being my power tubes that were shot...I was really happy that I got the problem fixed but now my amp sounds really weird.

 

The amp is a Traynor YCV40WR which is a naturally bright amp, but now my amp sounds like a glass factory...the treble is insane. I have a les paul which is a pretty warm sounding guitar but the amp is all the sudden really glassy sounding even on my les pauls neck pickup (which is very very warm sounding).

 

I recorded a sound clip of the amp with the treble on level 1. Anything above that and it is a treble festival.

 

http://bombshell.org/mike/traynortest1.mp3

 

 

WTF happened to my amp? It sounded so smooth before but now with replacement tubes (from my last set of tubes...I change them every 4 months no matter what) the amp is totally different.

:idea::idea::idea:

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I always thought Traynors sounded like glass; why people bought them. The sounds from the mp3 didn't sound bad to me. Tubes can change the sound quite drastically some times. You may even got a hold of a bad matched set too.

 

Also, twisting the treble knob is more to do with the preamp tubes. Check those lately? I had a preamp tube where the plates physically dropped from the vibration over time that gave me a problem. I noticed it one day when I had two sets in each hand and the two sets sounded different. Took each one to a counter and held the one inch above the counter to let them drop on their sides. That one had a different sound(actually sounded dull) that's when I compared that one with another and noticed the plates were loose and dropped.

 

Also check the tubes and make sure their tight. Some newer tubes have pins that are slightly smaller than what they used to make. When I encounter one like that, I take a small needle nose pliers and slightly bend the pin into it's center;I mean slightly and gently. Just make sure their seated good.

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I replaced the power tubes with the same exact type of tube...matched JJ 6L6's. The YCV40 has an autobiasing circuit so no biasing is needed. I just think it is really weird because my amp was sounding the best I have ever heard it before the power tubes blew, and with new power tubes but the same preamp it sounds like a completely different amp. Maybe I need to get a full set of new tubes.

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I replaced the power tubes with the same exact type of tube...matched JJ 6L6's. The YCV40 has an autobiasing circuit so no biasing is needed.

 

WRONG!:mad:

 

How do you like my Willy Wonka impersonation? :D

 

 

But seriously, it absolutely is NOT autobiasing (it is auto balancing but that's something different) and absolutely does need to have the bias checked even with the exact same type of tubes to make sure it is operating correctly.

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Dang I was always under the impression that I didn't have to do that. Any guides on how to do biasing then?

I recorded another clip with the tones on middle on each section. I think my microphone is cutting the treble a little bit...in person it sounds about 3x brighter.

http://bombshell.org/mike/traynor2.mp3

Excuse my crappy playing this time

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Dang I was always under the impression that I didn't have to do that. Any guides on how to do biasing then?

e

 

gee, I dunno, certainly not in my sig...

 

:rolleyes::p

 

Without a background in electronics it's probably not something you should be attempting yourself and should be done by a tech.

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Both the samples you have sound fine to me, I would not say they were 'glassy' or to much treble at all, quite a balanced sound, all I can say is you must have your sound set up very bass heavy to the point of being 'muffled'. Biasing the valves may make a difference, but I doubt it will be as much as you want.

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