Finally Bit The Bullet on a Monoprice

[FenderMan05]

Just bought a 5w Monoprice with a Joyo American Sound as an early Birthday present for myself. What're your guys' thoughts on these amps? I've heard people like them, but that their longevity is virtually non-existent. This is my first ever tube amp, so is there anything I should know about them as newbie getting into it? Do I have to buy spare tubes now or will the amp be fine for a few months/years?

 

[Tim S]

You can think of tubes like incandescent light bulbs. Some people never kept spares and would be in the dark until they bought a replacement. Others kept spares of every type of light bulb they used so they quickly replaced the failed bulb and never suffered the dark for long.

It’s the same with tubes.

But while incandescent bulbs used to be available at almost any store, that’s not the case with vacuum tubes. Unless you’re willing to go days without a functional amp, it’s best to keep a spare set of power tubes (they wear out the fastest) and at least one of every other type tube your amp has. The bonus in doing this is you now have a “known good” for every socket in your amp that you can swap in, one at a time, to troubleshoot any future problems.

Power tubes are considered “consumables”, so expect to replace them at some point. Their longevity depends on how many hours you use them, how hard you run them and their build quality. They could last 6 months or 10 years. The preamp tubes generally don’t need replacing unless they turn microphonic. It’s not unusual to find amps from the 60s with their original preamp tubes in working order.

Congrats on your new amp (every tube amp owner had a “first amp” and had the same questions you do). You picked a fine amp as your first.

 

[VintageSG]

You chose wisely. @Tim S has made all the valid points.
Enjoy it. Take your time learning what it can do. A Joyo AS into a tiddler amp is a joy to play through, writes the man who plays through a Joyo AS into a tiddler amp, so I may be biased.

 

[1 21 gigawatts]

It is a great amp. The only negatives for me is that it is still too loud at breakup for a "bedroom amp" and it doesn't have reverb. For my uses, the larger Monoprice amp would have actually made more sense since it has a master volume and reverb. The cheap $100 tube amp caused me to spend hundreds more on pedals.

 

[Tarkus60]

Volume at 5 is the loudest, it just gets dirtier as you go higher.
I really like mine.
I did replace the tubes with some NOS RCA, do you have to do that? No not really I just like to tinker. There is some break in time with the speaker.

 

[FenderMan05]

You can think of tubes like incandescent light bulbs. Some people never kept spares and would be in the dark until they bought a replacement. Others kept spares of every type of light bulb they used so they quickly replaced the failed bulb and never suffered the dark for long.

It’s the same with tubes.

But while incandescent bulbs used to be available at almost any store, that’s not the case with vacuum tubes. Unless you’re willing to go days without a functional amp, it’s best to keep a spare set of power tubes (they wear out the fastest) and at least one of every other type tube your amp has. The bonus in doing this is you now have a “known good” for every socket in your amp that you can swap in, one at a time, to troubleshoot any future problems.

Power tubes are considered “consumables”, so expect to replace them at some point. Their longevity depends on how many hours you use them, how hard you run them and their build quality. They could last 6 months or 10 years. The preamp tubes generally don’t need replacing unless they turn microphonic. It’s not unusual to find amps from the 60s with their original preamp tubes in working order.

Congrats on your new amp (every tube amp owner had a “first amp” and had the same questions you do). You picked a fine amp as your first.

Thanks for the tips! I will definitely enjoy it. I'll probably stock up on another set of tubes for the amp within the coming months. Do you have any suggestions for where I should buy my tubes/what tubes I should buy? I really like a clean Fender-ish sound.

 

[Chiogtr4x]

Thanks for the tips! I will definitely enjoy it. I'll probably stock up on another set of tubes for the amp within the coming months. Do you have any suggestions for where I should buy my tubes/what tubes I should buy? I really like a clean Fender-ish sound.

Go to Tube Depot, TubeStore, Antique Electronics Supply ( all online)
And just get (1) 12AX7 and (1) 6V6 for spares- the stock tubes ( and even little Celestion Super 8 speaker) sound pretty good to me.

- and this amp is crisp and clean up to say NOON - Not a ton of bass, but not flabby either.

You should get a great R&R crunch with sustain with both knobs cranked- my Strat loves this amp.

(I just leave my amp in 5 watt mode as I think it sounds fuller, even at quiet volume)

Fun amp ( i got a little pedalboard just for this amp with OD> Tremolo > Reverb/Delay ( all cheap stuff) - sounds great! And I can jam and gig with this amp.

IMO, JJ Tubes, EHX, Mullard, Tung-Sol, TAD ( these are new tubes) tubes should be fine - but prices went up.

( I have an EHX 12AX7 and JJ 6V6 as spares- but leaving stock alone)

* just opinions of one man, Ha!

 

[Tim S]

Go to Tube Depot, TubeStore, Antique Electronics Supply ( all online)
And just get (1) 12AX7 and (1) 6V6 for spares

Yup, those are popular US sellers.

I have an EHX 12AX7 and JJ 6V6 as spares

JJ (made in Slovenia) seems to be making the most robust power tubes these days (especially the 6V6). But many feel that their pre-amp tubes are too dark (great if you need to tame a too-bright amp, but otherwise generally not desired by most around here).

The very first pre-amp tube in most amps (known as V1) has the greatest effect on an amp’s tone. In @FenderMan05 ’s case, his amp only has one pre-amp tube, so it’s easy to find Among current production tubes, the Russian-made EH (Electro Harmonics) are considered among the best.

(If you search around, you’ll see that several different tube brands are made at this same Russian factory. Some question how different these various brands can be, while others insist there are discernible sonic differences)