3fa756db   
   From: phil_a@tpg.com.au   
      
   "Pt"   
   >   
   >I am a guitar/bass player.   
   > I am an old guy and I am retired but still playing in bands near the   
   > Chicago area.   
   > I have had many amps, mostly tube amps but my main amp these days is a   
   > 1989 (year) JCM  Marshall half stack.   
   > I have been able to replace power and preamp tubes and set the bias   
   > for decades but I never knew that one tube could sound different from   
   > another tube till recently.   
   > A few years ago a friend and I dug in to replacing the tubes and caps   
   > in my Marshall.   
   > We found a guy near Rockford who would test tubes for us and sell us   
   > almost any tubes I wanted.   
   > I had good luck with Svetlana 12ax7's but I wanted to try something   
   > different.   
   > Of course Mullard NOS came to mind.   
   > My friend had some that he took out of an old Earth amp and I gave   
   > them a try.   
   > I have to say that I was not impressed.   
   > They sounded OK but they were very noisy.   
   > The Tube Man we met allowed me to try any tubes I wanted and if I   
   > didn't like them, bring them back and try some more.   
   > I ended up with two EI gold 12ax7's and one RCA NOS.   
   > Only because the EI's were very quiet and still had the sound I   
   > wanted.   
   > I read that EI's don't hold up well but after 3 years they are still   
   > sounding good, and quiet.   
   > As for power tubes I went with 2 Mullard EL34 reissues.   
   > Later I got a good deal on an Epiphone Pacemaker amp.   
   > Class A 2/EL84's.   
   > Replaced the caps, tubes and speaker.   
   > Nice quiet amp now.   
   > Loud enough to gig with plus it weighs 25 pounds.   
   > My Tube Man friend died recently and there is nobody in my area who   
   > test and sells tubes.   
   > That got me to thinking....Maybe I can buy a tube tester and start my   
   > own little business.   
   > So I got a B&K 500 mutual conductance tube tester off ebay that has   
   > been restored and calibrated.   
   > Next I got a box of 80 tubes untested off ebay for $9.14....in transit   
   > now.   
   > So that's where I am.   
   > I know very little about tubes but I'm willing to learn.   
   > I have been lurking here for a week or so and after reading some posts   
   > here I realize how little I know.   
   > I have been in the newsgroups since the mid 90's so I am not new to   
   > the groups.   
   > I was a construction union electrician in my day job so I understand   
   > electricity and ohms law to some degree.   
   > My name is Patrick Tucker.   
   > I live in a small rural town about 100 miles west of Chicago.   
   > But I was born in Chicago and grew up in Oak Park.   
   >   
   > Pt   
   >   
      
   ** Pat  -  lemme tell ya, that is one fantastic post.   
      
   You come across as a modest, very genuine and rather cool dude.   
      
   All I can say is this   -   take it one step at a time, ask specific   
   questions here when you need to and be prepared to see a few conflicting   
   answers arrive.   
      
   Cos there ain't  NOTHING  simple about tubes.   
      
   Sure hope you enjoy a STEEP learning curve !!   
      
      
      
   ...  Phil   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)