Tube positions: v1, v2, v3 and PI (v4) what do they do
- Thread starter mwalluk
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karpathion
New member
Re: Tube positions: v1, v2, v3 and PI (v4) what do they do
V1 "should" dictate the way the amp sounds, the most. Besides the power tubes.
Any time I want to swap my tubes around, V1 seems to make the biggest impact on the overall tone and gain structure.
It may be different for other amps, this is just my observation.
Swap tubes around in V1, until you find something you like.
V1 "should" dictate the way the amp sounds, the most. Besides the power tubes.
Any time I want to swap my tubes around, V1 seems to make the biggest impact on the overall tone and gain structure.
It may be different for other amps, this is just my observation.
Swap tubes around in V1, until you find something you like.
FuseG4
Our Neighbor Totoro
Re: Tube positions: v1, v2, v3 and PI (v4) what do they do
get high gain if you want a high headroom tube. The way I've seen it so far is that a high-gain tube is capable of putting out more gain. Thus you'd need to give it that much more signal to get it to saturate and clip heavily.
I don't buy into the whole high-gain tube thing though. in most designs these days, no one's using the preamp gain on absolute max all the time, right? The tube's not gonna give you more or less gain than a single notch on your gain knob.
they might be useful in a master volume amp for changing the ratio of preamp to power amp distortion, but if you have a preamp knob I think high-gain tubes are a marketing thing.
get high gain if you want a high headroom tube. The way I've seen it so far is that a high-gain tube is capable of putting out more gain. Thus you'd need to give it that much more signal to get it to saturate and clip heavily.
I don't buy into the whole high-gain tube thing though. in most designs these days, no one's using the preamp gain on absolute max all the time, right? The tube's not gonna give you more or less gain than a single notch on your gain knob.
they might be useful in a master volume amp for changing the ratio of preamp to power amp distortion, but if you have a preamp knob I think high-gain tubes are a marketing thing.
Powdered Toast Man
New member
Re: Tube positions: v1, v2, v3 and PI (v4) what do they do
Zuh? Wouldn't you want a lower gain tube to give more headroom before distorting? For example, in my 5E3, players can substitute a 12AY7 in place of a 12AX7 if they want lower gain and a cleaner sound. 12AX7's are 100% gain, whereas a 12AY7 is 60% gain.
A higher gain tube is going to clip earlier. Headroom refers to how loud you can get before clipping occurs. The higher the gain of your preamp, the faster it's going to clip.
Zuh? Wouldn't you want a lower gain tube to give more headroom before distorting? For example, in my 5E3, players can substitute a 12AY7 in place of a 12AX7 if they want lower gain and a cleaner sound. 12AX7's are 100% gain, whereas a 12AY7 is 60% gain.
A higher gain tube is going to clip earlier. Headroom refers to how loud you can get before clipping occurs. The higher the gain of your preamp, the faster it's going to clip.
FuseG4
Our Neighbor Totoro
Re: Tube positions: v1, v2, v3 and PI (v4) what do they do
a high gain tube will drive the next stage harder and so overall the amp will be dirtier. A lower gain tube will not drive the next section as hard and so the whole amp has less gain.
but a single tube that is high gain could take more of say, a volume pedal boost before mushing out and clipping off all your dynmics *at that tube*.
The gain factor of a tube is simply "how much it can amplify a signal". A 12Ax7 is a gain factor of 100. "high gain" just means it'll be closer to that spec of 100 (most new production stuff often falls short of the spec of 100 for a 12ax7). The *tube itself* has more headroom than a one with a lower gain factor. wether that drives your whole amp harder is different.
edit: and so that's what I meant when I said "get a high gain tube if you want a high headroom tube", is if you wanna use pedals for dirt and not get so super-saturated at the preamp that things get mushy" and since that doesn't sound like what mr. walluk needs anyways, I'd say "skip the high gain thing".
a high gain tube will drive the next stage harder and so overall the amp will be dirtier. A lower gain tube will not drive the next section as hard and so the whole amp has less gain.
but a single tube that is high gain could take more of say, a volume pedal boost before mushing out and clipping off all your dynmics *at that tube*.
The gain factor of a tube is simply "how much it can amplify a signal". A 12Ax7 is a gain factor of 100. "high gain" just means it'll be closer to that spec of 100 (most new production stuff often falls short of the spec of 100 for a 12ax7). The *tube itself* has more headroom than a one with a lower gain factor. wether that drives your whole amp harder is different.
edit: and so that's what I meant when I said "get a high gain tube if you want a high headroom tube", is if you wanna use pedals for dirt and not get so super-saturated at the preamp that things get mushy" and since that doesn't sound like what mr. walluk needs anyways, I'd say "skip the high gain thing".
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FuseG4
Our Neighbor Totoro
Re: Tube positions: v1, v2, v3 and PI (v4) what do they do
penta-labs are relabled chinese (9th gen?) tubes. they should sound pretty warm but overall kinda flat in the EQs and many people say that that chinese tubes have a lot of gain. These are often recommended for people in modern music styles for getting an aggressive high gain sound.
If you don't want something as bright as EH or tung-sol, and not as dark as JJ, try them.
penta-labs are relabled chinese (9th gen?) tubes. they should sound pretty warm but overall kinda flat in the EQs and many people say that that chinese tubes have a lot of gain. These are often recommended for people in modern music styles for getting an aggressive high gain sound.
If you don't want something as bright as EH or tung-sol, and not as dark as JJ, try them.
Chickenwings
Alnico 6/8
Re: Tube positions: v1, v2, v3 and PI (v4) what do they do
EH have high gain and low noise. They are also the most balanced tonally of the current popular preamp tubes. Get 4 of them, and a tung-sol (clear and present) and a JJ (warm and dark) as well, that way you can experiment with V1 between the 3 types, and have a low noise/high gain preamp. If you really like the tone of either the tunsols or jjs, you can slowly go with a full set of them down the track.
EH have high gain and low noise. They are also the most balanced tonally of the current popular preamp tubes. Get 4 of them, and a tung-sol (clear and present) and a JJ (warm and dark) as well, that way you can experiment with V1 between the 3 types, and have a low noise/high gain preamp. If you really like the tone of either the tunsols or jjs, you can slowly go with a full set of them down the track.
metlking
Well-known member
Re: Tube positions: v1, v2, v3 and PI (v4) what do they do
Pretty much what I'm running in my Bogner XTC.....except I've got a couple more preamp tubes in there....
Pretty much what I'm running in my Bogner XTC.....except I've got a couple more preamp tubes in there....
