The results of heat on PCB mounted tube sockets...

[dotfret]

With age there might be a difference in solder types - but it will probably take 50 years before you could notice. My main business these days is in HiFi, and the way these buffs go on about being able to perceive differences in cables and joints just has to be endured to make a sale! There is little advantage to silver solder under normal operating temperatures. All types of solder form an oxide layer on the surface, which prevents further oxidation of the majority solder forming the connection. There is something to be said for the use of silver solder on points where there is a thermal challenge, like tube bases, but this is offset by the need for the heat needed to melt the dang stuff in the first place! Using silver solder is more like brazing than soldering. Silver is the best conductor, size-wise, but weight-wise aluminium competes - if you were erecting power lines, you'd buy aluminium cable because it beats copper on price conductivity - but aluminium has a high melting point and is not easy to solder. I may be a trifle deaf from years of loud music, but I cable my speakers with 2.5 sq mm mains flex and nod politely when my customers talk about their wonderful cables. Now if you want to try gadolinium-cobalt alloy speaker magnets - that is another thing!

[tubetek]

Howdy All-
While I can certainly hear the difference in tubes, I can't make the same claim for solder...The hard and fast rules for soldered connections-

1) Good MECHANICAL connection=good ELECTRICAL connection
(wrap wires around lugs or turrets; don't just lay 'em in there)

2)Heat the connection, NOT the solder; when the connection is hot enough, the solder will flow INTO and over the connection and the flux will do its job.

It also helps greatly to clean the wires etc. manually with a little steel wool or such before soldering.

Remember all, this is about GUITAR amplifiers; a different animal than HIFI.
Don't get too hung up on the esoteric stuff (silver solder, TWEEK and so on)
IMHO that money is better spent on the proven variables (good tubes and trannys)
tubetek

[jersey_aaron]

Gold Solder, baby. Yup, I said it. 24k Gold Tone, hehe.

[csbradley]

>>you lift a track because you don't use enough power!

Honestly, I lift a track because I'm careless and don't want to spend the time to do it the right way, and it isn't worth it to me at the time. Most of the time for multipin components I'll use a solder sucker and some solder braid to remove the solder, then go across each pin like you said.

I had never thought about using alligator clips for heat sinks until I read about it here. I'll have to use that. Thanks.

CSB

[rjgtr]

Personally, I think a mechanical connection on a turret that is soldered in place is the best electrical connection. With both eyelets and through plated PCBs you're making less of a mechanical bond.

I've seen old Fenders where you can actually lift the component lead out of the solder without unsoldering because the solder pool in the eyelet has become weak. So age can also work against you. I've also seen noisey Fenders where all that was needed was a touch up of the eylets to make them relatively quiet again.