Need help with tubes for Blues Deluxe Reissue

[sexafone123]

Hey Y'all
I bought a Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue but I have a problem. the tubes in it (groove tube 6L6-R (B)'s) are pretty old, as i bought this amp at my local place, and it had been open for demos. When i brought it home, however, It started to sound pretty lifeless.

My question is, what kinds of tubes can I put into this amp without damaging it? I don't mind getting it re-biased, but I don't know anything about tube types. It takes 6L6's and 12AX7's for the preamp. If you have a list of all the possible replacements, or a link where I could find one, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanx,
Kemp

[Enzo]

You can select from a number of brands, but any 6L6 will work fine in there. Start with the 6L6s, most likely the 12AX7s are OK, they don't wear out like the larger power tubes do. One of them could be failing, butmost likely you just need power tubes.

[siggo]

Hi,
I do not want this thread to be hikjacked but maybe it can be interesting also for sexafone123.

I have sovtek 5881WXT instead of 6l6gc on my bluesdeluxe reissue; someone says it is not the same. Is it true?

I would like to keep some spare tube.
If tubes are "fatctory matched" does they need to be rebiased?
Theoretically, maybe "Yes" for a push pull, but in practice fender amps have all the same biasing (same resistors).
How is it possible?
Do they pre-select tubes?
Can I mount any (compatible) matched pair?

[stokes]

Anytime the power tubes are changed the bias should be checked and adjusted if needed.Just because tubes are matched doesnt mean they will draw the same current as the last pair you had in there.If you put a new pair of tubes in,and the plates dont glow red or orange thaey are likely"safe" but not necessarily performing thier best.

[Enzo]

fender amps have all the same biasing (same resistors).
How is it possible?
Do they pre-select tubes?
Can I mount any (compatible) matched pair?

It is possible because bias is not a critical exact setting, even though many people seem to think it is. When Fender says set the bias at 60ma or whatever, they know that just about any 6L6 you stick in the socket will perform well under those conditions.

Can you tweak the circuit to "improve" it? Sure. The same way you can take your mom's car and "improve" it by adding headers, a new cam, and some performance shock absorbers. I bet mom was perfectly happy with it stock though. A customer might like the sound a little better with his bias tweaked, but he likely thought the amp sounded good enough to buy at the factory spec.

Groove tube sells tubes with like 10 "performance" grades in the stores. The ones they label for Fender are grouped into only 3. So right there they are less matched. But before Fender signed a marketing agreement with Groove, the tubes in their amps were not matched at all. Most companies do not bother with matched tubes.

Likewise, when an OEM publishes a bias spec, often as not it is like Fender or MArshall or whoever do - a simple current spec. They do not ask what "grade" tubes you are installing because it doesn't much matter. The amp will perform like it was designed.