Symptoms of a dying tube?

[Maxwell_E]

Hi all. Over the last year I've noticed that one channel channel on my SEX 1.0 with C4S is just a little quieter. I've swapped the input leads and speaker leads with no difference. I just realized I should try swapping the tubes, and it seems that it followed the tube over. Also the quiet channel would occasionally cut out when an especially loud noise occurred (explosions in movies, shouting, heavy drums). I can make it come back by flicking the power off and back on again quickly. I've never worn a pair of tubes out before. Is this just what happens when you run a used pair of tubes for hours a day for almost 10 years? The only thing I've changed recently is putting an ALPS Blue like 2 or 3 years ago, but I did a voltage and resistance check after that and it came up good.

[Doc B.]

Yup, that amount of time could be enough to run the tube down. You could try giving the pins a good cleaning, that's about the only thing that might help the tube. Otherwise it's probably time to look for a replacement.

[Natural Sound]

Nearly 10 years out of a set of tubes is pretty darn good!