unbalanced outputs

[iknowjohnny]

I have a dual bias setup on my 2XEL34 build that i use to keep tubes balanced. i've messed with it a bit when i first installed this but i guess i never did much as far as unbalancing them. Today i was playing my new tele and it's got a much more in your face tone than my strat. So for the heck of it i set the tubes 10 ma apart (normally i never mismatched them more than mayby 5ma) with the higher one sitting at 70%. Man, it sound so much better than when they're balanced ! Richer and grinder and even the cleans are sweeter. If ever there was a reason to have a dual bias setup, it's to UNbalance the tubes. Tone is just spankin' w/the tele !

[dynaman]

Yeah, right on. I frequently build my stuff like that. Depending on your setup, you might even be able to mix tube types.

[Andy Le Blanc]

Thats why cathode bias sounds so good, push-pull is technically idealized
with identical tubes and voltages, the imbalance creates different ratios of
even and odd order harmonic distortion, the color you hear.
Different phase inverter types color differently with balanced plate DC.
You get different bandwidth responses when the stage is over-driven too.