nah...as long as you get matched tubes, you should be all set.....Im not sure about every amp, but Ive installed tubes in my Mesa without any problems.
In fact it sounded so much better with new tubes, it was like a new amp.
yeah. i've had the same tubes in my Fender since purchase off ebay.. so i don't know how old they are. they recently made the great crackling sound. i'll see if there is an owners manual online.
post by blue at Aug 2,2006 12:21am edited Aug 2,2006 12:21am
mesas are fixed bias amps, meaning you can just drop a new set of mesa tubes in and be just fine. not all tube amps are like this, however.
just dropping in any random tubes could yeild a few results: one would be a very different and possibly unpleasant sound, two would be that the tubes will burn out much quicker.
if you have never retubed/rebiased before and aren't really familiar with the process, bring it to tech. and make sure the tech knows what he is doing.
biasing is like tuning your amp to the tubes. with the right set of tubes (i could go on about varying tubes for days) and a solid biasing job, your amp can sound better than you most likely imagined.