Swapping Valves And Biasing Amplifiers
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- čas přidán 11. 07. 2018
- Replacing valves can give your amplifier fresh life, but you'll also need to bias the amplifier whenever output valves are changed. This video addresses why that is so important.
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"Having hundreds of volts surge through your body, is a shite way to die." I couldn't stop laughing.
You provide such great information without any bullshit. No hacky jokes, the video isn’t 4 days long. No fat, just facts. Love it, and thank you.
It's a winning format that not enough people are doing.
Thank you for your kind words.
A breathe of fresh air and an education is what it is, keep up the good work!
“dashing and charmingly good looking CZcams celebrity”
There is fat, at 4:31
@@herberthooverfeetpics4595 as someone who lives a few miles from Watford and has just purchased my first tube amp, I would strongly argue that his recommendation of the company is incredibly useful for me.
As a former Naval radar tech, I cannot strongly enough thank you for your words of caution. Voltages inside a tube (valve) amplifier are FATAL and must be approached with an appropriate level of caution. Cheers, Sir!
as a former navy/sub sonar tech, i concur. especially the part about grounding out the other arm & running current out crossing the heart. seen it. its not pretty & cooked human flesh does not smell good & stays on the boat for days. 🚫⚡🙌
Voltage isn't deadly. Think of it like a gun. Voltage is the caliber. Current is the bullet. Which one kills you?
@@jc5604 wtf is 'current'? are you trying to refer to amperage? your analogy is completely wrong. if you want to try to use firearms, the bullet is voltage and the amount of gunpowder pushing it would be the amperage.
@@wilsoncrocker Current is measured in amps, ya goon. Ampere is a unit of measure (like Celsius is a unit of measure for temperature).
And no. Just no to your analogy. I guess mine was also not that great looking back, but definitely closer. The way I was taught years ago was using water.
If you had a given diameter hose (resistance), you could increase the water pressure (voltage) and get more water (current) to flow at any given time. If you increased the diameter of the hose (lowering resistance), you also get more water (current) flowing.
If you were being force fed water to your death, the pressure (voltage) isn't killing you. The water (current) is killing you.
Therefore, current kills you. Not voltage.
@@jc5604 voltage is how many electrons are being moved. amperage is how much force the electrons are moving.
ive been working on electronics for 30+ years, i dont need your poor laymens made up definitions & incorrect analogies to try to explain basic electrodynamics. thanks tho
These are the videos that I sub to this channel for. Informative, well-produced, and featuring a dashingly good-looking and charming electronics technician.
I find it hilarious how it really is appropriate for his tone of voice and choice of words here. He get's that people will be foolish and get into things they don't understand regardless of the risk because of their natural curiousness and lust for tonal reward. So it really is best to highlight the most dangerous elements of the job so that when they inevitably do start poking around inside, they'll at the very least understand a bit of what not to do.
I enjoyed the stress on "trying to 'give it a go' " at 7:28 as well, quality.
"loss of volume, a thin sound and unusual audio artifacts". Wow, I hadn't realised how well I'd been achieving that valve-amp-sound using my solid state amp. As they say, its all in the fingers :)
Oops sorry, forgot to say: thanks for another quality video Colin. I don't have a tube amp to bias (so should be safe on that one...) but it gives me a better appreciation of what the option does on modelling amps.
I used to work in a fairly large UK music shop chain, and the number of times one particular old school engineer electrocuted himself (obviously not critically) working on valve amps was mental! - we used to call him electric Bob.
So he shocked himself?
@@fatninjacatmatt a number of times by the sound of it
You can't survive electrocution, it means to die from electric shock.
I can already hear the news: "Young musician dies from electrocution after following internet tutorial on how to replace valves"
That is what happens when you want power but instead you are getting UNLIMITED POWAAH!!!
ALL THE GAIN (through your chest). Aw no. I'll pass.
People use to buy tubes at lots of stores & replace tubes for TV's radios…you test the tubes & picked what you needed.
