Tubes Help

[thebullandmoths]

Hi,
I've got a Traynor YSR-1 that I'm looking to re-tube. Suggestions? I don't know a lot about tube variety, but would really appreciate some guidance. I really love this amp, and I want to bring out it's full potential.

[HJW]

I'm still wet behind the ears regarding tube amps, so I'm not able to suggest an informed opinion on the various brands. Here is the schematic for your amp I think..
http://www.lynx.bc.ca/~jc/720822_YSR1.gif

Looks like it has 6CA7/EL34's and 12AX7's in it. Describe what style of music you play and it may help the more informed folks here offer suggestions. What brand of tubes are in it now ?

I just put current production Russian TungSol EL34B's and 12AX7's in my old Sano, and it helped quite a bit. I like them so far.

[thebullandmoths]

Currently there are GE (general electric, the light bulb company; remember the jingle "we bring good things to light") tubes in it...I didn't even know GE made tubes.

I play in a few bands: a Blondie tribute band, a noise/drone/experimental group, and a rock band that is a hodgepodge of elements from 70's fusion jazz to Sonic Youth. I like the dry, Bassman-like quality it seems to have, and would really like to bring that out more. I run it alternately through a 4x12 and a 4x10 cabinet, depending on what I'm playing. Both are closed backed to tighten up the bottom end. There is a LOT of bottom end in this amp. I do just about everything at some point, from serious punk rock/metal riffage to Mcglaughlin style runs and delicate, finger-picked passages.

I do play through a phalanx of pedals at times, if that matters. I'm able to tell a slight difference with and without the effects set up in the bottom end, but there's so much room in the bass control it's not much of an issue.

Among the things I like about this amp are the tube driven reverb and tremolo. I also like the simplicity of it; just master volume, treble and bass.

It's loud as hell, I've never gotten it passed 3 without an attenuator in a live setting (or a practice for that matter).

[thebullandmoths]

Ok, so specifically these are 12B4A GE JAN Vacuum Tubes in the power section,
and GE NOS NIB 5963 12AU7 in preamp. I looked them up, and apparently, I don't want to rid myself of them if I don't have to.

So here are my main issues, and maybe someone can help me out:

The reverb starts making some hissing noises once you get in to the halfway point. It makes really cool noise with tons of delay, but really gets in the way when I'm playing "Atomic". The reverb used to be really lush, warm, and last forever when it was cranked. Now, I can't crank it because it sounds like poo.

The tremolo is starting to make some low volume popping sounds when it's used for more than five minutes at a time.

Lastly, if these are good tubes, what's the best way to make sure they perform at their best?

[thebullandmoths]

Also, feedback is becomming an issue; at random times it is wild and uncontrolable.

[tubeswell]

Pre-amp reverb driver tubes and tremolo tubes typically need replacing more often than other pre-amp tubes because more is demanded of them. So the first thing to do is replace them and see if that improves things.

Also how old are the power tubes? Power tubes typically need replacing more often than pre-amp tubes, esp when they start making popping and crackling noises.

GE made some fine tubes once upon a time. So did RCA, Tung-Sol, Siemens, Sylvania, Phillips, Telefunken, Mullard, TESA etc etc. However none of them make tubes any more, and what you find of these in the market today is NOS.

The only factories that still make new tubes on a production scale are at Saratov in Russia, the JJ factory in the Slovak Republic, and one or two factories in China. Blackburn Microtech have started making tubes at one of the old (UK) Mullard factories again, but its early days yet for them.

If you can get NOS tubes at reasonable prices, then try them and see. Otherwise EH/Sovtek brands are generally okay and so are the JJs

[Gtr_tech]

Have the power supply rebuilt first if its not been done in the last 20 yrs. Then have the reverb issue checked out if a tube swap does nothing for the problem. That amp is a well built unit, but its getting up in age so you *will* have an issue from time to time. Price you pay to use vintage gear.

As far as the GE tubes go, those are the highly desirable "big bottle" 6CA7s. If they still have life left in them (they likely do) keep them in there. Traynors tend to be easier on output tubes than the typical Mar$hall. The cap job will give better results than just replacing tubes "just because".

[thebullandmoths]

Any idea how much rebuilding the pwer supply will run? Is this like a "hey this needs to be done now" kind of thing or a "better get to that in the next couple of years" kind of thing. Or is this a "hey no one can really answer that kind of question in a forum b/c the only way to really know is to have someone who knows what they're doing look at it directly" kind of thing.

I'm going to say it hasn't been done; there's still the ancient two prong plug that's on the to do list of mod/updates for this amp.

Unfortunately, I know next to nothing about the mechanics of amps. It's something I'm really interested in doing (building and repair) but I feel like this amp isn't the place to start poking a screwdriver.

And your right about it being sturdy; if someone ever steals this thing they deserve the hernia.

[Gtr_tech]

Depends on who does it and what variety parts are used. Without it on my bench I have no idea what condition its in. But if the caps are original to the amp, it needs to be done soon. The pwr supply can be responsible for "mystery noises" and odd behavior. So can aging carbon comp resistors. I'd just have it checked out by a good tech and they should be able to give you the lowdown. And that 2 wire pwr cable needs to go *now*....for your safety.

[thebullandmoths]

And that 2 wire pwr cable needs to go *now*....for your safety.

So what kind of safety issues are we speaking of here? That sounds rather ominous. And how hard is that to swap out?

[defaced]

If somehow the chassis is hot (nonpolarized plug or miswired 2 prong outlet), and you touch it while you're grounded (say for instance you play guitar and sing and your lips touch the mic), you just became a fuse for your wall's electricity. The green safety wire gives the chassis a path directly to ground instead of going through you.

It's easy to swap out, and has been discussed a few times before. Try this:
http://music-electronics-forum.com/t10245/

[Gtr_tech]

Shock hazard. Anyone who's ever played a 2 wire corded amp and got blasted when they touched a mic will tell you all about it. Not my idea of fun I'll tell ya that....

Usually not all that hard to convert. The green gnd wire goes to the chassis, hot to the switch/fuse, and neutral straight to the pwr transformer primary. And clip out the capacitor that is connected to the polarity switch to the chassis. we don't need that with a grounded setup.

[thebullandmoths]

Indeed, my lips have felt the shock a time or two. The ground switch in the back usually fixes it; but it's good to know there's a real danger and that I can fix it. Do those kinds of grounding issues also cause noise problems due to the magnetic fields surrounding electrical current?