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The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > No Music Discussion > Musician's Lounge > Small Questions Which Don't Deserve Their Own Thread
 
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Twlight
Feb 18, 2005

I brag about getting free drinks from my boss to make myself feel superior
Fun Shoe

butros posted:

At what cumulative dollar mark should I look to insure my guitars? I don't play out a ton, so I'm not terribly worried about theft, and I make sure temp/humidity in my house is at friendly levels. Anyone insure here? How much would you estimate the worth of your insured gear at?

If you rent, you should look into renters insurance, I believe that your guitar should be covered under a policy. But to make sure please talk to your agent.

* # ¿ Dec 30, 2009 19:15
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# ¿ May 9, 2024 01:28
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Twlight
Feb 18, 2005

I brag about getting free drinks from my boss to make myself feel superior
Fun Shoe
I bought an AC15 a while back and it's starting to sound like I need a new set of tubes. I didn't buy the amp new, but from ebay so I assume it's been a while since the tubes have been replaced (if ever). What types of tubes do you guys suggest? And would I be able to replace them my self or would taking it to a tech be the best option?

* # ¿ Jan 17, 2010 19:50
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Twlight
Feb 18, 2005

I brag about getting free drinks from my boss to make myself feel superior
Fun Shoe

CalvinDooglas posted:

Tubes take forever to go out, I'd look at your EQ, rig, and tube bias first. The first two you can do, and biasing tubes requires a tech (though it's almost always done well before installation in an amp).

See if they are microphonic, that's pretty much the point where you NEED to get them replaced. Microphonic means the tubes pick up physical vibrations from their environment, like a microphone. When the amp is on turn the reverb all the down, rap your finger near the tubes, and listen for popping or miniature thunder sounds. If the tubes pick up your tapping, they're way old and need to be replaced.

Replacing tubes is the easiest thing in the world. Just pull them out, take note of the order left to right and whatever numbers are printed or written on the tubes, and find the models somewhere. Getting different tubes will change the sound of the amp, so changing tubes is a chance to make bigger changes.

Your amp has two power tubes and two preamp tubes, you're probably looking at about $75 to replace them all, so it's well worth your time to inspect closely and see which tubes, in any at all, need to be replaced.

I've unplugged everything from the amp to make sure that the noise is still present and it is. I've noticed it at multiple different eq settings on the amp as well trying move pedals around shift guitars etc. I've got it isolated to the amp it's self. I think I'm going to buy the tubes from Eurotubes, as someone in another thread suggested.
* # ¿ Jan 18, 2010 22:26
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Twlight
Feb 18, 2005

I brag about getting free drinks from my boss to make myself feel superior
Fun Shoe

Col.Kiwi posted:

I will also ask - what kind of sound? What evidence and rationale are you using to determine that replacing the tubes will help?

It is possible you know your tubes are gone for sure and you just don't want to bore us with the details. But it kind of sounds like your amp is making an undesirable noise so you decided better swap the tubes. In which case that is fairly unlikely to help, depending on the kind of noise you're troubleshooting.

Ok, I had a friend of mine come through and take a look at the amp, he theorized that it is a tube issue so I'm going with that. The noises are static sometimes and it fades in and out. Sometimes tapping the side of the amp will quiet the noises for a short while.

* # ¿ Jan 19, 2010 23:17
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Twlight
Feb 18, 2005

I brag about getting free drinks from my boss to make myself feel superior
Fun Shoe
I really want to try and learn to solder my own pickups and pots, whats a good type of solder and soldering iron that I should start off with. Also where can I find Concentric Pots, that are a decent value?

* # ¿ Mar 13, 2010 15:29
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# ¿ May 9, 2024 01:28
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Twlight
Feb 18, 2005

I brag about getting free drinks from my boss to make myself feel superior
Fun Shoe
I guess this is a dumb question:

I have a long signal chain 6-10 pedals I'd say they all run through to a single amp. I'd like to split the chain so to speak, being able to play say distortion/OD/etc on one side, but other things like wah or envelope filter on another side, I'd also like to mix them together. I've been looking at A/B boxes but I'm not sure how I'd "join them back together" so to speak to go to the amp.

* # ¿ Nov 17, 2010 18:50
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The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > No Music Discussion > Musician's Lounge > Small Questions Which Don't Deserve Their Own Thread