@@utubehound69 You could buy cocaine at the pharmacy without a prescription back in the old days. :P
@@Andrath You could buy dynamite at hardware stores until the 70's!
My gf keeps watching your videos with me. Normally she’s never interested in these type of videos. Hmm....?
Say hi to your gf for me ;)
Sneaky way for a guy to tell another guy that he's attractive! ;P
Let’s be honest mate: if your GF wants to fuck Colin who can blame her? I certainly would
Same
DM me Colin ;)
She likes blood sausage.
If you wanted to deter me from ever biasing an amp by myself, YOU DEFINITELY DID.
This channel is a goldmine
Message heard loud and clear Colin. Given that being killed by the thing that helps me create my art is not the way I want to die, I will ensure I take my amp to a professional should it ever need service
DeclanG Be careful which ' professional' you take your amp to, some wil be good, some will rob you and do a crap job. How do I know? If it is a Marshall, give them a ring and have them look at it.
Qualified risk taker
At least you'd be dying while doing what you love. There's some virtue in that.
Great video! Also have The Kraken so will try this myself when the time come! \m/
I’ve been playing the axe for 20 odd years mate. Your enthusiasm and knowledge about EVERYTHING guitars, amps, tubes, effects...etc..has made me (over the years) not only a player, but more of a technician too. Your a smart guy. It’s refreshing to see someone who delves deep into everything guitar based. Keep up the good work! 🕶✌🏻🎶
SOOO glad you brought up the "ONE HANDED" rule....very good on you brotha... it could save someones life...Great timing.... For those who have never changed out the Power tubes, remember, its best to re-bias when you change them. As a rule, most of us who have been doing this awhile, insist, its a must when you change power tubes...theres alot at stake if they arent biased right...I just got my set of power and preamp tubes for my Marshall JCM 800 2204 in the mail yesterday. Its time for a change up. ( In fact, I think almost ALL my vintage amps, 11 of them... are VERY well overdo...) I tend to stick with the new Mullards, I also have a bunch of Tung Sol....I might check out those you have as well....I'm also doing a filter cap change as well on the Marshall....and my first attempt at changing out the V1 socket. Its very loose and might be giving me false microphonics...Great vis as usual Colin.
The good old Alanis Morissette rule.
Blaydrnnnr, correct me if I’m wrong but I thought you don’t need to re bias if you have a cathode bias amp.
Your correct. If your output tubes, ( the power tubes ) are cathode biased, it never needs biasing, and usually CANT be adjusted. I didn't want to get into a more in depth topic since Colin was addressing the more known, " FIXED BIAS" amps.. ( most commonly known as your everyday, common tube amp, which are in fact, adjustable bias )
Probably worth mentioning that many lunchbox amps like that Tiny Terror do not require biasing. Generally speaking, most amps under 50w are cothode biased, so don't need to be rebiased when swapping tubes.
Mesa is also a good exception to the rule with their confusingly named "fixed bias," which is different from what is traditionally called fixed bias. They don't require adjustment, but do require you to use tubes that meet tight specifications.
You made it again, Colin! Another great straightforward explanatory vid I've always been searching for. Thumbs up!
As someone old enough to have grown up in a time were tubes were still common in consumer electronics, I think you are understating the viable life of a tube. While tubes can go bad at anytime, they should generally last for years if not abused.
Ditto. I've had valve tvs, radios and lots of amps. Never changed a valve in any of them, never had any trouble.
Finally, someone with the balls to explain the amp bias process so I understand and why I should my sausages out of the freaking wires. Well done and I will not be putting my hand near it.
Colin, I am so impressed with your knowledge of everything around electric guitars. For such a young guy it’s so impressive.
Believe me I completely understand how dangerous it is to mess with electricity. My grandfather has been a Master Electrician for about 35 to 40 years. My mom and dad have their journeyman license and at one point I was going to get one too, but didn't. I still help out my grandfather from time to time. It's no joke, you can very easily die from the smallest. Always be careful Colin. Cheers from Texas!!
