2466 Power tube failure?

[christophorus]

Hey guys,

I am new to forums in general but not to tube amps so I'm sorry if this is in the wrong section, etc. but I need some help.

I bought a brand new 2466 head and matching cabinet about a month ago but haven't really had time to play it until yesterday. I am using a Fender 1962 Reissue Strat with a Fulltone OCD and at first everything sounded amazing but after about an hour or so of playing with everything set on about 5 in the low dynamic setting I noticed that it probably wasn't as loud as it should be so I gradually starting turning up the master volume and nothing really happened. At first I just thought I was going deaf but I remember that I could never stand 4 feet away from my JCM 2000 DSL 50 at anything past 6 without seriously hurting my ears.

I also noticed a serious lack of high end, my Strat sounded muddy and very undefined. Does anyone have any thoughts? The power tubes were glowing a very pretty shade of blue when I looked at them- I figure that they are to blame.

[Dave W]

Blue tubes do not mean bad tubes. Blue tubes are normal, its super bright orange ones that need looking at especially if one is way brighter than the others. If you are failiar how to check the bias, check that the tubes are in a similar range to rule out a bad tube, but if they are all looking pretty much the same visually that is probably not the cause. I have read on the forum that the VM is not as loud in comparison to other Marshall amps. In low dynamic mode it will not be as loud as high dynamic mode. What speakers are you using? A DSL with Vintage 30's or G12-75's is going to sound louder than a VM in low dynamic mode with Greenbacks. As far as the muddy...lack of high end with the strat, where are you setting the body setting on the amp, that is a powerfull knob and can really shape the tone, maybe you need to back it down on it. Go look in the forum under favorite settings and see where people set the amp who use strats, that may make a difference. The thing that I cannot explain is why no big volume difference when you go past 5 on Master volume? Consider the above stuff and then try some different settings especially with the body knob. If that does not help then you may need to provide some more information on exactly what happens and to what degree when you go past 5 on the volume and possibly more knowlegeble forum members may understand the cause. Good Luck!