Basszilla Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 Power valves died at the beginning of last night's rehearsal. Think it's down to poor electricity in the place we rehearse so I'm getting a power conditioner for future use. There must of been less than 80 hours burn in time on my valves since getting it serviced at matamp last so it's a bit suspect. Booked it in for a revalve/service etc with a local valve guru. Should really take it to Huddersfield for matamp to do their thing, but I haven't got the time right now and I'm miles away in South Wales. Any users recommend any kt-88s? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Rock Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 (edited) Sorry to hear about the amp JJ are very good. I've had a pair in my 100 amp for years and they're still going strong. Edited January 30, 2016 by Roland Rock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basszilla Posted January 30, 2016 Author Share Posted January 30, 2016 No worries. Just one of those things I guess. Blessing in disguise though I suppose as it will be completely fresh for recording in a few weeks. To be fair it hasn't missed a beat in 7 years. Might whack some jjs in there then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTypeV4 Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Never had a Matamp but I've had good experience of EHX KT-88 in both my old Ashton BV300 and current Trace Elliot V4. I've had zero failures (touch wood!) and plenty of hours out of both and when the time comes, I'll happily use them again. You may also find 6550s to be of interest as an alternative. Most circuits are compatible with both although it may be with checking with the Matamp chaps before spending any cash. They generally have a slightly different 'sonic signature' especially under overload conditions which you may or may not like. I rather like the re-issue Tung Sol 6550 and ran these in a few different amps including the V4 with great results. Personally, I generally prefer '88s as I find them a bit more 'transparent' and 'hollow' sounding and the compression aspect to be a little more natural and 'full range' somehow. These are vague and fluffy terms and as such your mileage may vary but something that may be worth considering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basszilla Posted January 31, 2016 Author Share Posted January 31, 2016 Cheers mate. All food for thought... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HazBeen Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Tungsol make a great KT88, when I still did the fulltube thing these were my tubes of preference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taunton-hobbit Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 I'm using KT120.on all my Matamp kit.......they're very fast and should last longer than 88s, as they are intrinsically more (design) powerful. As always, valve amp output rms is dictated by the output transformer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimelliottbassist Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 I've just put JJ KT 88's in my Ampeg SVT and it's great. Give Watford Valves a call. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danbowskill Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 (edited) Tung sols as well for me ,lovely quality. Got mine from Hot Rox ,appear to be a little cheaper than watford valves Edited January 31, 2016 by danbowskill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skybone Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 You can always give Matamp a call, and buy some new valves from them, at a slightly better rate than most retail outlets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Apple Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 At last call Matamp were installing Genalex Gold Lion as they said the quality of JJ's had taken a tumble. When I had a GT200 it always had JJ's and never any problems. I did lose power once though, but it was a faulty pre valve, which Matamp said was rare. Are you sure its the power valves? I always had mine serviced at Matamp, but it is a ball ache to get too. I always booked ahead and they did it when I was there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basszilla Posted February 1, 2016 Author Share Posted February 1, 2016 Yeah I think I've got the lions in mine at the moment. I used to do the same - book ahead and drive up at 4.30am to get there for 9am. Monster of a journey. I may give Jeff a call about the valves. Pretty sure it's the power valves but some other compoments probably got fried at the same time. Will post an update when I get it on the bench next Monday... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyxtiger Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 If it is the valves, If you speak to MATAMP they will tell you that they have been using gold lions for a while but recently some of them have been poor. Similar case with the JJs. They should be able to advise you on what's a good option/available currently. Personally I would stick with the 88s and avoid the 120s. MATAMP don't offer 120s any more due to reliability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basszilla Posted February 2, 2016 Author Share Posted February 2, 2016 Cool. Yeah I'm going to stay with the 88s. I'll see what the tube dude has got in stock. He seems to know his apples so I'll throw caution to the wind and let him crack on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taunton-hobbit Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 (edited) I said earlier that I'm running KT120s, but I've two all Partridge Matamps and one Sowter heavy prototype chassis. The 120s draw more power, and it may be that some amps struggle with this, which might cause the 'unreliable' tag? Certainly mine seem very good so far, one set is twelve months down the line, and all is well. For 'modern' amplifiers, KT88s would probably be about as high as I would go........ Edited February 2, 2016 by taunton-hobbit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subthumper Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 I've had a set of Sovtek kt88s in my diy head and had no problems with them. I actually got them because they were the cheapest and I was a bit skint when I got to the end of the project. (Expensive business amp building). If it's completely fried it's valves it's possible it was caused by lack of bias. The other thing I've seen in matamps is components getting very hot and desoldering themselves. It's a simple fix, I've got a customer who has the gt100 and gt200 and both of his amps have done it at some point. It's worth getting this checked as putting new valves in could simply end up with more cooked valves. Where in Wales are you? I'm in Bristol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basszilla Posted February 3, 2016 Author Share Posted February 3, 2016 Yeah the tech will check everything and rebias for me. If I don't have any joy I'll give you a shout. I'm based about 12 miles from Cardiff in the valleys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afterimage Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 Always use a mains conditioner and a RCD with valve amps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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