Ibanez TK999US Tube King - any good for bass?

Busker · #1 01-03-2008, 05:34 PM

I don't see much here on it (I did a search).

I bought it not knowing much about it, except if I don't like it I can probably sell it for a little more than I paid.

Tried various 12AX7 tubes and it had quite a bit of hiss, even with an old industrial 7025 tube, which is supposed to be low noise. Anyway, it has a 2-prong power cord, so I reversed it and some, or most of the hiss went away.

It boosts the signal a lot, you get some drive out of it. I haven't really played with it much yet.

Anyone here ever use one for bass?

Busker · #2 01-05-2008, 07:57 AM

Since no one offered an opinion, I will, after playing around with it.

First off, mine had the original 12AX7 tube in it, probably Chinese, but it had no markings whatsoever. I know it was original because they put a dab of silicone or hot glue (or something) at the tip and base to make sure it held in place. The build date is 1999.

It had a lot of hiss when I first tried it with the original tube. And since it had a 2 prong power cord with both prongs the same exact size, I tried reversing it and most of the hiss went away.

I tried various old 12AX7's with it. RCA, CBS, Mullard, Siemens, even an RCA 7025 (I have a bunch of pulls that I've saved over the years). I probably got the best results with the Siemens, although all the higher quality tubes sounded way better than the original, with almost no extraneous noise when the controls were set to less than insane levels.

Nice warm drive. It even sounds good when paying through it switched off (I don't know why, but when the unit is off it just sounds good playing through it).

I think it works fine for bass.

Question: Is this unit a pre-amp of sorts? Is it like having an on-board tube pre-amp in your bass?

fuNKmaster83 · #3 01-05-2008, 12:03 PM

some stop boxes do that magic

more of them not!!!

bongomania · #4 01-05-2008, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Busker

since it had a 2 prong power cord with both prongs the same exact size, I tried reversing it and most of the hiss went away.

What's the theory behind that? It baffles me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Busker

(I don't know why, but when the unit is off it just sounds good playing through it).

That would be because it's not actually "off" when you hit the bypass switch; your signal is still buffered by some portion of the circuit, it's just not running your signal through the tube.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Busker

Is this unit a pre-amp of sorts? Is it like having an on-board tube pre-amp in your bass?

Yes.

SteveMcB · #5 01-05-2008, 03:43 PM

I haven't tried the tube king, but I have the AD99 analog delay from that series and it's a beautiful thing...

Steve

Busker · #6 01-05-2008, 08:00 PM

Originally Posted by Busker
since it had a 2 prong power cord with both prongs the same exact size, I tried reversing it and most of the hiss went away.

What's the theory behind that? It baffles me.

I don't know the theory. I only have the most basic understanding of electricity and electronics.

xjeganx · #7 10-02-2008, 09:49 AM

I hate to dig up really old threads but I felt I needed to comment about the Tube King (TK999US). I was jamming with a buddy of mine (bassist for a death metal band) and he mentioned he had this old Ibanez pedal that he had lying about. He said he had no use for it (sounded to 70's style for him) and if I could get it to work it was mine. All that it needed was a new power supply, which my Boss 9v did the trick, and a new tube, gotta love JJ's. My first experience with it was pretty bad, it sounded lovely on guitar but with bass it just didn't cut it. But after playing around with the settings, and now with my L-2000, it sounds amazing. This pedal actually adds more bass to my signal and it produces one of the creamiest overdrives I have ever heard from a pedal. So overall I think its a great pedal, especially for free, it just takes a bit of tinkering to get that right sound out of it (A quality tube helps a lot). If my crappy sound card is up to it I'll see if I can get some decent sound clips posted later.

yem · #8 12-28-2009, 01:29 PM

[back from the dead/]

I have a Tube King (tk999; made in Japan) that takes a boss style 9v adapter. It sounds cool but it is too aggressive with the JJ ECC83s that is in it. Does anyone have a tube swap suggestion for this pedal that would give me significantly cleaner headroom?

paul_s · #9 12-28-2009, 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bongomania

What's the theory behind that? It baffles me.

Whatever the reason is, I do know that old two prong ampeg amps always had a polarity switch for reversing the plug internally, for the exact purpose of finding the quietest setting

(though correct me if I'm wrong anyone!)

BeauZooka · #10 12-28-2009, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yem

[back from the dead/]

I have a Tube King (tk999; made in Japan) that takes a boss style 9v adapter. It sounds cool but it is too aggressive with the JJ ECC83s that is in it. Does anyone have a tube swap suggestion for this pedal that would give me significantly cleaner headroom?

Here are some 12AX7 substitutes with the their gain comparison to a 12AX7:

5751 70%
12AT7 60%
12AY7 50%
12AU7 20%

Supposedly gain is not the only difference between these and a 12AX7, so I would just try to borrow as many of these as you can and try 'em out before you commit the cash.

yem · #11 12-28-2009, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeauZooka

Here are some 12AX7 substitutes with the their gain comparison to a 12AX7:

5751 70%
12AT7 60%
12AY7 50%
12AU7 20%

Supposedly gain is not the only difference between these and a 12AX7, so I would just try to borrow as many of these as you can and try 'em out before you commit the cash.

gracias

grovest · #12 12-29-2009, 03:30 PM

yem, thanks for bumping this and that other Tube King thread. This looks like a pretty cool pedal! I waht to read up more on the differences between the versions. Have you chosen what tube(s) you'll try? I bought a bunch of types for experimenting with my new EHX English Muff and EBS Valve Drive, and found tube swapping (my first exposure to it) was a ton of fun.

yem · #13 12-29-2009, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grovest

yem, thanks for bumping this and that other Tube King thread. This looks like a pretty cool pedal! I waht to read up more on the differences between the versions. Have you chosen what tube(s) you'll try? I bought a bunch of types for experimenting with my new EHX English Muff and EBS Valve Drive, and found tube swapping (my first exposure to it) was a ton of fun.

I thought I would try the other end of the gain spectrum with a 12au7. I'll report what I find out once I buy some.

Samvara74 · #14 12-30-2009, 12:08 AM

I've been using the Japan version for awhile now. The original 12ax7 looked and sounded decent for a Chinese tube compared to various N.O.S. RCA, GE, Boogie and newer EHX yellow label tubes. I ended up keeping the GE in there. It sounds a little more robust and tight in the bass and smoother highs. Still, I am going to try and mod the circuit to allow more deep bass and a little less mud. Even with the gain at 0 and the bass on full it doesn't keep the very bottom of the original signal and it gets woofy. Other than that it sounds great. I'll update if I can get the mod done soon. Sounds unreal on guitar. Plexi.

BeauZooka · #15 01-01-2010, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yem

I thought I would try the other end of the gain spectrum with a 12au7. I'll report what I find out once I buy some.

If you are looking for 12au7's make sure to get old USA ones. They are still pretty cheap and are superior to the new ones.
http://www.dougstubes.com/12au7.html