The original Ibanez TS designs never even had tubes in them. Unless I am mistaken, but they sure started a whole new market for endless variations of the .circuit. I've tried most of them and have my favorite.
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The Sushi Box FX Secret Society
- Thread starter kranahan
- Start date
No need to apologize for the long post!So yes and no. I've never personally designed anything around a nutube due to the cost, they're arounf $50 per tube. If they were as miraculous as Korg/Vox claimed they were it would almost be worth the price, but reading through the datasheet they don't seem that great to be honest. Their big selling point is low power consumption. The filaments run at 0.7V, compared to a 12AX7 type tube's 6.3V, and they pull 34mA, compared to 300mA for the 12AX7 (150mA if you run it at 12V). That's awesome, really great. But let's look deeper.
The Nutube has a max plate voltage of 80V. Not a deal-breaker, but generally lower plate voltage means less output (my Large Hadron Collider runs 90V tubes and is WAY quieter than Particle Accelerator). Still not a huge deal. But let's look at the mu, or amplification factor. 6N21B, the mini tubes I use in my pedals, have a mu of about 80. For reference a 12AX7 has a mu of 100 and 12AT7 has a mu of 60, so 6N21B is right in between the two. Well the Nutube has a mu of 12. That's right, TWELVE. A 12AU7, the lowest gain tube I've ever used in audio, has a mu of 20.
What does mu mean to your ears? On paper they refer to mu as amplification factor, so you can think of it simply as gain. If you have an amplifier with 12AX7 in the preamp and put 12AT7 in their place, what happens? Big drop in gain, the amp won't drive as hard, may not even drive at all depending on the setup. So how do they make such a low-gain tube work in an overdrive? Well simple, the tube isn't doing the driving. 100% of the nutube designs I have seen are pushing the tube with either an op-amp or a FET in front of it.
To summarize though, how do they sound? They sound fine. I've personally tried a couple of the Nutube "hybrid" amplifiers they released a while back, and they sound good. Do they sound good enough to justify the price of the tube? In my opinion, not even close.
Sorry for the super long answer to a simple question, but there you go
Information like that is valuable.
To summarize
TL;DR
Real toobz mo' betta' than nu-toobz for teh toanz.
So I just had a mini panic attack because I thought I shipped out a pedal that wasn't ready yet. I know the five I did last night were good, but I did a 6th this morning and I didn't distinctly remember connecting the power jack. So I sent an email to the customer letting him know just in case. Rewound my memory a bit and I'm pretty sure I wired it and my brain is just trying to kill me
So I just had a mini panic attack because I thought I shipped out a pedal that wasn't ready yet. I know the five I did last night were good, but I did a 6th this morning and I didn't distinctly remember connecting the power jack. So I sent an email to the customer letting him know just in case. Rewound my memory a bit and I'm pretty sure I wired it and my brain is just trying to kill me
You're clearly working too hard....hope you're getting enough sleep!
I confirm that I am definitely not
I'm working on it though, I'm forcing myself to stop earlier so I can get more sleep.
I confirm that I am definitely not
Good to hear! (I mean, the bit about stopping earlier)....With such a bright future ahead, it would be tragic if you burned out too early....Burning the candle at both ends takes a toll, especially if you have a young family....
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Yeah, take it easy, everyone can wait 
I always referred to mu like headroom, the efficiency of the grid, more efficient = more power
I always referred to mu like headroom, the efficiency of the grid, more efficient = more power Hey Sushi Box - you are young but taking care of yourself will pay off in your later years . Trust me I know this to be a definite fact . I didn't in my career and now suffer the consequences and it's not pretty at all . Please be careful about burning out by trying to do to much too fast . It really doesn't matter if customers have to wait a bit - at all ! Better to make sure you have a sustainable process than rush to please folks and end up burning out or making assembly errors that reflect poorly on you . Your products make your reputation - your delivery schedule does not .... People will wait for the "real deal " - sorry for the lecture but I'm an old fart who wishes you well in your endeavor . Your pedals sound great on the samples put up so far so keep up the good work but make time to have a family life and a full one at that ..... Kelly
Yeah, take it easy, everyone can wait
Thanks everyone
I never feel like I'm working too hard and I honestly enjoy being busy, but I will admit I need to sleep more. I'm getting better at exercising regularly and eating better, and I have a solid rule that from 5PM until the kids go to bed I am not allowed to work on pedals, but I should get better at stopping myself. The problem is getting things done fast for customers is only part of it, the main reason I stay up until 1 or 2AM working is because I enjoy it But seriously, I will sleep more, I promise. I'm finishing up the 9th pedal for October right now (this one is for @kranahan ) then I'm going up for my dinner/family break. After dinner I'm aiming for at least another 3 finished, because I've found that 6 is the most convenient number of boxes for me to bring to the post office at a time
I can't wait to receive my Slampegg London Accelerator! j/k'nI confirm that I am definitely not
I have a similar take on playing, but it gets bad when you look at the clock and another day has gone by lol
Thanks everyone
But seriously, I will sleep more, I promise. I'm finishing up the 9th pedal for October right now (this one is for @kranahan ) then I'm going up for my dinner/family break. After dinner I'm aiming for at least another 3 finished, because I've found that 6 is the most convenient number of boxes for me to bring to the post office at a time
Just got the shipping notice for #8! Woohoo!!
This whole thing makes me want to order more. Problem is I don’t have moar space on my board or with my power supply. TB is terrible for my money.
Sounds like it's time for a Board and Power Supply Upgrade!
Lowendtech
Happily trending in my own peculiar direction.
There’s 2 builds in Jan with my name on it now. Rest up @Sushi Box FX.
Lowendtech
Happily trending in my own peculiar direction.
So much this.Sounds like it's time for a Board and Power Supply Upgrade!
Really contemplating the London Underground...ugh. @Sushi Box FX why don’t you knock all this “I’m gonna make cool crap” stuff off...
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I tried, I used to make garbage pedals, should I go back to that?
I mean that would work way better for me...but at that point I'd likely be a pariah around here..I tried, I used to make garbage pedals, should I go back to that?
Lowendtech
Happily trending in my own peculiar direction.
I tried, I used to make garbage pedals, should I go back to that?
