preamp tubes for a bass amp?

[Rowan]

My bro just got a Genz Benz shuttle 6. Its a pretty cool little amp, 600 watts of power from a tiny 3lb box. It has a tube preamp section with a single 12ax7. Now I'm wondering would a tube change alter the tone as much in a bass amp as it does in a guitar amp? And secondly, which would be the best tube for such an application, a lower or higher gain tube?

 

[jeremy]

Re: preamp tubes for a bass amp?

yes a good tube will make a difference. it looks like the tube is a tone conditioner before the signal goes to the active eq.

how does it sound?

if the amp is dark, then a brigher tube...
if its balanced then you want something with strong output like a jj or new gt12ax7m

 

[Rowan]

Re: preamp tubes for a bass amp?

yes a good tube will make a difference. it looks like the tube is a tone conditioner before the signal goes to the active eq.

how does it sound?

if the amp is dark, then a brigher tube...
if its balanced then you want something with strong output like a jj or new gt12ax7m

My bro says its not as "in your face" as his GK backline amp is. I suppose JJ would be a good choice you think? I didn't like the JJ for my ENGL but I popped one in my valve junior and it sounds really good.