I have a Fender Bassman tv15 which has always been a lot more difficult to push into overdrive / breakup than it should be. I am only able to get any tube grit / breakup with active basses with the gain on full and the volume at around 4 - any less than this and there's no breakup to the signal at all. The amp sounds great but I love the mild grit it adds when pushed hard, and it seems like I'm having to push a bit too hard to get there - is this a sign that the tubes need replacing, or is it something else?
A lot of times the warm gooey breakup people associate with tube amps happens at the power stage of the amplifier. Since the TV15 features a solid state power amp, you won't be able to get the signature overdrive sound that a vintage Bassman would produce. I would expect that the tube preamp is more for a warm tone (in theory) than for overdrive.
thanks for the reply but check the Friedland review on youtube - he is able to push these amps to breakup without much effort.
hmm you're right... perhaps it would be worth while to switch out the tube. There are a lot of different choices out there... maybe someone who also owns the amp and has played around with different tubes will chime in. Wish I could be of more help!
If the tube doesn't want to break up maybe you should try to work things out. There's obviously a lot going for your relationship if the tube is trying so hard not to let you go. Of course, it could turn into a fatal attraction kind of thing and nobody wants that. Good luck. Relationships can be hard.
Thanks for the advice, the bass I'm using has a loud output so the issue isn't that the amp isn't getting enough from the bass. I was wondering if the lack of overdrive could be a sign of a dead / dying tube?
I think you are hearing the mic clipping ? I had the dual ten worst amp I've ever heard I bought it based on that video Ed did and I returned it the same day. I think the only way you can do it is to get a tube preamp pedal like a Tube Works Blue Tube pedal they are inexpensive and really respond well to different tubes.
+1 & many passive basses are louder than many active basses. My passive Telecaster bass has far higher output than any active bass I've ever used. But, I think that amp's really only designed for a mild overdrive, but if u can't get that, perhaps a higher gain tube-tho it's probly already got a 12ax7 in it, so you'd have to find a higher gain 12ax7 I s'pose. I know (Fender's) "Groove Tubes" have a numbering/colour code starting the gain "level". Maybe others, but, again, I know nuthink!
I would pull out the stock Groove Tube 12ax7 and drop in a good tube. One of my favorites that doesn't cost a fortune is the Electro-Harmonix 12AX7 Gold Pin. I have them in all my 12ax7 sockets.
Are you using the active input or something? I only played one of them once, but I remember it being pretty easy to get distortion out of it with a Precision.
I was able to get overdrive from the TV 15, but I was playing an active MM bass. It might be tougher with a passive instrument.
Nope - that's definitely the amp breaking up, not the mic. And in terms of tone, I searched for a long time for an amp I liked, and to my ears, these things sound excellent, so the problem is not that I dislike the amp at all. I actually love it a lot. No, using the correct input (input 1) for tube grit, and I do also have a Precision which has a very loud output, and I'm unable to get anything like distortion from it with this amp. Yeah, I get what you're saying, but this amp is in fact designed just for that gentle and mild tube drive, it's one of the reasons I got it. Thanks for chiming in, Ed - actually, in the section before that, the gentle tube distortion you get with the passive Jazz, gain all the way up, is something I am unable to get even with an active Jazz ('11 USA deluxe), unless I also have the volume almost maxed out on the amp too. That's why I was wondering about this. Thanks for this suggestion - it can't hurt to try it, at least. I have a suspicion that I might have a weak / dying tube, and that's what is behind this. I can push this amp into gentle overdive, but it has to be almost maxed out on both gain and volume to get there, even with active basses, and I just think it shouldn't be this difficult.
