How long does a tube amp usually last before it needs servicing?

[mbengs1]

how long does a regular tube amp last before it needs any repair? and what are the usual kinds of repair that a tube amp would need during its entire life? i had my tube amp fixed recently and i hope it lasts at least 2 years before it would be fixed. i have two main amps, a bugera 6262 head with a bugera 2x12 cabinet, and a marshall jtm60 3x10 combo. both seem to work fine for the past 4 months.

[1001gear]

As far as I know old style amps in normal stage use need fresh tubes as much as two or three times a year. Much less frequently, speakers need reconing or replacement and maybe even less frequently, caps need to be checked and replaced as necessary.

[mbengs1]

Well i use my amp about 5 times a week, 20-30 minutes each. i just use the clean channel and use pedals for distortion. retube 2 to 3 times a year ? i thought they should last a really long time especially if you don't really turn up that loud, just bedroom jamming.

[WRGKMC]

It depends on the hours of actual use, not the days of the year.

 

A combo amp may need tubes once or several times a year with heavy use because the tubes are exposed to allot of vibration. A separate head can many times longer. I got 12 years out of my last set of Bassman tubes. Of course I don't use that head on a daily basis. I used it maybe twice a week for 6 of those years. It even had the original caps for 40 years. Pretty amazing when you consider it was built in 67 and had been gigged by me heavily for at least half its life.

 

The other factor is the type of tubes, the manufacturer of tubes and the circuits used. Some tubes like 6L6GC, EL34, 6V6 can be very durable, cause they are made to be. EL84's are often put in Vox like top boost amps and run very hot and the tubes can cook in 3~6 months. A single ended amp running class A may cook a tube in no time as well because the tube is always on. With no signal the tube is half on and half off and that voltage cooks it. A normal AB amp has the tubes nearly off when its idle so there's less wear on the elements.

 

Tube type varies allot as well. Some manufacturers make tubes that are more rugged and less microphonic. Not all tubes were designed for guitar amps. All electronics used to be tube, everything from computers, to radio and computers. Many weren't used for audio and didn't see any vibrations at all so they lasted much longer in those applications. You may spend a little more on a higher quality tube, it may not even sound as good as some but the durability might be allot better.

 

Circuit types and biasing as I said are important too. My Bassman only has a bias balance between the tubes. The overall level of the two tubes is fixed at a safe level for even the worst tubes made. That's why I get so many years out of them. put the tubes in another circuit and push the bias up and its a trade off. You may get a few decibels more gain and only 1/10th the lifespan. You have to decide if that extra gain and hotter tone is worth having to change the tubes 3 times a year instead or once every 3 years.

 

Then you have the physical and application abuse a head sees. If you drive a low rider with the shocks in the car non existent, throw the amp in a trunk where it rolls around, expect a decreased lifespan. Putting the head in a hard shell case may not increase its lifespan by allot but less chance of winding up having a broken tube or switch is the key.

 

Electronic abuse, running a load too high for the head can cook the tubes down to nothing in a week or two. I've done it before. Putting the amp on a circuit that blows fuses isn't the best either. Damp environment invites corrosion and shorts. Dusty dirty environment draws that dirt into the amp as the heat rises from the tubes coating components and causing arching in the high voltage circuits. it also causes scratchy pots and poor connections.

 

Those are just some of the items. How can anyone possibly give you a firm answer when you have so many variables involved. Only you can know by knowing your own amp. Even then maintenance tends to go up as the amp ages, just like the maintenance on a car goes up as you get more mileage on it because its no longer the normal maintenance items going out, its the normal items and the end of lifespan parts that may be going out at the same time.

[bieke]

so far, only had speaker replacement

my Mark I got new tubes after 25 years of use

my Twin nothing yet, it's about 25 years now

my vintage amps, well if they break down it's usually a recap or so

but all of my vintage amps still have the original tubes

if they still measure up to 80%, I don't see any point in putting in new tubes

my amp tech doesn't understand why everybody wants frequent retubes, it's totally unnecessary but he does what the customer asks

 

 

ah yes, my 1958 Dynacord needed a recap at some point, still has Original tubes and speaker though

[onelife]

When I was travelling and playing six nights a week with a Fender Twin Reverb, I had to completely retube the amp at least once a year. With premium speakers, the amplifier was extremely heavy and it was being moved by someone else so I suspect most of the wear on the tubes was from moving it around.

 

I currently have a Silverface Princeton Reverb that only goes out a few times a year and it has had the same tubes in it for five years. I have a Mesa Boogie that eats EL84s so I always have a spare pair in my gig bag.

 

What I am trying to say is that it depends on the amplifier and how it is being used.

