Liquidfusion wrote: ↑Thu 08/05/21 2:46 pm
New 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.
NOS GERMANY TELEFUNKEN EL84 ?
Installed into a Vox AC style guitar amplifier?
Oh my! The sacrilege!!!
Certainly they must sound tasty and delicious.
However, in my experience, many EL 84 guitar amplifiers and especially the semi pseudo class A styles of guitar amps such as the Vox AC models , seem to really eat up EL84 valves. The best tones result in about a year of decent service life of an EL 84. This is just my own humble and dumb luck experience. Others may have other opinions. But yes those are a fine valve that I would keep in a glass display case and would break them out only for testing and comparison as well as on very special occasions to audition!
Seriously, I would save those for special occasions or special recording sessions or some very special amplifier besides the Vox.
As for the ECC 83 NOS Telefunken and most any other 12ax7 preamp applications, there is no perceived or required matching. However, in the case of phase inverter application it is often desirable to have the tubes internal twin triode halves matching.
Getting back to those Telefunken ECC 83 preamp tubes. If they are indeed orig, vintage German specimens,,,
Well, I wouldn't use them because they will spoil your ears of anything lessor! LoL!!!
They will sound great inside your Vox and I won't admonish you for the application inside the Vox because they will serve many many years of faithfully service. Basically, I wouldn't want to prematurely wear out the NOS Telefunken EL84 s in a supposed "class A" guitar amp application! Use a NOS Mullard, a Bugle Boy, or best yet a NOS Sylvania but God save the Telefunken!
You will enjoy the Ecc83s!
As for final output tube matching?
Does it not make sense to have at least some sort of control or baseline to get you into the ballpark scientifically?
Maybe they didn't match in the good ol days, but we know much more today about the science of the various nuances that effect guitar amplifier tone. Everything that is considered good amplifier engineering design practice flys in contradiction to best guitar tone?
Remember the old vintage gear was designed by budget not best tech. We now are begining to have a much greater understanding about the contribution of budget design idiosyncrasies effect the tone of musical instrument amplification in a most pleasant way. After all it isn't electric guitar without the electric guitar amplification. Best linear amplification practices produce a sterile tone. The amplifier flavors the tone every bit as much as certain tone woods enhance a 200 yr old Strativarious Violin.
We have the technology and a better understanding of how the design shortcomings of our most reverent vintage designed gear contributed to that mojo. Some mojo may be overstated or misunderstood , but we are getting better at quantifying the Mojo. Ultimately it is the players ears and preferences . That is a given, but does it not make good sense to have a known baseline such as the documentation of test curve data and matching tubes. All being the same we can design the other factors such as output transformation imbalances and bias point and other parameters.
And 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.