Phonoland

I am going throught the amp for bad/weak tubes and when looking for tubes, some people mention match tubes.

Does that make a differnce ??

Tks

IMHO, not much--if any. Others dis-agree---More then likely, your amp needs to be rebuilt--it may, or may not need tubes. Ron Rich

Ron Rich wrote:IMHO, not much--if any. Others dis-agree---More then likely, your amp needs to be rebuilt--it may, or may not need tubes. Ron Rich

I'll add that most people always think "it's a tube" when a problem exists, it's really more than that.
Sure, tubes are a simple "plug in" replaceable device, but after decades of aging, the components UNDER the chassis determine tube function and life.
You can replace a tube easily - and perhaps the unit will work - for a while.
Then another tube.... and another.... etc.
***You're not addressing the root problem,*** and in fact potentially causing more damage if left in this present condition.
Resistors, capacitors, etc, under the chassis are now way out of tolerance or defective, causing tubes to run wildly out of design parameters, soon to fail again.
A sudden power supply capacitor failure can mean the replacement of a hard-to-find expensive power transformer, or cooked output transformer, or in some cases fried speakers in solid state equipment.

So, people, and you ebay/craigs list people too - refrain from selling something by stating: "oh, it maybe JUST needs a tube or something".
You don't know that, and no, it's never a "simple" fix.