 

btw, I hate castors on tube amps because of the temptation to roll the amplifier over uneven surfaces - in fact, they are dangerous on top heavy amplifiers such as the Fender Super Reverb.

[Mikeo]

how long does a regular tube amp last before it needs any repair? and what are the usual kinds of repair that a tube amp would need during its entire life? i had my tube amp fixed recently and i hope it lasts at least 2 years before it would be fixed. i have two main amps' date=' a bugera 6262 head with a bugera 2x12 cabinet, and a marshall jtm60 3x10 combo. both seem to work fine for the past 4 months. [/quote']

 

 

I have amps that are 3 decades old I bought new and they still work, and never needed more than a power amp tube or a preamp tube.

 

If you gig on a regular basics, which I no longer do, there's no tell what could happen between the rehearsal room and the back of your car, or from the car to the stage and back again.

 

Amps gnomes

 

Some people take care of there gear better than others, and I have seen guy go through a club door like a battering ram with there amps and guitars.

 

4 months is nothing. Maybe some new tubes every year, cap job, once a decade if you feel the need.

 

I know a guy in town here that has played the same Ampeg bass amp since 1976, with virtual no issues.

 

Just remember that thing ain't made like they once were.

 

 

Back up gear can quickly move to the head of the class.

[onelife]

I'm beginning to think that tube amps are a thing of the past - at least for me.

 

The consistancy and reliability along with the stellar sound quality of my Yamaha modeling amplifier actually outperform the many (mostly Fender) tube amps that I have used over the years.

[Phil O'Keefe]

The single most common issue with tube amps is the tubes. They fail far more often than anything else in those amps. Assuming good tubes to begin with, the amount of time it takes for them to die varies with the amount and type of use the amp gets. Hit it hard and often, and they'll go faster than if the amp is played only occasionally, and only at only low to moderate volume levels.

 

The other thing that tube amps tend to need eventually is a cap job, but that's usually only after decades of use... and to be fair, the capacitors in solid state amps can dry out and require replacement too.

 

Six months of hard use for a tour can sometimes kill a set of tubes... OTOH, I've seen amps that were 40 years old that are still running the same set of tubes that they came with, and that still sound great. It all comes down to the specifics... if the amp is biased hot, the tubes are not going to last as long, etc. etc.

[Old Fart Rocker]

As Phil pointed out, tubes will be your biggest issue. Playing in your house for 20 minutes a day, you may never need to change the tubes. I have a 25 year old Peavey Classic 50 2x12 that I bought new in 1991. I've changed the tubes twice. I do 30 gigs a year plus rehearsals, jams, recording, etc. Current tubes (JJ's) have been in there for 6 years. I have a couple of spare tubes with me at all times and can change one in 5 minutes if I need to. FWIW I spoke with a Peavey tech who couldn't understand why I wanted to change perfectly good tubes. They recommend changing the tubes when they fail. I don't know what's right or wrong here, but I've been following Peavey's advice with no issues.

 

[Phil O'Keefe]

I think the usual advice as far as tubes and aging is that preamp tubes can be used indefinitely, or until they go bad, while power amp tubes are more analogous to your car's tires (at least according to Mesa Engineering) and should be replaced as they age and wear out because like tires, they get a bit more worn with each use, and that is cumulative and eventually becomes audible, either as increased noise and / or as a weaker sounding amp with less output and degraded tone.

[onelife]

Yes, the very thing that makes tube amps great is also their weakness.

[onelife]

As Phil pointed out, tubes will be your biggest issue. Playing in your house for 20 minutes a day, you may never need to change the tubes. I have a 25 year old Peavey Classic 50 2x12 that I bought new in 1991. I've changed the tubes twice. I do 30 gigs a year plus rehearsals, jams, recording, etc. Current tubes (JJ's) have been in there for 6 years. I have a couple of spare tubes with me at all times and can change one in 5 minutes if I need to. FWIW I spoke with a Peavey tech who couldn't understand why I wanted to change perfectly good tubes. They recommend changing the tubes when they fail. I don't know what's right or wrong here, but I've been following Peavey's advice with no issues.

 

I recall that once, when I was gigging a lot with a Twin Reverb, I changed the entire set of tubes after the third night of a six night club gig. Because of the cost of the tubes, I had been putting the purchase off for a while so the old tubes had been in there for a while - although the amplifier still worked well (with the occasional fist bump).

 

Everything else being equal on night four, the change in the Twin was so drastic it felt like my guitar strings were made out of different material.

 

The thing about tubes and the associated gradual decline in performance is that we don't notice the degradation in tone until it is quite far gone. When I made the switch to a Yamaha modelling amplifier one of the major things I noticed was the consistency in the quality of the sound.

 

[bluesmann]

Will you share with us what tubes are within, brand specific ? Thanks