Marshall vba 400- Groove tubes etc

Lonesomedave · #1 06-09-2011, 03:22 AM

2 questions for any thoughts.

1. what do you think of fitting a marshall vba 400 with a set of groove tubes?

2. what cabinet or cabinets would you use with this head-- marshall etc?

thanks.

/s/ Dave

Bassmec · #2 06-09-2011, 04:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lonesomedave

2 questions for any thoughts.

1. what do you think of fitting a marshall vba 400 with a set of groove tubes?

2. what cabinet or cabinets would you use with this head-- marshall etc?

thanks.

/s/ Dave

1 Groove tubes are ok, NOS RCA or GE are better.
2 X 4 X 10 or 1 X 8X10.?
But then one of these rewired series parallel for eight ohms would do some serious seismic damage with a VBA 400:
4 1 5 - R F L - " W E** S P E A K** V O L U M E S* . . . "
Depends on what you want the sound to be like.

AwkwardLoudness · #3 06-09-2011, 08:39 AM

Groove Tubes is just a distributor of tubes. They don't manufacture any tubes. Groove Tubes' KT88s and 6550s are probably from the Shuguang factory in China, but they have multiple suppliers for different tubes so I'm not certain.

Among current production 6550 power tubes, I'd probably get Winged C =C= tubes. Nothing is better than NOS vintage GE 6550As, but the price is a lot higher.

Among current pre-amp tubes, J/J ECC803S and gold plated Tung-Sol tubes are okay. Vintage NOS (Blackburn Mullard, Telefunken, Holland Amperex, GE, RCA, Sylvania, RFT) are definitely the most durable and sound the best in preamp most circuits, but the price is higher.

For cabs, I would use four fEarful 15/6 cabs or a Bergantino NV610. I assume you want to be LOUD with a tube amp that has that much power.

staindbass · #4 06-09-2011, 08:48 AM

yikes!, chinese tubes

you will get more sonic change by changing the preamp tubes. they have more of an effect on sound that the power tubes. rca blackplates are a good place to start. if your not impressed they will still sell for as much as you paid for them, as they are already used.

kaputsport · #5 06-09-2011, 09:13 AM

If you are serious about getting sweet sounding tubes, and you are not concerned about the price...

Shop eBay for NOS Telefunken or Mullard. 1960s era are the best, period. Lots of places like Moog and Hammond had tubes branded for them, but were really Mullards.

kaputsport · #6 06-09-2011, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by staindbass

yikes!, chinese tubes

you will get more sonic change by changing the preamp tubes. they have more of an effect on sound that the power tubes. rca blackplates are a good place to start. if your not impressed they will still sell for as much as you paid for them, as they are already used.

Listen to this guy...

Also, hows it going man? Long time no see.

**cheezewiz** · #7 06-09-2011, 10:35 AM

Yessir. Groove Tubes are rebranded Chinese low quality tubes. If I was on a budget, I'd get JJ's or Tung Sols. A little higher priced, but really nice, are SED Winged C's. NOS is best, but they'll cost a fortune.

As far as cabs, A Bergantino NV610 would be my first choice.

Lonesomedave · #8 06-09-2011, 11:01 AM

AWESOME!

thanks for the advice guys. really thinking of getting this amp, but all the people i know who have one have said changing tubes is a must and i just wanted thoughts.

got plenty and thanks!

/s/ Dave