Only 3 Years lifetime for a Tube in a Tube Driver or Tonebone Hot British ?

[billou_35]

Hello,

I'm the very happy owner of a Chandler Tube Driver (4 knobs from glory age) & a Tonebone Hot British. I play a US Strat on an Hiwatt head.

I read on B.K. Butler & Tonebone website that the tube is to be changed every 3 years. I thought that preamp tube has to be changed every 20 years ?

Where is the truth ?

Thanks to all for your answers

[brad]

Maybe they use crappy tubes or operate them outside their specs?

[Doug_H]

I've never heard of such a thing. Preamp tubes rarely, if ever, need to be changed.

Doug

[Eb7+9]

... three years doesn't sound unreasonable of you keep the filament burning/running all the time - the filament micro-sputters and loses mass over time ... if you only power them up occasionally then 10~20 years sounds right for clean/ hifi operation ... if you run them at extreme signal amplitude (hard clipping) all the time, then depending on how the grid filaments are protected by grid blockers and the durability of grid filament winding in your triodes (Sovtek not great, JJ apparently much better) those figures can be somewhat less ...

~JC

[Pushtone]

Could you please post the links to the Tonebone web page where this claim is made.

I own a Hot British and the manual says nothing of replacing the tube. It does say the tube may never need replacing. I've opened my HB and they use RUBY tubes from china.

Please post the links, I'm very interested. Thanks

[Floyd Pepper]

I read a review of a ToneBone in a UK guitar magazine.  They removed the tube from the pedal and said it sounded the same.  Their conclusion was that the tube didn't do much.  If this is the case and it's running at low voltages anyway then I can't see how it would only last 3 years.

[billou_35]

Here it is :

Q: How often should the tube be replaced?

A: After 2-3 years of normal use, you may change the tube. But we only suggest doing so if you find the tone is lacking or output down from when you first plugged it in.

http://www.tonebone.com/tb-hotbritish-faq.htm