I have afriend of mine who has been in and out of tube amps over the years.
He likes the sound,but lives in fear of a tube meltdown, and he has been known to invest more money in spare tubes than the cost of the amp!
I've owned tube amps over the 40 years I've been at this, and never once had a tube failure or tube blow up.Lucky?
Perhaps, but I don't listen at loud levels either.
At one time ,because of my friend's tube anxiety, I used to think a spare set of tubes was necessary, but not anymore, unless you are into tube rolling, which is a whole other OCD.
My advice is to not worry about spare tubes, but that you do know where to find them if you need them.
And tube life depends a lot on how the amp is made.
If it's designed or biased high, you'll need to replace tubes more often.
Tube amps aren't for everyone, especially people with OCD, or neurosis, but in all fairness, they are the one's with the problem, you can't lay the blame on tube amps.
By and large they are a pretty reliable and stable bunch.
Good luck, I hope all your tube experiences will be as rewarding and trouble free as mine have been.
He likes the sound,but lives in fear of a tube meltdown, and he has been known to invest more money in spare tubes than the cost of the amp!
I've owned tube amps over the 40 years I've been at this, and never once had a tube failure or tube blow up.Lucky?
Perhaps, but I don't listen at loud levels either.
At one time ,because of my friend's tube anxiety, I used to think a spare set of tubes was necessary, but not anymore, unless you are into tube rolling, which is a whole other OCD.
My advice is to not worry about spare tubes, but that you do know where to find them if you need them.
And tube life depends a lot on how the amp is made.
If it's designed or biased high, you'll need to replace tubes more often.
Tube amps aren't for everyone, especially people with OCD, or neurosis, but in all fairness, they are the one's with the problem, you can't lay the blame on tube amps.
By and large they are a pretty reliable and stable bunch.
Good luck, I hope all your tube experiences will be as rewarding and trouble free as mine have been.