Tube rollers - help me out

[hydro]

Probably going for new pre tubes in my 5:50+ when I get the dough. Mostly in hopes of cleaning up hiss and bacon fry.

Your opinions - are gold pin worth it? Are they supposed to be cleaner, or sound better, or both; or is it a gimmick?

 

[SongsForTheDeaf]

Re: Tube rollers - help me out

bump... I just got a 5:50 Express and used the master cranked and use the gain as the volume control but get backround hiss this way... I like my headroom

 

[trevorus]

Re: Tube rollers - help me out

Gold pins are generally gimmicky. They may prevent some corrosion, but your tubes will need replaced a long while before that. From there, see if you can get a pre tube that doesn't have such top end sizzle.

 

[hydro]

Re: Tube rollers - help me out

bump... I just got a 5:50 Express and used the master cranked and use the gain as the volume control but get backround hiss this way... I like my headroom

Clean or dirty channel?

My clean behaves itself but the dirty gives me frying bacon and hum. It sounds GREAT though so maybe I am worrying about nothing...

Initially I thought the cleans on this amp were a little dry but it's grown on me. Coulda been speaker break in?
This amp has a lot of soul. Mesas are a little finicky but when you get them singing they are hard to beat.

 

[SongsForTheDeaf]

Re: Tube rollers - help me out

Clean or dirty channel?

My clean behaves itself but the dirty gives me frying bacon and hum. It sounds GREAT though so maybe I am worrying about nothing...

Initially I thought the cleans on this amp were a little dry but it's grown on me. Coulda been speaker break in?
This amp has a lot of soul. Mesas are a little finicky but when you get them singing they are hard to beat.

Clean channel... Yeah I agree with tweaking these amps sound great and I really like the reverb on these. The thing I love most about the Express series is the contour knob... makes the amp sound like a 4x12 when cranked

 

[Gone_Shootin]

Re: Tube rollers - help me out

My go to gain stage tubes have become Tung-Sol 12AX7s, because to my ears they sound more vibrant.

But what may be vexing you is the Phase Inverter tube. I prefer a JJ 12AX7 in there for a little extra growl, but that may not be what you're looking for. Of the tubes I have tried in that position, the Elector-Harmonix 12AX7 is probably the cleanest sounding.