suislidE03
New member
After getting my Laney head, I had played it a few times to get familiar with the tone. It sounded great! It came with TAD EL34s in the power section, and TAD, Mesa, and an unlabeled tube in the preamp. This amp has 6 preamp tubes, and the configuration is a bit odd.
Preamp tubes V3 and 4 are for the clean channel, and V1 2 and 5 are for the gain channel. V6 is the phase inverter/"power driver".
So, I have a decent selection of tubes now; 3 JJ 83s, 1 JJ 803s, 5 Sovtek 12ax7-LPS, 3 Mesa, and 2 TAD. I ordered a Tung-Sol along with the 803, but the seller is a bit slow..
Basically I would let it warm for 30 seconds, flip it off standby and start playing for 5-10 minutes. I would then turn it off, switch tubes and repeat. I did this several times, so I will just list the bigger tube swaps.
1. V3-4: unlabeled, TAD. V1,2,5: Mesa, TAD, Mesa. V6: Mesa.
This is how the amp came to me. The cleans were a bit dull, didnt quite have the kick it needed. Lead tones were liquid, sounded great although it had a wierd compression to it. I later figured this was due to the TAD. Rhythm tones were a bit plain, not a lot of crunch or punch. Suited for rock or lighter.
2. V3-4: TAD, JJ83. V1-2,5: JJ83, LPS, LPS. V6: 803
Cleans had more definition, almost perfect. Leads/rhythm had way more gain and punch, very crunchy, and more dynamic. A bit dull sounding however, leads didnt have the sound as before. The 803 in v6, I found later, adds a tremendous amount of fatness and punch to the amp.
3. V3-4: 803, TAD. V1-2,5: All LPS. V6: LPS
Cleans sounded a bit more open, more headroom I guess. Not quite as beautiful sounding however, somewhat hard. Lead/rhythm was tightened up, not so much crunch, but more hair on the high end. Felt great, palm muting was perfect, kinda chewy. Did not surprise me with anything by switching v6 to LPS.
4. V3-4: TAD, JJ83. V1-2,5: All Mesa. V6: 803
Clean tubes untouched from here on out. Lead/rhythm turned smoother, not as much clarity or definition as the other tubes. Volume was more balanced. 803 in V6 brought back the punch and fatness.
5. V3-4: TAD, JJ83. V1-2,5: TAD, Mesa, Mesa. V6: 803
The TAD in V1 made the sound interesting. More tame, smoother. Leads more liquid. Rhythm was eh.
6. V3-4: TAD, JJ83. V1-2,5: JJ803, JJ, JJ. V6: Mesa
Tried all JJ this time with the 803 in front. Not as much gain as I expected, but very crunchy and big. Palm mutes very tight and heavy. Too much low end rumble however. If you want in your face, JJ is the way to go. This tube swap confirmed that for me.
7. V3-4: TAD, JJ83. V1-2,5: LPS, JJ, Mesa. V6: 803
Where I currently stand now. I dont know if this is how it will stay, but I got tired at this point... I knew there was something I heard earlier in the palm muting that was no longer happening. This was the Sovtek LPS. I popped it back into V1 and there it was. Refer back to #3. I assumed this would happen, so I kept a JJ in V2 and put a Mesa in V5 for kicks. 803 back into V6. Sounded the best all around, the palm mutes were there, the crunch was there but not overboard, and the leads were still a bit silky.
So, this has been an interesting day. Like I said, I only listed the main swaps, but I did this maybe 15 times over 2.5 hours. It really takes that much for your ears to pick the differences. It was valuable for me, so I thought I would post my findings. I am still surprised over the JJ 803s. I thought it wouldnt make that much difference in V6 over something like V1, but man did it ever. I swapped it between the other tubes maybe 5 times to be sure. Now waiting for the Tung-sol...
Preamp tubes V3 and 4 are for the clean channel, and V1 2 and 5 are for the gain channel. V6 is the phase inverter/"power driver".
So, I have a decent selection of tubes now; 3 JJ 83s, 1 JJ 803s, 5 Sovtek 12ax7-LPS, 3 Mesa, and 2 TAD. I ordered a Tung-Sol along with the 803, but the seller is a bit slow..
Basically I would let it warm for 30 seconds, flip it off standby and start playing for 5-10 minutes. I would then turn it off, switch tubes and repeat. I did this several times, so I will just list the bigger tube swaps.
1. V3-4: unlabeled, TAD. V1,2,5: Mesa, TAD, Mesa. V6: Mesa.
This is how the amp came to me. The cleans were a bit dull, didnt quite have the kick it needed. Lead tones were liquid, sounded great although it had a wierd compression to it. I later figured this was due to the TAD. Rhythm tones were a bit plain, not a lot of crunch or punch. Suited for rock or lighter.
2. V3-4: TAD, JJ83. V1-2,5: JJ83, LPS, LPS. V6: 803
Cleans had more definition, almost perfect. Leads/rhythm had way more gain and punch, very crunchy, and more dynamic. A bit dull sounding however, leads didnt have the sound as before. The 803 in v6, I found later, adds a tremendous amount of fatness and punch to the amp.
3. V3-4: 803, TAD. V1-2,5: All LPS. V6: LPS
Cleans sounded a bit more open, more headroom I guess. Not quite as beautiful sounding however, somewhat hard. Lead/rhythm was tightened up, not so much crunch, but more hair on the high end. Felt great, palm muting was perfect, kinda chewy. Did not surprise me with anything by switching v6 to LPS.
4. V3-4: TAD, JJ83. V1-2,5: All Mesa. V6: 803
Clean tubes untouched from here on out. Lead/rhythm turned smoother, not as much clarity or definition as the other tubes. Volume was more balanced. 803 in V6 brought back the punch and fatness.
5. V3-4: TAD, JJ83. V1-2,5: TAD, Mesa, Mesa. V6: 803
The TAD in V1 made the sound interesting. More tame, smoother. Leads more liquid. Rhythm was eh.
6. V3-4: TAD, JJ83. V1-2,5: JJ803, JJ, JJ. V6: Mesa
Tried all JJ this time with the 803 in front. Not as much gain as I expected, but very crunchy and big. Palm mutes very tight and heavy. Too much low end rumble however. If you want in your face, JJ is the way to go. This tube swap confirmed that for me.
7. V3-4: TAD, JJ83. V1-2,5: LPS, JJ, Mesa. V6: 803
Where I currently stand now. I dont know if this is how it will stay, but I got tired at this point... I knew there was something I heard earlier in the palm muting that was no longer happening. This was the Sovtek LPS. I popped it back into V1 and there it was. Refer back to #3. I assumed this would happen, so I kept a JJ in V2 and put a Mesa in V5 for kicks. 803 back into V6. Sounded the best all around, the palm mutes were there, the crunch was there but not overboard, and the leads were still a bit silky.
So, this has been an interesting day. Like I said, I only listed the main swaps, but I did this maybe 15 times over 2.5 hours. It really takes that much for your ears to pick the differences. It was valuable for me, so I thought I would post my findings. I am still surprised over the JJ 803s. I thought it wouldnt make that much difference in V6 over something like V1, but man did it ever. I swapped it between the other tubes maybe 5 times to be sure. Now waiting for the Tung-sol...