Feel free to ask Myles

[WaterMan]

Hey Myles,

 

Two questions: Mesa 5/50 Express. Although some pretty decent tones in there, in the store I noticed a lot of background hum/hiss even without the guitar plugged in. Is this something characteristic of Mesa and can anything be done about it? I tried two of them with same issue.

 

Second, I'd be interested in your take, tonally, on the distinction between the Fargen Bluebird and Carr Rambler. Both are 6V6, and I know the Carr is Class A and Bluebird AB, but how would you characterize the nature and best application of these amps?

 

Thanks Myles.

[myles_rose]

Hey Myles,

 

Two questions: Mesa 5/50 Express. Although some pretty decent tones in there, in the store I noticed a lot of background hum/hiss even without the guitar plugged in. Is this something characteristic of Mesa and can anything be done about it? I tried two of them with same issue.

 

Second, I'd be interested in your take, tonally, on the distinction between the Fargen Bluebird and Carr Rambler. Both are 6V6, and I know the Carr is Class A and Bluebird AB, but how would you characterize the nature and best application of these amps?

 

Thanks Myles.

 

The Mesa is a gainy amp and has a complex design to try to do more things in one box ... so ... more noise and less player touch dynamics.

 

The Carr and Fargen amps are very different designs, both great. It all falls down to personal feelings and observation. It is hard to answer a question such as yours. Think about this ... try to answer the same question using chocolate and vanilla ice cream as the items in question

 

But I will say this ... for a good player, either the Carr or Fargen Blackbird would be a lot more fun to play than the Mesa if you had range in your playing envelope that was wider than the range of the Mesa amp and if you were a dynamic player, as one that changed levels via their touch and attack.

 

 

[WaterMan]

Thanks Myles. I know you get a lot of "which is better" questions, which I try to avoid because they drive me nuts too. I would say vanilla, like a good Pinot Noir, is light on the palate, contains complex citrus notes, and has a lingering finish, while chocolate, like a good Barolo, is dense and rich with more body that manifests itself in a thicher mouth feel.......... Neither is better, and words can only go so far in describing differences, but it's a start.

 

I appreciate the touch sensitivity analysis -- that is indeed important to me. One last question, if I may: Carr and Blackbird: which has more headroom?

 

Thanks again.

 

 

 

 

[myles_rose]

Thanks Myles. I know you get a lot of "which is better" questions, which I try to avoid because they drive me nuts too. I would say vanilla, like a good Pinot Noir, is light on the palate, contains complex citrus notes, and has a lingering finish, while chocolate, like a good Barolo, is dense and rich with more body that manifests itself in a thicher mouth feel.......... Neither is better, and words can only go so far in describing differences, but it's a start.

 

I appreciate the touch sensitivity analysis -- that is indeed important to me. One last question, if I may: Carr and Blackbird: which has more headroom?

 

Thanks again.

 

 

 

 

OK .... you win this one! I need to get you involved with sonic descriptions!

 

As far as headroom they are really close.

 

The 6V6 Blackbird is a Fender BF Deluxe and has some nice headroom for that wattage of amp.

 

The Carr Slant 6V can be cathode or grid biased .... you can run two tubes in A/B or the other two in cathode bias or combine all four tube in cathode for two and grid biased for two mode. In the four tube mode the amp used to be rated at 40 watts but I found the amp on a bench exceeding that.

 

The Slant 6V is a killer amp and more versitile than the Blackbird but if one uses pedals then they would be more equal in this respect. The Carr would be bigger, heavier and more pricy.

 

Both cool amps.

 

 

[WaterMan]

Thanks Myles. Since I've earned a free question with my ice cream description, here goes:

 

I cuurently have a 5U4GB rectifier in my Victoria Regal II. In reading your primer on the issue, am I to understand that if I put in a 5Y3 I would get increased sustain (sag) and earlier breakup due to the lower voltage? If I'm looking for a rectifier that would provide the greatest distinction from the stock 5U4GB (for versatility), what would you recommend?

