I've solved my valve amp conundrum!

fourmations

check it out!



cheesy 80's blurb: http://www.studiomaster.com/hp3.html

better snaps: http://cgi.ebay.de/Roehrenamp-Studiomaster-Leadmaster-112-sensationell_W0QQitemZ200110842245QQihZ010QQcategoryZ21763QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

This is a 1980, Studiomaster - Valve Leadmaster 112, 60w
in glorious mahogany!

It sounds fantastic, it has so many sounds,
its really really loud (1 is as loud as my acoustic)
I cant wait to open it up properly! :eek:

It has lots of features, 2 channel, footswitchable,
standby switch, spring reverb, fx send and return,

the clean channel has a push/pull bright setting which is lovely,
the dirty channel has a boost push/pull, there is a preamp gain knob
which allows o/d without blowing the house walls down,
it has a 5 band eq, which is really sweet, very responsive,
and puts an extra punch in the overdrives and crunches
the range of tones from clean, crunchy to very dirty are endless,
enabling the eq enhances screaming leads,

it has a "Fane" 12" 200w speaker,

it has 5x 12ax7's and 2x 6L6GC's,
these valves have never been changed (in 27yrs!!)
do they need to be changed? it sounds fantastic as is
any way to test them? can i assume thing will improve
with new valves, this is a whole new subject for me!
(any good "valve amp beginners" links welcome)

i would not claim to know anything about amps
but i know that i have never heard anything like this in
all my playing years (15yrs),

I was just about to buy the 5w Peavey from thomann
and spotted this in the buy and sell about 10mins from my house!
im chuffed!

rgds

4

Patricide

congrats looks like youve found a winner, theres a good few noname 80s tube amps that are outstanding.Glad to see you found one.

fish-head

Looks very pretty indeed! G'luck with it.

If it sounds good with the current valves you may aswell leave them alone..

Voodu Child

Well, you won't find anyone else playing the same amp as you, that's nearly worth the price alone. Hopefully it all works out for you, congrats.

Fingers Mcginty

Try and post some sound clips if you can

NeMiSiS

I like it though, looks cool.
TK

Quattroste

That looks cool. Real retro. I'd change the valves if I were you. You can always keep the old valves for spares. If it sounds great with the old valves you may get a real surprise with a new set in there. Chimy clarity

Grolschevik

I saw that in the B&S, too, and was seriously considering it. After a bit of google research, I was a bit put off by the apparent lack of carrying handles. But I was sort of hoping that it hadn't sold and the guy would readvertise... oh, well. My partner wouldn't have been impressed with me bringing a fifth amp home...

fourmations

Grolschevik wrote:

I saw that in the B&S, too, and was seriously considering it. After a bit of google research, I was a bit put off by the apparent lack of carrying handles. But I was sort of hoping that it hadn't sold and the guy would readvertise... oh, well. My partner wouldn't have been impressed with me bringing a fifth amp home...

there are handles in the sides!

I dont feel sorry for you - you have enough amps!!

regards

4

The Freeman

great find, love the classic look to it, now go learn some classic rock will ya!:p

The Freeman

great find, love the classic look to it, now go learn some classic rock will ya!:p

Karl Hungus

Wow, that does look nice!

vox

I would keep the valves in if it is sounding good. It could possibly be loaded with Mullards/Tesla or other quality tubes that would be hard to replace with modern tubes. Cool amp..

Karl Hungus

vox wrote:

I would keep the valves in if it is sounding good. It could possibly be loaded with Mullards/Tesla or other quality tubes that would be hard to replace with modern tubes. Cool amp..

There's no reason he can't buy some new tubes, and still hold onto the old ones.

Voodu Child

fourmations wrote:

it has 5x 12ax7's and 2x 6L6GC's,
these valves have never been changed (in 27yrs!!)
do they need to be changed? it sounds fantastic as is
any way to test them? can i assume thing will improve
with new valves, this is a whole new subject for me!
(any good "valve amp beginners" links welcome)

It's impossible to say whether new power tubes would improve the sound or not without a before/after comparison.

