vertigo

I have had my DSL401 for three years now and has been used daily and gigged twice monthly. Last time I was out I thought it did not sound as crisp as it did when it was new.

Is it time for new valves ??. If so which do I buy. I have spoken to Watford valves and they have suggested the sovtec valves whereas Euro tubes go for the JJ tubes. Eurotubes do a kit to give more gain but I would have to order them from the USA.

Any advice would be appreciated. I have found a technician in Blackpool who will fit and bias them for £38

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surface54

everyone will tell you dont buy into the false hype at Eurotubes. id buy the power tubes from there but not the preamp tubes. or just buy them all from
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Synyster

Have a look at Hotroxuk.com. I've retubed from them a couple of times. Very helpful on the phone aswell. They'll probably recommend JJ's, they also have kits that bring the cost down, I think they have one for your amp.
When I re-tubed my DSL50, I went for JJ's power tubes one high gain Tungsol 12AX7 and 3 EH 12AX7's. I am about to re-tube my JCM 900 SL-X with 12AX7EH's, I really liked them.
The Tungsol and the EH 12AX7's are good choice for high gain pre-amp tubes IMO, if that's what you're after.
I'm not sure if the combo DSL has the 3 external biasing prongs on the back, but if it does, I'd recommend buying a multi-meter and biasing your own amp. Euro-tubes have a great instructional video. I did it on my own with my first tube changed armed only with the knowledge from that video, a multimeter and a screwdriver. It's literally a 5 minute job on that amp (if it has the bias prongs and pots). £38 is a bit much to pay for 5 minutes work if you could do it yourself.
The video is on Youtube. Check it out and see if it's something you think you could do before handing the best part of £40 over.

vertigo

Thanks I have looked at hotrox and they have a good selection. I will ring them on Tuesday.

The amp has got a three prong bias and I have a multimeter

JohnH

The DSL401 is easy enough to bias, once you have pulled the chassis out. A couple of insulated alligator clips to attach your multimeter probes are needed so you can set everything up before you switch on. The bias is measured across a 10Ohm resistor (compared to 1ohm for other DSL & TSL's) and should measure 550mV for stock setting of a post 2003 model, or go a bit higher since that is quite cold. I used 750mV last time I checked. Old models were biased at 1350mV!

Im very interested in your tube choice, since I think mine is also due for a change - so far I have only had stock tubes.

John

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vertigo

John,
I will keep you informed, the guys at watford valves are really good and know their valves. One thing to be aware of on the dsl401 is that aperture in the chassis on some of the early models was small thus making the choice of tubes limited. I have measured as 25.4mm (1 inch) for the EL-84 and 22mm for the ECC-83, I think this oK the early amps had 19mm for the pre-amp valves

vertigo

John,
I have done some research on the valves/tubes and been to the local amp technician. He uses JJ tubes, he finds them very good, he says a there is a lot of bullshit about with regard to high end price tubes. He put me onto a shop in the UK called Hotrox which a very good choice and do matched sets.

With regard to the pre-amp tubes he has said to change them as they do not do as much work as the power tubes, however if it is in bits then it I will get them done

rockinr0ll

I use a matched pair of JJ E34L and 3 gold pin ECC83S with a balanced triode for the Phase Inverter. JJ ECC83S are pretty dark so I use them to add a creamier sound with my bright amps. The gold are rich sounding and not as aggressive as the standard pins. E34L have more head room which is good if you don't want early break up.

It's all opinion, some people love JJ some people hate them. Same with Eurotubes and Tube Depot. Eurotubes is a JJ dealer so of course they are going to be pushing their tubes. Tube Depot sells all kinds of tubes some with "low noise". A lot of people don't seem to be a fan of special testing especially balanced triodes. For the extra dollars it doesn't matter if it's bs, it does me good in my head.

JJ work for me until I can afford some NOS TESLA Gold Pin ECC83 .