 

Thanks Myles.

 

 

[myles_rose]

Thanks Myles. Since I've earned a free question with my ice cream description, here goes:

 

I cuurently have a 5U4GB rectifier in my Victoria Regal II. In reading your primer on the issue, am I to understand that if I put in a 5Y3 I would get increased sustain (sag) and earlier breakup due to the lower voltage? If I'm looking for a rectifier that would provide the greatest distinction from the stock 5U4GB (for versatility), what would you recommend?

 

Thanks Myles.

 

 

You need to keep the stock rectifier as a 5Y3 will not develop the current that the amp requires in the Regal.

 

The easier way to get distortion faster is to use a phase inverter that breaks down more quickly, something with 0.8mA of plate current or less and a short plate design that will saturate faster than most long plate designs. If you are anywhere near me I'd be happy to give you one for free. I hate mailing stuff and avoid it at all costs .... but if you are near my place it's on me. If you are not and have a friend nearby I would be happy to give it to them and let them deal with getting it to you.

 

 

 

 

[WaterMan]

Thanks for the offer. I'm in Sacramento but get down there from time to time and will look you up one of these days. However, and pardon my ignorance, but I thought the Regal being Class A does not have a phase inverter???

 

Also, Mark claims on Victoria's website: This versatility is also extended to rectifier tubes; the Regal II can accept any common 5 Volt rectifier including 5Y3, 5V4, 5U4, and 5AR4 with no adjustments nessessary. What am I missing here??

[myles_rose]

Thanks for the offer. I'm in Sacramento but get down there from time to time and will look you up one of these days. However, and pardon my ignorance, but I thought the Regal being Class A does not have a phase inverter???

 

Also, Mark claims on Victoria's website: This versatility is also extended to rectifier tubes; the Regal II can accept any common 5 Volt rectifier including 5Y3, 5V4, 5U4, and 5AR4 with no adjustments nessessary. What am I missing here??

 

 

Every amp for the most part has a phase inverter. You need something to push the output tubes. Some people may call it a driver or phase splitter but it is there.

 

From my point of view, unless you are going to use 6V6s as the two output tubes I feel that a 5Y3 is overtaxed. That is just my take on things but you can mix and match anything on the amp including using two different output tubes. In the end it is your own ears that make the call.

 

These are very very cool amps by the way.

 

 

 

 

[WaterMan]

Yeah, it's very sweet, plus I really love the ability to run on a 6V6 or two 6L6s, or one of each, or....... Your website turned me on to Victoria -- thanks again.

 

So I have the rectifier, the two power tubes, 2 12AX7s, an At7 and another AX7. Which is the phase inverter?

[myles_rose]

Yeah, it's very sweet, plus I really love the ability to run on a 6V6 or two 6L6s, or one of each, or....... Your website turned me on to Victoria -- thanks again.

 

So I have the rectifier, the two power tubes, 2 12AX7s, an At7 and another AX7. Which is the phase inverter?

 

The preamp most close to the output.

 

Call Victoria and ask them to send you a tube layout diagram.

 

 

[Fumblyfingers]

Myles, do you know anything about these heads? I went to the Richtone site in Montreal but see no head that looks like it. Also their logo says Richtone Amplification. This head's logo is just Richtone.

 

This amp sounded pretty darn good. What do you think of them?

 

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d42/Gypsyfingers/IMG_0068.jpg

 

[myles_rose]

Myles, do you know anything about these heads? I went to the Richtone site in Montreal but see no head that looks like it. Also their logo says Richtone Amplification. This head's logo is just Richtone.

 

This amp sounded pretty darn good. What do you think of them?

 

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d42/Gypsyfingers/IMG_0068.jpg

 

I know nothing about the head at all. Never heard of them. But there is TONS of stuff out there that I have not seen.

 

But ... the speaker cab is killer! I love Rivera cabs.

 

And .... anything Demeter makes (cut off at the top of the photo) is great stuff.

