How to Change Tubes in a Class 5???

[shades of blue]

Well the time has come to change the tubes in my Class 5. I started hearing a fuzzy/crackling sound when the amp is on so I figure it is time to change the tubes.

I ordered a set of Ruby Tubes for it, and I'm looking forward to getting them in, but I just don't have any experience with changing tubes in the Class 5.

Any pointers/advice???

 

[Roadburn]

Got the old version, right?


1. Unscrew the top (chassis screws near the controls)
2. Put it face down (on something soft).
3. Unscrew the back, but only the corner screws. Leave the big screws with washers as they are.
4.Lift the back together with the chassis and turn it upside down
5. Swap tubes.



WARNING, LETHAL VOLTAGES INSIDE (as in, they can KILL you DEADlike) EVEN WITH THE POWER OFF/UNPLUGGED!!!
DON'T DO THIS IF YOU HAVE 2 LEFT HANDS!!!


P.S. I'm not a technowiz, just an amateur. Other C5 owners might do this procedure in a different way, this is how I do it though...

 

[shades of blue]

Got the old version, right?


1. Unscrew the top (chassis screws near the controls)
2. Put it face down (on something soft).
3. Unscrew the back, but only the corner screws. Leave the big screws with washers as they are.
4.Lift the back together with the chassis and turn it upside down
5. Swap tubes.



WARNING, LETHAL VOLTAGES INSIDE (as in, they can KILL you DEADlike) EVEN WITH THE POWER OFF/UNPLUGGED!!!
DON'T DO THIS IF YOU HAVE 2 LEFT HANDS!!!


P.S. I'm not a technowiz, just an amateur. Other C5 owners might do this procedure in a different way, this is how I do it though...

Thanks that helps alot!

So what shouldn't I be messing with to avoid those voltages?

 

[Roadburn]

Thanks that helps alot!

So what shouldn't I be messing with to avoid those voltages?

Stole this picture from the Marshall Vintage Modern Forums:

Don't mess with the blue/green and silver striped round items (capacitors).

These hold their charge untill manually discharged.

 

[shades of blue]

Thanks! That's kind of what I was thinking. The only amp work I've ever done has been changing a speaker in a Blues Jr.

I think I'm going to get around to changing the tubes this weekend. I'm really looking forward to getting this amp back to gigging shape!

 

[DirtySteve]

Roadburns got you covered, but here are a couple of pics I took of mine...

Doing it this way you'd have to stick your hands way in on the ends to get zapped as the back cover stays on. If you have one of those new tube retainers it can be tricky to get the el84 out....you just have to work it back and forth while pulling it, you'll see what I mean.

So, what tubes are you putting in it?

 

[shades of blue]

Roadburns got you covered, but here are a couple of pics I took of mine...

Doing it this way you'd have to stick your hands way in on the ends to get zapped as the back cover stays on. If you have one of those new tube retainers it can be tricky to get the el84 out....you just have to work it back and forth while pulling it, you'll see what I mean.

So, what tubes are you putting in it?

Wow man thank you guys so much for those pics!!! Definitely seems like it may be a little easier than I had anticipated!

I actually got 2 Ruby ECC83's and 1 Ruby EL84. They were recommended for my amp by a couple guys at a local shop.

My initial gut reaction was to get JJ's, but I don't know much about tubes so I figured I go with the recommended Ruby's.

 

[DirtySteve]

Cool, I'd like to here what you think about them. I personally don't like JJ preamp tubes in the C5 at all. I like the JJ el84 and the TAD el84. I've done quite a bit of tube swapping in mine.

 

[shades of blue]

Cool, I'd like to here what you think about them. I personally don't like JJ preamp tubes in the C5 at all. I like the JJ el84 and the TAD el84. I've done quite a bit of tube swapping in mine.

I'm really hoping they don't change much of anything actually. I love the sound of the Class 5 just the way it is, but I am getting a crackling sound and I figure it's a tube because I've been playing it cranked at my church several hours a week for the last 6 months or so.

I was told these will add some headroom and a more pleasant low end so we shall see!

 

[chuckharmonjr]

Take a chainsaw.....cut transversely till you have two clean halves. Replace tubes. Buy a DSL. Dispose of remains properly.

 

[chuckharmonjr]

(just kidding btw)

 

[shades of blue]

Take a chainsaw.....cut transversely till you have two clean halves. Replace tubes. Buy a DSL. Dispose of remains properly.

haha would LOVE to, but my Class 5 fits the bill nicely for the church where I play.

This is THE best sounding amp I've ever played with a strat period. I've had a Deluxe Reverb, Blues Deluxe, Blues Jr, AC15 and others, and this thing blows away the rest.

I find myself using low wattage amps when I gig anyways. They are portable and sound great mic'd through the PA.

 

[DSL100 Dude]

Class 5! For all of your church jamming needs.

