Tubes are much less fragile than you might think - the only times I’ve ever broken tubes is when I a) leave them out in the garage or wahtever and they are subjected to freezing temperatures, b) when I’ve dropped them, c) when I’ve not paid attention to the retaining clip while taking them out of their socket and twisting too hard.

I’ve never had a tube blow on me. I’ve also never purchased the cheapest tubes I could possibly get, though. Maybe that’s a problem with some people? You get what you pay for to some extent….

You should take care of your tubes, though. Always use your standby switch, leave it on standby for 1 minute before you power up all the way, if you aren’t playing it for a while (ie 15-30 minutes or more) then put it back on standby, and leave it on standby for 1 minute before you turn it all the way off.

I have normally replaced my tubes every year, although this is usually overkill. Every 2-3 years should be sufficient if you’re only playing a few times a week.

Preamp tubes aren’t expensive - maybe 12-20$ a pop. Power tubes *can* be expensive, and they need to be matched, which can raise the price a bit. I wouldn’t bat an eye at paying over 80$ for a matched quad, I would completely expect it to be in that range.

Tubes rule, especially when you can swap them out for other types of tubes. An amp that takes 6L6’s can also take EL34’s and KT-66’s, for instance - and each type has a different sound to it. You will need to have your amp rebiased, but that’s not too crazy.

Congratulations on the new purchase… the only real drawbacks to tube amps is a) they’re heavier than solid state amps, b) 100 watts is a lot of power - you’ll have to turn your amp up to get it to sound really good. Consider getting an attenuator (ie THD Hot Plate, etc) so you can turn it up and get that “cranked” sound but still have reasonable volume levels. Another option is to get a booster/overdrive pedal to hit the tubes harder and get a more wicked crunch without having to turn it up so much.

Saul