replacing tubes, what shud i get?

[Dills]

Do certain types of tubes suit certain amps or certain types of music, how do I know which brand or which ones to get? (i.e an el34 sounds warmer suited for high gain I have no idea tho)

[Gearjoneser]

Re: replacing tubes, what shud i get?

What amp do you have, what tones do you use, and what style of music do you play?

[Dills]

Re: replacing tubes, what shud i get?

PRS santana se into a Holden wasp(NZ made) I think 50watt all valve amp head. For pedals I usually depend on my Marshal Guvnor and Zoom PD01 powerdrive for overdrive/distortion.

I play anything from jazz to hard rock, but mainly rock.

I like an amp to get heavy (marshal crunch)
but love the warm sound you get from light to moderate overdrive (when the valves start to break up). I want to achieve this sound without turning up the volume too excessive amounts.

[Jeff_H]

Re: replacing tubes, what shud i get?

I'm a big fan of NOS tubes...but there are a lot of decent production tubes out there as well. Does you're amp use EL34's or 6L6's? This could affect the voicing of what you want to put in the pre-amp.

For 12AX7's and that "Marshall" sound....Mullards or Telefunkens' are hard to beat...but the price is about $80-100 per tube give or take. A much more reasonable alternative is the new Groove Tube 12AX7-M's...supposed to be and exact replica of the Mullards...and are getting very good reviews.

Something that I picked up about 6 months ago that is a great NOS tube is the RFT. It's a german tube that can be had for about $30. The GT-M will cost you round $20 for a comparison.

If you want tighter, with a little more gain...the GT 12AX7-C's are supposed to be great also...in higher gain amps. Just a few choices to get you started.

[Metalman_666]

Re: replacing tubes, what shud i get?

EL34's are supposed to have more definition, and tighter low end, while 6L6's are supposed to have balls, and rumbling distortion.

[y2stevo]

Re: replacing tubes, what shud i get?

Well generally EL24 amps like Marshalls Have a more open loose type sound, think AC/DC, but 6l6's like Mesa have a Tighter more focused sound , Think Metallica.