Marshall lost articulation

saxbell68 · 9th March 2009

I just got my Marshall DSL50 re-tubed and re-biased and now the amp seems to have lost articulation. It now has a very soft attack that makes it feel spongy as if there is a latency. I had Groove Tubes in it before and now it has Ruby's for the 12AX7's and WC Svetlana's for the EL34's. The tone sounds good but the articulation thing is really bugging me. Do different tubes have different articulations or are these just a bad batch? Anybody familiar with this?

AnthonySpinali · 10th March 2009

I had a similar experience with Svetlanas in a DSL 100 but I can't say for sure that it was the tubes. It may have been something else. I sold the amp within a week so memory is not very good. I guess I would say it's worth looking into. Maybe see if the tech who did it will fix it for free...

velvetgeorge · 10th March 2009

It could be the tubes. Or could simply be biased too hot.
Do you notice less headroom?

Try swapping the old preamp tubes in to see what changes.

george

llamaj · 10th March 2009

different tubes can do that. most likely the power tubes. preamp tubes can last a lifetime in an amp. though the preamp tube next to the power tube can be changed with the power tubes or at least with every other new set of power tubes. does sound like they are biased wrong. newer amps are less finicky about different brands of power tubes but not as a rule. tell the tech somethings up. any good tech will want to make you satisfied and should do it for free. see if you can be there while they bias the amp again to test it. one things for sure... you should have got your old tubes back unless you told the tech to keep um. these kinds of things inspired me to learn how to service tube amps myself. understand that the tech hasnt spent all the time you have with the amp. you know what it should sound like. all the best

9th March 2009	#1
saxbell68 Gear interested Joined: Feb 2008 Location: Virginia Beach, VA Posts: 2 Thread Starter	Marshall lost articulation I just got my Marshall DSL50 re-tubed and re-biased and now the amp seems to have lost articulation. It now has a very soft attack that makes it feel spongy as if there is a latency. I had Groove Tubes in it before and now it has Ruby's for the 12AX7's and WC Svetlana's for the EL34's. The tone sounds good but the articulation thing is really bugging me. Do different tubes have different articulations or are these just a bad batch? Anybody familiar with this?

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10th March 2009	#2
AnthonySpinali Gear maniac Joined: Feb 2009 Location: St. Louis Posts: 248	I had a similar experience with Svetlanas in a DSL 100 but I can't say for sure that it was the tubes. It may have been something else. I sold the amp within a week so memory is not very good. I guess I would say it's worth looking into. Maybe see if the tech who did it will fix it for free...

10th March 2009	#3
velvetgeorge Gear nut Joined: Apr 2006 Location: Michigan USA Posts: 121	It could be the tubes. Or could simply be biased too hot. Do you notice less headroom? Try swapping the old preamp tubes in to see what changes. george

10th March 2009	#4
llamaj Gear nut Joined: Feb 2006 Location: S carolina Posts: 138	different tubes can do that. most likely the power tubes. preamp tubes can last a lifetime in an amp. though the preamp tube next to the power tube can be changed with the power tubes or at least with every other new set of power tubes. does sound like they are biased wrong. newer amps are less finicky about different brands of power tubes but not as a rule. tell the tech somethings up. any good tech will want to make you satisfied and should do it for free. see if you can be there while they bias the amp again to test it. one things for sure... you should have got your old tubes back unless you told the tech to keep um. these kinds of things inspired me to learn how to service tube amps myself. understand that the tech hasnt spent all the time you have with the amp. you know what it should sound like. all the best