How to make your AMP'S TUBES last LONGER! Dr. Z amps

[jchrisf]

nice to hear him say preamp tubes don't need replacing often... i don't replace mine often and don't tend to notice changes in tone either

I picked up on that too.. along with him saying it works best with smaller power tubes like EL84 tubes over EL34 since I love Friedman Mini amps.

 

[jchrisf]

Yeah was looking at the whole amprx line today, mainly the brownie vs browbox, seems it can only go down 7volts which should be good for me. I don't run vintage amps unless you count a 1980 Sunn Enforcer as vintage lol. I'm thinking I want to run my Friedmans/Fryette etc at 117 or maybe a little lower. I am so curious how it will sound, cause there are definitely days that my amp might sound sterile and some days its the complete opposite. And my SW rep came thru and sent a link with free shipping to Hawaii... ordered!

I checked mine last night and it was between 121 and 122v. I know there are days when my amps just don't sound right and others when it sounds great. What Friedmans do you have?

 

[Devin]

Here's my $100ish total Amazon voltage reg+variac setup:

Line-R plugs in to wall; variac plugs in to Line-R and I use the LCD meter on the Variac to make sure I have the knob set exactly right

 

[dead-pan]

My Morgan Ac20 dlx runs HOT and burns through tube. Definitely could benefit from less voltage.

 

[70 Mach 1]

how the hell can one little trick take 22:18
im not watching it

 

[glpg80]

Big thanks!

So for best results you combine a voltage regulator with a power conditioner?

Yes correct

 

[Erock]

So,will the Brown box to a Furman Power supple give all the outputs a constant voltage?
Or not

so like Matt mentioned, there are power conditioners, regulators, and variacs(brown box). Ideally it would be all 3. A power conditioner for clean power from the wall, a regulator that would maintain a set voltage, raising or lowering, and a brown box(variac) so you could dial in exactly the V your amp likes.

Is the furman a conditioner, or a regulator/conditioner? If it's only a conditioner, the brown box will only be able to work with what your wall is giving, so you have to adjust it if the wall voltage varies. If it's a regulator/conditioner, you could use the BB to dial in a specific voltage, and it won't change. I've actually been playing and noticed the wall voltage change, as all of a sudden I had more sag. The 2 outputs on the BB should have the same voltage, I only draw a little under 3A when using 2 amplifiers, and it's rated for 15A iirc.

I'm interested to see what the "Brownie" does in comparison, as there are times when my wall voltage drops severely. I didn't want to fork out the cash for a good regulator, but that would be ideal.

 

[errrrrl]

I checked mine last night and it was between 121 and 122v. I know there are days when my amps just don't sound right and others when it sounds great. What Friedmans do you have?

I been rocking a Friedman Butterslax and a Dirty Shirley 40w for awhile now... great fkn amps!

 

[errrrrl]

Here's my $100ish total Amazon voltage reg+variac setup:

View attachment 390863View attachment 390864

Line-R plugs in to wall; variac plugs in to Line-R and I use the LCD meter on the Variac to make sure I have the knob set exactly right

Damn, I wish I saw that before I ordered lol... honestly though my wife will see all that shit and just cringe harder than seeing that brownie box lol. Unlike most of you mofos I don't have a dedicated room for my shit... its all stuffed in the master bedroom and makes my wife cringe a little hahahah

 

[Erock]

Damn, I wish I saw that before I ordered lol... honestly though my wife will see all that shit and just cringe harder than seeing that brownie box lol. Unlike most of you mofos I don't have a dedicated room for my shit... its all stuffed in the master bedroom and makes my wife cringe a little hahahah

I wouldn't feel too bad man, it's a safe, specialized unit, made with high quality parts. I'd feel safer with the Brown Box than a Variac unless it's a quality unit as well. Who knows what you get from China. I have a big red Variac I used when working on changing filter caps, and I still bought a BB. Everything is built in and it's just a big pedal to move around with amps.

 

[Erock]

So got to play around with the Brownie. It works as advertised, but I don't think it's going to work for me. Only one output, and I got used to 2 with the older unit. It is more sensitive on each setting as well, but the older BB has more attenuation range overall. It does add consistent voltage on top though, if you are seeing low voltage consistently. The problem with that though, for my situation, is I can be at 115V and jump to 123V all of a sudden. It does work to add voltage when it's at 115V, but there is no limiter, so it will jack the power above whatever the wall is giving. ie. if it goes to 123V + 3V Brownie = 126V feeding the amp! I need an actual regulator, it's too inconsistent with my bailing twine and duct tape power grid.

If you were playing clubs every night, and needed to add or subtract voltage on depending on the venue, I could see this being very beneficial. If the power jumps around though, not so much.