Six months on a diet of cranked is pretty dang good for that set of tubes. Keep in mind that the preamp tubes very well may still be fine. That EL84 is going to be the one that gets used up the fastest.

Steve is our official C5 tube guy. He has been trying out all kinds of stuff and we love his reports. I personally would like to know what you think of the Ruby's as well. I have a JJ EL84 but I have not put it in yet. I just got back my other C5 so I am hoping to have some time this weekend to do some A/B comparisons with both amps. I too am really trying to keep the original tone as close as I can on the black one.

 

[Roadburn]

Sovtek EL84M for 20% more headroom (than a JJ).

 

[shades of blue]

Class 5! For all of your church jamming needs.

Six months on a diet of cranked is pretty dang good for that set of tubes. Keep in mind that the preamp tubes very well may still be fine. That EL84 is going to be the one that gets used up the fastest.

Steve is our official C5 tube guy. He has been trying out all kinds of stuff and we love his reports. I personally would like to know what you think of the Ruby's as well. I have a JJ EL84 but I have not put it in yet. I just got back my other C5 so I am hoping to have some time this weekend to do some A/B comparisons with both amps. I too am really trying to keep the original tone as close as I can on the black one.

lol yeah man, it just sounds awesome with our band. We don't have a drummer so I don't need a ton of volume or headroom. Basically, I crank the volume to 75% and work the guitar volume knob. I get just enough breakup to sound bluesy without it sounding like I am even getting breakup if that makes sense. So smooth.

No pedals, just me, my strat, and the Class 5.

 

[DirtySteve]

Class 5! For all of your church jamming needs.

Six months on a diet of cranked is pretty dang good for that set of tubes. Keep in mind that the preamp tubes very well may still be fine. That EL84 is going to be the one that gets used up the fastest.

Steve is our official C5 tube guy. He has been trying out all kinds of stuff and we love his reports. I personally would like to know what you think of the Ruby's as well. I have a JJ EL84 but I have not put it in yet. I just got back my other C5 so I am hoping to have some time this weekend to do some A/B comparisons with both amps. I too am really trying to keep the original tone as close as I can on the black one.

Lol!...wow...I don't know that I'm qualified for that title, but it's nice that you think that highly of my opinion....thanks, but keep in mind, tone is subjective and I'm only in search of "my tone". I'm really just learning what works, or doesn't work for me.

Getting the speaker broken in seems to be more important than tube choice anyway.... esp. if we're talking current production tubes, but if you ever go NOS, you may never go back....I can't, to me the difference is night and day. (preamp tubes only so far....I still haven't found an affordable NOS EL84)

Here's where I'm coming from....I have 2 C5s and only one has NOS tubes in it and the other has my favorite CP tubes in it and it's as good as sold so I don't play it anymore....but, every once in a while I compare the 2 just to see what the difference is. The one with NOS glass sounds a lot better every time and the more the speaker loosens up the bigger the difference gets.

 

[shades of blue]

Lol!...wow...I don't know that I'm qualified for that title, but it's nice that you think that highly of my opinion....thanks, but keep in mind, tone is subjective and I'm only in search of "my tone". I'm really just learning what works, or doesn't work for me.

Getting the speaker broken in seems to be more important than tube choice anyway.... esp. if we're talking current production tubes, but if you ever go NOS, you may never go back....I can't, to me the difference is night and day. (preamp tubes only so far....I still haven't found an affordable NOS EL84)

Here's where I'm coming from....I have 2 C5s and only one has NOS tubes in it and the other has my favorite CP tubes in it and it's as good as sold so I don't play it anymore....but, every once in a while I compare the 2 just to see what the difference is. The one with NOS glass sounds a lot better every time and the more the speaker loosens up the bigger the difference gets.

How long does it take to break in a speaker? I've had my C5 since December and have been gigging it 3 times a week since January.

 

[DirtySteve]

You're probably good then....I use the bedroom trick too much and for a while there I was trying out different speakers, so I think mine probably still has a little ways to go.

 

[DSL100 Dude]

How often do you play your C5 fully wide open? I mean EVERYTHING dimed! Guitar, amp, picking hand...

My black one seemed to happen really fast but it may have taken longer than I thought. My red one seemed to take forever. When it happens though it is magic.

 

[shades of blue]

How often do you play your C5 fully wide open? I mean EVERYTHING dimed! Guitar, amp, picking hand...

My black one seemed to happen really fast but it may have taken longer than I thought. My red one seemed to take forever. When it happens though it is magic.

I only dime the C5 volume at church, but my guitar volume is never dimed, just around 4-7 depending on how much grit I need. I mean, maybe that isn't pushing it that hard unless my guitar volume is wide open, but the C5 volume is up all the way probably around 3 times a week when I gig.


Funny though, last night I played the C5 and the crackling was gone. My tubes are set to arrive today. I wonder if I should just go ahead and replace them and use the C5 stock tubes as backups.