So this is how I handle insomnia after a looong looong day...
I have been quite frustrated with the tone of my Rivera Knucklehead. I have had it up for sale locally, but have not quite received the minimum price I am set on getting for it. It's the EL34 model with EH's in it, and it has never quite kept with my Marshalls or Fenders.
The clean breaks up a bit but doesn't quite have the tone I am after. The British channel is the perfect balanced tone/pop rock tone, but it doesn't quite have that perfect balanced grind a JCM800/Jubilee has, and of course, for me NOTHING compares to a late60/early 70s Marshall - NOTHING!
I had experimented with substi-tubes (re: yellow jackets) EL84 converters. Mixed with the EL34's I have always questioned whether there was a harmonic or tonal frequency that wasn't quite what I wanted. I never stuck it out.
Tonight I put in the EL84s ONLY, so I have 2 yellowjackets in, and nothing else. Two empty tube sockets means setting the impedance in half, no? (so it's 4 ohms on the setting, which with 2 tubes out should mean 8 ohms).
well I Hot Plated it, because it's late - WOW! It's pretty perfect. Reminds me of a slightly glassier version of a Budda SD30 I play thru. The gain is now like the Budda, but with a little nicer balance that sounds a touch more modern than the Budda. The Clean channel is INSTANT vox/Fender - more on the Vox side. Gorgeous!
Hmmmmm. Jury is still out, but what a difference. These things did wonders in a Mesa Heartbreaker I owned, and they are just the ticket in this Rivera. I mean it sounds like one of those EL84 boutique amps a la Budda. I might just make this my low watt head/clean.
Only criticism - it doesn't have the same tightness in the low end as I got in the 100w mode (triode/50w was a tad flubby). But the gain is now smoother and warmer, with a sweeter saturation that doesn't get fuzzy.
Does it matter if I have only 2 tubes in out of four, or does that have no long term impact on tranny's and components?
I have been quite frustrated with the tone of my Rivera Knucklehead. I have had it up for sale locally, but have not quite received the minimum price I am set on getting for it. It's the EL34 model with EH's in it, and it has never quite kept with my Marshalls or Fenders.
The clean breaks up a bit but doesn't quite have the tone I am after. The British channel is the perfect balanced tone/pop rock tone, but it doesn't quite have that perfect balanced grind a JCM800/Jubilee has, and of course, for me NOTHING compares to a late60/early 70s Marshall - NOTHING!
I had experimented with substi-tubes (re: yellow jackets) EL84 converters. Mixed with the EL34's I have always questioned whether there was a harmonic or tonal frequency that wasn't quite what I wanted. I never stuck it out.
Tonight I put in the EL84s ONLY, so I have 2 yellowjackets in, and nothing else. Two empty tube sockets means setting the impedance in half, no? (so it's 4 ohms on the setting, which with 2 tubes out should mean 8 ohms).
well I Hot Plated it, because it's late - WOW! It's pretty perfect. Reminds me of a slightly glassier version of a Budda SD30 I play thru. The gain is now like the Budda, but with a little nicer balance that sounds a touch more modern than the Budda. The Clean channel is INSTANT vox/Fender - more on the Vox side. Gorgeous!
Hmmmmm. Jury is still out, but what a difference. These things did wonders in a Mesa Heartbreaker I owned, and they are just the ticket in this Rivera. I mean it sounds like one of those EL84 boutique amps a la Budda. I might just make this my low watt head/clean.
Only criticism - it doesn't have the same tightness in the low end as I got in the 100w mode (triode/50w was a tad flubby). But the gain is now smoother and warmer, with a sweeter saturation that doesn't get fuzzy.
Does it matter if I have only 2 tubes in out of four, or does that have no long term impact on tranny's and components?
