Do You Always Need to Bias New Tubes?

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[@bryanbailey6963]

I can finally put a face to the voice. Love your videos - basic, down to earth, clear. Thanks for all you are doing!

[@shckltnebay]

He has done a live vid a week or so ago with himself in view

[@drewsollars2239]

I've seen the face a few times but this is the first time I've seen it bestubbled

[@wea69420]

I've been imagining Mike Ehrmantrout all this time

[@squirelova1815]

"I've had girlfriends in the past..." I can't believe this diligent Genius of a man even had Time for a girlfriend but they were probably coming onto and all over him "back in the day" and maybe even now. A man with a real Job and Priceless skills like his is a great "catch".

[@valleywoodstudio7345]

Nice new format and like the oscilloscope touch! My wife says she's glad she saw me playing piano when she met me and not guitar... re bias: I learnt the hard way that my Traynor YGL-3 head needed to be biased. I was in The Pretty Things (yup...) at the time on quite an important gig in London and 2nd tune in, the amp started to sound fantastic. I turned around to see the monitor engineer behind my amp with a blood red orange glow on his extremely concerned face signalling me to stop. The tubes had melted up into their sockets it had got so hot. Rest of the gig was via a Rat pedal and Peavey KB100. Surprisingly it worked!

[@josephc3276]

Amp's are a lot like hot rod engines : They seem to run their best just before they blow up 😳!!! jm2c

[@giulioluzzardi7632]

Peavey kb100 and a Rat pedal must sound incredible, like a p.a. system fuzz guitar amp all to yourself!

[@richclayton5785]

Actually some of us have no idea what problems you deal with making your vids. Looks fine and sounds fine to me.

[@innohurry71]

The rust may be criminal to you, but your tone is nice. I really enjoy learning from your content. Thank you!

[@TheBladepolisher]

Great video ! ! Don't worry about the faces, let the spirit move ya ! !

[@EddieLeeFunn]

The Beato reference... very nice! But the line "... my rust is criminal." Priceless.

[@michaelwilliamson9605]

My wife asked me about my facial expressions, I told here it was "Concentration, not constipation". Anyway, I always enjoy your videos. I always thought voice sounds like Adam West, with that, it's "To the Amp Cave!". Thanks, Mike

[@JagStar]

Wrist pain is a thing for us grey guys! Both my hands go numb when playing guitar now (seeing specialists about that). They go numb when soldering too! But very good for upping the guitar player face count. 🤣 Always interesting, thanks Lyle!

[@dontuckerjr]

In 1982 at Sheppard AFB, I was told that mine was the last beginning electronics class that would learn tube theory at this training facility. What you share is very important. Thank you for keeping the knowledge fresh.

[@matthewf1979]

I really enjoyed the Tone Talk last night. It’s good to see that you want to improve your playing. I lose interest in learning new stuff and just tinker on amps/guitars/pedalboards all the time.

[@PsionicAudio]

Thanks Matt, and thanks for joining us last night!

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

I caught my face while cleaning a rusty chassis the other week when I sped up the footage. My mouth subconsciously goes "oooowwweeeeewwwwooooowwwwweeeewww" the whole time.

[@goodun2974]

Watch David Lindley playing electric lap steel through his Dumble amp in the 1980s with his band ElRayo-X. kzbin.info/www/bejne/q5fNhXakZd14iMk . He is obviously mouthing the notes as he's playing them, almost like he is imitating a horn player, especially on Your Old Lady at about 6 minutes in.

[@knifeswitch5973]

Ahhh handsome as imagined. Thankyou for this daily bread as usual. Truly keeping us educated and informed. You rock!

[@SeanPurdy-f5u]

I’ve been watching your channel for a little more then a year now and outside of a reflection in the chassis of the amps you work on this was the first I’ve seen your face. Quite entertaining the player faces you made. I want to thank you for imparting a vast amount of knowledge and be entertaining at the same time.

