Feel free to ask Myles

[myles_rose]

Originally posted by funky hot grits:

Hi Myles,

 

I gig with a mesa Blue angel head into a mesa duo bin with celestion v30s and a closed back.

 

I've been unhappy with my sound over the last few gigs, and I'm wondering if the (original mesa)tubes are getting a little long in the tooth. I'm wondering what to replace them with. The angel runs 38 watts class a, with two 6v6s, four el84s and 5 12ax7s, plus a rectifier tube (can't remember what kind).

 

If at all possible, I'd like to maximise clean headroom available, as sometimes my setup can't quite stay clean enough in certain rooms. Is this possible through tube choice, and are there tonal tradeoffs?

 

If it's unlikely that I can't get any more clean headroom, what possible avenues for modification can I pursue? an extra power stage that I can switch in and out if needed would be great, but am I right in assuming that would need an extra transformer?

 

thanks in advance,

 

Martin

Martin,

 

If you look around on my personal website, you will see I know these amps a bit.

 

I use 12AX7R3's in v1-v4, a SAG-AX7-MPI in V5, EL84S #6 for the EL84 tubes, and NOS 6V6s for the 6V6 spot with a chosen idle draw to match the Mesa fixed bias system.

 

There is a lot of info on tube selection in my tube amp primer, mentioned elsewhere in this forum in another post.

[myles_rose]

Originally posted by meek20:

Hello, Myles! I was hoping that you could help me with this one.

 

I've had my Mesa Maverick 4x10 for about a year now. I enjoy the tone of it, matched with my PRS CE-24. Since it is a class A amplifier, I know that it will be time to replace the tubes before long.

 

Does anyone have suggestions about what might be some good replacement tubes (pre-amp & output), when the time comes? Will I need to stay with Mesa replacements, or would it be better to look at some alternatives?

 

Thanks!

meek20 ..........

 

Mesa sells their tubes at great prices, and they do a great matching job. You can use other tubes, just stay in the 4-5-6 range, as Mesa tubes need to be in a very narrow range.

 

This is all covered in my tube primer, mentioned in another post somewhere on this forum.

 

I prefer different tubes than the stock ones, and if you have more than 300 hours on the stock EL84s it is long overdue for replacement.

[KHAN]

Myles. First off I just want to take a moment to thank you for the information you've provided on the forum and on your site. My tone has improved significantly in all of my tube gear in a very short period of time due to the lessons learned here.

 

My question is about how close the sides of a 12AT7 or 12AX7 need to be to be considered 'balanced'.

My current tube provider marks his tubes on the box, or on the tube with something like : 102/100 or 96/96 .

 

My question is, how close of a match do you consider close enough to be considered 'balanced' for a phase inverter?

 

Thanks.

[Caevan O’Shite]

Hey, Myles! How are ya today? Hopefully, great!

 

I would like your oppinion on "bedding in" new power-supply filter capacitors and/or bias supply capacitors with a "variac" or other device or method. Just how necesary is this with new caps? Is it crucial, or just a "good idea" that can be lived without? Does this affect the useful life and performance of these caps?

 

How would you recommend going about this with a variac? How, by any other means?

 

Thanks for your time, "Flies With Good Tone"! (Your new "phony-Hollywood-style-Indian-name"!) -Kevin, a.k.a. "Caevan O'Shite"

[myles_rose]

Originally posted by KHAN:

Myles. First off I just want to take a moment to thank you for the information you've provided on the forum and on your site. My tone has improved significantly in all of my tube gear in a very short period of time due to the lessons learned here.

 

My question is about how close the sides of a 12AT7 or 12AX7 need to be to be considered 'balanced'.

My current tube provider marks his tubes on the box, or on the tube with something like : 102/100 or 96/96 .

 

My question is, how close of a match do you consider close enough to be considered 'balanced' for a phase inverter?

 

Thanks.

KHAN -

 

They need to be matched in their curve traces, that is, how they perform with a signal over the entire range of the time.