I've ran a Peavey Valveking 100 for 8 years with regular gigs and practice and only had to replace the valves once. Bonus is that those values/amp are already pre biased. Never had any tone or sound issues. The other guitarist in my band however has gone through 3 Marshall heads and severall Randall's in the same period all with valve/transistor issues...
Elliott Henderson should i change 3 year old valves?
I am one of those "qualified risk takers"-I never thought of it that way, but he's right!
Thanks Colin - some of the best tutorials on the internet (and I've watched too many to count).
This channel is the ultimate source of knowledge.
One of the best YT channels out there. So much you can learn
Ive been waiting for this vid for longer than I’ve been alive, Collin you are a great man.
This is very helpful, since the ones in my Bassbreaker are having issues. Thank you for doing this, it’s greatly appreciated, and I found where my bias is located, but I’ve been looking for a good video for me to see it done!
I remember when i lost my last friend to a shock from biasing his amp... it was tragic... it was my 18th friend I lost due to biasing and I had 3 cousins and an ex-escort who all died from biasing their amps too... Its starting to feel like a pandemic... please keep your kids from biasing amps... its a horrible way to die... damn you, Victory, Marshall and PRS... damn you and your dangerous biasing...
My bad dude, please feel free to lick all the big capacitors inside your electrically live amplifier. Safety warnings are for the weak.
@@ScienceofLoud Lmao... im only being sarcastic, youre safety warnings are 1000% necessary and my jokes arent meant towards you or your knowledge sharing... love your work, man...
Vintage Marshall and Fender amps didn't bother with matched pairs/quads of power tubes. On one hand, the tubes were of higher quality, and there was less variation, but on the other hand, a certain amount of mismatch produces uneven push/pull operation, resulting in increased even-order harmonics, which, all things being equal, will sound better to most people than a perfectly symmetrical signal.
I really learn a lot from Colin's videos. Gosh, with all the risks involved, it is tempting to say you are better off with a solid state amp.
Coming from a radio transmitter past, we had metering to allow us to monitor important characteristics like screen current, grid bias and cathode current ... some of our transmitters would use 20 x 4CX250 which gave 1kW often we used to schedule our maintenance from daily checking the valve readings and monthly where any bias adjustments were made. That was convenient as we just selected the valve and the was a pot for each valve on the front panel. So all you had to do was turn the drive off and the set the DC Cathode I by tweaking the grid bias pot.
Your video brought back memories hahah
You're the man Colin. But seriously, get out of my head. You're always making videos of the things I NEED to see not soon after I've been forum searching. Always informative and funny as hell fam. Keep it up.
Great video as always, colin. Thx
Great summary. I enjoy your videos. Lots of good info!
I don’t even have a tube amp, I just came to hear you talk. Love your show Colin. Stay sexy
same
vishastheomen same
I always love your videos Colin, well spoken, interesting and to the point with plenty of information, this is more of what this platform needs, makes me proud to call myself Scottish. I will note though that you were mentioning about the Voltage of the electricity as the problem, slightly untrue as you can have millions of volts go through you and be totally fine, it's the current that gets you. 0.1 to 0.2 Amps being immediately lethal while anything above causes severe burns and stops breathing, people can be resuscitated from this but it's still a terrifying bleak outset. Not to say that makes biasing any safer, still a very risky thing to so, just mentioning an idle point.
When I was a child, all the TVs were valve, my first amp was a valve one (actually a tape to tape recorder), my second amp was a valve (Carlsbro PA I think), my first proper guitar amp was all valve (Marshall 50W Silver Jubilee), next a VOX AC15 and my present amp an all valve Marshall. I never changed a single valve in any of them and never had any issues with any after years of use. I must have just been very lucky.
