Power tubes!!!!!

[Tweeked6]

Any recommendations on power tubes for these little combo beasts?? Looks like my new to me 6101 could use a new set. What works good in the combo???
Thanks for any opinions!!!

[longfxukxnhair]

I dont have a combo but I use SED =C= in my 6100 amp

[surfnorthwest]

Which tubes do you have? Some had 5881s and some EL34s.

Mine has the EL34s and am using Telefunken Black Diamond EL34 with great results

https://tubedepot.com/products/telefunk ... amond-el34

[Tweeked6]

Sorry I forgot to say it's using el34's. Currently it has sovtek el34g which seem to be experiencing some sonic issues. When amp is warmed up fully it will crackle slightly with playing or tapping the top of the amp. Only happens with standby off, happens on all channels. Seems vibration sensitive. I unplugged guitar and can lightly drop my fist on the top and it will crackle lightly. Amp still is playable and the sovteks do not sound bad. This amp was a fixer upper but is coming along! I hate to say really really liking the amp!!!

[surfnorthwest]

These amps are not cheap to retube, with 7 preamp and 4 power amp tubes you have to be patient when one of the tubes is making noise to figure out which one it is.

[Anitoli]

Have you looked at the pentode/triode switch? If this is faulty or worn it can lead to symptoms that you are describing due to vibrations.
Also worn pots can do this as well. while holding a low e chord, lightly touch the pentode/triode switch and give it a slight shove to the other side, but not enough to make the jump. Does this cause any noise?

Also dont rule out the front panel switches, they can get dirty and cause noise as well.

[Tweeked6]

Thanks for all the advice again guys!! I am trying to make this amp great again. I have done many things to try and pinpoint when the issue happens. I do still have pots to replace. It is definitely not confined to one channel, it is an all of them. It is a very light crackle not popping. I have swapped out the v1 and v7 preamp with new tubes with no change. I have thought about the pent/trio switch and with the standby on switched it back and forth. Also run it in trio mode no change. Cleaned power tube sockets also no change. If I "Fonzie" the amp on top lightly over the power tubes it will crackle and I can hear the tubes jingle and the noise through speaker crackles. My plan is one thing at a time. Pots first. Going to look again at the resistors and connections again. Prob retube it following that. I have no history on it so I am doing the best I can. This is the first amp I have really dove into correcting problems.

[Tweeked6]

If a power tube gets a little red on the plates (like it's biased to hot?) could this cause a problem like what I described. I have hot spots appearing on the tube plates.

[Mike_LA]

Sounds more like a loose connection.
Turn the lights off and check the amp for small arcs in the dark
Running ruby tubes in mine for now

[Marshall Mann]

If a power tube gets a little red on the plates (like it's biased to hot?) could this cause a problem like what I described. I have hot spots appearing on the tube plates.

Red on the plate surface (anode) is a bad thing. Replace the tubes and re-bias asap.