blues deville sounds blah and thin

[bluestom50]

I have a 1993 blues deville that has the fromel update but not replacement caps-- when i push up on v3 the amp cuts out then comes back when i stop pushing.- could i have a bad solder joint in the v3 socket or somewhere on the board? I checked the bias and the power tube to the right read 39.6 ma and the left one 36.8-- the amp is easily distorted and lacks the fender treble clarity. It has no personality if you know what i mean. Any ideas to fix will greatly appreciated. Thanks, tom

[The Dude]

Those amps are notorious for having cold solder on the tube sockets. Check and/or resolder them all. I do it with every one that comes in the shop.

[Enzo]

Yes, DO check the solder on the power tube sockets. I just automatically resolder them whenever I go into one of these amps.

The phase inverter tubes is right next to the power tubes, check pins 1 and 6 for B+, if it is missing, you have an open plate resistor. And that can cause sound as you describe.


So bias is a couple milliamps to one side. That doesn't matter.

[Jazz P Bass]

I would wonder why the bias is set so hot?
25-30 ma's is fine for a 6L6.

[bluestom50]

Thanks for all your help, i took amp apart and resoldered all of the tube board plus all the fromel componets that i installed. It sounds really good again. The only glitch is that the bright switch does not work, any ideas why? Thanks. Tom