New Tubes

sdbrit68

Student Of The Blues
I think its about that time...............a little over 4 years with this amp (And I have loved every second of owning it)
Bugera 1990 infinium,3 x ECC83 front-end and a 4 x 5881 tube power stage, Designed in Germany, built in China billed as a JVM 900 clone. Truthfully I have had Behringer / Bugera haters play this thing, then shake their head in disbelief and stating, "It was supposed to be bad, not this good WTF ? "

They advertise as a powerhouse 90's rock amp, but I am an 80's hair metal head kid

I have never looked, but I assume Cheapie China tubes in there to save money, so looking to upgrade. I have familiarity with Groove tubes as I have had good luck with them in my other things like my pre-amp for my mic's, but not married to them.

bad currently ( and I am being nit picky)
- is a touch bright
- can have too much power even on low power setting

pros
- havent played with anything that can match it in power
- more headroom than the heavens themselves
- since i have removed the bugera speakers in the cab and replaced with a swamp thang and texas shaker, the mids scream
- handles pedals well and my 11r

Changing tubes, I wouldnt mind, but not a deal breaker, a little more bottom end and a little more grit (was never a fender amp fan, always liked more the late 70's early 80's Marshall )

Oh, and it self bias so no issues on swapping out tubes, was thinking el84's and 12xa7 ?
 

CapnDenny1

Student Of The Blues
Yeah, that’s pretty cool. You mean EL34 tubes, not EL84. The 34’s are the big ones. Bugera’s website cleary says el34, 6L6, or 5881 can be used. I would assume you need all 4 to be the same type.

I was supposed to be getting a 333XL in trade for some speaker cabs, but he seems to have changed his mind? He bugged me to build them for 6 months. So I finally did, and now he's too busy?

The 333XL does not have the auto adjust feature that is in the Infinium, but otherwise they are similar. I think the Infinium can get linked into a system, which also sets it apart from the 333XL.

Tubes can make a big difference. Maybe read up on which ones might have the sound you are looking for?

You might try The Tube Store. They have descriptive reviews on the various manufacturers available.
 

sdbrit68

Student Of The Blues
Yeah, that’s pretty cool. You mean EL34 tubes, not EL84. The 34’s are the big ones. Bugera’s website cleary says el34, 6L6, or 5881 can be used. I would assume you need all 4 to be the same type.

I was supposed to be getting a 333XL in trade for some speaker cabs, but he seems to have changed his mind? He bugged me to build them for 6 months. So I finally did, and now he's too busy?

The 333XL does not have the auto adjust feature that is in the Infinium, but otherwise they are similar. I think the Infinium can get linked into a system, which also sets it apart from the 333XL.

Tubes can make a big difference. Maybe read up on which ones might have the sound you are looking for?

You might try The Tube Store. They have descriptive reviews on the various manufacturers available.
thank you............if you can ever get an infinium unit, they are awesome. I have had die hard Fender and Marshall snobs ;love this thing
 

CaptainMoto

Blues Voyager
Looks like Cap D has given some good advise.
Mine may not be so good but, think about it.

You're pretty happy with it but, you'd like a little change it up a little, so.............
Think about this:
- For tone shaping, pick up an EQ pedal, they'r probably cheaper then a set of new tubes, maybe $100 or so.
Do that and you'll have a pretty good tool you can use in a variety of situations with other amps as well.

-About too much power, explore using a lower output tube in the pre amp side.
Not sure if that amp will accommodate that but, if it does, you can knock down volume considerably.

Before I started using attenuators on my tube amps I swapped out the 12AX7 for either AT7 or AU7.

 
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Elwood

Blues
FWIW- I saw lots of things like this "Groove Tubes tests and rebrands tubes, and then bumps the price 50%. You can get the same tubes from the original manufacturers for less $$, and without the Groove Tubes BS." that got me to not buy Groove tubes. I got Ruby's, at least they put their own name on them.
My wallet wants my ear to like them better too! (seriously, I do believe they sound better than a brand new set of groove tubes - or I should say, than the set of groove tubes I have. You could win the lottery with groove tubes and get a set of the best tubes out there with a cosmetic blem on the glass, you just don't know do you?)

