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Your Tube amp
- Thread starter fretno
- Start date
jastacey said:The reason I moved on from the V4-B, is it just gets too dirty, too soon, the Traynor YBA-3 is a much cleaner sounding amp, especially when loaded with 6CA7 tubes, and if you do the mods as described on the Velvet Black website, it makes it a very nice sounding/desirable gigging amp ..... IMHO
That's good info, thanks! The Ampeg hits my volume target with a little wool, which works great for me. But I hope to get a chance to try one of those old Traynors one day.
The reason I moved on from the V4-B, is it just gets too dirty, too soon, the Traynor YBA-3 is a much cleaner sounding amp, especially when loaded with 6CA7 tubes, and if you do the mods as described on the Velvet Black website, it makes it a very nice sounding/desirable gigging amp ..... IMHO
My V4B has always had a good amount of juice for the gigs I've used it for, but I agree... it seems to break up fairly early. I wonder if anyone's ever replaced the 12AX7's with 12AU7's. I did that in my Valve Jr. and it made a world of difference. It started breaking up at 1/3 on the volume knob, but after the 12AU7, I can turn the knob about 90% before it hits overdrive. Maybe it's blasphemy, but I wonder what a set of 12AU7's would do for a V4B? Wouldn't hurt anything to try, right? (don't worry, I'd keep the original tubes of course).
Just throwing spaghetti at the wall...
5sg.
The only thing it would do IMHO would be like activating a -15db switch for active basses. It's still going to start breaking up at the same exact point...you just moved it further up the dial. I guess it would be less touchy if you need to do on the fly adjusting, but that would be about it.
BTW, don't forget that the Valve Jr. was invented by the guy who runs Ampeg now, so don't sell that little sucker short!
BTW, don't forget that the Valve Jr. was invented by the guy who runs Ampeg now, so don't sell that little sucker short!
You know you're right, I *did swap that preamp tube back and forth a couple times. Didn't really seem any louder with the 12AU7, but the overdrive sound did seem a bit smoother. And the less touchy volume is nice.
Huh... I didn't know that about the Valve Jr. That's pretty cool. And I'm definitely not selling it short, that's a great little amp and is surprisingly loud for only 5 watts (sounds GREAT with that SVT 2x10 cab... Micro VR stack is probably my next gear purchase).
I just feel a little overwhelmed when I see all you guys with your stacks and stacks of tube amps. lol
5sg.
I've done quite a bit of tube rolling in V4-B amp, and the best sound I got from it was using a GE: NOS 5751, in the V1 position, if you replace the 6K11 Compacton, use a GE 6K11, it seemed to produce the best sound, as it is part of the midrange circuit, it basically tightened up the feel of the mid-range control ... IMHO, it seems the V4-b is very picky as to what tubes sound good, in that amp .... as to the early break-up, I believe it's just the way the amp was designed, and there is no fix for it, but many people just love the sound of the amp, but I'm not one of them
It's a bit of a habit, y'know. You can't confuse those of us who collect/accumulate stuff with people that have sane thought processes. I've thought about selling my SVT, but every time I play through it I marvel at how right those amps are - and it makes me smile - but so do my B50R/B100R, which are my main gigging amps these days.
Thanks for the tip! I do admit though, I'm a little afraid to mess with it, because I'm one of those people that does love the sound.
Another good tip. lol
The gain from a 12AU7 is about 60% of a12AX7, so that explains the different volume control settings. If you need the output you have now, you'll have to decide if it's enough with the 12AU7. You could try that or 12AY7- both provide less gain than a 12AX7.
- Feb 16, 2008
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- John K Custom Basses
correction GF (gain factors):
12AX7 = 100
12AU7 = 19
12AY7 = 45
12AT7 = 60
5751 = 70
IME, the only ones that won't kill your tone in place of an 12AX7 is a 5751 (GF=70) and a 12AY7 (GF=45).
What about the 12AT7? That seems in the middle at GF=60. I have one of those in the PI slot of my B15R. Pretty nice, but noticably lower volume from when I got it with a 12ax7 in the PI slot.
- Feb 16, 2008
- 21,240
- 23,633
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- John K Custom Basses
in blackface fender amps, i prefer the stock 12AT7 in the PI, but i can't stand the way that an AT sounds in the preamp gain or tone stages in place of an AX. they thin out the tone way too much, and make them sound harsh/brittle.
5751's and AY's don't exhibit that effect.
IME, an AX used in the PI slot, when there is supposed to be an AT, will sound a bit to 'fizzy' and gainy to me.
Great information. Thank you very much. Trying different preamp tubes is always fun. I'll remove the AT7 tonight and see if I have an AY7 or a 5751. I just got a box of at least 10 old RCA 12AU7A tubes with the square halo last weekend. I'll try one of those as well.
UPDATE: Thank you again for the idea of putting the 12au7 back! I found a sweet old RCA 12au7a "cleartop" I got somewhere a while back. Sounds great. I also checked that box of tubes I had mentioned earlier, and there were 2 more cleartops in it.
BurningSkies
CRAZY BALDHEAD
- Feb 20, 2005
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- Endorsing artist: Dingwall Guitars
