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TieDyedDevil

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About TieDyedDevil

  • Birthday 01/19/2022

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    lamkins.net/
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    Portland,OR,UNITED STATES
  1. Dave, Fender ships the VibroKing with the 6L6GE tubes as they do with all their high end amps. They are more articulate than the 6L6B® which is what they use in the other amp lines. Your tube seems to be the 6L6B®. But .... in the end, this is all personal taste. In my own Mesa Mk1 I use the 6L6B®. They tame a bit of the brightness in some Mesa amps. It is sort of a character like using grill cloth made from a heavy flannel shirt but that is what I prefer in the Mark 1. Mesa color codes are in six ratings. These are all very close. They have to be as Mesa has fixed bias in their amps which is non-adjustable. So, all their tubes fit in the GT 4-6 range as follows ... Mesa scale Groove Tubes scale Red 4 Yellow 4 Green 5 Gray 5 Blue 6 White 6 Mesa does a great job of testing and matching. They are also a great value for the testing that is done which is far in excess of many other vendors and tube suppliers. In the end, in my own clients VibroKings I use the GE's in a #6 rating biased at 30mA or the 6L6R2 (real Svetlanas) biased at 32mA in a #5-6 rating. If you have Mesa tubes in there now these would be plug and play for the most part. In the end it is all personal taste. Thanks for your prompt and informative response, Myles.
  2. Myles -- I bought a new Vibro-King in 2003. It was one of the winter NAMM display amps, and arrived with GT6L6B output tubes. After a few months, one of those shorted (taking a screen resistor with it). I replaced the tubes with a pair of Mesa/Boogie 5881 STR-425s that I had on hand -- they have a wafer base and I believe they're made by Sovtek. I've been very happy with the sound and reliability of the M/B tubes. It's time to replenish my stock of spares and I'm considering giving GT another chance, but I have a few questions: 1) I like the narrow selection of operating ranges that Mesa/Boogie picks for their tubes; it means that I can swap tubes in an emergency without worrying about having to reset bias. Can I still get away with that if I stick with the same GT rating, e.g 4-7? If not, what if I bought all my replacement tubes such that they had a single GT rating, e.g. 6? (And if that'd work, how do I specify such a choice when I order? The online system doesn't give me that option.) 2) Am I correct in assuming that the M/B STR-425 and the GT6L6B share the same origin? If not, what differences should I expect? 3) Finally, and I realize that this may be difficult to answer without having heard me play, what would *you* recommend for output tubes in the Vibro-King? I play a guitar with vintage-output humbuckers and really love the sound I'm getting now with the 5881s. I like to dial in my amp for clean piano-like lows with a bit of warmth on the top-end as I dig in. Advance thanks for your help, Dave
  3. TieDyedDevil ........... There is something wrong here, as this is normally not a problem. Is your amp one that uses a 6V6 or EL-84 in the reverb circuit? If it is an EL-84, loose the stock tube and replace it with an EL-84S in a #4 or #5 rating. The Svetlana 12AX7 is perhaps, the most unreliable 12AX7 made today, in any part of any circuit, so the stock tube may have had a problem initially, but the Svet surely added it's own problem. Another 12AX7 of any type, if tested well, will work fine. That is one reason alone to try something like a GT 12AX7C, which works great in this area and is guaranteed to be microphonic free for six months. OK, I'll lose the Svet and see whether I can get a warranty replacement for the Fender GT 12AX7 that came with the amp. And I'll pick up a spare 12AX7C to keep in the gig bag. This is a new Vibro-King, so it uses the 6V6 reverb driver. The stock driver tube seems reasonably quiet, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to keep a spare for that one, too.
  4. Myles -- Man, this Vibro-King is tough on tubes! I'm having a hard time finding a 12AX7 that can survive the vibration in V2 - the reverb recovery slot. The original GT-labelled Sovtek 12AX7WA and a new Svetlana 12AX7 both went microphonic within a matter of hours. I'm thinking that a JAN 5751 might be a bit more rugged. What do you think? Is there anything else I should try?
