Posted: Fri 10/29/10 2:19 pm
I wonder if you could wire in a 10 or 25 ohm pot between one of the EL84 cathodes and the bias resistor and then dial in a little "unmatching". Then tweak it by ear to taste.
AMEN to that!Your ears - that's all. The other stuff can be both misleading, and give you an amp that sounds sterile by comparison. Just pick pairs of tubes that sound great in your amp. Anything else is baloney.
Though I really like the sound of JJ ecc83s I can never trust them anymore. Too much failure . I'm pretty happy with sovtek 12ax7a. They're very reliable. Ok, there are better sounding tubes out there, but less reliable IME. The EL84M is the only tube that survives for years in my Vibro King's reverbDaviedawg wrote: ↑Fri 08/13/21 2:22 amI am not sure if the OP's query has been answered above or not. But here is my response anyway.
From reports on here almost any pair of valves will be less likely to cause issues than the JJ EL84s fitted. There are many cases of failures. Just the EL84s for some reason. Personally I would not hesitate to choose the Telefunkens anyway. How long they work at optimum level will depend on how you use the amp. At domestic power output levels I suspect they will last as long as you want them to. I have used many pairs of random power valves with no issues for the amps in question. For a while I drove myself nuts trying different combinations and listening for benefits.
Dd
I've had zero issues with new production Mullard, or Tung Sol. No issues with Sovteks either, and depending on which type, some of them sound very good. The Sovtek 12AX7WA and WB varieties sounded good to me.Bieworm wrote: ↑Fri 08/13/21 6:23 amThough I really like the sound of JJ ecc83s I can never trust them anymore. Too much failure . I'm pretty happy with sovtek 12ax7a. They're very reliable. Ok, there are better sounding tubes out there, but less reliable IME. The EL84M is the only tube that survives for years in my Vibro King's reverb
My choice is the WA sovtek.JMPGuitars wrote: ↑Fri 08/13/21 8:37 amI've had zero issues with new production Mullard, or Tung Sol. No issues with Sovteks either, and depending on which type, some of them sound very good. The Sovtek 12AX7WA and WB varieties sounded good to me.Bieworm wrote: ↑Fri 08/13/21 6:23 amThough I really like the sound of JJ ecc83s I can never trust them anymore. Too much failure . I'm pretty happy with sovtek 12ax7a. They're very reliable. Ok, there are better sounding tubes out there, but less reliable IME. The EL84M is the only tube that survives for years in my Vibro King's reverb
You need to pay attention to the mids. They all sound good, but they all sound a little different. I don't think one is better than the other among those.Bieworm wrote: ↑Fri 08/13/21 9:13 amMy choice is the WA sovtek.
I use tung sol often too. Mullards are always more expensive, but to me they don't sound much different from an EHX or Sovtek to justify the price. The JJ are always cheaper, and I find the ECC83 very good in V1 position. They seem to sound a little darker and beefier.. but the quality!!! OMG!!!
NOS GERMANY TELEFUNKEN EL84 ?Liquidfusion wrote: ↑Thu 08/05/21 2:46 pmNew here!! 1st Post - Guitarist / indie audio engineer - just checking if I install two Telefunken EL84's Power Tubes from Germany NOS - non matched pair - testing "strong" - that my new VOX AC10 C1 amp will be OK. I like the Telefunken sound - bright Beatles'/rock. Concerned about voiding warranty.
Hard to see "red-plating" as amp has a closed back. I like the idea of working with even-ordered harmonics to get a great rock / blues sound. "Hum" will be the test if anything is wrong.
Right now, new amp is very quite: Sweetwater installed JJ's in both Preamp (2) / Power Tubes (2). If / when I hear noise, it goes away depending on 1) how close I am to the amp and 2) the direction my guitar faces the amp. Four feet away from amp = no noise. Some noise when gain is turned up past 1pm.
Apartment studio. VOX AC10 C1 = Gain 9:00 and MV anywhere from 11:00 to Max. EQ = Bass rolled off to 9:00 (gets rid of boomy sound with E Chord), Treble @ Noon, with Reverb Off. With these settings, I get a clean sound that works well with fuzz pedals. Putting amp on a Gator stand further reduces a boomy low end sound.
Today, will be installing Telefunken ECC83 NOS tubes (2) into the Vox AC10 C1 preamp section: recently discovered a batch of tubes and a Precision Tube Tester hidden in a corner behind a Ludwig bass drum. Cleaning the studio has rewards! Want to see if sound gets better from what JJ' Tubes can do.
New to Strat guitars / Vox amps. For years, played a Tele / EMG 85s with a Fender 1966 Blackface Champ (Telefunken ECC83) modded by Gerald Weber (Studio Rec/Stage gigging - mic'd) - Texas Tone (on/off) Raw vs EQ sound, Feedback (on/off), and a larger "Texas sized" OT.
Is there? The question of tube matching is a fairly polarized topic. Many well respected guitar techs, including Zaphod_Phil on this site (search for his opinion on the topic) would argue that guitar tone is better with unbalanced tubes.southboundsuarez wrote: ↑Sat 08/28/21 6:41 pmAnd yes there is indeed big enough variability in all vacuum tube devices to warrant a basic rudimentary match.
That's my own two cents worth of opinion. For whatever that's worth with inflation! Whatever works for you is what matters.