Hello,

I have just bought a HT-20 and very pleased

I am yet to dial in the perfect Distorted/Gain channel as it currently sounds a bit 'muddy' - I will search settings

My question is:

As this is my first tube amp - how do I go about sorting out tubes when they need replacing? what tubes are the best? and is it expensive to replace them? Finally what is the expected life of the set of tubes I have from new?

Many Thanks

Jon

You have two preamp tubes (ECC83) and two power tubes (EL34).

Not sure how many hours you will get from them. Really depends how long you play and how much you work the amp. Tubes can potentially last years.

I have an HT-20 and personally I think the stock TAD tubes are not very good. I swawped out the preamp tubes for JJ's ($22/set) and it made a big difference. I didn't change the EL34's as this requires re-biasing.

I also swaped the Rocket 50 out for a 30 watt G12H (enormous difference)

Which tubes are best is pretty subjective. Depends on what you like tone-wise, how much gain you want, etc.

Pres are a good first route since they're cheaper, less to do (Just swap 'em and go).

JJs and GTs are pretty similar nowadays (I use JJs), Mullards are good, TungSol get a bit earlier of a breakup and sound good.

Rubys, eh. I'm not huge on the new ones, but some dig them.

Other preamp types, like 12AU, 12AYs break up later if you want less gain or can be nice in the clean channel.

Lot of other choices.

You can check out TubeDepot, Tubesdirect and vaccumtube. All have some useful information on each type.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO RE-BIAS YOUR HT20 AMP! I looked into that one for awhile and it is a fixed bias.

So you are in luck, you can swap your tubes (power and preamp) without HAVING to re-bias.

I've tried quite a few power and preamp tubes in mine, but it all comes down to what you want to hear. The differences are noticeable but not major....well, the JJ 6CA7's are much less gain all around, but more low-mids.

The Sovtek 12AX7LPS will mellow out the icy highs.

The other cool thing about this amp is there is just one tube for the gain channel and one for the clean channel...makes it pretty simple to chase tone.

With Marshall and Fender (and most other tube amps) you have to find that perfect combo of tubes for the phase inverter and gain tubes.

I use the HT20 when I don't want to lug my Marshall Vintage Modern around, and the 6CA7's with a 12AY7 in the gain channel can come pretty close for the lower-gain tones I like.