lilfoolish50 Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 So I've had my Spider Valve for about 2.5 years with moderate to heavy usage, and am noticing a drop-off in tone. Specifically, the low end is sounding really loose and weak, and dialing in more bass just makes it bulgy and muddy, in addition to loose and weak. I'm assuming this is due to my power tubes dying??? (This is my first amp so I don't really know how to diagnose such issues, but from what i read online, this is my conclusion. If there are any other possible explanations that I may be overlooking, let me know.) So assuming it's time to change them: any suggestions for good replacement tubes? I play primarily heavy rock / the lighter side of metal. Have any of you personally played your Spider Valve with specific tubes you really liked? Also, another question: the manual says to use 5881's only. What's the difference between these and non-5881 6L6's? Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
napynap Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 The power tubes are most likely OK. Two possible reasons for the loss in tone are low batteries on active guitar pickup, or more likely worn preamp tubes. I replaced both mine with GrooveTube 12AX7 Silver series and they sound great for all kinds of styles, especially hard rock. They are easy to replace with no tools or electronics adjustments. There are a number of threads in this forum about this topic, and great info in the advanced manual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceatl Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 There are no preamp tubes in a spider valve....There are two 12AX7 tubes, but they are FULLY part of the power amp. One is a cacaded triode buffer that drives the second inverter.The inverter tube actually gets quite a bit more current than the buffer tube does and is usually good practice to change the inverter with the power tubes...The good buffer tube should last years and years....Anyhoo, you can swap out the 12AX7s for whatever you like, just stay away from the long plate ones....In terms of the power tubes, do NOT use REAL 5881s as they are underrated for the plate voltage of the SV....The recommended Sovtek 5881s are a great choice as those as NOT real 5881s and can take upwards of 500 volts on the plates and should last a good while....You can swap the power tubes for new ones...However, it would be a good idea to check the bias as soon as you can as it is NOT a good idea to bias these amps too hot because of the DSP board... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
napynap Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 There are no preamp tubes in a spider valve....There are two 12AX7 tubes, but they are FULLY part of the power amp... Spaceatl, thank you for the detailed clarification, good info! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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