misterwhizzy
Well-known member
So I talked to an amp builder recently about the flubby bass in my JCA20 head. He suggested a couple of things including a lower gain tube in the PI position. I had gone through several PI tubes, including a Sovtek 12AX7LPS, an EHX 12AX7, and a Mullard RI 12AX7. I had settled on the Mullard, because it smoothed things out a bit and added a bit of a hi-fi character to the amp overall.
"But won't that lower my overall gain?", I thought. Well, I had an EHX 12AT7 laying around, so I gave that a shot. It helped a little bit. It let a little more crunch through and tightened the bass slightly. So I got online and ordered a couple tubes from Doug's Tubes, who is usually really good about getting me what I need. I got a JJ ECC82 in the mail this afternoon.
I popped it in V3, and that appears to be the ticket. The bass is tight, and the flubbiness that I had always attributed to EL84's really doesn't appear to be there at all. I haven't futzed with the EQ at all, but I don't think I need to. It really sounds quite a bit better.
There's a lot more going on in the sound, and I don't know exactly how to describe it. First of all, since the bass isn't doing its flub thing, the mids shine through better, and the crunch is more easily distinguished across all the strings. So even though the overall gain may be slightly decreased, the size of the sound so to speak is much bigger. There's a lot more clarity and complexity in the mids and upper registers that is filled out by the tighter low end. The cleans benefited quite a bit as well because they sound bigger without getting boomy. It reminded me of going from A5 to A4 in my 59.
I don't want to blow up the guy's spot by publicly acknowledging him, because I know he has a lot going on, but his advice was brilliant, and I hope all his customers are as happy as I am. He didn't charge me for the best advice I've gotten for this amp. And his time is worth quite a bit. You know who you are, sir, and thank you again.
"But won't that lower my overall gain?", I thought. Well, I had an EHX 12AT7 laying around, so I gave that a shot. It helped a little bit. It let a little more crunch through and tightened the bass slightly. So I got online and ordered a couple tubes from Doug's Tubes, who is usually really good about getting me what I need. I got a JJ ECC82 in the mail this afternoon.
I popped it in V3, and that appears to be the ticket. The bass is tight, and the flubbiness that I had always attributed to EL84's really doesn't appear to be there at all. I haven't futzed with the EQ at all, but I don't think I need to. It really sounds quite a bit better.
There's a lot more going on in the sound, and I don't know exactly how to describe it. First of all, since the bass isn't doing its flub thing, the mids shine through better, and the crunch is more easily distinguished across all the strings. So even though the overall gain may be slightly decreased, the size of the sound so to speak is much bigger. There's a lot more clarity and complexity in the mids and upper registers that is filled out by the tighter low end. The cleans benefited quite a bit as well because they sound bigger without getting boomy. It reminded me of going from A5 to A4 in my 59.
I don't want to blow up the guy's spot by publicly acknowledging him, because I know he has a lot going on, but his advice was brilliant, and I hope all his customers are as happy as I am. He didn't charge me for the best advice I've gotten for this amp. And his time is worth quite a bit. You know who you are, sir, and thank you again.
