Tube basics?

[PFDarkside]

yes tubes effect your tone. swap a different tube into v2 on a fender reverb amp (assuming you are using the vibrato channel) and youll hear a difference. even different 12ax7 tubes can sound fairly different. a jj 6v6 will sound different than a tung sol 6v6. a sovtek 6l6 will sound different than an eh 6l6 even though they are owned by the same company

What do you run in your Deluxe Reverb? I’m the furthest thing from a tube roller, but when the original tubes went, I tried Mullard 6V6s in my Princeton Reverb and o was surprised how much “better “ it sounded. Deluxe Reverbs are hard on 6V6s, so I’m curious what you’ve found works well?

 

[jeremy]

the normal channel is heavily modded but i run an amperex 12ax7 in v1, in v2 its an rca 12ax7, v3 is a groove tubes 12at7, v4 is a groove tubes 12ax7m, i think v5 is another gt 12ax7m, v6 is a jan 12at7. the power tubes are currently jj 6v6 but i also run modern tung sols which i think are closer to a traditional 6v6 tone and output. the 5ar4 is a jj right now i think but i do have a few nos layin around. when i had the tung sols i ran a nos but i picked up the jj 5ar4 with the 6v6s so put them all in at the same time.

in a dr im concerned most with v2 (since i usually only use the vibrato channel) the pi and power tubes. the pi gets the crap beat out of it so i want a good strong tube in there. v2 has the most influence on tone since its the first and second gain stage for that channel. the jjs are louder and harder sounding than a traditional 6v6 but they take the 425v on the plates without blinking. some of the outside or festival shows i usually play in the summer have questionable power so id rather have a tube that wont fuss about getting 450v. i have an old set of brimar 6v6 that i used to use for recording but ive gotten lazy and just use whatever is there. i have a pile of gt tubes from when i was working at music stores 15-20 years ago so i use those frequently in less important spots

 

[80's_Thrash_Metal]

Do you guys tone shape by buying certain tubes?

Yes. Generally, Preamp tubes effect tone/gain much more than power tubes. Especially in the "gain slots" like V1 or sometimes V2 position.... Changing just the V1 12ax7 can really change the sound of an amp.

But yes, I change tubes to go after different tonal characteristics. Be it high gain, smoother mids, punchiness, lower noise, etc....
You can look up charts on various brands and get really close to expectations from what I've learned and seen.


heres one for example:

https://www.thetubestore.com/12ax7-tube-reviews-chart

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

Tube 101: Eventually (like 3-4 times) the cost of tube replacement will outweigh the price of the tube amp itself. Stick to your Roland JC120 and you'll have a merry Christmas, pal.

 

[Demanic]

Tube 101: Eventually (like 3-4 times) the cost of tube replacement will outweigh the price of the tube amp itself. Stick to your Roland JC120 and you'll have a merry Christmas, pal.

That's like saying, tuning up your Ferrari will eventually cost more than the fun you get from driving it will be worth.
I suppose.

Sent from my SM-A115A using Tapatalk

 

[justFred]

Changed my tubes to a Kemper and everything is sooo much better...

 

[jeremy]

good tubes last a long time even if you run them pretty hard

 

[KarlieBo2]

Is there a cost effective way to experiment with different tubes? Or do I just have to expensively grope around in the dark and hope I find something good? I have too many expensive hobbies as is. It took me forever to find a good blacksmith hammer that allowed me to forge knives without hurting my hands.

 

[GuitarStv]

Is there a cost effective way to experiment with different tubes? Or do I just have to expensively grope around in the dark and hope I find something good?

Grope baby, grope.

I originally opened this thread hoping that Amazon had added some cheap tubes to their Amazon basics line.

 

[beaubrummels]

Is there a cost effective way to experiment with different tubes? Or do I just have to expensively grope around in the dark and hope I find something good?

Amplified Parts has a 12AX7 sampler that gives a great intro to those tubes. Emery Sound sells a "Mad Scientist" tube kit that has power, pre and rectifier tube options, though I'm not sure if they will sell just the tubes without the amp or not. If you do your homework, you can find decent prices on all the various tube models from various companies and just buy them yourself and try them out. I did all of the above. Good fun and wasn't that expensive, relatively. Having a single octal tube amp helps keep the cost down because you only have to buy 1 power tube, no biasing between changes, and you hear the character just the same.

 

[Jacew]

I found V1 tube to have biggest impact in Egnater, PI tube not so much. Tung-Sol sounded overly sharp and harsh, Sovtek muffled and bland. JJ sounds great so I've stuck with those.

 

[Sirion]

My word of advice would be the following: after you have made sure that the valves in your amp are working, keep them in there and experiment with at least twenty types of different speakers (ideally in a few different cabinets) before worrying about changing them.

 

[lathoto]

In the design of my Franklyn amp we wired a circuit that allows the swapping of preamp, power, and rectifier tubes. Once you have that option in a class A amp, the configurations cut a deep wide path into the tonal palette. I only use JJ tubes from Eurotubes which is not intended to be a shameless plug.

 

[Jacew]

My word of advice would be the following: after you have made sure that the valves in your amp are working, keep them in there and experiment with at least twenty types of different speakers (ideally in a few different cabinets) before worrying about changing them.

Well. The best speaker out there can't help if your OD comes amp, and it's not sounding good.

If you don't get OD from tubes, I don't think it really matters what you have there, as long they work.

 

[GuitarStv]

Well. The best speaker out there can't help if your OD comes amp, and it's not sounding good.

If you don't get OD from tubes, I don't think it really matters what you have there, as long they work.

The speaker imparts a huge part of the sound of an amp. An amp with shrill and terrible OD may well sound lovely with a speaker change. An amp that's got dark and muddy OD can be brightened right up. Then you get into the lower wattage speakers like greenbacks where they'll often add some distortion (speaker breakup) of their own . . .

Speaker is totally worth playing with.

 

[LLL]

No.

Tubes do not affect your tone.

Tone is all in the fingers. All of it.

:13:

 

[NegativeEase]

No.

Tubes do not affect your tone.

Tone is all in the fingers. All of it.

:13:

Ha... damn you went there. nice.

Hey LLL, if you get a chance -answer the question I asked you in the HIgh End Guitar Cable thread,. I really wanted to hear you answer -If you have the time.

 

[Jacew]

The speaker imparts a huge part of the sound of an amp. An amp with shrill and terrible OD may well sound lovely with a speaker change. An amp that's got dark and muddy OD can be brightened right up. Then you get into the lower wattage speakers like greenbacks where they'll often add some distortion (speaker breakup) of their own . . .

Speaker is totally worth playing with.

Of course speaker change makes huge difference in tone. Much bigger than tube swaps.

I just don't believe you can fix inherently bad sounding overdriven sound with a speaker.

Unless it's coming from distorted power amp that is...

 

[GuitarStv]

I've found that very few amps have inherently bad overdrive. A huge number of 'em ship with the wrong speaker or cab for my preferences though.

 

[NegativeEase]

Of course speaker change makes huge difference in tone. Much bigger than tube swaps.

I just don't believe you can fix inherently bad sounding overdriven sound with a speaker.

Unless it's coming from distorted power amp that is...

Also, I would put speaker as more influential than the amp IF you are player an amp within it's headroom before breakup. -Especially if you are playing a speaker tuned distinctly like a Greenback, V30 etc etc instead of a less neutral style speaker like a V type.