Myles, I have a 60-watt Boogie MarkIII, with the original tubes, that I've had since the mid-80's. It's had very light but regular use over the years and has never been roaded around. Although it continues to sound really good I've recently gotten interested in trying some different pre-amp tubes in V1. In order to get to V1 though, I had to remove one of the power tubes (Mesa STR 415) and in so doing, although I was careful with it, I managed to break off the big center pin at it's base. I was able to fit it back in place and re-seat the tube. I then warmed up the amp, powered it up, and it sounded fine.
However when I looked around back there is no blue glow in that tube. I assume the tube is inactive and plan on buying a new set, but the amp sounds fine, so the questions are 1. What is really happening here? 2. Can it run on one tube?
3. What might be the advantages/disadvantages of that?
An un-related question, the amp came with a spare pre-amp tube Mesa STR 12AX7-A (ECC83). Any thoughts on it's character and use? Thanks, and thanks also Myles for this thread, it's really valuable. Jim.