 

So .... maybe this is a great amp as the band seems to care about how they sound.

 

 

 

 

[Trucks]

Hi Myles,

 

I have a Laney VC15 1x10 combo that I mainly use for recording. I generally like to have a little bit of Power Tube bite/overdrive with a cleanish preamp stage. I can do this fine, but have to crank the power tubes pretty loud to get them to start to bite. I would like to be able to get the same kind of tones at a slightly lower volume.

 

Am I right in thinking that I can do this by using power tubes that break up faster than the TAD's it currently uses? If so, do you favour any particular model of tube for this purpose?

 

I could I even have the amp re-biased to break up earlier?

 

What would your suggestions be?

 

Thanks for your input.

 

Lee

[Bluesape]

Hey Myles, A couple months back I asked about a Lifco head I've got, and you told me to make sure I had a 12AT7 in one of the preamp sockets. You were so right! It cleaned up beautifully - not in the Deluxe Reverb sense of clean, but the grit and hash it had with 12AX7's is gone! Thanks again! Now my small amp debacle is solved!

[myles_rose]

Hi Myles,

 

I have a Laney VC15 1x10 combo that I mainly use for recording. I generally like to have a little bit of Power Tube bite/overdrive with a cleanish preamp stage. I can do this fine, but have to crank the power tubes pretty loud to get them to start to bite. I would like to be able to get the same kind of tones at a slightly lower volume.

 

Am I right in thinking that I can do this by using power tubes that break up faster than the TAD's it currently uses? If so, do you favour any particular model of tube for this purpose?

 

I could I even have the amp re-biased to break up earlier?

 

What would your suggestions be?

 

Thanks for your input.

 

Lee

 

Lee,

 

What is the current tube compliment in the amp by tube maker / type.

 

 

[myles_rose]

Hey Myles, A couple months back I asked about a Lifco head I've got, and you told me to make sure I had a 12AT7 in one of the preamp sockets. You were so right! It cleaned up beautifully - not in the Deluxe Reverb sense of clean, but the grit and hash it had with 12AX7's is gone! Thanks again! Now my small amp debacle is solved!

 

You are more than welcome.

 

Myles

 

[Trucks]

Hi Myles,

 

I have a Laney VC15 1x10 combo that I mainly use for recording. I generally like to have a little bit of Power Tube bite/overdrive with a cleanish preamp stage. I can do this fine, but have to crank the power tubes pretty loud to get them to start to bite. I would like to be able to get the same kind of tones at a slightly lower volume.

 

Am I right in thinking that I can do this by using power tubes that break up faster than the TAD's it currently uses? If so, do you favour any particular model of tube for this purpose?

 

I could I even have the amp re-biased to break up earlier?

 

What would your suggestions be?

 

Thanks for your input.

 

Lee

 

Lee,

 

What is the current tube compliment in the amp by tube maker / type.

 

 

Hi,

 

It has 3x Pre-amp and 2 x Power.

 

Pre-amp (I replaced all the stock TAD 12AX7's)

V1 Mullard Military NOS ECC83

V2 Same

V3 ECC81 Not sure of the brand, it was given to me by a friend.

 

Power (stock)

Pair of TAD EL84-STR (Sticker on them also says "Select 7")

 

Thanks

 

Lee

[myles_rose]

Hi Myles,

 

I have a Laney VC15 1x10 combo that I mainly use for recording. I generally like to have a little bit of Power Tube bite/overdrive with a cleanish preamp stage. I can do this fine, but have to crank the power tubes pretty loud to get them to start to bite. I would like to be able to get the same kind of tones at a slightly lower volume.

 

Am I right in thinking that I can do this by using power tubes that break up faster than the TAD's it currently uses? If so, do you favour any particular model of tube for this purpose?

 

I could I even have the amp re-biased to break up earlier?

 

What would your suggestions be?

 

Thanks for your input.

 

Lee

 

Lee,

 

What is the current tube compliment in the amp by tube maker / type.

