Hello, I am new to this discussion group. I have been playing guitar for 30 years and just bought a Soldano SLO-100 which is a very nice amp, but just want to have a bit more of an edge. I've heard that changing pre-amp and power amp tubes can really bring an amp to life. I love using pinch harmonics and doing dive-bombs and I am into players like Harry Cody (Shotgun Messiah), Vai, Eddie, Lynch etc....
Maybe I need higher gain pre-amp tubes / power tubes? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I realize tht the new tubes would have to have to be re-biased. Right now I believe the power tubes are 5881's
Thx
Kev
Tube suggestions
Moderators: pompeiisneaks, Colossal
Re: Tube suggestions
Well you can't really get much higher gain preamp tubes than 12AX7's, unless you seek out some military versions made by Mullard, they have a different numerical designation which escapes me but supposedly offer more gain.
I don't know what brand or make tubes you are running, but experimenting with different NOS tubes can indeed bring an amp to life when compared with modern ones that often come stock. If you've got the cash, check out http://www.kcanostubes.com/content/ you can really get some amazing tones out of the old European 12AX7/ECC83's and US ones aren't bad either.
About the power tubes, you may want to try some EL34's for more of a biting rock tone. You will need to tie pins 1 & 8 together to do this, making sure that pin 1 isn't already used as a tie-off point, you may also need to adjust your bias circuit to give you a bit more negative voltage and install some 5 watt screen resistors.
Or you could just try a clean boost in front of the amp.
I don't know what brand or make tubes you are running, but experimenting with different NOS tubes can indeed bring an amp to life when compared with modern ones that often come stock. If you've got the cash, check out http://www.kcanostubes.com/content/ you can really get some amazing tones out of the old European 12AX7/ECC83's and US ones aren't bad either.
About the power tubes, you may want to try some EL34's for more of a biting rock tone. You will need to tie pins 1 & 8 together to do this, making sure that pin 1 isn't already used as a tie-off point, you may also need to adjust your bias circuit to give you a bit more negative voltage and install some 5 watt screen resistors.
Or you could just try a clean boost in front of the amp.
Life is a tale told by an idiot -- full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
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Sonny ReVerb
- Posts: 342
- Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2006 6:54 pm
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Sonny ReVerb
- Posts: 342
- Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2006 6:54 pm
Re: Tube suggestions
I neglected to read the description of the CV-4004 from that webpage before I posted it. I just grabbed it off Google for the picture. They describe the CV-4004 as "slightly cleaner" and "slightly less edge/gain" than the regular 12AX7/ECC83. You might want to check out the ECC803 which is supposed to be a high gain 12AX7 type.
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Ed de Jager
- Posts: 186
- Joined: Fri Jan 14, 2005 4:01 pm
- Location: the Netherlands
Re: Tube suggestions
You might want to check out chinese 12ax7`s for your goal.
Ed
Ed
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David Root
- Posts: 3540
- Joined: Fri Aug 04, 2006 3:00 pm
- Location: Chilliwack BC
Re: Tube suggestions
Highest gain current production 12AX7s I've used are the Tungsol reissue and JJ ECC83S. Both typically run about 115 on my VTV tester.
I have seen the odd blackplate RCA ('60s) that high too, but never both triodes, and the '80s/'90s Mesa STR Chinese silvertops will hit 115 too sometimes.
Note: 115 on the VTV is a relative, not absolute number, according to the manual. Highest I have ever seen is 118 (Tungsol reissue).
In power tubes, check out the Tungsol reissue 6550s, they should complement your playing style I think, although they might draw down your plate & screen voltages a bit.
I have seen the odd blackplate RCA ('60s) that high too, but never both triodes, and the '80s/'90s Mesa STR Chinese silvertops will hit 115 too sometimes.
Note: 115 on the VTV is a relative, not absolute number, according to the manual. Highest I have ever seen is 118 (Tungsol reissue).
In power tubes, check out the Tungsol reissue 6550s, they should complement your playing style I think, although they might draw down your plate & screen voltages a bit.