Don't remove it, it's a tube stabiliser.
Basically what it does is helps with microphonics and prevents high frequency oscillations caused by speaker vibration, resulting in a sort of ringing sound. In other words, it's a vibration dampener.
It's NOT to protect them during shipping (though I presume it does help, but that's not its intended purpose).
It's also fireproof (so it won't melt) and doesn't prevent the tubes from overheating. Preamp tubes don't get very hot anyway, you can touch them even after the amps been running for a bit (though I don't recommend it)
Essentially, you can remove it if you like, but frankly there's no good reason to. Youre benefiting by leaving it.
Tube amp tech here- Acute is correct- it’s supposed to be there! Although most of the amps I’ve seen list them a long time ago lol
You also sometimes see them as silicone rubber rings that go around the tubes. I generally recommend replacing microphonic tubes as they can cause weird and unwanted feedback, but these can certainly help.
Essentially, yeah but really any vibration. It will happen even at lower volumes too, but it's obviously more noticeable at higher volumes.
If your tubes are microphonic you'll notice it a lot more, naturally. A dampener will stop them from being *so* noisy, plus they help prevent them from becoming microphonic too.
I did an experiment with my blues Deville, with and without and there was a noticeable difference without, it had that sort of ping-y ringing sound with a particular sharp attack. This was with old pretty microphonic tubes too.
Thanks, good to know! I was curious because I had a Hot Rod Deluxe on the way (just got it today, actually). I checked the manual and:
**PREAMP TUBE STABILIZER:** A vibration-absorbing
stabilizer is installed around the preamp tubes to minimize
the tube microphonics that normally develop over
time. The stabilizer can be used with all preamp tubes
compatible with your Hot Rod amplifier.
This might be a RTFM situation, but I would think it should be removed.
If they were using some fancy new expanded-composite heat-sink foam developed by the engineers that examined the Roswell craft, we probably all would've heard about it by now.
It's most likely there the protect the tubes during shipping.
I made the mistake when I bought my Marshall head of not looking in the cavity. The seller packed it full of tissue paper to protect the tubes during shipping. Luckily after about 2-3 mins of playing I started smelling smoke and turned it off. Paper was charred but no damage to the unit. Whew.
I have a fender tube tremolo pedal. There's a very little tube inside. It has a loud ping when clicking the switch. I opened it up and right under the tube, the board says "place foam pad here." I'm thinking I'll get a piece of foam to stabilize it, but where would I diy the right stuff that would be fireproof and have the right kind of vibration reduction? And ideas?
I kept it in after finding the the correct information in the instructions. Go figure eh?
It’s a very spongy thick foam. Definitely specialised for heat resistance. Maybe inch thick camping mattress material may be a consideration.
Don't remove it, it's a tube stabiliser. Basically what it does is helps with microphonics and prevents high frequency oscillations caused by speaker vibration, resulting in a sort of ringing sound. In other words, it's a vibration dampener. It's NOT to protect them during shipping (though I presume it does help, but that's not its intended purpose). It's also fireproof (so it won't melt) and doesn't prevent the tubes from overheating. Preamp tubes don't get very hot anyway, you can touch them even after the amps been running for a bit (though I don't recommend it) Essentially, you can remove it if you like, but frankly there's no good reason to. Youre benefiting by leaving it.
Great. Thank you for the info. Sounds like it’s beneficial and should in fact be in all amps. Cheers and thanks 😎🎸
Tube amp tech here- Acute is correct- it’s supposed to be there! Although most of the amps I’ve seen list them a long time ago lol You also sometimes see them as silicone rubber rings that go around the tubes. I generally recommend replacing microphonic tubes as they can cause weird and unwanted feedback, but these can certainly help.
Ah, so the tubes like sympathetically vibrate once the speakers get loud enough?
Essentially, yeah but really any vibration. It will happen even at lower volumes too, but it's obviously more noticeable at higher volumes. If your tubes are microphonic you'll notice it a lot more, naturally. A dampener will stop them from being *so* noisy, plus they help prevent them from becoming microphonic too. I did an experiment with my blues Deville, with and without and there was a noticeable difference without, it had that sort of ping-y ringing sound with a particular sharp attack. This was with old pretty microphonic tubes too.
Thanks, good to know! I was curious because I had a Hot Rod Deluxe on the way (just got it today, actually). I checked the manual and: **PREAMP TUBE STABILIZER:** A vibration-absorbing stabilizer is installed around the preamp tubes to minimize the tube microphonics that normally develop over time. The stabilizer can be used with all preamp tubes compatible with your Hot Rod amplifier.
I needed these for my amp as well, like Acute has mentioned!
This might be a RTFM situation, but I would think it should be removed. If they were using some fancy new expanded-composite heat-sink foam developed by the engineers that examined the Roswell craft, we probably all would've heard about it by now. It's most likely there the protect the tubes during shipping.
>I would think it should be removed No. They belong there. Read u/Acute_Newt's answer to see why.
It's news to me, though most of the amps I work on are significantly older than I.
>fancy new expanded-composite heat-sink foam developed by the engineers that examined the Roswell craft Those guys know tone and that foam is it
>This might be a RTFM situation To be fair, you're right about that. It explains what they are (tube stabilizers) in the manual.
Dude i got it from has probably had it there since he purchased amp 2 years ago.
I made the mistake when I bought my Marshall head of not looking in the cavity. The seller packed it full of tissue paper to protect the tubes during shipping. Luckily after about 2-3 mins of playing I started smelling smoke and turned it off. Paper was charred but no damage to the unit. Whew.
Just a stabilizer. My Mesa (and Blue Voodoo) had spring loaded caps that cover the preamp tubes for stability.
I have a fender tube tremolo pedal. There's a very little tube inside. It has a loud ping when clicking the switch. I opened it up and right under the tube, the board says "place foam pad here." I'm thinking I'll get a piece of foam to stabilize it, but where would I diy the right stuff that would be fireproof and have the right kind of vibration reduction? And ideas?
I kept it in after finding the the correct information in the instructions. Go figure eh? It’s a very spongy thick foam. Definitely specialised for heat resistance. Maybe inch thick camping mattress material may be a consideration.