poweramp tube or preamp tube?

geofreesun

New member
hi all

i got a peavey 50/50 and im looking to upgrade the tubes a bit.

which makes a bigger improvement in tone? preamp tubes or power amp tubes?

can i simply upgrade one channel and leave channel standby when i run mono to see how the tone changes with new tubes? or would this cause any problem to channel 2 in the long run (always on standby) ?


thx:firing::firing::firing::firing::drive:
 
Re: poweramp tube or preamp tube?

im not sure i understand the last part of your question completely. in any case, you'll notice greater changes in gain character and dynamics by swapping pre tubes. consult your manual to see which pre tubes have greater influence on what channel. usually changing the v1 tube will make the biggest difference.

if you crank up enough to get your power tubes cookin, then by all means go ahead
 
Re: poweramp tube or preamp tube?

im not sure i understand the last part of your question completely. in any case, you'll notice greater changes in gain character and dynamics by swapping pre tubes. consult your manual to see which pre tubes have greater influence on what channel. usually changing the v1 tube will make the biggest difference.

if you crank up enough to get your power tubes cookin, then by all means go ahead


ya i see what you are saying and i had some typo up there

rephrase:

if i only retube for channel A, and leave channel B stock (sovtek el84's and some lame preamp tubes), run the power amp in mono mode to a single cab, but i will let channel B standy, so i only head channel A, which is using better tubes.

is the above worth a try or should i simply retube both channels? or should i retube preamp tubes, leave the power tubes stock?
 
Re: poweramp tube or preamp tube?

power tubes are the same no matter what channel you're on

you run all of them all the time

and i'd go for power tubes first. If you stay away from groove tubes you can prolly afford a couple jj 12ax7's though
 
Re: poweramp tube or preamp tube?

oh **** i misread that, i thought it was a classic 50

my bad

but even so if it's 50 watts per channel that should make a total of 4 power tubes unless they're el84's or something
 
Re: poweramp tube or preamp tube?

oh **** i misread that, i thought it was a classic 50

my bad

but even so if it's 50 watts per channel that should make a total of 4 power tubes unless they're el84's or something


yes it's the 50/50 stereo power amp, 2 channels, 4 preamp tubes and 8 el84s in total
 
Re: poweramp tube or preamp tube?

Preamp tubes can sound fine for a decade, but power tubes lose their steam after a couple years. I'd suggest going on Ebay and finding a tube dealer, then buy a full power tube set, plus the couple of pre tubes it may have. Just get JJ's, and you'll be happy. The amp will most likely sound better than it did the day it was bought new. JJ's are better than anything it shipped with. They're priced very reasonably too.

If you just buy enough for Channel A, you'll simply see that Channel A smokes Channel B.
It'll sound punchy and hot, while channel B will sound flat and tired. That's all you'll learn, so buy the full set.
 
Back
Top