i am buying a laney cub 10. just wanted to ask if the tubes need to be changed after a specific period(2-3 years). i play 1 hour a day. new to tube amps so please help me out.
Yes, you will have to change them eventually. As a rule of thumb 2-3 years is a good estimate. But you'll know when you have to, the sound of the amp will change.
they should last you a bit longer than that, in fact, since it seems (from the specs) that they're running the tubes well below max. also, i doubt you're running the amp at full power...
dude, how good r these amps? does it give a good distortion when cranked up? do u hv any problems with?
dude u should really check out be3 amplifiers if u want a good tube amp...The guy Ansar. has got his own boutique brand of amplifiers and he can customize the amp exactly to your specs...dont go for this made in china or wherever crapp... I got one over a year ago and it kicks the laneys ass to pluto and then some.... just google for be3amplifiers...cant post urls
sid_ggw - He already bought it. HOWEVER. @OP - New tubes can be bought from Ansar of BE3 Amplifiers too. Owait. *checks Bajaao* I'm surprised they're not selling tubes. =| There are a lot of tube selling sites on the net, you can check those out too. (Dunno which is more feasible, going to Mumbai, ordering it from there, or ordering from other countries online.)
In what context would you prefer a BE3 to a Laney. I ask because im about to purchase the cub 12R, and im sure you haven't played a laney cub(neither have i, doh), and since i'd like it to be a long term purchase (2-3 years), any and all comparison/info/input would be helpful.
no, i haven't played the laney, or any BE3 amps for that matter. i would go with BE3 for the simple fact that it's made by a guy whose know-how about building amplifiers is at least equal (in this case, greater) than my own. also the fact that it's made by him, piece for piece, and hand-wired, hand-soldered and that i know he uses quality parts. not a PCB wave soldered in some environmental time bomb conditions in an anonymous chinese factory. the speaker in the BE3 is better than whatever bottom-of-the-OEM-barrel speaker they chuck into the entry-level laneys (gibsons, marshalls, fenders, vox whatever - it all boils down to cents on a production line). he knows his amplifiers, laney salesmen and music stores don't know jackshit. so i don't know how service will be handled. the laney sounds surprisingly good in clips and vids though. i'd still wager that the brat will sound better, although i'm not a fan of the champ topology. there is one thing to consider though: is that the tonal characteristics of the two amps will be quite different, as the brat is a 5W amp and the laney pushes a very conservative 10W. headroom will be marginally decreased on the brat, not sure how much of a difference it makes at such low wattage though. i'd expect the brat to sound richer. i'd investigate that option if i were you.
Exactly my concern. Head room is of vital importance here. I'm guessing the brat will sound more in the region of vox ac4tv, though maybe a little better due to better speaker quality and hand build. Also, the cub 12R pushes a decent 15 Watts through a 12 inch speaker, which is a main point of consideration. Speakers can be changed anytime. I've read somewhere on another forum that although the laney cub is made in china and all, the tubes are chassis mounted rather than board-mounted, and tubes are coated with some material (don't really remember the name, hertz, quartz, dont remember, lol) which you generally won't find in a chinese built amplifier. Im sure i will be a better judge of things once i have experienced them tube amps for some time, till then i guess i will stick to the conventional ones, Laney Cub 12R in this case.
