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Post subject: Tubes and Tone
Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 2:38 pm
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Aspiring Musician
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I was wondering can your tubes affect the bass, treble, or mids? Sorry if thes is a stupid question. :lol:

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Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 3:37 pm
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It's not a stupid question. Some people swear by one tube or another as far as brands go but I've read articles from amp techs that say as long as it is a quality tube there most likely isn't going to be a difference in tone. But like I said, some people swear by a brand and that it made a difference so it's really a subjective thing and the best way to find out would be to try different tubes and see what happens.


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Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 3:47 pm
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Changing tubes can change the whole tonal characteristic of an amp. Changing pre amp tubes was the only way I could tame the drive channels in my HRDlx.


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Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 7:57 pm
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I too believe tubes affect tone, and I don't believe I'm just hearing things! And to take it one step further, these little guys-

http://herbiesaudiolab.home.att.net/tube.htm

...affect tone even further, for the better in my opinion. Never has my amp sounded so focused and just plain right as when these things are on the tubes. Of course with anything, your mileage may vary.

Dan


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Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 9:03 am
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Different preamp tube types and brands absolutely 100% affect your tone.

If you really want to find out, try buying a NOS tube for your V1. Be careful though, they have drastic tonal differences. You need to do some research.

Power tubes don't change tone to any significant degree, you'll notice more in the response and feel (as in tighter or muddier). But preamp tubes are definitely a key in achieving great tone with your amp.

Right now I'm using:

V1- Sylvania JHS 12ax7
V2- GE 12ax7a Long plate
V3- RCA 7025

It sounds unbelievable in my Hot Rod Deville.


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Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 1:39 pm
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I'm wondering if there are any suggestions for tubes that will show more response to my pick attack, and also clean up my distortion a bit. (Thanks to all that have responded on my previous post.)

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2007 USA Deluxe Strat,
2007 Gibson SG Special w/ a Bigsby B5
2006 MIJ Strat,
2008 Champ 600,
2009 Blues Jr.,
TS9
Vox Wah
BBE Soul Vibe
EHX Holy Grail Reverb
BOSS RC-20XL Loop Station
BOSS DS-1
Crybaby Wah


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Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 1:44 pm
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To clean up or smooth distortion in a guitar amp, choose lower gain pre-amp tubes, which will give you less pre-amp breakup and more juice to the power tubes.

12at7 and 12ay7 tubes are direct replacements for a 12ax7, as is the 5751 (my fave) which only produces about 70% of the gain of a 12ax7. Many of the people I know who are really, truly happy with the tone they get from medium powered Fenders like the Deluxe Reverb have replaced one or more pre-amp tubes with 5751's.


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Post subject:
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 1:50 pm
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Thanks. I have a JAN Philips 5751 in my champ 600 right now and I'm VERY satisfied with it. I mean to replace all of the tubes in my Blues Jr., what would be some good suggestions? I play blues and a touch of classic rock. Thanks 8)

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2007 USA Deluxe Strat,
2007 Gibson SG Special w/ a Bigsby B5
2006 MIJ Strat,
2008 Champ 600,
2009 Blues Jr.,
TS9
Vox Wah
BBE Soul Vibe
EHX Holy Grail Reverb
BOSS RC-20XL Loop Station
BOSS DS-1
Crybaby Wah


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Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 9:55 pm
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63supro wrote:
Changing tubes can change the whole tonal characteristic of an amp.



+1


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