Sir, thank you SO much. I had no idea that tubes/amps would drift out of spec. I checked the bias on my 8 month old, frequently-played Fender HRD4, and the bias was WAY cold. 48mv instead of the recommended (and still cold) 60mv. I tuned it up to 72mv and got back a SHIT ton of tone I didn't realiz I'd lost. Cheers, bud.
Cool! Thanks for explaining this. I recently got a Ibanez TSA5TVR which has one power tube and a preamp tube. I swapped out original Rubys with JJs. It changed the tone considerably. Warmed it right up. When I got the amp I had to open it up due to a screw coming loose from the transformer. Not much under the hood but great tone.
Dashingly good looking and charming information.
One thing I love about my DSL40 is the biasing ports sticking out the underside of the shield for the power section. Dead simple to do and virtually zero risk. I have to wonder why this feature isn't standard on all modern tube amps.
"Wake up! It's time to diiiiiiiie!"
First lyric of "Welcome to the Valves".
Write that song!!!
LOOL
LOL...GnR...my 1st step into metal/rock
Westley Francis 🤓👍
For me it was brutal... first cassette: SLAYEEEEEEER!!!!
Nice!!!!!!I'm sad to admit that slayer only came(and i shit you not)another 6 years later....mountain towns kinda keeps you back. im 33 and slayer was only when i was 19....angel of death and seasons in abyss and oooo, spirit in black
some additions:
check what kind of bias your amp has... cathode based with el84s don't require adjustments, as long as you buy matched power tubes you can swap them out to your heart's content at home.
when buying power tubes buy matched sets
when buying new production tubes either buy two of everything, or try to use a seller who tests their tubes, because I have personally experienced around a 50 per cent failure rate with the modern stuff. They're either dead out of the box or they fail within the first hour of use.
When you swap them out don't play for ten minutes and go, right she's done. Give it at least an hour, sometimes a bad tube will last that long and then go... keep an eye on the tubes if you can while testing in case one of them gives you a fireworks display, then you can switch everything off quickly before you lose fuses or cook stuff.
Best argument for solid state amps to date. I Would have liked to hear you shred a bit before and after the valve replacement. Cheers monster from the id.
Well done, great advice and insight!Thanks Brother!
There are a lot of old Fenders, Voxes, Marshalls etc on their original power valves from the 50s/60s and still work perfectly well...
Tell em' Colin. Loads (no pun intended) of information in here. This is an awesome vid for Tube amp players. Death by tube amp is absolutely a shite way to die. If any doubts, take you're amp to a professional.
Great video. Thank you for making this.
Just subscribed, and I'm checking one video after the other. You're awesome, Colin! And your accent is pretty cool, too :D
Thanks! This was a really nice video
I am an industrial automation mechanic for the US Government [civilian]... I work on 24 volt DC systems that are painful but not deadly, and 24 and 36 volt charging circuits that would resistance cook you like a hotdog. Proper grounding, PPE such as Class 0 gloves and protectors [rated for 1000 volts], 1000v insulated tools in proper repair inspected regularly, nonmetallic adjustment tools to adjust trim pots, clip lead for reference points and some way to position your meter to where you only need the one hand, and avoidance of capacitors regardless of power state. Usually best to leave the amp on and turned up then unplug to bleed excess electrical potential. You only have to screw up once. If you're not comfortable with high voltage and properly equipped, your dream amp costs less than the average funeral and getting bias set less than that. Be safe.
This made up my mind about not buying a valve amp. Thanks!
Wow! I just changed my preamp tube 3 days ago in my little Micro Dark amp. I know it's not a "real" tube amp, but I did get more gain/volume and tighter, more sustaining distortion from a Mullard 12ax7 17$ tube vs the stock JJ tube that was in there.
