Official Luthiers Forum!

im aware there may be better forums for this question but... its just a simple question and im sure you guys will have pretty straight forward answers for me. this is my first tube amp Ive had it about 2 years playing it almost everyday, I turned it on this morning to play and i got loud crackling hissing you name it i looked at it saw a tube sparking turned it off right away and unplugged it. It was one of the 2 6v6gt power tubes that was sparking.

amp specs

Model Name: '65 Princeton® Reverb
Series: Vintage Reissue
Amplifier Type: Tube
Input Impedance: 1 M Input Impedance
Sensitivity: Input 1 High Level: 10 mV – Volume at maximum for 15 watts power. Input 2 Low Level: 20 mV – volume at maximum for 15 watts power. Tone controls centered.
Speaker: 1-10" Jensen® C-10R, 8 Ohm, 40 Watt Speaker with Ceramic Magnet
Speaker Impedance: 8 Ohm
Tubes
Preamp Tubes: 3 x 12AX7 and 1 x 12AT7
Power Tubes: 2 x 6V6

i assume i just need to replace the 2 6v6gts and im good to go i researched on and off all day to day trying to figure out my best option in terms of money and learning something. i could take it to a shop and have them do it or swap them myself. i decided to go for it on my own i am aware of residual voltage in the caps and i am aware of dissipating it with a resistor.

my question for you guys is have you changed your own tubes out yourself and is it safe to do by just pulling the two old 6v6s and just putting two knew 6v6s of the same spec and manufacture to avoid having to bias i aware that's not the best of option and it is recommended you bias after every swap but i noticed there is no bias pot on my amp at least not that you can access without opening the cassis. i would like to keep myself safe but also learn a thing or two along the way. i read a lot of great info today and i would drain the caps if i had to work on the amp at all but is changing the tubes considered working on it? do you guys drain your caps to just change out tubes?

thank you for your time, mike

Well, you don't need to discharge the caps,
it's self biasing, so you can just plug the tubes in,
but, why did the tube spark?
It would be a drag if there was something else wrong,
and you cooked another couple of tubes.
Might be worth taking it to an amp guy,
and at least ask them what they think.
Or if you could get ahold of some used 6V6 from a friend or something, and try them out.

If wanting to learn ax86.com

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"It's a Tone Faerie thing"
"Da goal is to sharpen ur wit as well as ye Sgian Dubh"
"Sippin Loch Dhu @Black lake" ,Kirby O...

ax84.com

...

must have been thinking about the kicked out forum

_________________
"It's a Tone Faerie thing"
"Da goal is to sharpen ur wit as well as ye Sgian Dubh"
"Sippin Loch Dhu @Black lake" ,Kirby O...

Well I didn't do the electronics, but I did do all the woodwork...

_________________
Captainate

thanks guys i plan on just pulling out the old and in with the new hoping for the best. If it does spark again or i have any other issues with it ill take it somewhere. the closest location is over an hour away so i hope this is the end of it haha. For those picking on me! i spent all day reading and learning about amp repairs and they never really talked about just changing the tubes most likely because it is as simple as just changing the tubes... though i did read alot about how important it was to discharge the caps if you planned on working on the amp so i figured i could look like an idiot and post a thread and be safe of i could assume you dont have to discharge the caps and shock myself. also if i had posted on other forums would i have seen that awesome head and cab captainate built?

but in all seriousness thank you guys

Try the Telecaster Guitar Forum. There are lots of very friendly, very knowledgable folks on there who will help even a newbie--like me!