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I've had an amp with similar symptoms to this recently, but no sign of arcing on the outside of the socket and it failed again in the same position even after re-tensioning. Turned out to be the socket anyhow, but I never found the exact cause. Replaced all 4 for good measure.
The problem with sockets is that it's difficult to know what's going on inside under operational conditions. could be;
Tracking over the surface of the socket between pins
Poor tension
Arcing through the body of the socket
Internal break in the socket pin
Poor or degraded solder joint
Surface corrosion
Any combination of the above
Sometimes after re-tensioning the metal just relaxes again. Interestingly, some new valves have smaller diameter pins and they can fail in older sockets due to the stacked tolerances. JJ 6L6 in particular.
It may not be the socket in your case, but a socket doesn't cost much and is straightforward to replace. If you replace it and still have the problem, then you've eliminated a possibility and can focus elsewhere.
The problem with sockets is that it's difficult to know what's going on inside under operational conditions. could be;
Tracking over the surface of the socket between pins
Poor tension
Arcing through the body of the socket
Internal break in the socket pin
Poor or degraded solder joint
Surface corrosion
Any combination of the above
Sometimes after re-tensioning the metal just relaxes again. Interestingly, some new valves have smaller diameter pins and they can fail in older sockets due to the stacked tolerances. JJ 6L6 in particular.
It may not be the socket in your case, but a socket doesn't cost much and is straightforward to replace. If you replace it and still have the problem, then you've eliminated a possibility and can focus elsewhere.
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