As always your video is interesting, informative and thought provoking. Thank You. Your comment on the lifetime of valves makes me wonder how many tube amplifiers are sounding much worse than they should because of valves that are too old since the small amps never seem to get theirs replaced (and even the ones on ebay that mention they have fitted XXX valves "as an upgrade" never mention re-biasing)
Well done, that man. Explaining the risks beforehand is much better than letting people fry and die. Had a former student had to quit playing because he burned his hand by trying to faff around with his amp bias. Considering he could have died, I reckon he was lucky.
This video helped a lot. I will be qualified for this next year when I'm done with my education and it's nice to have some videos to "check" that you're thinking right. But I do not recommend doing this to anyone who doesn't have the qualifications. Everything over 12V and arguably 24V is a dumb idea to try anything on if you're not a professional.
Having been developing my own 30W Tube amp, I find this video hilarious (because it's generally on point).
I have learned so much from your channel, thank you
This is a great step by step tutorial. Thanks and release the kraken!
Well that has pretty much confirmed that i won't have a go at changing the valves in my amp! great vid man thanks.
Genious in giving an overview on changing valves to every level of Amp-Knowers/Owners...... listen to him!
now I probably know why my orange amp sound like crap now..... your videos are really useful! thanks
Skinny Panda I got mine fixed and I still sound like crap ) ,:
Great video. Thanks so much.
The already awesome vdo make it even more superb with the accent! Thank you!
My Sunn 300T (made by Fender in the late 90s) has external test points for bias and balance, and it gives you the voltages to look for right there near the probe points. (Also, the trim pots are there. Also also, they're hidden under a metal plate that you must remove, so you can't accidentally foul things up during transport.)
"Having hundreds of volts surge through your body is a shite way to die"
Well said Sir, Well said!
awesome video!
Traynor's YBA100 & YBA300 bass amp heads have a very user-friendly power tube bias adjustment on the back panel, so it can be adjusted without opening the cover. For each valve pair (1 pair in the YBA100, 3 in the YBA300) there's a bias adjustment pot, and 2 LEDs. One LED indicates the bias current is too low, the other indicates it's too high. Turn the pot to the left, until the low LED lights, and note the position. Then turn it to the right until the high LED lights. Then turn it back to midway between those points. For the YBA300, repeat this for the other 2 pairs. If only they were all that easy.
A lot of the 5W (approx) amps of the last few years are Cathode biased, which means tube swap at will.
I’m bout ready for some more csflute.
Thanks man, great vid!
I have an old (c. 1983) Peavey Classic 65w amp with power amp tubes. When I first time replaced the tubes and took it to have the bias checked I was told it was self biasing. I hope this is true because I don't think I can carry the thing out to get it serviced anymore. Lol. Still sounds good and crunchy, but I run an external amp into the speakers these days. Yes at the correct impedance. Love your channel and vids. I've learned a lot!
Peavey valve amps don't offer an adjustable bias. They have fixed bias resistors that typically bias the output stage "cold".
Excellent words of caution. You should have let us hear the old valves and new valves sound differences.
Great video! And all very true! ...if you have a fixed-biased amp that is, which is usually the case for amps greater than about 30 Watts. However, lower wattage amps are often cathode-biased which are “self-biasing” so to speak, and don’t usually need adjustment (unless the particular set of new output tubes you’ve bought happen to have characteristics that are REALLY far from the average for that type of tube). Vox AC30’s and Fender Tweeds, for example, are cathode-biased. So, if your amp doesn’t djent... it might not need re-biasing. If in doubt though, for sure take it to a good amp tech!
Great job. Thank you for the vid
Great video!!
Users would either mess with the biasing tools, burning out their valves or electrocute themselves to death trying to "Give it a go"!
Hilarious!
Dexter's Laboratory and his rubber gloves.
7:45 What a relief. I was thinkig about buying their amp. The voltage itself isn't lethal if ampere value is low. Anyway thanks for video. Good and informative. Especially in Bugera case. Cheers.
