Jaxxon

you were right -- a bit smoother, and more touch-sensitive. Thanks again for all your help! I still haven't got solid response yet on the Carvin forum regarding the heat this thing is generating. I'm pretty concerned about it.

ok, I swapped out the GT12AX7R in V3 with a JJ ECC83 and man oh man what a difference! This is the best setup so far: V1 = Tung Sol Reissue V2 = Tung Sol Reissue V3 = JJ ECC83 V4 = GT12AX7R (I'll probably swap this out with something else) V5 = Sovtek 12AX7LPS (my favorite PI so far) With the JJ in V3, I can really push the clean channel much more before it starts to break up -- it is even better when I crank the drive up and turn down the volume on my guitar a bit. You've helped me out tremendously, Myles -- THANK YOU! I posted on Carvin's forum regarding the heat issue, so hopefully someone who is quite familiar with these amps will have some insight. It just seems to get way, way too hot.

My "hot" amp is a Carvin V3 212 Combo -- and like I said, it can get VERY hot. I put in the 2 Tung-Sol reissues in V1 and V2 and the 12AX7LPS in PI. The overall sound is much tighter, with better usable mids, but I still get the early harsh breakup on the clean channel (that channel is driven by V3, and I still have the original crappy GT12AX7R in there.) Any other suggestions? Thanks aain for all your help and advice! By the way, how do you include the post you are responding to in your response? I'm sure it would be more helpful to you if I could do this given the TONS of posts you read and answer!

I'll probably try the 12AX7EH in a couple of weeks or so just to see what the difference in sound is. By the way, I know that tubes can get pretty hot but is it normal for the amp to get so hot that the knobs on the front almost burn your fingers?! This is what happens usually around the middle to end of the second set when the amp has been on for like 2 hours.

I ordered the Tung Sols (read a lot of good reviews on them compared to the EH) and the LPS (balanced) and JJ803s (balanced) from Doug. I'll let you know how they sound when I get them in. Thanks for the advice!

Hey Myles, this is Jack -- I spoke with you on the phone about my Carvin V3 on Friday. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your time and advice. I feel bad calling you, 'cause I know you are VERY busy so I'll post here and you can respond when it is convenient for you. I put all the GT12AX7R pres back in to start with, as you suggested. The tube that was originally in V1 was a Mullard, and it looks like an ECC83 -- the lettering is almost completely burned off. Also, half of the black at the top of the tube is gone. For the time being I replaced that tube with a Jan 5751 (1985) because I think the Mullard has been damaged by the heat from the power tubes -- is that normal where the pres are so close to the power tubes? Other than that, I am basically back at the original starting point. And just to refresh your memory ('cause you obviously communicate with a gazillion people!), the main thing I'm looking to do is get a punchier clean sound from the clean channel and kill or greatly reduce the harsh breakup that occurs when I turn up the drive knob. Thanks again Myles -- I greatly appreciate all your input!