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Who's a good amp tech in victoria? how do I get in touch with them? I'm also assuming I'll need to get mine retubed and wondering how much I can expect this to cost.

what kind of amp do you use again? some you can just throw fresh matched tubes into, some you actually have to get biased which you'll need a tech to do. long and mcquade can do this but they can be unreliable and overcharge. "Paul Anthony Smith" in my Facebook friends is a good electronics tech who does work out of his house, you could talk to him. I understand that Rod Evans (of Evans pickups) lives in Victoria and takes on amp work once in a while, though I have never met him and know this only because of Livevictoria. there's another person on Livevic who advertises as being able to do amp repair, but I forget his name.

it depends on what kind of tubes your amp uses but, say, 6l6GC tubes are about $25 each or $40 for a matched pair, just to give you an idea. chances are only the tubes in the power amp section of your amp will need replacing, if any. what makes you think your amp needs new tubes?

I use a marshall jcm 2000. I'm assuming it's been retubed because I've been using it for 2+ years for at leats 2+ hours at a time without having it serviced and since I bought it used I have no idea when it was serviced before. I've also been noticing over time that there is a little bit less "umph" behind my tone. But then again, I no next to nothing about amps. It could also just come down to that Marshall's aren't great for the tone I'm after (which I've known for some time) but getting it serviced could potentially give it a bit more resale (or trade) value towards another amp.

I'd argue that the cost of retubing and overhauling that amp would probably exceed the added value when compared to throwing it up on craigslist/usedvictoria as is and not saying anything in the ad about the reduced "oomph". you've known this amp and have been playing it for a while so you're sensitive to the subtle differences. someone who just wants a jcm 2000 head will plug in, play a bit, and it'll sound fine to them provided there's no electrical noise from improper grounding... crackling...etc.

but I have noticed that lots of people service their amps before selling them. it must just be the nice thing to do. but tubes don't really wear out as easily or as often as you'd think. some people might even say that you've worn them in and interpret less "oomph" as that being worn-in sound.

you'll find that a JMP or JCM 800 both have wildly different tone than your JCM 2000, so don't rule out ALL marshalls. what tone are you going for? I'm always shocked at how wildly different amps can sound. they seriously have more impact on your final live tone than the guitar or cab you're using. it doesn't help that youtube demos don't really get much across.

here's some info from teh internetz:
When a tube starts to go "bad" it becomes noisy and microphonic.

To test if a tube is microphonic you can tap on it with something hard (usually metalic) while the amp is powered on. Microphonic tubes can make a louder noise than other tubes or make ringing/squealing sounds when you tap them. Note, however, that doing so can result in further damage to your tube - listening for noise, growling, and feedback is the safest way. You can find the bad tube by swapping the tubes one pair at a time to the opposite channel until you discover which tube(s) the noise follows.

If shortly after turning the on the amp you see/hear an arc in one of the power tubes, this may be a "grid short" that doesn't cause any damage to your amp or the tubes. If everything sounds normal after the occurance, there is likely no need for concern. The small piece of metal that caused the short will no longer be there to cause problems.

It is recommended to completely re-tube every few years based on amp use. An amp that is infrequently used can be re-tubed every 4 years, while one that sees daily use should be re-tubed every two years.

Unless you're noticing a loss in output volume or other tone issues (which the lack of oomph you're noticing might be) then you don't need to get the amp re-tubed.

And don't re-tube it if you're going to sell it.

I suggest getting a couple new preamp tubes and see how that changes the sound of your amp. It could be that'd be enough to change your tone more to your liking and you can change preamp tubes without biasing and they tend to be $8-15 for common fare, so much cheaper than a power section re-tube. I don't know the JCM2000 innards, but I'm sure it has 2-4 12ax7 tubes in the preamp. Try the Electro-Harmonix 12ax7LPS (long plate special) preamp tubes.