psarkissian

Have your local Line 6 authorized service center that does guitars have a look at it,

it may just be a set-up or alignment issue.

Set-ups are checked at the main distribution point. However climate at a given location

can have an effect on the set-up. Since they don't know where a guitar is going to at that

point, the set-up would be done to the specifications and not the location of the end destination.

However, when I do repair or service a guitar, I adjust the set-ups for the end destinations.

Sometimes it's needed that the local tech may need to dial it in that last smidgeon.

When a guitar arrives, it's good to play it and give the set-up 2-4 days to acclimate to the

end destination where you're at. Then, if needed, go to a local guitar tech for that last final

smidgeon of adjustment.

2013 necks have the most recent current neck specs.

Yeah, what Triryche said. Good idea.

Have you tried a different signal source and cable?

Are there any Line 6 pedals plugged into the the RJ45 in the back?

And there are no ground loops?

Are you using a TRS 1/4" cable?

What else is in your set-up, and how is it plugged in?

Listening to the audio clip, sounds like either the processor

clock is failing or an input amp is failing on the UX2.

Very slim chance,.... your computer is 64-bit, the UX2 is 24-bit,...

I take it your sound-card is doing internal conversions.

I asked about the mic earlier, because too many people use

dynamic mics on these, and so they blow the phantom power

line as a result. At least you know to use a condenser mic,... very good.

What mic are you using?

Use the recommended cable and cable length.

Line 6 link cable and mic cable are not the same.

Impedance are different and the uses are different.

AES/EBU,... it's the standard issue for this sort of application.

For the uninitiated,... AES being the Audio Engineering Society,

and EBU as in the European Broadcast Union.

The Sovtek 5881WXT is what Rheinhold Bogner spec'd for this one (Spider Valve series).

The Sovtek 5881/6L6 WGC doesn't have the cup at the bottom which created problems with tube retainers

so we don't use those anymore.

People want the crunch of a Mesa tube, unfortunately too many with Mesa tubes come back with problems.

JJ's and GT's also come back to us with problems, and things like the bias being way off-spec.

The Sovtek 5881WXT is what Rheinhold Bogner spec'd for this one (Spider Valve series). There are interactions

between the digital portion and the tube portion, such that, it is not as forgiving as old 60's as 70's tube amps.

You can't get away with the same deviations with these as we used to with older tube amps.

We have our tubes go through some extra scrutiny.

Best to stick with the specified tubes,... less problems that way.

No, I'm not new,... the thread is out-of-date. I'll let Dave know, thanks.

I've been dealing with Spider Valve since the beginning, been dealing

with tubes and tube amps for more than four decades.

The characteristics curves of the JJ's, Mesa's and Groove Tubes

are not close enough. If those are biased the same to the

bias settings for the 5881WXT's,... then the amp ends up on

my bench with problems. Can't use the same bias settings on these

other tubes as with the 5881WXT.

I see too many come back because of the wrong tube and/or bias settings.

This is a mixed technology amp. You can't get away with the same

sort of things we used to get away with for Marshall amps with 6550's

in them.

These amps are not as forgiving as the tube amps of yesterday-years.

It's a Bogner hot-rod.

Be sure to use the correct impedance output for the cabinet that you are using.

They have to be matched or the tubes and circuitry will get stressed,... and then

it will end up on a technician's bench. And that's no fun.

Keep your fingers out of the inside of the amp,... even with the power off, a capacitor

can discharge into your hand, and that hurts like hell.

And use the specified Sovtek 5881WXT, matched quartet tubes.

No JJ's, Mesa's or Groove Tubes,.... if they are biased the same

as the 5881WXT, there will be problems, the characteristic curves are

not matched close enough for use in this amp.

"I was just wondering if the "two tubes out" solution would work as a temporary

solution in case I could not get it done before the upcoming gig." ----

No!

Don't do that.

These aren't our grandfather's tube amps, these are mixed technology amps,

you can't get away with this sort of thing like we used to in the old days. They

are not designed to do that.

It may be only that it's time for a tube change out and bias. Good idea to do that once every

12-18 months if you're a performing musician. Have it checked out at a Line 6 authorized service

center in your area, that knows tube amps.

Sales person should have never pulled two tubes out of it,...  much less the wrong two tubes. It

offset the push-pull symmetry. That and how long they've been in the amp is probably why the

one tube was hot.

Don't try to deal with it yourself, it hurts when you get zapped. Take it in to a service center, have

the right tubes put in and biased by a tech.

Tube amps should be dealt with by a Line 6 authorized service center.

They will have access to service manual and service info. There's more

to the bias procedure than adjusting a trim pot. Specified tubes should

be used.

I see too many amps come across my bench because someone tried to

hot-rod an amp that's already hot-rod. It's a hybrid amp with a digital section

and with multiple gain loops and amp classes. Using non-spec tubes will

create problems. Using incorrect bias will create problems, bias is not a

"one size fits all" proposition.

These aren't our grandfather's Marshall or Phase Linear tube amps.

Leave it to the guys with the service info access. Besides,... it really hurts

when you touch the wrong thing and get zapped!

Workbench is the way to make such adjustments,....

The piezo sensitivity is what it is, and there's nothing on

the circuit board for physically changing that.

Don't do that,... It's a keyed connector, you'll break it.

If you pull the pins out of the connector and and a pin

breaks you'll have problems maintaining a connection.

No "innovine", got it wrong. Not trying to drum up business,

trying to keep your gear from ending up on my bench.

Sorry if you think otherwise.

That and other things.

As for what's on the board,... can't get into that.

Klystron is a special kind of tube used for power amp outputs at

hi wattage commercial radio stations. Also used in microwave communications.

Oh, and,...  in certain situations the oil can are used as coolant for the tube.

Just don't stand in front of the waveguide when it's powered up.

Hope the tube you're using is a klyston.

For guitar amps, Bogner knows how to deal with it, he's good at it.

Audiophile tube amps are another beast and specially all their own.

And there are techs like me who deal with both,... and radio station transmitters as well.

If you were to take transparencies of the characteristic curves of the the different

brands of EL34's and EL84's, and overlay them, the linear regions of the transfer

may line up, but it's the where and how non-linear regions of the curves differ that

will create the problems.

I've built my share of tube amps, I've been servicing tube amps for decades. No voodoo,

no lollipop,... it's just plain physics of electronics.

innonovine: "JJ's have a tendency to damage certain parts of the processor board--- Which parts, exactly, and why? Citations needed"---

Unless you're an authorized service tech and signed an NDA (non-disclosure form),... I can't get into that

any deeper than I already have. Sorry.

Don't use JJ's, use the specified EH's,... the JJ's will go outside the linear region of the characteristic curve too easily,

and that will create problems further downstream, and stress the circuits.

And I would have to have give an online course on tube amps for the uninitiated.

Right, there is no voodoo,...  just knowing what the technology is and where the limits are. 

Don't go beyond the limits,... physics is unforgiving in that way.

1. Good.

2. Low risk.

3. Volume cut-outs, crackling noises,.. stuff like that.

Just play the amp, don't mod it or do anything strange to hot rod the hot rod.