Steven Lister Posted September 21, 2008 Posted September 21, 2008 How long is a Chinaman's name? Impossible question to answer. There are too many factors even if you have identical brands/models/etc. Some last decades, some decaseconds. Most pros change/tune-up at regular intervals to avoid going down during performance. Best thing you can do is observe precautions to extend tube life. Examples: proper warm up, care in handling, turn off before plugging/unplugging inputs, never-EVER turn on w/o speaker load attached..., the list goes on so read your manual. Having said all of that, I'm clocking 285+ hours and counting on my VJr.'s newest pair and they sound sweet as new. Hit every BLUE NOTE baaaby..., I'm going to play on:-"
cGil Posted September 21, 2008 Posted September 21, 2008 Preamp tubes will outlast power tubes, sometimes by a wide margin. I've been through plenty of chinese and russian preamp tubes, and they seem go microphonic or muddy after a couple years. JJ's last a lot longer, but older NOS tubes of the 50's and 60's will last the longest, provided everything else is right in the circuit. I've got some 5751's that have been in use for well over 10 years and they still sound just as good as some fresh ones I bought recently. It's the metal they had back then, versus the EPA and RoHS compliance of today. There is simply no contest! Gil...
m-theory Posted September 22, 2008 Posted September 22, 2008 I go through output tubes about every 6 months. Preamp tubes get replaced when they go microphonic, which seems to be 2-3 years, based upon what I've seen. I run my amps full throttle and punch the hell out of the front of them with boosts, so my mileage is definitely hard miles. Someone who runs their amps clean would get far more tube life (though not nearly as much fun!).
strangedogs Posted September 22, 2008 Posted September 22, 2008 I have 1 amp from 1963 with original tubes - it's my Avatar (except 1 that looks replaced) and my Multivox (1966) just got retubed - it had 2 of 3 originals. Apparently the old MIA tubes were built to last
m-theory Posted September 23, 2008 Posted September 23, 2008 Apparently the old MIA tubes were built to last Yesterday's tubes were unquestionably made better than today's, but the year that something was made doesn't say anything about how it was used. I bet if you parked a Sovtek loaded valve junior for 50 years, you'd be shocked to learn that new production tubes can last pretty long, too!
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