pre amp/ power amp tubes

[bluesfloyd]

hi guys,
if you could please help, when you get clean sounds from your amp is it only the pre amp valves working?????? and when you get dirty sounds from your amp is it only the power amp valves working ???????

thanks, bluesfloyd.

 

[mwalluk]

Re: pre amp/ power amp tubes

Honestly depends on the amp. Both work in harmony. For example, most high gain amps the distortion comes from preamp tubes up until the master volume reaches around five. That's when the power tubes start kicking in. In terms of clean, they both play a part in it

 

[mwalluk]

Re: pre amp/ power amp tubes

What amp?

 

[guitfiddle]

Re: pre amp/ power amp tubes

hi guys,
if you could please help, when you get clean sounds from your amp is it only the pre amp valves working?????? and when you get dirty sounds from your amp is it only the power amp valves working ???????

thanks, bluesfloyd.

Both kinds of tubes are on duty and working all the time, clean or dirty. For master volume (control) type amps, when you crank the preamp and leave the master low, you distort the pre amp's tubes. The higher you raise the master volume, the more distortion you get from the power amp, unless it's designed to remain clean at all settings.

With non master volume amps, when you dime the volume control, you typically distort both sets of tubes, unless the designer made a particularly clean preamp and/or power amp design.

 

[CTN]

Re: pre amp/ power amp tubes

tube amps use preamp tubes for intial amplification of the very minute signal of the guitar. the gain stage of a preamp tube can be stacked to add more and more voltage gain and signal clipping ie overdrive/distortion.

however, to get that initial amplified signal up to a level that can be used by speakers to actually produce audible volume, the amp then uses power tubes and the output transformer.

So put simply, it doesn't matter of you're playing clean, overdriven, or distorted, an amp ALWAYS uses preamp and power tubes simultaneously.

 

[bluesfloyd]

Re: pre amp/ power amp tubes

What amp?

hi,
the amp I use is a Vox AC15 hand wired,

thanks, bluesfloyd,

 

[bluesfloyd]

Re: pre amp/ power amp tubes

Honestly depends on the amp. Both work in harmony. For example, most high gain amps the distortion comes from preamp tubes up until the master volume reaches around five. That's when the power tubes start kicking in. In terms of clean, they both play a part in it

hi,
so a good setting on my vox ac15 hand wired would be, master at 5 and channel volume at 5, to get pre/power valves working before getting to loud?????
thanks, bluesfloyd.

 

[mwalluk]

Re: pre amp/ power amp tubes

hi,
so a good setting on my vox ac15 hand wired would be, master at 5 and channel volume at 5, to get pre/power valves working before getting to loud?????
thanks, bluesfloyd.

I hate to give a cliche response but it's all in what sounds best to you.