I should have hit that "foe" button much sooner than I did....y'all can read the rest of that crap.

I never said i know my tube amp inside out and i don't claim i do, yet. But to make the accusation that i know nothing about tube amps and don't know what i'm talking about is plainly wrong. I know quite a lot but wouldn't have the arrogance or stupidity to think i know it all. I want to keep learning as there's always something new to learn about amps.

So ok i get the gist of it; you make an accusation against someone and when you find out it's false you won't apologise for it? ok but it speaks volumes.

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Luck won't do it and ignorance can't

George Van Eps.

...you are experiencing the illusion of choice.

I just made a choice...you're on my foe list!

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Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

When you're ready to take me off your foe list, I have nothing but a gigantic hug and huge smile waiting for you!

Til then, rock on, fare well my friend!

Them southern boys are hotheads. They're not on your plateau. They probably don't even understand. If I were you, I wouldn't take any canoe trips down south.

May your life always be liquid and may your euroutatory canal always be solid. Yours. The sprite in the woods.

I lived in the south for a while. Cool people once they get to know you and they realize you mean no harm to them and are there to learn about and enjoy their culture and customs and share your culture and customs with them! However, there are hot pockets of hatred that need to be avoided. But the same is true of California and all other states I've been to.

Only fools go where angels fear to tread!

Whats a foe list?
Is it like a little book of all the people who've done your head in. That you have to work your way through. Going round their houses to sort em out?

I've had one of them since I was a kid. I'm currently on book no#4.

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No no and no

You are all going in ze book...Name!!!....don't tell em Pike

It's not a slight difference. It's a vast difference. If it was only slight, modern tube manufacturers would go ahead and follow suit to what they once were. Instead they maintain that if they were to construct tubes nowadays to NOS standards, they would go out of business.

The reason for that is demand. Militaries no longer use them, they aren't used in T.V.s, radios, a huge number of organs, and the list goes on, etc.. Pretty much the only thing they are manufactured for anymore is guitar equipment or a small number of other instruments, and the demand doesn't nearly compare to the old days. So basically, tube technology ceased to go forward and took a backward turn to accommodate any factory staying in business due to the massive loss in demand. As a result, the number of factories have dwindled to just a few worldwide. Which is also why there is a much fewer number of types, sound, material, construction and character varieties available.

In all sincerity, I'm really not trying to downplay what you like. But there is another side of the coin to look at. Conceptually, if you really love your tube amp, and you consider it to be exactly the best for you, then why would you want to continually plug an inferior product into it? It's a proven fact that a good number of NOS tube types operate with more clarity and purity, and last longer by utilizing stronger and better components, and by the design of their construction. There are also some that were designed to break up earlier than normal as well, which is great for distortion amps.

The number one complaint I used to get with some Marshall users was it's lack of Bass. I knew guys who were literally turning their Bass knob to 10 and still not being satisfied with what the amp had to offer. In that case, you can plug in a NOS tube like a RCA long-plate, GE, or Sylvania, and it basically installed more Bass to the amp. So it's not like turning it into a Fender, but a more usable personally tailored Marshall amp sound to the user. The only modern tube I know of that can do something similar is a Sovtek LPS. However, they don't come without their own issues.

There are others who would like their amps to break up earlier. Sometimes it's a matter of them wanting less headroom to get it to push into distortion at a lower volume. An RFT is designed to break up earlier and shrink that headroom. It's also designed with a thick glass for durability. There are RCA types that will do the same thing as well.

If you'd rather buy a new amp instead of a $60-$80 tube to accomplish these kinds of things, then it is your choice and free will to do so. Some people will also choose to simply buy an eq or distortion pedal if they don't mind having an extra pedal in their mix. All power to them as well. Others opt for it to be internal within their amp to preserve their natural sound while doing so..

I actually hope this helps to educate anyone reading this. It's not a myth that a number of NOS tubes (not all, there were cheaply made tubes in the old days as well) are far better than modern tubes. It is a proven fact and a confirmed fact by modern manufacturers and tube historians.

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Your names in the book, come the revolution comrade...




My band are currently doing the theme tune from Dads Army as a tag on ending to the song "I don't wanna be a nazi". Our protest against the UK's extreme right.
Who'd'a thunk I'd become a pinko in my old age...

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No no and no

I must admit, I used to be a doubter when it came to the superiority of old tubes over new ones. Then I came across a bit of a decent haul locally when a friend of a friend passed away who used to be a radio & TV engineer. Before sticking them all on eBay, I scratched together enough Mullard 12ax7s & EL34s to fill my amp, and was utterly blown away. HUGE difference.

First thing I do to any tube amp these days is pop at least one NOS tube in there - even just a single nice old Blackburn Mullard in V1 is enough to transform a lot of amps.

Oops! Spoke too soon!



Yes thanks!

Cheers - C

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Well if you're having a list I'm having one, so I'm starting with Torquay ( 1976 parking ticket) then moving on to British Virgin Isles...possibly Malta and the Caymans then Tesco up the high street, desert boots, jeans and combat jacket at the ready, power to the people comrade

If I were ever tempted to meddle with an amp, I'd, well, look it up on the internet!

Anyhow. I can confirm what Niki said about the VOX VT-series, it is marketing hype, and yours truly bought one a few years back. It's a VT30. Nothing special, and way too many FX on there. But I'd like to think the valve gives it a certain something… who knows.

Also, hailing VOX as inventors of what you (RCB) called for makes little sense. You wanted an algorithm-based sensor which simulates a valve. VOX put a valve in a SS circuit. That's not the same, is it?

Who's up for lunch? I am!

Cheers -

Nutter