And when I'm not being a dashingly good looking and 100%-always-correct-Actually CZcams commenter & viewer, I'm a humble 6/10 looking cable technician who touched a live valve/tube in the back of an old radio my dad was working on when I was 4 years old. It's my earliest memory for a reason. Colin isn't joking or exaggerating the risks, I can promise you. You ever pee on an electric fence? It's like that... wait, you've NEVER relieved yourself on an electric fence? Hmm, well you, sir or madam, haven't really lived yet.
The Revv amps make biasing really easy. It has deep sockets for your multimeter probes to go into right on the back of the amp, and small trim pots you can only get to with a screwdriver. You don't even have to open the amp.
Thanks man this helps
A.J. Styles little brother teaches how to be biased 😮 great video young man I’m an ex Slot Mechanic so I believe I can tackle this project as a trance electronics tech. For those unexperienced do not put two hands in the box just alligator clip black meter lead to outer metal cage and using a probe with longer leads best idea and then one hand with red lead to the test point only the capacitors with cross on top are dangerous so not touch that for any reason.
8:34 disappointment
Ah, I forgot a silly ending again! Sorry
Yes!! I have such an expectation now!
Yeah, bigger expectation than with Marvel movies' after credit scenes
Love this guy!!
i was wondering i have a orange th100 and this amp have a biass control on each of the output valve... my question is if i can ajuste all my valve sepretly to put equal to each other i dont have to have a matching quad right?
Loved the video Colin!
How does your amp sound now?
Did the different brand of tubes change the sound by a significant amount?
Thanks from Dunfermline :D
My Marshall 2555x has external bias points. Very safe and easy to bias this amp. I believe other modern marshalls have a similar setup.
Cheers to Watford valves :-)
AAAAAA...now I get it....Thought you were a electronics guy......need an electronic technician with 11years RF knowledge, who wants to leave south africa..
Nice vid Colin, you actually gave me some ideas with my dead valve I've been trying to fix for 15 years...FYI Teisco check mate 25
Keep it loud. Nice. Helpful video. Thx.
Many people claim about the Van Halen's "Brown Sound" and they bias their amp too hot, thinking they will approach that kind of sound... while it's simply impossible! To get a "Brown sound" you need to reduce the voltage, and reducing the voltage the bias decreases. It's something on some Mesa Boogie amps that is called the "Spongy Switch". If you look at the fixed bias of Mesa Boogie schematics, you'll see they bias their amps rather cold and nobody can say nowadays that they sound bad! Of course cold bias does not mean "out of specs", but if you set it too hot your tubes won't appreciate.
Does anyone know about any higher end alternatives to the bugera infinium line? I want the self biasing qualities but in a higher end package
I came for the info. I stayed for the no bull approach!
The American SVTs have a cool rear panel biasing system. I think my buddy in high school had one that had probe ports but it looks like they use LEDs now.
I would love to see a new series about a guitar mod like the “Will It Shred?” Series. I really enjoyed that, since I’m trying to do something like that myself.
What about a hybrid amp? I have a Joyo Bantamp Zombie, which has a valve in the pre amp. Would you still have to re-bias it if and when you change the single valve in it? And would changing the valve in an amp such as mine effect the tone in any way?
Well thanks for the warning. Rhis is the first time I hear about that risk. I was looking to solve a static problem but I'm gonna take it to a professionnal.
What are your thoughts on Ashdown's lines of amps with bias meters/gauges on the fronts?
4:34 love the belly shot.
Ok there comes a time where you have to say I am in over my head and I need help. Since I am a retired cop here in the USA I don't know electronics but I do know a lot about death. So I will take my amp in to someone else. Thanks Man
@Google user If you work in a bigger city for a while you see a lot of death. I have bad dreams of a call I went on in 1999. I never killed anyone and I am very thankful. But I saw a lot of cool things also and met a lot of interesting people as well. I also provided first responder care like CPR and stopping heavy bleeding. I helped a lot of people. Plus I made a lot of money. lol
Well...I just found out last night that a tube amp I'm considering getting is in fact a self biasing amp.