BLACKSTAR HT STAGE 60 / TUBES QUESTION

[matt86ie]

hi there, I hope you can help me out here, I have the Blackstar HT - stage 60 guitar amp, and it`s fitted with 2 EL 34s and 2 ECC83s and 1 ECC82
one of my EL 34s has blown, so now i`m looking to purchse 2 EL34s and I have read it somewhere on the net about not replacing with the factory bought ones but to get the older vintage
type which are identical and will really make my amp sound super, also one guy mentioned he got his blackstar to sound like a fender twin amp I think he mentioned something about him changing out the pre amp tubes, i`m totally new to all this on tubes, so with your help and knowledge we can get me blackstat to really shine, oh to mention i first noticed something was wrong when my lead guitar player told me the clean channel was distorting at low volume and looking into the back of the amp one el34 was not lighting,
the type of music we play is american country garth brooks , billy ray cirus, and going to overdrive would be a lot of status quo, bryan adams, so as you can see we are not a heavy metal band
and i think if we can closely match the fender type sound we should be ok, the older fender amps had excellent sound , the twin reverb and the tweed etc, so what would you reccomend for me to purchase in the line of tubes to suit the blackstar , and don`t say buy a fender amp, I hope you can make sense on what i`m trying to say here,
thanks ever so much in advance for your help on this matter, you mention not to buy from ebay sites so this i will avoid, i suppose the older type el 34s are the best to go for as for preamp tubes i`m lost
oh one other thing i also see mentioned on a site not to put in the tubes myself as they may have to be BIASED ?????????? no idea what this means, i thought it was only a matter of changing them like a light bulb.

[Tawlks]

hi there, I hope you can help me out here, I have the Blackstar HT - stage 60 guitar amp, and it`s fitted with 2 EL 34s and 2 ECC83s and 1 ECC82
one of my EL 34s has blown, so now i`m looking to purchse 2 EL34s and I have read it somewhere on the net about not replacing with the factory bought ones but to get the older vintage
type which are identical and will really make my amp sound super, also one guy mentioned he got his blackstar to sound like a fender twin amp I think he mentioned something about him changing out the pre amp tubes, i`m totally new to all this on tubes, so with your help and knowledge we can get me blackstat to really shine, oh to mention i first noticed something was wrong when my lead guitar player told me the clean channel was distorting at low volume and looking into the back of the amp one el34 was not lighting,
the type of music we play is american country garth brooks , billy ray cirus, and going to overdrive would be a lot of status quo, bryan adams, so as you can see we are not a heavy metal band
and i think if we can closely match the fender type sound we should be ok, the older fender amps had excellent sound , the twin reverb and the tweed etc, so what would you reccomend for me to purchase in the line of tubes to suit the blackstar , and don`t say buy a fender amp, I hope you can make sense on what i`m trying to say here,
thanks ever so much in advance for your help on this matter, you mention not to buy from ebay sites so this i will avoid, i suppose the older type el 34s are the best to go for as for preamp tubes i`m lost
oh one other thing i also see mentioned on a site not to put in the tubes myself as they may have to be BIASED ?????????? no idea what this means, i thought it was only a matter of changing them like a light bulb.

I didn't read all of your post, I'm very tired. I just skimmed over it.

But don't be fooled by the vintage NOS (New Old Stock) valves hype. You will hear a difference but it's very slight and won't make the amp anything it's not, but also won't make any more of a difference than changing to a different brand of valve from a current manufacturer. Especially considering there are SS componants in your amp as well as valves!

The more stuff there is going on in an amp, the less a valve swap will affect the tone. It is true that NOS valves are more reliable because they were tested to ridiculous standards for military usage.

Any valve amp will need to be biased, however, the bias range of lots of amps, and I'm willing to bet Blackstar as well is very forgiving consider how cold factury biasing usually is. However, a biasing will cost hardly anything to have a tech do. Biasing is basically how much power you're putting into the power valves, it's more complex than that, but in simple terms. 'Hotter' bias will make your valves sound.. well, better but will shorten the life. Making the bias of your amp hotter is often called a 'bias mod'.

Another thing about valves, valves are expensive, if someone lays down a load of money on NOS valves they're often inclined to post about how much better their amp sounds, even if really.. it doesn't. I would buy a MATCHED PAIR of new valves from Watford Valves here in the UK or another amp retailer.

You will get ripped off if you buy Groove Tubes from your local Dawsons, I wouldn't buy valves from a shop unless I absolutely have to. If your'e going to have the amp biased, you might as well just get the tech to put in his own valves, or you can buy the valves for him or tell him what to buy, remember that he is tax exempt from valve purchases, lowering the cost (in theory) slightly. Biasing takes 5 minutes and it should cost you very little.