 

 

Hi,

 

It has 3x Pre-amp and 2 x Power.

 

Pre-amp (I replaced all the stock TAD 12AX7's)

V1 Mullard Military NOS ECC83

V2 Same

V3 ECC81 Not sure of the brand, it was given to me by a friend.

 

Power (stock)

Pair of TAD EL84-STR (Sticker on them also says "Select 7")

 

Thanks

 

Lee

 

I'd loose the TADs unless you can determine their real current output. They are a Chinese EL84 that have issues with drifting and do not sound as nice or last as long as an EL84S (JJ).

 

Ont V3, the phase inverter .... if you want more agression at lower levels remove the 12AX7 and replace with a 12AX7. No adjustments needed.

 

 

[Trucks]

Thanks Myles.

 

I had a sneaky suspicion that the TAD valves were a bit cheap n nasty :-)

 

So the JJ EL84S's are good? I will have to find me a local amp tech that can pop some in and re-bias.

 

I'll also have a go at experimenting with V3, thanks for the suggestion.

 

Lee

[myles_rose]

Thanks Myles.

 

I had a sneaky suspicion that the TAD valves were a bit cheap n nasty :-)

 

So the JJ EL84S's are good? I will have to find me a local amp tech that can pop some in and re-bias.

 

I'll also have a go at experimenting with V3, thanks for the suggestion.

 

Lee

 

Keep in mind that this amp in a lot of ways is like a Fender Blues Jr. .... meaning it is one of the few EL84 amps that is not cathode biased so the bias does have to be set.

 

Don't expect this amp to sound or play like a cathode biased amp such as a Vox, Dr. Z, Matchless, 65amps, or the other 99.5% of EL84 amps that are cathode biased. The reason Fender and Laney use an EL84 rather than a 6V6 in these amps is because they are less pricy than a 6V6 and there is less cost when you keep all the tube sockets the same part for high production amps rather than have 9 pin and octal sockets.

 

The TAD use just points to building amps to fit a price point rather than a performance point which is fine and dandy to give a player a lot of bang for a little bit of buck.

 

Just about any change such as tubes or most anything else will be an upgrade.

 

 

[Trucks]

Thanks Myles.

 

Do you think the amp would perform much better if modded to take 6V6's?

[Junior 1]

Hi Myles,

When using a 9 volt adapter on pedals, does the MA rating, as in 100 MA or 500 MA matter on different pedals? I have adapters with 100, 200 and 500 MA and they all seem to work on all the pedals.

Thanks

Anthony

[myles_rose]

Thanks Myles.

 

Do you think the amp would perform much better if modded to take 6V6's?

 

Not really. The two tubes use the same output transformer and each have their cool aspects. It really is a great amp in many ways but a lot of folks expect a certain kind of response and touch in these fixed bias class A/B amps (and in the Fender Blues Jr) which is not the same as a cathode biased amp with EL84's. If you like the tone and feel of the amp then all is fine and dandy.

 

 

[myles_rose]

Hi Myles,

When using a 9 volt adapter on pedals, does the MA rating, as in 100 MA or 500 MA matter on different pedals? I have adapters with 100, 200 and 500 MA and they all seem to work on all the pedals.

Thanks

Anthony

 

Any adaptor that is the proper voltage and polarity will work but if the pedal draws more current in mA than the adaptor can supply the pedal will be running off of the battery and wearing the battery as if there was no adaptor to a certain degree.

 

 

[Trucks]

Thanks Myles.

 

Do you think the amp would perform much better if modded to take 6V6's?

 

Not really. The two tubes use the same output transformer and each have their cool aspects. It really is a great amp in many ways but a lot of folks expect a certain kind of response and touch in these fixed bias class A/B amps (and in the Fender Blues Jr) which is not the same as a cathode biased amp with EL84's. If you like the tone and feel of the amp then all is fine and dandy.

 

 

Yeah, I dig. I love this amp, it's just a little louder than I would like it :-) Thanks very much for your input, Myles. I appreciate it.