[@sseltrek1a2b]

yes- really nice to see the face behind the voice...have to say, he has a very soothing voice, which makes listening to him while he's working on amps really enjoyable...

[@jerryhelm7848]

There are a zillion guys who only want to show their chops. You play plenty good enough to demonstrate your work. It's your knowledge which set you apart from the rest. Keep up the excellent work

[@josephc3276]

Glad you are comfortable now taking into your camera 👍. I think it's a bonus with your always excellent content. I'll go out on a limb and say all of your followers love your posts and the knowledge you share with us. Face or not!!! Please keep doing what your doing and many thanks for your hard work ✌. OK enough a$$ kissing, just keep on Rocking!!!

[@jjiacobucci]

Always a pleasure to tune in to your channel. Thank you !

[@JohnBowen-xs1vf]

Thanks for your very amp informative videos. I’m enjoying them and actually learning something. I’m with Bryan Bailey - nice to put a face with your voice.

[@pepuletrz]

i love my EHX mig-50...came with perfect tubes andbias was perfect when warm

[@oliverlangner5202]

Nice to have a face to all the videos of you I've watched. You're doin' great work!

[@rob_in_stowmarket_uk]

Hi Lyle. Just caught this one. My wife is, apparently, like myself, now a fan, so get the gum in! 👍😜

[@tacmason]

welcome to the 335 semi hollow body club Brother Lyle-your service excellence is noted, and relevant to your opinions on all these Musical things !

[@squirelova1815]

"...and most of them have ADJUSTABLE Fixed Bias..." Oh well, I tried to follow. This really Wonderful channel has made me just Love the world of Solid State. Like, really Love it.

[@ogd3thst4r93]

Most tube differences are just snake oil. Unless the person telling you something is recording and showing proveable frequency differences in tone, they shouldn't be trusted. Not to mention there are only like 2 tube factories in the world and most tubes are just relabeled.

[@Ari_Calamari]

I really appreciate your videos, Lyle. Finding someone sharing good info can be rare. Every videos makes me a tiny bit less stupider. But only a tiny bit 😉

[@sgt.grinch3299]

I appreciate you sharing your knowledge. The science of sound is fascinating to me. I love your new guitar. It checks all the boxes.

[@jacobpittman1996]

Thank you for your production quality - always clear audio and video. And your voice is just like the diamond store owner who did his own voice-overs for commercials in my hometown. It’s good, Mr. Lyle.

[@richardsp2794]

Finally, some worthwhile advice listening to about tube biasing and whether to or not. Thanks for the content.

[@johnthornburg4049]

One thing I would do is sometimes sell people that needed a pair of tubes a matched quad, so if they went out as long as they didn't fry anything they could just pop the second pair in there and would not have to rebias. It was especially popular amoung some gigging musicians that would carry spares. On many of the amps that are fixed non-adjustable bias I wind up modding the circuit to make the bias adjustable. On an original 5150 I feel it is almost night and day difference because as you stated they stock fixed bias point is so very cold. I bet you probably do the same. Really makes a HUGE difference on the moderately distorted/lower gain settings to where you can get a decent sound out of that channel (which sounds terrible in stock form because the amp is so cold). Hey, I heard what you said about wrist and finger issues - relief factor is a supplement that has made night and day difference to me. I am not spamming as I certainly don't get anything out of anyone buying it. Just trying to give a fellow musician some relief. I was at the point of requiring a surgery and after a few days the pain from inflammation was gone for me. It was debilitating prior. I didn't think it would help much but I was wrong. But it is a $20 to try it out in a starter pack. Obviously, your results may vary.

[@StratMatt777]

Also, sugar is literally an inflammatory. I mean, that is what sugar does. It is toxic. Also, nightshade plants like Tomato, and Potato and I think Bell Peppers can cause joint inflammation. Also try quitting peanuts to see if you get improvement. Some nuts can have fungus in them.

