tsl 100 tube problem

[Tom Francisco]

Ok so my tsl 100 just stopped working out of the blue. I figured the tubes had died because I've had it for so long and never have replaced them. I also called places like sam ash and guitar center and they said most likely that is the case. My problem is I really know NOTHING about tubes or how they work or effect the tone I would really like to be educated on the subject and how different tubes would sound in my amp. The tubes I had in before were 4 russian made el34s for the power tubes and for the preamp tubes marshall wk13, wk15, wk6, and wk12 I'm guessing these are the tubes that came in stock with the amp. And I really hope it doesn't matter where which preamp tube goes because I took them out and don't remember lol SO STUPID

 

[ACHIEVEIT]

The russian el34's are pretty crappy, so it would be best to replace them with something like =C= el34's (those are great sounding el34's). If you want a somewhat more aggressive sound you could go for e34l's from JJ. As far as preamp tubes goes, i guess the codes you wrote are production date codes. They all should be ecc83 (or 12AX7 - i it the same). As long as they are of the same type, it doesn't matter if you move them. The power tubes however should maintain their place cause otherwise you will have to go through the biasing process again. The marshall preamp tubes are pretty crappy as well so it would only be good if you replaced them. There are many choices here - i myself like electroharmonix ecc83's

 

[Tom Francisco]

shit now i need to get my amp re biased cuz i took the power tubes out!

 

[ACHIEVEIT]

Sorry if i didn't express my self right (my english is not the best). What i meant is make sure that you place each power tube in the same place where you took it from. But even if you did place them in a different order, you MIGHT not need to rebias your amp. If it was a matched set, it is very probable you won't need to rebias the amp.

 

[Tom Francisco]

i hope i dont have to! that will make this so much more expensive

 

[ACHIEVEIT]

Well, if the tsl stopped working and you are forced to change the power tubes, the biasing process is unavoidable.

 

[MartyStrat54]

You really take a risky chance playing tubes that are really old. I agree with the Winged =C= EL34's. For preamp tubes I suggest a Tung-Sol V1, a high gain Mullard RI V2 and EH in V3 and V4. This has worked out nicely for many DSL/TSL amps.

 

[jcmjmp]

You really take a risky chance playing tubes that are really old. I agree with the Winged =C= EL34's. For preamp tubes I suggest a Tung-Sol V1, a high gain Mullard RI V2 and EH in V3 and V4. This has worked out nicely for many DSL/TSL amps.

+1

Good suggestion IMO. You could also try different combination for V1/V2 between the TS and Mullard RI.

 

[Tom Francisco]

what are v1 v2 v3 etc im guessing those are the sockets you put the tubes in?

 

[Tom Francisco]

o and one more question. can a tube not work even if its still glowing? Cuz all my tubes are glowing but I get no sound out of the amp.

 

[MartyStrat54]

You need to educate yourself about your tube amp or you are going to have problems. They are not forgiving like a solid state amp.

V1 is the tube under a silver can. You have to twist the can to get the tube out. This is your most important preamp tube on the TSL. Make sure you put the RF can back on V1.

V1-Primary gain stages
V2-Secondary gain stages
V3-Tone Stack/Cathode Follower
V4-Phase Inverter

V1 is the tube farthest away from the power tubes. V4 is the closest to the power tubes.

 

[MartyStrat54]

o and one more question. can a tube not work even if its still glowing? Cuz all my tubes are glowing but I get no sound out of the amp.

If one of your preamp tubes is bad, it can cut the signal to the power tubes. As you said yourself, the amp needs all new tubes.

Since you are so green, I would suggest going to the Marshall.com site and look up TSL and read the owners manual and the spec sheet on this amp. This amp requires the proper load between the cab and the amp or the output transformer will fail. You also need to use a speaker (power) cord between the amp and the cab. I hope you are not using a guitar cord. That's bad news.

If you are unsure about the operation of this amp...ask a question. None of us want to see you damage your amp.

 

[Tom Francisco]

yeah i gotta check out the owners manual for sure. thanks for clerifying those things. Ill post here again if I have any more questions. thanks a lot guys.

 

[TheShadowNinja]

Also learn to bias your amp- it will save you a load of money down the line. I came to this forum before I got my first all valve head and learnt everything I needed to know about biasing. Take the proper precautions and you will be laughing once you realise how easy it is.

 

[AdamR]

Check your HT fuse. It probably blew due to a bad power tube.

It should cost much to re tube it and bias it. Under $200. However I understand how tight cash can be right now. My amp is been down for about 2 months needing a retube. Just cant swing the extra cash right now.