If you're happy with the sound as it it, there's no real reason why you'd need to replace the tubes. However, as Karl said, you could justify it pretty easily by looking at them as spares.

Preamp tubes are pretty cheap, i'd definitely have a couple spare. Guys often mix and match different brands/types to get more/less gain etc.

As with all valve-amp issues, don't go poking around inside the amp without making sure you know what you're doing.

vox

Karl Hungus wrote:

There's no reason he can't buy some new tubes, and still hold onto the old ones.

Thats true, he could buy new valves but he is happy with the sound and it is likely the tubes in the amp are better than any current production tubes you can get today like EH, JJ, Sovtek etc.. No harm to pick up some spares though.

fourmations

hi all

i had a look at the tubes earlier,

I am starting to doubt they are original
they dont look that old, but they have metal protective sleeves
over them so they may just have stayed clean,

there is an odd 12ax7 tube in there called a mazda ec883s
(yep thats mazda, not a typo)
0
the other 4 are unbranded, the 2 poweramps are unbranded 6L6's

any advice on getting a reasonable priced set to try
(there are 5 preamps and 2 poweramps, will cost a bit)
I emailed eurotubes, they know nothing about the amp at all,

also I seem to have lost a tiny bit of volume since taking out
the valves and popping them back in, its not a problem as its/
only played at 1 or 2, just wondering if i may have done something

cheers

4

Voodu Child

fourmations wrote:

any advice on getting a reasonable priced set to try

You're pretty new to valve-amps, so I wouldnt rush into anthing. I'd spend a little time reading up on everything - correct valve handling (skin-oil isnt good for them etc.), and biasing etc. More than likely, you will want a pro to adjust the bias for you if you swap valves. As you've only just got it, I doubt you want to start shelling out for stuff like this just yet. Of course, most old amps will need a service every now and then, that is also something to think about, price up, and put in the back of your head.

Preamp valves are plug and play.

Stay away from anything that is on the inside of the chassis (including bias trim pots if applicable) - there are capacitors inside your amp that will store a potentially lethal charge even after the amp is unlugged. You can learn how to safely discharge them etc., but for now just enjoy your amp.

In relation to your volume issue, it's possible you replaced the preamp valves in a different order.

vox

Alot of the Mazda tubes were made in the Mullard factory (not by the car manufacturer ) which is a good thing.. You shouldnt have done much damage by pulling out the tubes as long as you were careful and put them back in the right places.. Also i would suggest thetubestore.com for a bit more variety in the tubes you pick and have always been great. Also probably a bit more expensive but worth it due to their quality control is watford valves in the uk. watfordvalves.com. Ring them, they can be quite helpful and know their stuff.

fourmations

fourmations wrote:

also I seem to have lost a tiny bit of volume since taking out
the valves and popping them back in, its not a problem as its/
only played at 1 or 2, just wondering if i may have done something

i'm quoting myself now!

anyway, I kinda ignored the volume thing , didnt make much odds, but
when i turned it on today its whistling when cranked

from my little bit of reading, this is a microphonic preamp tube
could it just be a case that one is loose?

can i run the amp without all the preamps valves in
there are 5 x 12ax7s,

will i have to leave it off until i get tubes

who's quick for tubes if this is the case

regards

4

Voodu Child

fourmations wrote:

anyway, I kinda ignored the volume thing , didnt make much odds, but
when i turned it on today its whistling when cranked

from my little bit of reading, this is a microphonic preamp tube
could it just be a case that one is loose?

can i run the amp without all the preamps valves in
there are 5 x 12ax7s,

Thats a very common problem. Which is why it makes sense to have a few preamp valves spare.

While you're waiting for the new one(s), try tapping the preamp valves lightly to narrow down which is causing the problem. You might get away with a microphonic tube in one socket as they don't all contribute to gain to the same degree, so a swap for one of the non-microphonic ones might be a temporary fix.