[@raymondcurrie605]

Your videos have helped me a lot in understanding the inner workings of my amps. It has also saved me time and money sifting through all the branding that is thrown at us guitar players. The best book for Jazzy Blues chords to start with is the Micky Baker Book 1, which has some of the cheesiest most effective exercises for learning the chords and putting them together in meaningful progressions. I start many of my electric students in that book and it is a good year of work. If you want more advanced voicings the Ted Greene book on Modern Chord Progressions (not Chord Chemistry) is king for learning that bag. For the wrist and finger issues it is hard to diagnose without seeing you in your natural playing position. Either way, if there is pain, numbness, or stiffness I always recommend slow practice of simple mechanical exercises like chromatic scales. Really slow practice lets you focus on how the individual tendons and muscles are moving and allows you to make adjustments to compensate for our personal body shape and arm length. I had to learn this after a couple injuries over the years. If anything a couple sessions with a guitar instructor you trust can help you overcome some of theses obstacles. I've heard some of your more recent videos and you are sounding really great. Again thanks for the videos and I wished you lived closer to California.

[@chokkan7]

Lyle, I was humbled to view this; you have the same wall-mounted plastic parts drawer behind you as I do (although I have several of them mounted side-by-side to offer a bit more stability). Moreover, don't be so down on your own appearance; I've personally been known to make a freight train take a dirt road. By all means, please keep 'em coming.

[@goodun2974]

I have to walk around with handsome/pretty and extremely friendly dogs, because otherwise people would probably take one look at me and run in the other direction. My dogs, however, want to meet everyone and make new friends.....

[@stevesuv]

You were great with Mark and Dave.Way to go.

[@Rufko]

It's good to see you Lyle!! Rock on....

[@stephc4427]

Thank you Lyle for all these superbly informational and entertaining vids! Keep up the great work! Your playing is fine, no worries.

[@scottpickett9779]

I really enjoyed listing to you and Dave on Tone Talk the other night. I think I'm becoming a geek. Thanks Lyle for all you do.

[@alexdeleon7135]

Well done! This answers a question that has been on every guitarist's mind; that owned a tube amp.

[@kimballisms]

Haha I see that Excalibre up there. Lyle!! Can't wait to hear more!

[@curtiseverett1671]

I can't believe how awesome your show is, and I watch them all. You are the best!!!!!

[@StandbyCymbalist]

Nice to meet your face finally. Thanks for all you do to share your knowledge and skills. Your playing is always great btw.

[@LutherBaker]

Facial expressions for the win! Consider redirecting your friends to some older Van Halen videos. Suggests you're playing correctly. My comment is a bit dated but given your previous videos, was neat to get a closeup of your light-hearted disposition! Don't change - please make faces - and thank you for helping me fix/maintain my amps!

[@gregparker1012]

As a tube amp player we find we have to know a bit about our amp just to keep functioning, and to maximize the experience. These things can be fickle creatures and it's essential to have some knowledge of what's under the hood. LC's videos are always interesting and informative. They are the best learning tool I've found on this subject. Most other amp doctors have little idea what they are looking for and their videos are heavy with the error portion of trial and error. They end up doing incomplete patch up jobs. They are bad teachers. Some even spend their video time getting vexed and ranting. Or make 1.5hr videos that even their stalker could not sit through. Only one channel to watch. Psionic.

[@dazfarrell]

Never worry about the playing, which is well decent. We are all here for your supreme expertise and knowledge on anything electrical. Took your advice on a G10C replacement speaker for a 65 RI Princeton, man it sings now!

[@PsionicAudio]

Thanks man. It just gets daunting playing on KZbin, where some six year old is nailing Eruption...

[@dazfarrell]

@@PsionicAudio The very video I always skip past.

[@Muhlenburger]

I’ve just recently got back into electric guitar and have really enjoyed what I’ve been learning about amplifiers from your videos. I once had a career that involved public speaking, and I have to say that you have one of the great voices on KZbin these days. Extemporaneous speech is not easy, but you are able to clearly communicate what you’re thinking, and doing it with engaging inflection, tonality and enunciation. Thanks for the great presentations!