  5. TieDyedDevil......... The stock tubes "were" the GT 6L6B, now called the 6L6R, which is the Fender 6L6GC, and also the Sovtek 5881 WXT. These, by the way, are the "6L6" tubes that Fender uses in most of their amps. I say "were", as in all their custom shop amps such as the Vibroking and Vibroverb, they now use the GT-6L6GE tube. This is a substantial upgrade in tone, and this is what I would suggest, in a #5 rating, for best all around use. Either of these tubes is on the GT website. Just keep the same distortion rating, and you will be fine. For earlier breakup, go the 3's or 4's. Be sure to rebias. Got it. Thank you!
  6. Hi, Myles -- Now that I have the Vibro-King (wonderful amp!), I'd like to lay in a stock of spare tubes. It came with GT-labelled Sovtek 5881WXTs. I don't see these on the GT web site or in Fender's price list for spare parts. What do you recommend as spares? I'd like to preserve the tone of the stock tubes without going any higher in power. An earlier breakup would be OK, too. Thanks!
  7. TieDyedDevil ......... Yes. The stock P10R speakers are 25 watters, and the amp can bench 60+ in some cases, and transients can go above this when pushed hard. Using a Rickenbacker 360-12 and playing hard rhythm guitar can tax these speakers. The percussive nature of the Ricky is hard on speakers as it can cause some pretty dynamic transients. The 10" JENSEN VINTAGE, CERAMIC MAGNET, 35 W, 8 OHM has ten watt higher capacity, and is also a bit louder. I use this in a few of the amps. The P-A-V10-40-8 SPEAKER, 10" CELESTION SILVER SERIES, 40 W, 8 OHM is used by the majority of the folks. 10", 8 ohms, 40/80 RMS/Peak watts, 95-5.5K response. It is pretty nicely priced too at about $37.95 my cost, I am not sure what the retail is.Thanks, Myles. That's good to know. Just curious: Is there any reason to prefer the Jensen vintage w/ ceramic magnet rather than the alnico-mag P10Q? My intuition says that the P10Q would preserve more of the amp's character.TD ............ The R seems to be more versitile in the amp for most folks.I think something got lost in the translation here... The P10R is the stock speaker, right? You said that you've put 10" JENSEN VINTAGE, CERAMIC MAGNET, 35 W, 8 OHM speakers into a few amps. I was just wondering why you might prefer those, rather than the Jensen P10Q which is also a 35W speaker and would (I assume) preserve more of the amp's original vibe, compared to the ceramic-magnet Jensen that you've mentioned.
  8. TieDyedDevil ......... Yes. The stock P10R speakers are 25 watters, and the amp can bench 60+ in some cases, and transients can go above this when pushed hard. Using a Rickenbacker 360-12 and playing hard rhythm guitar can tax these speakers. The percussive nature of the Ricky is hard on speakers as it can cause some pretty dynamic transients. The 10" JENSEN VINTAGE, CERAMIC MAGNET, 35 W, 8 OHM has ten watt higher capacity, and is also a bit louder. I use this in a few of the amps. The P-A-V10-40-8 SPEAKER, 10" CELESTION SILVER SERIES, 40 W, 8 OHM is used by the majority of the folks. 10", 8 ohms, 40/80 RMS/Peak watts, 95-5.5K response. It is pretty nicely priced too at about $37.95 my cost, I am not sure what the retail is. Thanks, Myles. That's good to know. Just curious: Is there any reason to prefer the Jensen vintage w/ ceramic magnet rather than the alnico-mag P10Q? My intuition says that the P10Q would preserve more of the amp's character.
