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Now that Ive spent some time using my Seb 2000e,Ive noticed that if I use it right after Ive fired it up,and all the components are at a cool range,it will give me a great tone,but as I keep using it,Ive noticed a slight change in tone,not a bad or distorted tone,but a different tone.
My question is----whats the lifes span of the tubes?
Where can I locate some oem tubes just in case?
According to the manual,youre supposed to fire up the Seb,and wait about 30 minutes before using it.
Im kinda new to the world of "real preamps",so dont get pissed off if I akes 100 questions :roll:

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Markd102 Tue, 05/17/2005 - 01:41

All audio gear will alter sonically untill it gets up to normal operating temp. Even the manual for my Buzz Audio SSA1.1 says to let the unit warm up, and that's about as clean a solid state unit as you can get.

As for lifespan of tubes? Well, how long is a piece of string?
They could go for years, they could crap out tomorrow.
Seb might supply you with new ones, but I wouldn't worry about it yet.

anonymous Tue, 05/17/2005 - 01:48

eddies880 wrote: ...at a cool rage, it will give me a great tone...

I like the sound of cold tubes sometimes too.

eddies880 wrote: what the lifes span of the tubes?

Tube lifespan varies. I don't have a Sebatron yet (its in my budget this semester) but from my experience with tubes, it really depends on how heavy they are used. I've had tubes last me as short as 16 hours and as long as 6 months (16 hours == guitar amp being borrowed for a music festival and they "abused" my amp). Really, you should start trying to find new tubes when the sound starts to degrade. They'll probably have the tube type or replacement part number somewhere in the manual or tech support. In most manuals for various tube products, I've found the type (like 12AX7A for example) listed on the specs page of the manual.

Sebatron Tue, 05/17/2005 - 10:12

Ok with the tubes , the deal is not to get paranoid or anything.
I mean it’s not actually like a valve guitar amp where the valve life is relative to how hard it’s being driven .This Is Class A circuitry , it’s switched on all the time .It doesn’t matter what’s going through the valves when they are on.Loud or Soft.
These are preamp valves that run on a totally different current demand than do the valves in a ' guitar ' amp.

From what I’ve seen ,, generally speaking valves take around three months to fully settle in and round off …. like shoes …..
Then there’s a long period of stability , up to three or four years before any noticeable loss …. Usually in the upper and lower registers ….
Sometimes it sounds nice ! There aren’t any strange behavioural quirks to look out for. Just don’t pour any water down the ‘~S~’ hole. :(
The valves are 12AT7 and are quite readily available from various valve stockists around the world…… or you can get them from us of course …..
Our preferred valve is the J.J ECC81 ( 12AT7/6201 ) for its low microphony and wide bandwidth.

8)

J-3 Wed, 05/18/2005 - 10:58

Or you could just leave the Seb on all the time. I believe its common to leave tube gear (esp tube mics) on all the time. Of course you'll lose a lot of life span of tubes. I keep my Fender Deluxe cooking all day every day (during most sessions)and my tubes last me about a year. I'd talk with Seb and see if he concurs. I'm guessing he'll say just let it warm up 30 minutes ahead of time. Tube arn't that expensive so don't worry about replacing them.

anonymous Wed, 05/18/2005 - 14:01

Sebatron wrote: Ok with the tubes , the deal is not to get paranoid or anything.
I mean it’s not actually like a valve guitar amp where the valve life is relative to how hard it’s being driven .This Is Class A circuitry , it’s switched on all the time .It doesn’t matter what’s going through the valves when they are on.Loud or Soft.
These are preamp valves that run on a totally different current demand than do the valves in a ' guitar ' amp.

From what I’ve seen ,, generally speaking valves take around three months to fully settle in and round off …. like shoes …..
Then there’s a long period of stability , up to three or four years before any noticeable loss …. Usually in the upper and lower registers ….
Sometimes it sounds nice ! There aren’t any strange behavioural quirks to look out for. Just don’t pour any water down the ‘~S~’ hole. :(
The valves are 12AT7 and are quite readily available from various valve stockists around the world…… or you can get them from us of course …..
Our preferred valve is the J.J ECC81 ( 12AT7/6201 ) for its low microphony and wide bandwidth.

8)

How many tubes does the 2000e have?

Guest Wed, 05/18/2005 - 17:09

eddies880 wrote: How many tubes does the 2000e have?

one million and thirty five :lol:
Sorry I don't know :oops:
I just saw that Sebatron is on this post and wanted to know what was the idea behind the design of the Thorax? Was it mostly as a compressor for vocals, or is it a multi purpose type design?
And of course anything else you would like to add.