[@PsionicAudio]

Wow, thanks so much!

[@goodun2974]

@@PsionicAudio , It occurs to me from your mentioning in the recent ToneTalk that you were originally an English major and you had some experience in theater, that you would be a good example of someone who had what might be termed a "liberal arts" education. Which many people don't understand has nothing to do with political leanings per se, but instead means that you were exposed to and received education in a wide variety of disparate, seemingly unrelated subjects aside from rote learning of math and science, and it gave you a wider understanding of other people and of the world, and apparently a sense of confidence about speaking in public extemporaneously without a prepared script (which is not an easy skill to develop, and many people who ostensibly do it for a living, including or especially politicians, never really learn to do well). I will also hazard a guess that you might have been one of those free-range kids who was pretty much allowed to set your own itinerary for play and exploring the world and learning how things work without too much helicopter parenting and being hovered over. ( I'm about a decade older than you and most of my neighborhood friends didn't really experience helicopter parenting as a "thing" when I was growing up). PS, did you join theater and pick up the guitar to meet girls? If so, you're not alone! 😁 ( I was too shy for theater back then and what little guitar I could learn wasn't sufficient to impress any girls).

[@davidlegrand2931]

I really enjoy the amp repair work and your narration knocks it out of the park , keep playing those guitars , thanks .

[@boredflamingo1313]

Agree, don’t be shy man. You’re great!

[@boredflamingo1313]

Plus your channel has encouraged me to go get my Laney fixed up nicely.

[@TheStimpy60]

Nice to see you Lyle !

[@weschilton]

Hey Lyle, I like the new format, and your dry humor is just super fun. The ToneTalk interview was great, thanks for doing that. :) I can relate to "guitar face" I make some of the ugliest faces you could imagine. Its even worse when I play the drums, but at least then I can hide behind the cymbals! ;)

[@ronmaljak8401]

Great segment, Lyle

[@mobicus1]

I really appreciate what you do here. Thanks!!

[@JeffCrow1313]

Thanks very much for the info! I have a Dr Z (Z28) with JJ 6V6s and I suddenly had one of the tubes go microphonic. Initially, I suspected the EF86 pre-amp tube was making the staticky screams but a quick tap with a pencil revealed it was a 6V6. The JJs lasted 4 years and I was about to replace the pair so I wouldn't have to re-bias the amp. Now, maybe I will get a pair of EHXs and take the amp to a tech for proper biasing.

[@-DILLIGAF]

One of my favorite channels! Cheers

[@stutas7818]

Hey Lyle, and a big hello from Hobart, Tasmania. Love your channel and it’s great to put a face to the voice. Great to see you on tonetalk too.

[@goodun2974]

Hobart, Tasmania, hmmm, is that where the well known restaurant-kitchen equipment comes from? The shipping cost must be brutal! 😁 (Actually I think the equipment is made in Indiana here in the US, but I never knew that there's a Hobart, Tasmania. I hope you have a few good music stores and technicians there....)

[@rpm4999]

If i had that guitar i would be hugging it too 😍

[@markarita3]

"Source for Dokken riffs" LMAO....I almost spit my coffee out!

[@U2WB]

Thank you, Sir, for this video. I have been forever telling friends (and music store sales people) that in the 50+ years I’ve played guitar and owned good tube amps, I’ve never needed a rebias. Perhaps it is because I’ve never changed just one tube. Typically my thinking was, if the amp isn’t sounding good or a tube has gone microphonic or started glowing excessively it was time to replace the entire complement of tubes, always bought in matched pairs or quads as the case may be.

[@NEILBSMITH]

Finally get to see your face. Great work, keep it going. Wish you had more subscribers, you deserve it. OH, and THANKS!

[@danielsaturnino5715]

Guitar faces is very normal thing, dont worry about it. Its a repair channel, not a beauty contest. Good talk :)

[@paultaylor2968]

Hi Lyle watched your vids before. Really informative. But loved your in depth chat with Dave and Marc on tone talk. You're a keeper. Thanks for all your knowledge.

