Silly amp tricks

[Gibsonman63]

My first preamp tube (V1) is starting to go a bit microphonic, but still sounds really good, plus it is a pricey (at least for me) NOS tube. I have always had trouble with tubes rattling in my amp when I set it on top of the speaker cabinet even though I keep it in a heavily padded road case.

I found a keyboard stand works wonders. My amp (Express Clone) is much happier completely isolated from my speakers.

[KellyBass]

Considering you have an express, your solution makes perfect sense to me. Using, say, an ironing board to isolate your amp...now that would be silly.

[crbowman]

Best cheap amp stand I've ever seen was one of those old collapsible suitcase stands. The cheap kind you used to see in motels. Two bent aluminum tubes and a couple of fabric straps. You just open it up, set your amp or head onto the fabric straps and close it down on your amp. You can angle your amp any way you want, it stays put, is sturdy and it's super light weight. The guy i knew used to put a Twin Reverb in one, and I used to put my Marshall head in one (had to shorten the straps). Works great!

[Ken Moon]

How did you get the amp stand from the motel room to your car without anybody noticing?

[crbowman]

How did you get the amp stand from the motel room to your car without anybody noticing?

Get it from the kind of motel where, so long as everyone comes out alive, no one WANTS to notice anything.

[phsyconoodler]

The ones with carpet on the walls and mirrors on the ceilings don't offer luggage stands!

[phsyconoodler]

You can also use a large piece of shrink tubing over the tube.It works well with EF86 tubes that are notoriously micro phonic.
Mesa offers 12AX7's with the condom on them.They call them 'special application' tubes.They work fine in amps that need quiet tubes.

[crbowman]

The ones with carpet on the walls and mirrors on the ceilings don't offer luggage stands!

That's because too many guitarists have stayed there.