Let's just say that it would be very, very close.Alexo wrote:...sex?
...really?
Do tubes make the amp?
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Tubes may "make or break the amp" once you have all other variables where you want them.
Lately,I've been overly preocupied with tone.
Maybe I hit a rut with my playing or something,the thing is I wasn't happy with any of my gear.
I had about a dozen pickups to install in my Epi LP and none that I tried seem to "fit".
This morning I woke up early and started to work on my guitar changing pickups again (cause that's where tone begins,at least for guys like me,the not so great guitar player types,the lucky ones have it in their hands)
I've been having problems with noise coming from the guitar,dull tone etc. so I finally hit the jackpot,DiMArzio X2N for bridge and a Gibson form a 335 for the neck.................amazing,now I can use my neck p/u,the cleans are there till you push then that beautiful creamy tone......and the bridge ....well overdrive galore but well defined,noise from the guitar is gone,no more looking for the right spot to stand.
Mind you,that combination may be awful to someone else,that worked FOR ME>
Moral of the story:all links are as important as the next,start at the beginning (obvious but ignored),I don't care if you have all NOS Mullards in your 59 BAssman if you guitar is crap,your cable is inductive/capacitive or whatever,your strings are rusty and your speaker is a stereo (unless you are going for that sound, lol).
Lately,I've been overly preocupied with tone.
Maybe I hit a rut with my playing or something,the thing is I wasn't happy with any of my gear.
I had about a dozen pickups to install in my Epi LP and none that I tried seem to "fit".
This morning I woke up early and started to work on my guitar changing pickups again (cause that's where tone begins,at least for guys like me,the not so great guitar player types,the lucky ones have it in their hands)
I've been having problems with noise coming from the guitar,dull tone etc. so I finally hit the jackpot,DiMArzio X2N for bridge and a Gibson form a 335 for the neck.................amazing,now I can use my neck p/u,the cleans are there till you push then that beautiful creamy tone......and the bridge ....well overdrive galore but well defined,noise from the guitar is gone,no more looking for the right spot to stand.
Mind you,that combination may be awful to someone else,that worked FOR ME>
Moral of the story:all links are as important as the next,start at the beginning (obvious but ignored),I don't care if you have all NOS Mullards in your 59 BAssman if you guitar is crap,your cable is inductive/capacitive or whatever,your strings are rusty and your speaker is a stereo (unless you are going for that sound, lol).
Last edited by Aharon on Wed 01/10/07 11:10 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Just keep in mind when shopping online or elsewhere for NOS tubes that most retailers of tubes back in the day had a tube tester on hand to show you that a tube at least powered up before you took it home. I would advise against buying ANY tubes the are described as NOS but have NOT been tested. Just because an old tube is in an old box and looks new doesn't mean that it ever would have worked as it should. It could have been... a turd... from the factory.
(See what I did there? It looked like I was moving back in the direction of being on-topic... and then WHAM, again with the toilet humor!)
(See what I did there? It looked like I was moving back in the direction of being on-topic... and then WHAM, again with the toilet humor!)
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Yes, this thread is beginning to stink.zaphod_phil wrote:I'm really starting to worry about the direction this thread is taking with sex and urinal cakes and suchlike. Yeah, I know I started it....
That said, it has yielded this absolute gem:
Classic.veets wrote:And sex is like NOS tubes---you don't know how good you've got it till you aren't getting any...
-Dana
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I thought we all started playing guitar so we could have MORE SEX!!!
New, old used, and NOS all need to be screened before they make it into one my amps. I have had some great sounding new tubes, but have had much better "LUCK" with used pulls of "OLD" tubes and with NOS.
There is a very good reason why old tubes and NOS seem to work better and last longer than most new tubes. Back when these old or NOS tubes were made, pretty much all electronic equipment relied on tubes to function, and tube manufacturers actually cared about QC. Not the case these days.
Believe what you want to, but tone is the truth. If it sounds good, go with it
New, old used, and NOS all need to be screened before they make it into one my amps. I have had some great sounding new tubes, but have had much better "LUCK" with used pulls of "OLD" tubes and with NOS.
There is a very good reason why old tubes and NOS seem to work better and last longer than most new tubes. Back when these old or NOS tubes were made, pretty much all electronic equipment relied on tubes to function, and tube manufacturers actually cared about QC. Not the case these days.
Believe what you want to, but tone is the truth. If it sounds good, go with it
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Just bung my 3 ha'porth in. Some amps will benefit from NOS valves and some won't.
I had a Laney AOR30 a while back. On paper potentially a great amp: 2 X 6V6 and switchable gain stages. With the original Chinese valves it was tolerable. With NOS Mullard 12AX7s in the preamp it was plain nasty. Spent ages trying to make that sound good before I gave up and moved it on (the new owner paid someone to replace all the valves too, and they still disliked it after ).
Now I know those Mullard 12AX7s because I've had them in other amps I've made since then and they're a nice valve, but that amp wasn't designed for them, and a current production item was better. Just choose what suits and don't get suckered.
I had a Laney AOR30 a while back. On paper potentially a great amp: 2 X 6V6 and switchable gain stages. With the original Chinese valves it was tolerable. With NOS Mullard 12AX7s in the preamp it was plain nasty. Spent ages trying to make that sound good before I gave up and moved it on (the new owner paid someone to replace all the valves too, and they still disliked it after ).
Now I know those Mullard 12AX7s because I've had them in other amps I've made since then and they're a nice valve, but that amp wasn't designed for them, and a current production item was better. Just choose what suits and don't get suckered.
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it depends on the amp.
my ´66 super does not sound with old sylvanias, a friend own a ´72 silverface and the same tubes sound perfect.
for preamp stage i prefer in the fender RCA blackplates or jan phillips at V1 and somne old GE stuff.
The 36er needs NOS tubes for the EF86 only and sounds perfect with JJ´s for the AX7 and the EL84.
In general you can polish **** as long as you want but it will just remain ****.
So if the amp does not have the tonal substance and quality you will not be able to improve it that much by using NOS tubes.
A fine amp could be improved with fine tubes but it will take some time to find out the perfect match.
General recommendations like "use this or that" are not the real truth.
It will be at least a hint, but you have to find out the perfect match by yourself.
my ´66 super does not sound with old sylvanias, a friend own a ´72 silverface and the same tubes sound perfect.
for preamp stage i prefer in the fender RCA blackplates or jan phillips at V1 and somne old GE stuff.
The 36er needs NOS tubes for the EF86 only and sounds perfect with JJ´s for the AX7 and the EL84.
In general you can polish **** as long as you want but it will just remain ****.
So if the amp does not have the tonal substance and quality you will not be able to improve it that much by using NOS tubes.
A fine amp could be improved with fine tubes but it will take some time to find out the perfect match.
General recommendations like "use this or that" are not the real truth.
It will be at least a hint, but you have to find out the perfect match by yourself.
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+1 on that!7enderman wrote:General recommendations like "use this or that" are not the real truth.
It will be at least a hint, but you have to find out the perfect match by yourself.
My favorite guitar is a Jeremy Ledford replica with a Kahler and a big ol' humbucker in the bridge position, what sounds good for that guitar would part yer hair with a normal Srat and that doesn't begin to address what happens when you plug a Tele with fresh strings in.
It's all subjective. SO subjective! The real question is do you want to compete with the Hong Kong hi-fi guys and pay $125 for a smooth plate Telefunken just to check it out? Everyone seems to think there's some magic tube out there that will make your JTM45 into a JCM800, that "magic tube" doesn't exist!
I ought to set up a booth at guitar shows where you can rent my Telefunkens for $5 for five minutes so you can see if they do it for you!
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