[@murphy-clark3057]

Great work

[@u.s.a.198]

I appreciate learning from your knowledge!

[@hotcitysoul7144]

I appreciate your guitar phrasing and playing

[@nolarocks]

I appreciate your expertise and approach to servicing the amps you work on. I'd really love to bring you some work.

[@nicholasbarile5492]

Love your channel! Thanks for teaching us all! Can you show how you bias the DRRI?

[@audiotechlabs4650]

Hey Lyle, Jerry Rosa makes all kinds of faces when he plays mandolin and after a few minutes you only watch his fingers so don’t change how you are to appease some viewers! Your face is your face. Your wife is the one who counts! Besides, it’s your tech savvy most of tune in to! You got tech savvy in bucket fulls! I love working on tube amps, and always have solutions and suggestions tha keep the techs out here up on what’s going on. ❤️🎶🎸.

[@MaxPower-js1sk]

That 335 sounds good. It’s hard to find one which has that Larry Carlton sound.

[@jephjacques]

MAN that's a good looking 335

[@DebonaireDerek]

The best sounding guitar riffs come with the bitter lemon face haha. It's almost impossible to play a blues riff without the stankface haha. Loved the Tone Talk episode. Thanks again for your vast knowledge Lyle.

[@loosechangetrio1]

Good to see your face Lyle and I’ve always enjoyed your videos. I do my own biasing on my amps but that’s about all. Good to know my Fender Twin Reverb II is in the right range at a little under 50% as it doesn’t have a trim pot.

[@patreidcocolditzcastle632]

making faces while playing = great feel and passion. also i cant use headset mics as i tend to sing all my solos,sometimes its actually a good effect

[@frankbennett3075]

Very interesting (as always) thanks for all the great videos.

[@jonnybeck6723]

So nice to see your face you celebrity tech you...

[@alecboyyes]

As an aside, when I last bought tubes the vendor sent a letter detailing the tube situation, basically JJ has something like an 18 month backlog on production.... hard to maintain quality when you don't have the capacity to meet demand. I guess we have to be thankful tubes are still being made at all.

[@mannyoro]

your playing is awesome. Your information great. But your face- THE BEST LOL

[@acoustic61]

Very interesting. I think this is the first time I've seen any of your equipment. Looks like a Rigol scope and some Hakko tip cartridges. I'm always curious to see what others are using. Some techs are minimalists while others seem to need state of the art. I once worked with an engineer who designed car stereo amps and home theater equipment for some well known brands. He didnt seem to use any special or expensive equipment or tools. He didn't have the neatest workbench either. Just knew his stuff.

[@Teleman73]

Great informative video. Nice to see the face behind the voice. Joe Walsh is the king of guitar faces!

[@goodun2974]

In my humble opinion, and based on seeing them play a number of times,, David Lindley, John Hiatt, Tab Benoit, and Richard Thompson all make great guitar faces. Then you've got Hiatt's frequent collaborator Sonny Landreth, who has more of a poker face, but what he does on slide guitar takes all his concentration, and takes my breath away.

[@GlasVelo]

Rusty Chops...great stage name Lyle 😁

[@shckltnebay]

When a you tuber is holding the guitar I really want I have a very hard time leaving a thumbs up, kidding aside, Thanks again for the responce on the reverb tube voltage on the DR

[@PsionicAudio]

I get it man. Took me 51 years to get this dream guitar.

[@shckltnebay]

@@PsionicAudio Please film the noise fix work, Ive got a real 68 PR ive been trying to get rid of the back ground non vol related noise since I lucked out getting last year

[@mrunit7261]

Good man you are. Enjoy your insights.

[@Henni63]

Beato-Vision 🙂

[@thegolfnut812]

Do you still believe the 6V6GT Electro Harmonics are still the best? What other brands in the market today do you find are high quality? I'm looking at the older RCA, Tung-Sol, Mullard, GE tubes. They are pricy but I put these in my Clark Bassman and they made a big difference. For my Deluxe Reverb I was thinking of doing the same.