[myles_rose]

Thanks Myles.

 

Do you think the amp would perform much better if modded to take 6V6's?

 

Not really. The two tubes use the same output transformer and each have their cool aspects. It really is a great amp in many ways but a lot of folks expect a certain kind of response and touch in these fixed bias class A/B amps (and in the Fender Blues Jr) which is not the same as a cathode biased amp with EL84's. If you like the tone and feel of the amp then all is fine and dandy.

 

 

Yeah, I dig. I love this amp, it's just a little louder than I would like it :-) Thanks very much for your input, Myles. I appreciate it.

 

Laney has built a lot of cool stuff for a very long time.

 

One side aspect of class A/B is more wattage than class A / cathode biased amps and less distortion. The amp may be rated at 15 watts but it can really do closer to 25 so that is one reason it is a bit louder than expected for an amp with a duet of EL84 tubes.

 

It will even be stronger with some EL84S tubes but if you get a set of the GT EL84S (it is the JJ tube) in a #2 rating and bias it for that tube it will break up a little faster.

 

 

 

 

 

[Junior 1]

Hi Myles,

Thanks for the adapter info. I was worried about using an adapter that had a higher MA than the pedal needed. I can see that's not a problem.

Thanks

Anthony

[Trucks]

Thanks Myles.

 

Do you think the amp would perform much better if modded to take 6V6's?

 

Not really. The two tubes use the same output transformer and each have their cool aspects. It really is a great amp in many ways but a lot of folks expect a certain kind of response and touch in these fixed bias class A/B amps (and in the Fender Blues Jr) which is not the same as a cathode biased amp with EL84's. If you like the tone and feel of the amp then all is fine and dandy.

 

 

Yeah, I dig. I love this amp, it's just a little louder than I would like it :-) Thanks very much for your input, Myles. I appreciate it.

 

Laney has built a lot of cool stuff for a very long time.

 

One side aspect of class A/B is more wattage than class A / cathode biased amps and less distortion. The amp may be rated at 15 watts but it can really do closer to 25 so that is one reason it is a bit louder than expected for an amp with a duet of EL84 tubes.

 

It will even be stronger with some EL84S tubes but if you get a set of the GT EL84S (it is the JJ tube) in a #2 rating and bias it for that tube it will break up a little faster.

 

Awesome! Thanks Myles :-)

 

A long shot, but have you ever come across a good amp tech that works in England?

[myles_rose]

Hi Myles,

Thanks for the adapter info. I was worried about using an adapter that had a higher MA than the pedal needed. I can see that's not a problem.

Thanks

Anthony

 

Not a problem at all .... sort of like .... you have 15-20 amps coming out of your plugs at home but plug things into them that don't draw anywhere near that.

 

 

[myles_rose]

Thanks Myles.

 

Do you think the amp would perform much better if modded to take 6V6's?

 

Not really. The two tubes use the same output transformer and each have their cool aspects. It really is a great amp in many ways but a lot of folks expect a certain kind of response and touch in these fixed bias class A/B amps (and in the Fender Blues Jr) which is not the same as a cathode biased amp with EL84's. If you like the tone and feel of the amp then all is fine and dandy.

 

 

Yeah, I dig. I love this amp, it's just a little louder than I would like it :-) Thanks very much for your input, Myles. I appreciate it.

 

Laney has built a lot of cool stuff for a very long time.

 

One side aspect of class A/B is more wattage than class A / cathode biased amps and less distortion. The amp may be rated at 15 watts but it can really do closer to 25 so that is one reason it is a bit louder than expected for an amp with a duet of EL84 tubes.

 

It will even be stronger with some EL84S tubes but if you get a set of the GT EL84S (it is the JJ tube) in a #2 rating and bias it for that tube it will break up a little faster.

 

Awesome! Thanks Myles :-)

 

A long shot, but have you ever come across a good amp tech that works in England?

 

 

Tons of them .... Paul Cornford for one.... Cornford amps.