THD amps, your opinions?

[RiffRaff]

Re: THD amps, your opinions?

I haven't tried a mullard EL34 and some Telefunken ECC83's in my Univalve because they cost serious cash and I'm skeptical about investing more money in Tubes for the Univalve. But I'll keep my Univalve for the day I run across some cash I can spare for good tubes. Univavles are cool for people who like to tweak and hunt for tubes, but mine wasn't great out of the box. And the soundclips on the website are not how the amp sounds dry. I think any amp would sound better with NOS mullard EL34's and some NOS Telefunken ECC83's. Anybody have good results with new production tubes on a Univalve that don't cost an arm & a leg and you don't have to buy from some freak selling on ebay out his 4'x6' trailer in the middle of F'n nowhere? :smack: I'd never buy a Univalve again.

I paid $30 bucks for the Mullard, it was used but tested good, the telefunken ECC's were fifteen bucks each - used but again tested good. That's a total of $60 - significantly less than the cost of the Uni. I got the tubes at a local electronics store. I used JJ's and EH's - both sounded fine, Svets were a little sterile, GT's sounded flat. For pre's I also used EH's and JJ's, they worked well............ but I have to tell you, the difference in EL34's from Mullard to GT wasn't so much in the tone but in how the tube reacts to dynamics and the overtones when cranked. If you don't like the sound of your amp with the stock tubes I doubt if your opinion will change much with different tubes.

 

[Mkf411]

Re: THD amps, your opinions?

I paid $30 bucks for the Mullard, it was used but tested good, the telefunken ECC's were fifteen bucks each - used but again tested good. That's a total of $60 - significantly less than the cost of the Uni. I got the tubes at a local electronics store. I used JJ's and EH's - both sounded fine, Svets were a little sterile, GT's sounded flat. For pre's I also used EH's and JJ's, they worked well............ but I have to tell you, the difference in EL34's from Mullard to GT wasn't so much in the tone but in how the tube reacts to dynamics and the overtones when cranked. If you don't like the sound of your amp with the stock tubes I doubt if your opinion will change much with different tubes.

Thanks. I've been real hesitant to buy tubes becuase like you said, I still might not like it. And I haven't had the cash to risk it. It's obviously a good amp, lots of people love them. I just prefer something that fits my style straight out of the box. I should have known better but those damn soundclips on the site sucked me in. And the built in attenuator was a feature that I thought would be more useful for AC/DC style crunch at home. It's not a big deal. I won't say I hate that amp, it's just not for me. But you never know, it might grow on me. As I've said I like some of it's features. I run it with another amp and that's fun.

 

[RiffRaff]

Re: THD amps, your opinions?

so how do you like your mini cat??? I've played through one a few times, I liked it - I want to get something small enough to jam or practice with and is light.

 

[Mkf411]

Re: THD amps, your opinions?

The Bad Cat Mini Cat is a fun amp. I looked at a Victoria Champ, and the Dr Z Mini Z. They're all small combos with like 5 watts. The Victoria was nice but it was drowned out by another guy playing at moderate volumes in the back room even when it was cranked. So it didn't really do it for me. Also, I kept thinking, it should say fender on the label?? I tried the Dr Z Mini Z and the guy in the store didn't want to go above half volume on it. That thing would tear your head off when at 1/4 volume. Not the way a 100 watt stack would but it was loud. And it only has one knob, volume. Pretty loud for 5 watts. Nice but not as good as the Mini for home practice.

The Bad Cat Mini Cat felt right. It has a master volume that lets you drive the power tube, an el84, and a volume that drives the pre-amp, 12ax7. It's solid state rectifier. I've heard about being able to feel the paper on the speaker when you play, with the Mini Cat, I now know what that means. Seems weird but you're really connected to that amp. I cranked it at the store, and got what I consider good crunch. At home, I can go with both volumes a bit above half and get some good bluesy tones. It's a very bluesy amp for me. I don't think it wants to play anything but the blues.

It can be a bit bright, but it's easier to dial in than the Univalve, for me. The line out is nice, but I haven't got great results for direct recording from it, even with a behinger box with cabinet simulation. I'll probably do a combination of line out and mic'ed reccording. It has a headphone jack, which is OK. You acutally disconnect the speaker when using headphones. You can also diconnect the speaker for direct recording or driving another amp, or run two amps. The stock speaker is a new Jensen 10", not bad, but I may switch it out for a Weber. It's a good practice amp. It could play a small venue, too, though. My idea is to get cranked power tube distortion at lower volumes without an attenutaor. I can always mic it for a small club. I think I'll have a better chance of getting the amp near meltone tone I'm searching for with the mini cat.

 

[Senor Skanky]

Re: THD amps, your opinions?

I had a Univalve for less than a year. I liked the amp, but I think I liked the idea of it more than the actual thing.

One of the aspects that sould me on it was the thought that I could play it in my apartment without rattling out the fillings of my neighbors. But at low volumes I found the amp to be a little flat sounding. The built in hot plate should be used sparingly - too much attenuation an the tone goes to crap.

So upon investigation (aka hours at the THD/Univalve forum) I learned that there are hundreds of tubes out there that I as a Univalve owner should be trying. I already obssess over guitars, pickups, amps and pedals so I figured I should just say no to yet another addiction that is expensive in both time and money.

So I sold it, and I don't regret it.

However the Univalve really isn't made for a guy like me. I'm the kind of person that doesn't really care about how things work, but I care alot about what I can do with them when they are working. For instance I don't know why the power transformer is crucial to a Marshall's signature tone, I just care about the kickass rock and roll that it screams out.

 

[Mkf411]

Re: THD amps, your opinions?

I had a Univalve for less than a year. I liked the amp, but I think I liked the idea of it more than the actual thing.

One of the aspects that sould me on it was the thought that I could play it in my apartment without rattling out the fillings of my neighbors. But at low volumes I found the amp to be a little flat sounding. The built in hot plate should be used sparingly - too much attenuation an the tone goes to crap.

So upon investigation (aka hours at the THD/Univalve forum) I learned that there are hundreds of tubes out there that I as a Univalve owner should be trying. I already obssess over guitars, pickups, amps and pedals so I figured I should just say no to yet another addiction that is expensive in both time and money.

So I sold it, and I don't regret it.

However the Univalve really isn't made for a guy like me. I'm the kind of person that doesn't really care about how things work, but I care alot about what I can do with them when they are working. For instance I don't know why the power transformer is crucial to a Marshall's signature tone, I just care about the kickass rock and roll that it screams out.

Sounds exactly like my experience. Even at 15watts, it's a beast and the built in attenuator isn't good for home jamming. It does have cool features, like the built noise gate, but even that changes the tone. I don't need a tube habit. But at least they only need one power tube, so I'll proabably keep mine for the when my finances allow playing around with tubes and cabinets. I'd like to try it with a 6v6 or a 6l6 and a pine cabinet with a 10" speaker, but it'll be a while before that happens. For now I don't play it much. For home jamming the Valvetronix really shines if you want distortion. For bluesy clean I use my Mini Cat.