[@kuhboom22]

Great to finally see your face!

[@clemguitar63]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/aWa8Z2l-eLR5nJo

[@marcustait79]

I think the algorithm brought me here in an effort to take the heat off poor @UncleDoug! Good to know there is emerging audio engineering talent among the youth!!!!🤪

[@pokezodia]

OMG THE FACE ACROBATICS LOL! This is pure ME! When i'm playing, it looks like i'm having a stroke lol

[@NitroModelsAndComics]

Always nice to put a face to a voice.

[@jimshomestudio]

I have a Rockman XPR that I wish I could find someone to go through. It’s a pre-production prototype, so very valuable to me. The buttons are sticky, and it’s a noise maker, odd frequency spikes, etc. My tube amps are a little easier to find service, but I like Russian tubes and thanks to situations outside of our control…

[@flemmingchristensen955]

Hi 🙂 I have just bought a fender blues deluxe from the 90’s in blonde. I Can see there are no potmeter to adjust the bias. Is it possible to put a potmeter in these amps, so its possible to adjust the bias?

[@j1p1a1]

Love the channel. How do we find out more about the Psionic Amp head back there??

[@PsionicAudio]

Thanks! Look in the Excalibre 15 playlist. Lots of vids up. Home to resume the project soon.

[@baabaabaa2293]

Luvn the new guitar Lyle! Rekn u do too!

[@raybede]

Thank you.

[@richclayton5785]

Too hot or too cold. Closely matched tube’s and correct bias is an amazing sound.

[@bobandy3197]

Hi, pardon my basic question. But iv been having a wicked time finding out if the New fender 68 vibro champ reverb needs to re-biased for the single 6v6 it has. Mine came super microphonic Really enjoyed your previous video on the amp. And cant recall if you touched base on it needing to be biased or not. Thank you for your time and tour videos

[@halhawkins7641]

Cool Geetar

[@ptothec525]

awesome vid! alot of good info on channel! I just got a marshall dsl cr 40w, so im happy!

[@mickeystanic4750]

Put a par of 6L6 from a Fender. Super 210 into a Marshall Vintage Modern. with KT66 for few minutes just to check if the KT66 were source of noise. Test worked out but when I put the 6L6 back Fender amp was blowing the main fuse, noticed blackness on one side of both those tubes. Any chance you can tell me what happened and why since these power tubes are interchangeable. in Marshall Vintage Modern ? Thank you

[@ditchgator1]

Thanks for making clear this, at times confusing topic😎👍 Personally don't make many faces while playing guitar. However...Drooling when in the zone...well, it's a problem 😊

[@goodun2974]

"Drool is contiguous". Leo Kottke

[@martinreid1740]

I like the way you had your mike through the scope. I didn't rebias my soldano astroverb, just put a new pair of el84s in, same JJs. I've got a meter and there is a bias pot but the amp sounds great and the valves aren't redplating. Will I be OK?

[@PsionicAudio]

Sounds like you're OK, but it's not always the case and can be an expensive gamble.

[@martinreid1740]

@@PsionicAudio Thanks for your speedy reply, I've heard Mike always biased his amps on the cooler side but I may as well open it up give it the once over after watching all your videos and check all the hardware and solder joints.

[@Timba-w7f]

I have an old Gretch amp. Two 6L6 tubes, one makes noise when I tap it. Can one be replaced? Should both be replaced? Does anything else need adjusting? Thanks

[@GuitarsAndSynths]

if I replace bad power tubes KT88 in my Bogner Uberschall Twinjet amp, do I need to rebias them or can I swap them out with brand new same tubes?

[@dominicisnthere9687]

The guitar face is the best part. I have absolutely no guitar face whatsoever, I just kind of play like a robot

[@mr.k905]

Sounds good, looks good! What camera do you use? Nice to see you for once : )