NAD and pix of the Fam
- Thread starter mwalluk
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Ascension
Well-known member
Re: NAD and pix of the Fam
I own a JCA22H which is the head version with the same crunch channel and an added high gain channel + effects loop.
These are well built amps and if tubed and set up right sound GREAT!
One thing I fought with on mine is these unlike almost any other EL84 amp you will see they are NOT cathode biased and plug and play with the power tubes but are conventionally biased. The bias on mine was off big time when i got it and it was killing my tone. Do your self a favor and ether have it biased and replace the power tubes or buy a probe and do the bias your self as on mine it made a HUGE difference to get the bias right!! I almost sold mine out of frustration before I figured that out. Mine lacked harmonic content was thin harsh and felt really stiff. Turns out it was just that the bias was running low and it was cooking the power tubes:smack:.
I own a JCA22H which is the head version with the same crunch channel and an added high gain channel + effects loop.
These are well built amps and if tubed and set up right sound GREAT!
One thing I fought with on mine is these unlike almost any other EL84 amp you will see they are NOT cathode biased and plug and play with the power tubes but are conventionally biased. The bias on mine was off big time when i got it and it was killing my tone. Do your self a favor and ether have it biased and replace the power tubes or buy a probe and do the bias your self as on mine it made a HUGE difference to get the bias right!! I almost sold mine out of frustration before I figured that out. Mine lacked harmonic content was thin harsh and felt really stiff. Turns out it was just that the bias was running low and it was cooking the power tubes:smack:.
Last edited:
Andrew Lamprecht
Minion of One
Re: NAD and pix of the Fam
Very cool setup man.
Very cool setup man.
misterwhizzy
Well-known member
Re: NAD and pix of the Fam
You know how you went down the tube rolling path with the VHT? Do the same thing. It'll let you fine tune things quite a bit. And I'll agree to everything Ascension said as well.
You know how you went down the tube rolling path with the VHT? Do the same thing. It'll let you fine tune things quite a bit. And I'll agree to everything Ascension said as well.
mwalluk
New member
Re: NAD and pix of the Fam
Planning on it. Granted its not as easy as the vht. The guy I got it retuned it with jj's. I plan on keeping the power tubes as is but rolling the pres. Any sugestions?
Planning on it. Granted its not as easy as the vht. The guy I got it retuned it with jj's. I plan on keeping the power tubes as is but rolling the pres. Any sugestions?
misterwhizzy
Well-known member
Re: NAD and pix of the Fam
Sure. The best combination I've found is Tung-Sol in V1, Chinese or JJ ECC803S in V2. For the Chinese, I prefer this one. EHX work well in the amp, too, but Tung-Sols play that game and do it better, in my humble opinion.
Then the PI we could have a whole other discussion about. If you want to drive the power tubes pretty hard, you could go with a Mullard RI. For my tastes, it was much too smooth and compressed. You could try a Sovtek 12AX7 LPS, like everyone does in every amp, and it works fine, but nothing to write home about.
My advice is to pick up a JJ 12AU7. It will drop the power tube drive and the volume just a touch, but it will add headroom and note definition. If you want a little more drive, the best 12AX7 I've found there is the long-plate JJ. But I seriously recommend going the 12AX7 route. Remember that the PI in general does not generate preamp clipping, so dropping in a lower gain tube will not screw up the clipping in the first two tubes. It just maintains some harmonic content and headroom.
Sure. The best combination I've found is Tung-Sol in V1, Chinese or JJ ECC803S in V2. For the Chinese, I prefer this one. EHX work well in the amp, too, but Tung-Sols play that game and do it better, in my humble opinion.
Then the PI we could have a whole other discussion about. If you want to drive the power tubes pretty hard, you could go with a Mullard RI. For my tastes, it was much too smooth and compressed. You could try a Sovtek 12AX7 LPS, like everyone does in every amp, and it works fine, but nothing to write home about.
My advice is to pick up a JJ 12AU7. It will drop the power tube drive and the volume just a touch, but it will add headroom and note definition. If you want a little more drive, the best 12AX7 I've found there is the long-plate JJ. But I seriously recommend going the 12AX7 route. Remember that the PI in general does not generate preamp clipping, so dropping in a lower gain tube will not screw up the clipping in the first two tubes. It just maintains some harmonic content and headroom.
TheLivingDead
Dawn Of The Shred
Re: NAD and pix of the Fam
everdrone
New member
Re: NAD and pix of the Fam
I like how you have the portable amp, and then you have the 212 big rig.
Also I dig the guitar choices, I also have a les paul but it is in CA and I miss it! I want a gig worthy combo that is lightweight, so the jet city is out since it weighs about 44 pounds but if I were stronger that would be a contender
I like how you have the portable amp, and then you have the 212 big rig.
Also I dig the guitar choices, I also have a les paul but it is in CA and I miss it! I want a gig worthy combo that is lightweight, so the jet city is out since it weighs about 44 pounds but if I were stronger that would be a contender
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