My Fender amplifier is usually backed up against a wall for the purpose of space preservation. However, a recent valve change was in order & while I thought of it, I took a couple of snaps of said valves all a-glow. With a bit of an extended capture time, they came up better than expected.



Vacuum Tubes are normally expensive little buggers, but since my last re-valve they've gone against the trend of everything else & actually come down in price! How that works, I'm not sure. Anyway, the cost decrease offsets the distance required to collect them out in the Barossa Valley, or 75km from home (in a straight line!). Adelaide has a few music stores but they really are crap when it comes to customer service & ordering an item is something they don't want to hear about. The guys in Tanunda at The Barossa Music Centre do a great job & appreciate the business, so it's worth the trip.



When valves die, they usually lose a bit of tone & then randomly crackle & pop but never actually cease working, which is frustrating because I generally try to hold out on purchasing more thinking they'll get over themselves & stop their whining. Unfortunately, they don't & it's also near impossible to determine which tube is doing it's best to die.

I tried to buy locally from a place called Derringers, where my Fender Stratocaster came from back in '95. Back then they were a reputable business, but now it employs staff who don't give a toss about selling stuff & who spend most of the time ignoring customers & playing the products themselves! In the end I did buy a couple of replacements but they sounded worse than what I was replacing.



Now I have that warm, lush tone again which is hopefully being enjoyed by the neighbours. I suspect they do, since the Police haven't turned up.... yet!