ENGL Thunder retubeing - experts please help

[Baltar]

I'd like retube my Thunder E322 and would need some help please -
regarding basics and recommendations to get the sound i want.

introduction - for the ones who don't know the engl ..
It has a very solid tone, a quite nice crunch channel and has the ability
to assert itself in the band - no matter how mad the drummer is.
The modernrock-abilities are great, but for old hardrock it's to sharp
(sometimes). Eg Steve Vai-ish leads (love of god) sound great, but
Deep purple (black knight) sounds very thin and not authentic
- needs more balls.
What also bothers me, is that srv songs played on a ssl-1 equipped
strat sound more authentic using the crate powerblock in a 112 basscab
(eminence kappa12 inside) :blackeye: :blackeye: :blackeye:
this wasn't the plan

The goal would be a more Fender like tone. Fuller and more
bluesrock -useable. More warmth, more balls, less sharp

One part of the soundchange is gonna be a speaker swap. but the
patriot/texas heat hasn't arrived yet :blackeye:

Question catalog ^^
First of all what exactly to V1,V2,V3 and V4 do
which one is for the clean channel and which one for the crunch channel?
(i don't want to change the lead channel)

Do you know what stock tubes are in there - what engl uses for that amp?
i heard of tad, sovtek and jj - so which ones now? i think this is interesting
before changes can be done in a senseful matter

Can i leave the power tubes as is? I asked two professional tube amp
engie's now - the recommendations were very '''different'''
one said the 6l6 tubes are ver warm and exactly what i need, i should
retube the preamp.
the other one said, the engl 6l6 tubes are colouring very sharp and need
to be replaced. who is right?

Last (but not least by far) - the tube's for preamp.
i have heard that the TAD RT030 (7025) would be the best tube for
srv and overall fender tone in V1 position.
The other one told me that jj 12ax7-g would be the choice. -> ?? :eek13:
ok, if this would be the only open variable, i'd just go for both and try
them out. which tube do you recommend for a smoother crunch channel
(perhaps also a little louder, because if it sounds nice, it's not on the
same volume level as the clean channel)

thanks for reading - i really appreciate it ! :bowdown:

cheers
Martin

 

[Davey]

Re: ENGL Thunder retubeing - experts please help

diferent manufacturers make diferent sounding tubes.

the name of the tube 6l6, only implies as to how it works and into which slots it fits, it does have a common tone to it (fenderish i think), but diferent ones accentuate diferent frequencies and will sound a bit diferent.

the preamp tubes are diferent gain stages (2 i think, 3 and 4 most likely), one is a phase inverter, the other i dunno.. it should be written in the manual.

i dont have experience with tubes, so i cannot tell you what you can put in there to make it sound diferent. open it up and check what's written on the tubes themselves, the manufacturer should be written on it.



and yes, you can also change one tube at a time (apart of the power tubes, those should be changed in pairs - someone correct me if i'm wrong - but totaly independent from the preamp) you can have diferent tubes in the preamp slots.

 

[Baltar]

Re: ENGL Thunder retubeing - experts please help

thanks for replying davey

i can update you on what i figured out so far ....
i phoned engl regarding v1-4 useage

v1 input - was clear
v2 crunch (lead is v1+v2)
v3 effects loop
v4 used for poweramp (gegentakt)

the stock tubes seem to be sovtek, but unsure, bevause all labeling
has been thourougly removed :eek13:

if the stock power tubes are really sovtek, they are rahter soft and ok
for me i got told.

dirk from tt suggested jj ecc803 for my purposes. i ordered one and
will try it out in v1 position.

i read that other engl users too that ones too.
are there any other profen good choices for pos v1 to warm up an engl?

 

[Rocker35]

Re: ENGL Thunder retubeing - experts please help

Baltar, far and away my favourite tube in V1 in my Screamer 50 is a NOS RFT, but I've also had good results with TAD's, JJ's and drive tested EH's

 

[Baltar]

Re: ENGL Thunder retubeing - experts please help

thanks, rocker. i will try the jj first, which seems to be nice for the price.
if it's still not what i am looking for, i'll go for the new old stock

 

[Baltar]

Re: ENGL Thunder retubeing - experts please help

i'm very close to a satisfying result.
i now put the jj ecc803 gold in my V1 position.

it's less sharp than the original engl tube (dunno what it was before
relabeling), sounds a little warmer, more tube like. very nice.
the best result is played with my ssl-1 equipped strat.

i heard that a tad 7025 would bring me the even more vintage brownsound,
more fender like - one the other hand, i don't know if i want to try it out,
because so far i just won sound quality and didn't loose versatility