Rabs Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 So here it is, the SL5 arrived today and I went and got it along with a few other bits... Mainly some cables and a 57 (as recommended by Ryan, cheers :)).. and a little stand for the mic so it will sit in front of the amp nicely... (and I got a cool curly cable ;)) And a nice vintage style cable But obviously the big news is the amp.. and my god is this thing heavy... Ohhh, brand new and untouched by anyone And some gratuitous beauty shots (if I had a better camera :)) arty :P Unfortunately its too late to play the thing now so that will have to wait until tomorrow evening (when I may do a video).. And I have the perfect spot for it in my bookcase thingy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted August 5, 2014 Author Share Posted August 5, 2014 Now a couple of questions... Whats with the two inputs there for the speaker cable? I can see what it says 1x8 or 1x16 but don't really understand what its for or when you would want to use one over the other? At first I thought it was how you switched between 1w and 5w... But no, theres a switch for that on the right And now before I turn it on tomorrow... Id really appreciate any advice on the dos and donts of owning and using a valve amp... Like I know you shouldn't turn it on without a load attached... and not to move it until it cools down and to wait till it warms up to start playing... Stuff like that.. Cheers :) (edit: maybe I should just read the manual ;)) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 Now a couple of questions... Whats with the two inputs there for the speaker cable? I can see what it says 1x8 or 1x16 but don't really understand what its for or when you would want to use one over the other? Yeah, you should maybe read the manual. It's never a bad thing. Those are speaker outs - notice the ohm designation. You should be using the 16 ohm one for the Slash's internal speaker. The other is so you can drive just a big cab (4x12 say) But never... NEVER... run it without a speaker of some sort hooked up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 Here's a link to a digital copy of the manual btw... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted August 5, 2014 Author Share Posted August 5, 2014 Here's a link to a digital copy of the manual btw... Ohh cool.. that's very helpful.. cheers man... Who wants to be reading off paper :P ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the dog Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 very good idea to read manual.. About those speaker outputs. If you want to run an external speaker use either output. And they give you the option of either 8 or 16 ohm. Or if you change internal speaker to an 8 ohm you have an output. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted August 5, 2014 Author Share Posted August 5, 2014 very good idea to read manual.. About those speaker outputs. If you want to run an external speaker use either output. And they give you the option of either 8 or 16 ohm. Or if you change internal speaker to an 8 ohm you have an output. Ok nice... cheers guys... So (not that I have to worry about it at the moment) how often does one need to change the valves out? And do you have to get the exact same ones? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 So (not that I have to worry about it at the moment) how often does one need to change the valves out? And do you have to get the exact same ones? Marshall are notorious for eating up power tubes (50 and 100 watt versions anyway) but I would imagine since you are pushing very low wattage overall through the EL34 that it will last a long time. The 3 12AX7s in the preamp stage are generally pretty durable so you could go years overall without needing to replace. If it starts sounding weak, that's usually a good sign it's time to replace tubes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan H Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 Ok nice... cheers guys... So (not that I have to worry about it at the moment) how often does one need to change the valves out? And do you have to get the exact same ones? Change them out if they start giving you problems, as far as I'm concerned. My '84 JCM800 still has the original tubes...some last longer than other. Depends on the type of tube, type of amp, volumes you're playing at, and obviously how long you play the amp for. In terms of What tubes to use; as long as you're using the same type of tube (12AX7, EL84, 6L6 ect..) you're safe. Different manufacturers make different models of each tube that have different tonal properties and varying amounts of gain. Feel free to experiment. -Ryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quapman Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 Id really appreciate any advice on the dos and donts of owning and using a valve amp... I have never had anything but tube amps until I got a couple small bedroom amps a couple years ago so I find those more a mystery to me..lol As others have said. Read your manual. It's just an amp. All I make sure I do is use the standby to warm up and cool down and not much else. I haven't babied my boogie at all,,, it still works great 25 years later. I put a new set of tubes in about 10 years ago. I had some harmonic issues so I just shotgunned them all. Just have fun with it Rabs,, it ain't rocket science. