New Tube Day

[rnolan]

So last week I noticed my MP-2 was fading (noticeably) after 15 mins or so, then come good then fade again.  Not completely fade, just loose some gain and edge.  So first suspect tubes.  The Mullards in my live MP-2 have done a whole bunch of miles over many years (10+) so not surprising they were getting tired.  Changed them for a new pair and tried tonight, no fade  :whoohoo!: , fixed.  And ordered another 6

[Shibiwan]

 :thumb-up:

What did you replace them with? Mullard long plates?

[rnolan]

Absolutely, I worked out 10 years ago (ish) that the Mullard long plates work fantastically (for me) in the MP-2, really nice 3D tube with plenty of gain  >:D .

[Shibiwan]

I like the sound of the long plates. I transplanted the vintage Matsushita long plates from my MP-1 to the MP-2. I believe they were copies of the old Mullards.

[rnolan]

There's a bunch of posts I did ages ago with my experience of the Mullards and why I like them so much.  One of the main things I noticed was they track really subtle changes in my fingering pressure which other tubes, including the originals don't.  But hey, tube choice is so subjective.

[rnolan]

Well just as well I wasn't waiting for the new tubes I ordered/bought to arrive, lucky I had a pair hardly used in one of my MP-1s.  My express package is "delayed" for over a week now  :dunno: :crazy: .  It made it from Melbourne to Sydney.. and seems to have vanished.

[rnolan]

Follow up to this post.  Turns out it wasn't the tubes fading.  Seems I have an issue in my Carvin DCM200L where the volume drops for a while then come good again  :facepalm: .

[MarshallJMP]

Could still be a tube issue  ;D

[rnolan]

Turned out to be gummy faders in my AM802 mixer, all the right panned channels and the right master (go figure).  Cleaned them all with isopropyl alcohol and it's now all good.  Well it didn't hurt to change the tubes, they had done quite a few miles  >:D .  I'm glad it wasn't a power amp issue after all.

And the new tubes turned up.  6 x long plate Mullards and I got in just before the world wide tube shortage, enough to be ok for a while.