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amp sounds different from one practice to the next??

quincy_j_clomo

quincy_j_clomo

Apr 18, 2010
116
66
Silver Spring, MD
www.egrets.bandcamp.com
#1
Hey all,

I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask this, but I'm having a very perplexing problem.

My tone sounds completely different from one practice to the next. So much that even the drummer can tell.

In this particular setup I switch between guitar and bass.

Ampeg v4 into Marshall 1960 cab. channel 1 is guitar->multifx->amp. channel 2 is bass->distortion pedal-> amp. I have made sure that the settings on the guitars, pedals, and amp are identical from each practice to the next. The amp stays in the same place, using the same outlet.

Sometimes it sounds very pleasing, and also loud. other times it seems to lack body, sounds almost far away, and is quieter. Again, all of my settings stay constant.

any insights? has anyone else had a similar problem?
 
#6
the room and the rest of the setup are all constant. the problem seems to be on a per-practice basis. if it starts out sounding great, it continues to. if it starts out sounding crappy, it continues to. a couple of years ago (maybe 4ish?) it was modded to take 6550's, at which point all the power tubes were replaced. The preamp tubes have never been replaced during my ownership of the amp. might they be the issue?? jmatt, you mentioned that it could be that the tubes "aren't settled properly". this is raising red flags to me, as i remember when i first moved in one of the power tubes seemed like it was hanging in its socket kinda funny. i pushed it back up, and it seemed to be working fine (lit up with the rest of them, amp made sound.) what does an improperly settled tube look like? what happens when a tube is improperly settled?
 
#7
Check other possibilities, like your instrument cable or even the speaker cable.

I've had an instrument cable where one strand was just occassionally slightly making contact with the other conductor inside the plug. Instead of snapping and popping (when a conductor breaks or is intermittent), the amp would suddenly be wewy wewy quiet. (Wabbit season)
 
#10
I'm with Nashville Bill -- definitely check your cables. Cables can take a beating. Even wrapping them wrong can cause their internals eventually to deteriorate. Stepping on them, pulling on them, cheap to begin with (foil or spiral insulation), etc. etc. etc. Most cable problems are sub-surface, i.e. not visible, even from disassembled ends. Not saying your cables *are* the cause, just that it's the first thing you should check out.
 
#11
The person to buy tubes from is Andy Bowman of Vintage Tube Services. He is THE premier tube guru and he has a tube testing setup that is without equal. His prices are reasonable and lower than the "California Crazies". He mainly serves audiophiles and studio owners with tube equipment that is far beyond guitar amps that are VERY persnickety about their gear. I have a stack of C-J audiophile amps, and his tubes are the only things I will put in my moving coil phono preamp.

Andy knows real tubes from fake tubes that are sold as NOS Telefunken or Mullard, etc. There are factories in China that produce fake NOS tubes, and eastern European production that is passed off as NOS western European production.

Some of the modern production like JJ/Tesla are very good. I have JJ ECC83 in my YCV40 and they sound great.

Andy can fit you with Japanese production tubes that are the equal of NOS Mullard as Mullard built the factory in Japan for Matsushita, and they are sold as National. I use those tubes in my most critical application. Andy knows this stuff. Tubes are all that he does. A NOS Mullard can set you back $250 or so, but you could outfit a whole amp with Nationals for less than that and have tubes just as good and identical in construction and quality.

Watford Valves out of England is another good resource and definitely the "go to" supplier for guitar amp tubes for UK and western European users. But Andy in Michigan is definitely the "world's best" as far as tubes for the highest category of audio use goes and far from the most expensive.....but of course not cheap. You get what you pay for from him....ALWAYS.....and guaranteed.

The tubes that I bought from Angela Instruments for audio use all failed testing after I sent them to Andy. These were RCA 6C4 tubes for Ampeg SVT and C-J PV-14L. One out of 4 was suitable for a line driver, but not for voltage gain. Forget the self appointed tube gurus and buy from a real pro that gives zero BS when it comes to tubes. The world's greatest recording studios and most critical audiophiles rely on him.
 
#13
nashvillebill said:
Check other possibilities, like your instrument cable or even the speaker cable.

I've had an instrument cable where one strand was just occassionally slightly making contact with the other conductor inside the plug. Instead of snapping and popping (when a conductor breaks or is intermittent), the amp would suddenly be wewy wewy quiet. (Wabbit season)
Click to expand...

+1
 

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