Mr. Dan Licks

Mmmmmmmm, sounds good, but pastery doesn't travel well and it is VERY hard for me to resist temptation!

Right. So the front end type is more for the screaming leads, and the back end for a warmer, gentler kind. That is the impression we have gotten when we have done just that. Thanks again for taking the time to answer these "stupid" questions. I hope that the information is also helpful to others. Even though a lot of it is still over my head, I get a lot out of your posts to others. Dan

Gotcha. So it boils down to finding a balance between pre tube distortion and power tube distortion. We find that with the volume knob set at 4, the sound has plenty of distortion, any highter and it is too much. Now, how can you tell the difference between what is being distorted in the pre section, and what is being distorted in the power section. There must be a significant difference. Thanks, Dan

Myles, Well, things are beginning to make some sense to me, thanks to you old pros out there! One short follow-up: Just in principal, if you go from a #5 to a #7, what would be the general, overall change in the sound? In other words, cold tubes = ?????, hot tubes =?????. Yesterday my son went to practice with his friends and his teacher and "had to" play through a Marshall. When he came home, first thing he said was, "I like my Boogie better!" Can't wait to trash the 420s.... Dan

Hi Myles, Man, how do you manage to keep your cool? I was just over at HC to see what was going on on the amp forum and fought my way through all the adolescent rantings of squigglewhatshisname. Some nice cats over there, but I like it better here. You suggested Svets of a Groove Tube #7 rating for our 50 Cal+. I saw somewhere that the Mesa color scale runs from red (warm sound) to blue(cold, hard sound). Is this correct? Now, by putting hotter tubes in a Boogie do we in effect change the bias of the amp? Would the result be more or less the same as setting the bias hotter and using a colder tube? (No, I am NOT planning to put a trim pot on the bias) Just wondering. What do you think of this setup on the pre tubes? (Suggested by an Aussie on HC who played a 50 Cal for 10 years) V1-GT 12ax7R2, V2-Mesa 12ax7C, V3-Mesa 12ax7C,V4-(12AT7), V5-Sovtek 12ax7LPS + the 6L6GC Svets you suggested. Many thanks, Dan This thread seem to be more of a forum within a forum. Deffinitly cool.

"Close the lights" .... French / Canadian? Funny... my wife and her family use that all the time, and my wife was born in Burbank CA., and her mom was born in Italy. Deffinitly a French and Italian thing. In the old days when I was living in Paris I was studying with Nadia Boulenger. She would always tell us about something she heard on the radio.."This morning I opened the radio and heard a most beautiful emmision...." Myles, Ever hear power tubes start to sing all by them selves? Our 6L6 420s do now and again, until I give them a friendly tap. OUT OF TUNE AT THAT! Sort of a flat b flat. Sucks if you are playing a blues in A. Dan

Myles, you are a peach! What a man! Thanks again...and again...and again.... Dan

Hi Myles, We have just purchased, (based in part on your recommendation!), a second hand .50+ for my son. His first "real" amp and it really hits the spot! At the moment it has what seem to be the original tubes in it: STR 12AX7-A, STR SPAX7-A, STR 12AX7-A, STR 12AT7, and a STR 12AX7-A on the end of the line. Power is 6L6 STR 420. All marked Mesa. For the time being he will keep these going, but we would like to know what other options are and if they would make the amp sound still better. What would you suggest? I have a lead on half a dozen SIEMENS CV492 / ECC83. Do you know these. Are they worth perusing for this amp? They have been tested on a FUNKE W19 and are good. Or is it better to play it safe and go straight to Watford? Many thanks! How do you find the time to be so helpful? Dan