  9. Myles -- Have you had problems with failure of the stock speakers on any of the Vibro-Kings you support?
  10. Myles -- Thanks for your help over on HC regarding my search for a new non-MV amp to supplement the Blue Angel. You've already weighed in with your opinions on some of my early candidates, and I found that very helpful. I found one more candidate, a Fender Vibro-King, - played it, love the sound - and would appreciate your advice regarding potential service issues (if you've had experience with the amp). Thanks again!
  11. TieDyedDevil .......... This is a hard call, as these are two very different amps. The MK III would be easier to move around by a long shot. These amps sound very different, and feel very different. The bottom line is probably, for you to try to play examples of each at some store that may have some used ones. Sorry I could not help more. Close enough, thanks. I've been able to find some anectdotes regarding the Mk3 Coliseum and the Mk3 combo that told me pretty much the same thing. I've got a pretty good idea what I can expect from the difference in output stages, but less of a clue about how they might be voiced differently (M/B apparently went through a number of revisions). I guess I'll have to play 'em and listen.
  12. Myles -- I have a line on two different Mesa/Boogie Mark IIIs - an early 90's simulclass combo and a late 80's Coliseum 300 head. Both have reverb and EQ. The combo has an EVM-12L speaker and the head would be paired up with my 80's 2x12 vertical half-back cab with a Celestion 90 in the open top and an EVM-12L in the ported bottom. I'm trying to decide which one to buy. Do you have any experience with these? Any insights? I'm inclined to go with the smaller amp for the sake of size, but willing to consider the more powerful head if there's a compelling sonic difference. (BTW, I can't audition the Coliseum - I'd be having it shipped to me.)
  13. TieDyedDevil ....... Even with Mesa's tubes, most of their amps are overbiased and run too cool for my personal tastes. The scale from Mesa to GT is: Mesa vs Groove Tubes scale Red 4 Yellow 4 Green 5 Gray 5 Blue 6 White 6 If when using a #6, if I am still at less than 55% or so ID, I just go to a #7 ... outside of Mesa's range, but nicer for the tone. Within Mesa's range, you will not see problems and have very long tube life. If you want to stray from this range, you need to check ID. Hmmmm, that's what I suspected. Which leaves me a bit confused about M/B's guidance to replace tubes only with the same bias. I wonder whether they're trying to ensure that the amp sounds "the same" as when it left the factory, or just trying to avoid a run on their stocks of hotter tubes.
  14. Myles -- From what I've read about Mesa/Boogie, the "bins" of their color-coding scheme for output tube are pretty narrow and their amps are biased conservatively for longer tube life. Is it reasonable for me to substitute tubes having different color codes in order to experiment with the effects of different kinds of tubes (as supported by the amp) and running tubes hotter or colder than stock? What are the risks in trying this without bothering to measure plate dissipation? Is M/B's spread from hottest to coldest tubes wide enough to cause problems in their own amps?
  15. TieDyedDevil .... I am also something of a blue angel fan, as you can see on my website in the area of my personal equipment. For both of these EL-84 based amps, there is only one tube to use, and that is the EL-84S, also known as the JJ EL-84. The Russian Sovteks are dark and not at all articulate. Those are what Mesa uses as stock. Use a rating of #5-6 and they work great. The GT version of this tube is at: http://www.groovetubes.com/product.cfm?Product_ID=1687 You can also get these tubes at www.eurotubes.com where they are a bit less expensive, but not dynamically matched. In any case, I use both GT and Eurotubes versions, with great results in each case. For preamp tubes, I prefer the 12AX7R3 in V1 and V2 of these amps. This tube is also known as the 12AX7EH from Electro Harmonix, or the 12AX7C, but only the latest tooling variant: http://www.groovetubes.com/product.cfm?Product_ID=1158 Thanks, Myles -- I have noticed your Blue Angel. I've recently discovered the joys of having amps that are small enough so I can get some useable power tube distortion, and I'm loving the Blue Angel the most of all of them. I'll give your tube recommendations a try when I return from Boston next month.
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