Members steveyoorock Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 Hi, i recently purchased a used peavey classic 30 with JJ tubes and a patriot cannabis rex speaker.I took out the tubes, opened up the amp and cleaned it all up.I put the tubes back into the amp (not paying too much attention to the order of the tubes). The amp played spectacular for a few days, but after about 2 hours of practice with the band (drive channel, pre set at about 8 or 9, post set at about 7), the amp began to lose its volume towards the end of practice, and the quality of the tube saturation dropped (became "muddy" and lost clarity). Are my tubes going bad? Have they gone bad?I remember the 3 preamp tubes' lights were fairly dim. Did rearranging the tubes during the cleaning process affect the tubes? (I made sure not to touch the tubes with my hands). Also, if I were to buy new tubes, I have read around about biasing the amp, and how it there is controversy around the peavey classic 30 on whether or not it should be biased. I am not entirely sure what biasing is, but does my classic 30 need to be biased when putting in new tubes? I have looked up and read the peavey classic 30 manual (my model was manufactured sometime in the 90s), and it did not mention tube maintenance. I would really appreciate it if someone would toss me in the right direction.Thank you very much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SnowStorm Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 It sounds like bad output tubes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members groovetube Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 Although I have a classic 50, both of our amps have the same tube setup I believe. I have never biased or needed to bias my classic 50 if that helps at all. Depending on how long the guy before you had the tubes in and how much he played, you may simply need new tubes. When I replace tubes, I always replace all of them at once. Perhaps not a scientific way of doing things, but it always works. Did you do anything weird at all when you had the amp torn apart? Any odd cleaners or harssh chemicals used?? And BTW, how does the patriot cannabis rex speaker sound?? That speaker seems like a great fit for the Classic series..........I put Celestion vintage 30's in mine, and they are fantastic. No matter what anyone might say, V30's are superb. keep us posted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dughaze Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 no biasing needed... replace bad tube(s) as needed job complete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Anomaly Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 This no biasing needed... replace bad tube(s) as neededjob complete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members steveyoorock Posted February 25, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 Thanks for the replies! The previous owner bought the amp used from guitar center with the jj tubes and the patriot speakers. I believe he said he used it for about 3 years. When I opened up the amp, I didn't use any harsh chemicals at all. I used a vacuum to get rid of the dust, which was every where. I took off the knobs and cleaned up the chrome and the tweed with toothpaste. The cannabis rex speakers sound amazing in the classic. I can't really compare it to the blue marvels though, because I haven't played through the amp stock. Looking at things, its most likely the tubes, right?I actually do carry the amp back and forth a lot and tubes in the Classic 30 are exposed so that may have something to do with it to. Maybe. Oh, and do the tubes die faster when the amp's pre/post is cranked up while playing?Should I play at lower volumes and mic the amp to prolong the life of the tubes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hecticone Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 Retube and you should be fine and no you don't need to play at lower volumes. I really liked the tungsol mullard combination when I had the 50. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members groovetube Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 Playing with the amp cranked is the way to do it my man! I only wish I could crank the amp up. I almost never get to. Yeah, you'll decrease the tubes' service life a little but not too much at all. P.S.........Type in "peavey classic" into the search function of Ebay and you'll see a few inexpensive items of interest. A guy on there regularly sells a thing called "the tube tamer" or something like that. The tubes on my classic 50 2x12 combo are protected and enclosed (thank god) but the classic 30's tubes can rattle during play, particularly at high volumes, and are vulnerable to damage during transport. The "tube tamer" thing is a cheap way to help out there. Plus, some people put in a strip of foam/insulation/etc as well. I don't know how well that works but i thought i'd mention it. Something else interests me on ebay when you search for "peavey classic" are a few guys selling inexpensive attenuators that work with all peavey classic amps. All of them are in the $20.00 range, which makes me curious 'cause other attenuators like the THD hotplate are many hundreds of dollars. In the small case you don't know what an attenuator is, its a device that allows you to crank your amp to achieve that sweet tube tone, but at a lower volume. This is just some FYI stuff. Your amp sounds kickass as it is tho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members groovetube Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 oh, and you might guess that i prefer groovetubes. They may be a buck or two overpriced per tube, but they are great sounding tubes IMO. i havent tried tungsols, mullards, JJ's, or EH. But i've tried 2 sets of sovteks and one set of mesa boogie tubes and the groovetubes i use now stomp all over 'em, especially those crap sovteks with their gnarly harmonic issues and thin overdriven tones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Parah Salin Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 I got a 30 and it eats tubes up pretty fast. I like to crank mine too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Anomaly Posted February 26, 2010 Members Share Posted February 26, 2010 I got a 30 and it eats tubes up pretty fast. I like to crank mine too. That's kind of odd, I bought mine USED in 2008, gig it all the time, and haven't replaced the tubes yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted February 26, 2010 Members Share Posted February 26, 2010 I've never gotten a year out of EL84s when gigging and I don't play that loud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members crowguitar Posted February 26, 2010 Members Share Posted February 26, 2010 That's kind of odd, I bought mine USED in 2008, gig it all the time, and haven't replaced the tubes yet. I agree with ya there, Ive had mine since 2000 and have used that amp nonstop since Ive gotten it. Only retubed maybe a handful of times, and I crank the amp as well. For one period of time I was playin with a 6-piece bar band with drums and percussion and nothing was mic'd usually. & U could damn well hear me playing over all of that easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted February 26, 2010 Members Share Posted February 26, 2010 i havent tried tungsols, mullards, JJ's, or EH. But i've tried 2 sets of sovteks and one set of mesa boogie tubes and the groovetubes i use now stomp all over 'em, especially those crap sovteks with their gnarly harmonic issues and thin overdriven tones.you do understand that Groove Tubes are probably just re-branded tubes of various brands/models? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members groovetube Posted February 27, 2010 Members Share Posted February 27, 2010 you do understand that Groove Tubes are probably just re-branded tubes of various brands/models? So I've heard. They're easy for me to get where I live and they sound great. whatever. If one or morewas, bad, id just take it back locally, get a refund and be all set. It would suck to order some brand i dont know off the internet and have them arrive, only to find one was all messed up. I haven't spent any time looking into it, but i thought groovetubes selects good tubes to begin with, tests them n stuff. The last quad set of EL-84's i bought were matched too, which is kinda nice. I think groovetubes also rates similar tubes with different ratings so you can get ones with lower or high gain. Ive seen lots of hate for groovetubes on HCAF, so i don't wanna be their spokesperson. they're just easy for me and sounded better than the last 2 brands i had. Are there better tubes out there???? I have no doubt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members olgluefoot Posted February 27, 2010 Members Share Posted February 27, 2010 you do understand that Groove Tubes are probably just re-branded tubes of various brands/models? oh yeah? Do tell. Most of my tube amps have had GTs in them one way or another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members groovetube Posted February 28, 2010 Members Share Posted February 28, 2010 Much hate here on the groovetubes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members groovetube Posted February 28, 2010 Members Share Posted February 28, 2010 nothing to get worked up about though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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