I really like my little SCX2 (Fender Fuse too, I use it daily, stand alone), it got the Rajin Cajun and Ruby tubes early on, no regrets.
 

CaptainMoto

Blues Voyager
I spell tube replacement Q U I L T E R. :eek::confused::cool:
I tried a few quilters but they where hard to travel with.
Palo-Verde-Patchers-Quilt-Club-Sun-City-West-Arizona.jpg
 

blackcoffeeblues

Student Of The Blues
Well, I got a 1981 Music Man RD-112 (Leo Fender) up there that still has the original EL-34s in it. "HEAT UM UP" Turn that sucker on for about 20 minutes before you start playing; Then you got to get them speaker cones loosened up,-- beat the hell out of them strings for about (10-15 minutes) and turn up the volume---you will notice the difference----(so will your wife). --if you have one left after following my advice.:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO: .
 

Shodai

Blues Junior
I picked up a Bugrera a few months back and must say I'm really happy with it. My experience with is has been similar, with lots of people complimenting the sound of the amp.
It was listed on CL really cheap. When I contacted the guy he said it made a high pitched squeal after about five minutes of using it. Everything on the internet said bad tubes would cause it to squeal, so I took a chance and bought it. Dropped in a new set of JJ tubes, and no problems since. Sounds awesome.
 
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sdbrit68

Student Of The Blues
Forget about it Jim. You will never convince us tube whores to go to solid state. Been there and have done that. Very,very disappointed with all that I have had. In my books, there is no comparison. Obviously, YMMV (and that's a good thing!)...

Steve
I am offended at tube whore, I am a tuber of ill repute......lol
 

sdbrit68

Student Of The Blues
I spell tube replacement Q U I L T E R. :eek::confused::cool:

Actually, I can respect your choices without arguing pro's and cons, to me its just like guitars, I am a nut for Ibanez S series, and anything with a floyd rose, others hate them.

I have solid state, modeling, 11R and my tubes, there is just something I cant articulate that seems to be in the nuance of a tube amp I like when cranked. Just like I don't know why I like my S over other great guitars I own, it's just me, and right for me
 

CapnDenny1

Student Of The Blues
Pedals are always an option. I don’t use them, but I hear other players that do and they sound good.

I would not recommend putting in different tubes than what an amp is designed for. If it’s too loud, turn it down. That’s what the volume control is there for. An amp is designed for a particular tube. That’s what it should have.

I also don’t believe in modding amps just change a cap value to bring out the mids, or the bass more. There are so many great sounding amps out there, why try to convert one that doesn’t. You may notlike the amp but somebody else will loveit.
 

sdbrit68

Student Of The Blues
Pedals are always an option. I don’t use them, but I hear other players that do and they sound good.

I would not recommend putting in different tubes than what an amp is designed for. If it’s too loud, turn it down. That’s what the volume control is there for. An amp is designed for a particular tube. That’s what it should have.

I also don’t believe in modding amps just change a cap value to bring out the mids, or the bass more. There are so many great sounding amps out there, why try to convert one that doesn’t. You may notlike the amp but somebody else will loveit.

Pedals are fun, but they dont let me tinker, experiment, get into the inner workings of things and see how they react
 

straightblues

Blues Junior
Yes, Grove tubes and Ruby Tubes are just tested and re-branded tubes. Not bad, but not special either.

I always recommend people buy tubes whenever they find them. I buy tubes from garage sales and Swap Meets. I also buy big lots of tubes from Ebay. If you call tube amp repair guys, they usually have a bunch of good tubes they have pulled out of amps that they will sell you.

Once you have a bunch of tubes, you can then try them out when you buy an amp and figure out which tubes sound the best in a particular amp. Once I figure out what I like, I then feel safe spending the money on a NOS (New Old Stock) version of that same tube.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet, most 4 power tube amps can be ran with just two tubes. Check with the manufacturer and see if you can with your particular amp. That will drop the power by half.
 
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