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted August 5, 2014 Author Share Posted August 5, 2014 Change them out if they start giving you problems, as far as I'm concerned. My '84 JCM800 still has the original tubes...some last longer than other. Depends on the type of tube, type of amp, volumes you're playing at, and obviously how long you play the amp for. In terms of What tubes to use; as long as you're using the same type of tube (12AX7, EL84, 6L6 ect..) you're safe. Different manufacturers make different models of each tube that have different tonal properties and varying amounts of gain. Feel free to experiment. -Ryan Cheers man.. maybe I will write that in that manual so I remember ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quapman Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 Oh,, ,and congrats :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted August 5, 2014 Author Share Posted August 5, 2014 I have never had anything but tube amps until I got a couple small bedroom amps a couple years ago so I find those more a mystery to me..lol As others have said. Read your manual. It's just an amp. All I make sure I do is use the standby to warm up and cool down and not much else. I haven't babied my boogie at all,,, it still works great 25 years later. I put a new set of tubes in about 10 years ago. I had some harmonic issues so I just shotgunned them all. Just have fun with Rabs,, it ain't rocket science. Yeah I hear yah man and usually I am very much like that.. I don't baby my LPs at all.. I just didn't want to do something stupid and obvious... This is a real special buy for me... I wanted one since they first came out and indeed the shop I got it from had 5 when I first ordered mine and I just looked and they are down to 2.. So I don't think they will be around much longer and im so happy I got one (thanks PPI refund :D).. Awesome!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan H Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 Also, I notices in the OP you bought an SM57 and an XLR-1/4" cable...personally I would recommend an actual audio interface that plugs into your computer, and an XLR-XLR cable. The XLR-1/4" cables are rarely, if ever, used in recording...they're mainly for karaoke machines. It'll probably work, but the quality may be a bit dodgy... This is the interface I use. It's very good, especially at the price. http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Scarlett2i2 -Ryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted August 5, 2014 Author Share Posted August 5, 2014 Also, I notices in the OP you bought an SM57 and an XLR-1/4" cable...personally I would recommend an actual audio interface that plugs into your computer, and an XLR-XLR cable. The XLR-1/4" cables are rarely, if ever, used in recording...they're mainly for karaoke machines. It'll probably work, but the quality may be a bit dodgy... This is the interface I use. It's very good, especially at the price. http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Scarlett2i2 -Ryan Oh right I see... yeah I will look into that for sure... I had already spent too much money today lol... I will look around and do my research.. I just wanted something to get me up and running.. I actually bought two of those cables and the first one was a cheapy (as its all they had) so I popped to the other guitar shop and got a second one which is of very good quality. So we will see what I can get out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted August 5, 2014 Author Share Posted August 5, 2014 Oh,, ,and congrats :) Thank you sir :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 The 8 ohm speaker output is just that, in case you want to use a 4x12, if you want to use it you must unplug the internal 16 ohm speaker. Like Ryan says, that XLR to 1/4" TRS is probably not something you'll be able to use, at least not efficiently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 Looks like "Fun, Fun, Fun," Rabs! Enjoy!! CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted August 5, 2014 Author Share Posted August 5, 2014 Looks like "Fun, Fun, Fun," Rabs! Enjoy!! CB Cheers and, Oh, I fully intend too :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted August 5, 2014 Author Share Posted August 5, 2014 The 8 ohm speaker output is just that, in case you want to use a 4x12, if you want to use it you must unplug the internal 16 ohm speaker. Like Ryan says, that XLR to 1/4" TRS is probably not something you'll be able to use, at least not efficiently. Hmm, well I will try it out and see what happens..... Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 My 1960A Marshall 4X12 cab has both a 4ohm, or 16ohm speaker cable inputs, with a slider switch, to choose between each. So, depending on the ohm of the head, or how the speakers are used, would determine which input jack you used. Maybe, this will help? http://www.marshallamps.com/support/faq/impedance/ CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted August 5, 2014 Author Share Posted August 5, 2014 Here's a link to a digital copy of the manual btw... Lol.. 2 pages.. is that it? :) I would have thought theyd at least have instructions on how to change valves... Oh well.. Youtube to the rescue again ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Farnsbarns Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 I have never had anything but tube amps until I got a couple small bedroom amps a couple years ago so I find those more a mystery to me..lol As others have said. Read your manual. It's just an amp. All I make sure I do is use the standby to warm up and cool down and not much else. I haven't babied my boogie at all,,, it still works great 25 years later. I put a new set of tubes in about 10 years ago. I had some harmonic issues so I just shotgunned them all. Just have fun with it Rabs,, it ain't rocket science. I can save you a few minutes a time... There's no point using the standby to cool down. The whole point of standby is to keep the valve's heaters running without a signal so when you switch to standby the one thing it won't do is cool down. Just kill it, makes no difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karloff Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 looks like its been a great day Rabs , enjoy ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted August 5, 2014 Author Share Posted August 5, 2014 looks like its been a great day Rabs , enjoy ! Thanks man and Yes indeedy... Slash is one of the reasons I play electric guitar.. So this is pretty big for me... And I already have the perfect guitar to go with it (I also bought that guitar cos of Slash (and Page). :D I am a happy man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.