New (free!) tube day for my Ace! (Noob question included!)

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: New (free!) tube day for my Ace! (Noob question included!)

It's probably not as bad as I make it sound. I've heard plenty of people who's amps sound exactly like the result of the tube swap. It's just not what I am looking for.

Right, it's not a good or bad thing. Some may want that response and some, like you, may not. This is why I like adjustable bias and would mod the amp so it would be adjustable if it was mine. I understand Mesa's rational though, as most people are not really up to setting their own bias, and if mis-set can lead to wildly inconsistent tone from amp to amp and from setting to setting.

 

[trevorus]

Re: New (free!) tube day for my Ace! (Noob question included!)

I tend to like the Marshall TSL/DSL system for setting bias. It's really easy and you don't really have to open up the amp, though to get a more accurate bias setting, it's best to open the amp to get plate votages and then caculate from there. That is more consistent than the non-adjustable fixed bias. Though, this is good for Mesa since it locks a lot of people into their brand of tubes, since a lot of players would rather not bother, and stick with plug-and-play...