mesa boogie f-50, tubes?

ddddd05 · Newbie Alert Joined: 16 Nov 2006 Posts: 2

I've had my mesa boogie f-50 for about a year now. It just doesn't sound as good as it used to. It used to sparkle and sounds amazing, but these days it doesn't sound so great. I even started to notice a little crakling.

Do I need to replace the tubes? Do different tubes produce a different tone?

Also there is a sound like a loose screw rattling when I play and low E string. Could this be tubes as well?

Goes_To_Eleven · Hamster Joined: 07 Oct 2005 Posts: 87 Location: CT, USA

It sounds like you need a re-tubing. Different tubes will produce different sounds, and even the same type of tube will produce different sounds (like a JJ 12AX7 compared to an Electro-Harmonix 12AX7EH, for example). The "screw loose" thing sounds like your guitar may be buzzing due to improper intonation. Have the guitar set up and see if that fixes it.