5 tubes tested in the ShuttleMAX 12.0

[gscroggin]

For those who are interested:

5 tubes tested in the ShuttleMAX 12.0 :Trya

Yes, I went through the trouble. If you're only interested in the outcome; there just 'aint much difference from stock.

Enjoy

[LiquidMidnight]

Great sound and great playing.

[seamonkey]

Originally Posted by LiquidMidnight

Great sound and great playing.

+1

Nice job

It would have interesting to put the sound up as unlabeled, and let people guess at which tube was which.

Next would be a couple of samples bypassing the tube, unfortunately Genz Benz didn't provide a bypass. This to see what contributes more to the overall sound, i.e. the rest of the preamp, or just one component. It appears GB spent a lot of design time tuning out the effect of any single tube. I don't think the sound value of this amp boils down to just the tube.

[Ukiah Bass]

I tried different Telefunkens in a SM12 I used to own. By my ear (and in the sonic silence of my home studio), there were clear differences between the stock Ruby tube, and even among the Telefunkens. Fun to try these permutations. But in the mix of a band performance, differences are going to be perceived by most as non-distinguishable.

[1n3]

Originally Posted by seamonkey

Next would be a couple of samples bypassing the tube, unfortunately Genz Benz didn't provide a bypass.

ShuttleMax amps have two channels - tube and FET. Sample 1 is the FET channel.

[Jim C]

In my tube rolling experience, I've found the greatest difference between pre-amp tubes is when playing a pure note with fingers (no slapping or pick) with a moving line from open E to the 12th fret on the G string.
Also have found that many amps (like SWR) have virtually no difference regradless of how expensive of an old European tube I throw at it. Was alos surprised that the 3 Pro had minimal gains from a cheap Chinese firecracker to a 60's Telefunken. The Mesa WA on the other hand is very responsive to different pre-amp or driver tubes.

[bucephylus]

Excellent playing Garrett!

Very interesting comparison.
1) Again, I don't hear a whole lot of difference between the FET and Tube circuits. This has been the subject of some discussion here on TB. These clips agree with my sense. Yes, I can hear a subtle difference. To me, the tube channel does have a little of the warm "reverb" character; but the effect is nowhere as prominent as in the Demeter or Alembic type of pre's, IMO.

2) I can hear a bit more warmth in the Tung-Sol; and that is the sound I would personally favor.

Great amp and great playing.

[gscroggin]

Thanks for the input guys. To address a few things:

Originally Posted by seamonkey

It would have interesting to put the sound up as unlabeled, and let people guess at which tube was which.

I originally planned on doing the whole "guess which tube is what" routine, but once I had the results, I figured there wasn't much point

Originally Posted by Ukiah Bass

But in the mix of a band performance, differences are going to be perceived by most as non-distinguishable.

That's primarily the reason I decided to leave the drums in the mix, rather than just raw bass. Not to mention it's a little less mind-numbing to listen to IMO

Originally Posted by bucephylus

Excellent playing Garrett!

1) Again, I don't hear a whole lot of difference between the FET and Tube circuits.

Thanks, and thanks for selling me your cabs. I'm looking forward to pounding on them with the Shuttlemax!

Funny that you don't hear a whole lot of difference between the FET and Tube circuits...that's the one thing that I thought was night and day with this whole process. It was interesting to look at the waveforms as well. The FET is extremely peaky, more narrow in overall amplitude but more dynamic. Kind of like a compressor that's having a hard time keeping up. The tube channel is generally wider and flatter. Perhaps it's the difference in the Genz limiter circuit with and without the natural compression of the tube.

It's funny, the only time I'd previously used the DI on the SM12 was for rehersal and live recordings. I've always thought it sucked though and said I'd never use it to record with fo realz, because it sounded so sterile. I now realize I was always using the FET channel in those instances, because the tube channel was lacking the definition I was after for the music I was playing. It could have very well been the bass and the EQ at the time as well. I now think the tube channel sounds WAY better recorded. Food for thought down the road I suppose

[seamonkey]

Originally Posted by gscroggin

I originally planned on doing the whole "guess which tube is what" routine, but once I had the results, I figured there wasn't much point

Yes, you are right.

Thanks for recording this and sharing.