JapanAxe

I have just re-tested the old Peavey valves that I used in V2 and V3 positions. The 'before' test was after a long working life in the front end of a Peavey Duel; the 'after' test was following some home use, a jam, and a gig in the Streamliner. The figures are Orange's 'matching values': V2 before 9/9 GOOD - after 9/15 FAIL V3 before 8/10 GOOD - after 8/15 FAIL The Orange manual states: 'if two matching values are apart by more than 6 values the VT1000 will fail the valve', so that [i]could[/i] be the only reason. Bizarrely, the matching value (basically an indicator of the gain) of triode B in each valve has [i]increased[/i] after use in the Streamliner. So is the Streamliner messing with the valves? And is excessive plate voltage the reason? The valves still work, as did the Ruby Tubes that I took out from those positions. Looking back at their matching values, one triode is definitely below par (score 3) and both pairs are 6 or more apart in value, which the Orange would class as a fail. Now I'm thoroughly confused! Although I carry spare valves, I don't want to have a mid-gig fail for obvious reasons, especially if it's preventable. I'll wait and see what Genz Benz (i.e. Fender) say, but in the meantime any more words of wisdom on this thread will be appreciated!

Harvey Vinson's book 'Rhythm Guitar' (which in all other respects was pretty effective in educating me as an 18-year-old beginner) warned that a hybrid pick-and-fingers technique was a short cut to mediocrity. Someone should have told that to James Burton, Albert Lee, Jerry Donahue etc.

I had one 1-hour singing lesson and it made an enormous difference!

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1382138681' post='2248695'] had a lot of 'working' amps where the valves don't test great. [/quote] Yes the amp was working before I swapped the valves. [quote name='kennyrodg' timestamp='1382173890' post='2248853'] What about PM'ing Aged Horse on TB. You might get a quicker response rather than waiting for Fender to get back to you. I had cause to email them over my recent STM900 purchase and waited nearly a week. Just thinking out loud ........ [/quote] I'm not on Talkbass!

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1382138681' post='2248695'] Those the voltages without any valves in? It drops when you are running some. Cheapy valves sometimes start dying pretty soon, had a lot of 'working' amps where the valves don't test great. The orange tester give you any clue what was wrong? [/quote] Those were the voltages with valves in place (and warmed up), input muted. There appears to be no 'standby' mode in the sense of turning the HT off. The Orange tester gave the following matching values on Orange's proprietary scale: V1 (JJ) GOOD 11 & 13 V2 (Ruby) FAIL 3 & 14 V3 (Ruby) FAIL 8 & 14 It doesn't tell you why they've failed, but there is a list of all the tests it does [url="http://www.orangeamps.com/products/accessories/amplifier-management/vt1000/"]here[/url]. V2 scored a matching value of 3 (on a scale of 1 to 15) which Orange rate as WORN, so I guess V3 must have failed on something else. Although on one hand it wouldn't help to know the failure mode (as obviously you can't fix a broken valve!), on the other it might help to diagnose an amp fault. Genz-Benz's [url="http://www.genzbenz.com/?fa=detail&mid=2663&sid=675&cid=95"]online blurb[/url] describes the pre-amp as '300 volt' but that could just be a round figure to impress potential buyers! Actually I think I'll email them.Watch this space!

Already got a JJ in V1, which has the lower plate voltages. Might try one Sylvania in V1 and the other one in my guitar amp, which has JJs throughout.

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/220101-12ax7-ecc83-plate-voltages"]Read me![/url]

I have just bought some NOS Sylvania 12AX7WA valves to use in the preamp of my Streamliner 900 (thanks walbassist!). However, before installing them I just wanted to check that I'm not going to trash them in short order. The reasons for my caution are: (1)I have just measured the plate voltages in the Streamliner with reference to chassis ground, and they are: V1 206V & 209V V2 321V & 323V V3 199V & 320V (2) Max plate voltage in the [url="http://www.mif.pg.gda.pl/homepages/frank/sheets/137/1/12AX7.pdf"]Sylvania spec sheet[/url] is 300V. (3) When I first got the amp (used), V2 and V3 were out of spec according to my Orange valve tester. Does anyone have useful comments on this? Mr Foxen perhaps? EDIT for screwed up MS Word table!

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1382092521' post='2247744'] Bose. No, no, no. Cut your losses and invest in traditional PA. The Bose is exceptionally good for quieter acoustic setups but you'll never get the volume and control you'll need for a pub band. [/quote] I use a Bose L1 setup for my pop and country covers trios and although it is great in those applications, I suspect EBS_freak is right when it comes to the higher volumes and confined spaces of a pub gig. In fact thinking about it, I have actually used the Bose on 2 gigs in pubs and found we were limited on volume in the smaller rooms, whereas village halls and social clubs never give us a problem. EDIT: I have found the best placement for the Bose is to the side of the stage, pointing at the diagonally opposite corner of the room.

I think it was the Boss ME8B that I had. It had a great PWM* sound that was probably lifted from the SYB3 pedal. [size=2]*Pulse Width Modulation[/size]

[quote name='Karnage' timestamp='1382045265' post='2247319'] The larger the cab system, the further away the sound focus will be... [/quote] Pardon me but what is 'sound focus'? Can you explain the physics of this?

New pre-amp valves incoming - Sylvanias, and only 37 years old!

[quote name='hamfist' timestamp='1381962992' post='2246273'] +1 [/quote] +1 also!

[quote name='skej21' timestamp='1381954261' post='2246108'] I've noticed a lot of guitarists (Guthrie Govan being the most obvious example) are turning to the AxeFX unit but personally I can't see what all the fuss is about. In this video, Guthrie uses a number of guitars and while they all sound ok, there's no 'wow' factor about his tone considering the amount of nice amp/pedal gear you could buy for the price IMO! [media]http://youtu.be/O5tcxpbETLA[/media] [/quote] There's quite a lot of 'guitar face' going on there. I'm sure you wouldn't get that with separate pedals

I tried one back in 2002. I wasn't impressed tbh and bought a Boss bass multi-fx for about the same money. What a great investment that would have been! So... I don't know either!

Gone now!

I prefer to sell with the case (and in a cardboard box) if shipping, as it offers better protection than just a cardboard box on its own. Having said that, when I sold my Variax guitar I threw in an old tweed case I had, and kept the superb Line 6 gig bag!

Did you pay the import duty up front? If not, an unpleasant surprise may await you; or if you did pay it, maybe an even more unpleasant surprise!

Can't answer for Sibob, but my guitar pedalboard gets its juice from an IEC mains lead into a GigRig Generator. One cable from guitar to pedalboard, 2 cables from there to back of stage. No batteries to go flat, or to forget to charge. If mains goes down you're screwed anyway.

[quote name='Spike Vincent' timestamp='1381866728' post='2244816'] I believe it's a '69 and he's had it since new? [/quote] Probably not a man who suffers much from GAS then!

Excellent review, covers all the things you need to know. Part of me is GASing to upgrade to 3rd gen BF but tbh I am pretty happy with my existing BF rig. Can I suggest that the fanboys and haters start their slanging on a separate thread?