 

The numbers above may be gain from the looks of them. Tubes can have the same gain on each side, but different output, different TC, etc. This type of matching is pretty fast and easy, and better than nothing.

 

In my tube primer document, this is gone over in great detail, as it is on my website.

[myles_rose]

Originally posted by CaevanO'Shite:

Hey, Myles! How are ya today? Hopefully, great!

 

I would like your oppinion on "bedding in" new power-supply filter capacitors and/or bias supply capacitors with a "variac" or other device or method. Just how necesary is this with new caps? Is it crucial, or just a "good idea" that can be lived without? Does this affect the useful life and performance of these caps?

 

How would you recommend going about this with a variac? How, by any other means?

 

Thanks for your time, "Flies With Good Tone"! (Your new "phony-Hollywood-style-Indian-name"!) -Kevin, a.k.a. "Caevan O'Shite"

CaevanO'Shite...........

 

Always use a variac and slowly bring up the voltage to properly form the caps.

[Caevan O’Shite]

Thanks, Myles! I'd gotten mixed oppinions on this, but I value yours above most, and will take your word for it. -k

[myles_rose]

Originally posted by CaevanO'Shite:

Thanks, Myles! I'd gotten mixed oppinions on this, but I value yours above most, and will take your word for it. -k

CaevanO'Shite.........

 

for what it is worth, back in 1970 I recapped a Marshall JTM-45 (after one of the caps dried out, and the amp was only four years old at the time).

 

I formed the new caps over 30 minutes.

 

The same caps are still in the amp today, and if you ask around, ten years is about the life of many Marshall amp power supply caps as a general rule.

 

The amp is still very quiet.

 

Maybe it is luck, but amps I have re-capped and taken my time forming the caps seem to not need caps again.

[Caevan O’Shite]

I'd say that carries a lot more weight than a distracted "Naaa, you don't really need to do that, too much fuss... I just hit'em with full power and wait a few... " -type reply!

Thanks again... -k

[fantasticsound]

Myles - I know you're Mr. Tube Amp, but I have a question about a SS and wonder if you could steer me in the right direction.

 

I have a 25 year old Peavey Pacer, 40w into 1 - 12" speaker. For some time it powers up to a decent clean timbre, but quickly "jumps" into a square wave -sounding distorted tone.

 

Just wondering if you have an idea if this would be a resistor, capacitor, or other type of problem from my description. I know it's not much to go on, but just thought I'd ask before spending money on a professional opinion that might very well be more than the value of the amp.

 

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Domino would be very thankful. He winces every time the amp craps out while he's jammin'.

[nonfcomm]

Myles, I play through a Fender pro-tube Twin Amp that I absolutely love, but the high-gain channel is a little bit hot for my purposes. I play mostly blues, jazz, and rock in jazz combos and my church worship team. I enjoy heavy metal and like the heavy gain, but setting the gain on 2 is clean and 3.5-4 is fully saturated. I would like to have more colors of gain and when I turn around to adjust quickly from one sound to the other (like a bluesy drive to a slightly thickened rhythm or to a rock lead), I don't like having to just barely touch the gain knob, so as to not have a Metallica sound going in the middle of a worship service (somehow the older members of the church don't appreciate metal). I know the tubes in that amp are fairly hot, and I have considered putting in a 5751 tube in the first position. I believe both channels share the same first stage, but I'll have to check the schematics for that. What would be your recommendation to cool the gain and add a little more definition to the gain channel?

[KHAN]

Myles, with the success of the GT6L6GE, is there any chane that Groove Tubes will ever produce a classic 7025 ?

 

That would certainly make my day.

[myles_rose]

Originally posted by fantasticsound:

Myles - I know you're Mr. Tube Amp, but I have a question about a SS and wonder if you could steer me in the right direction.

 

I have a 25 year old Peavey Pacer, 40w into 1 - 12" speaker. For some time it powers up to a decent clean timbre, but quickly "jumps" into a square wave -sounding distorted tone.

 

Just wondering if you have an idea if this would be a resistor, capacitor, or other type of problem from my description. I know it's not much to go on, but just thought I'd ask before spending money on a professional opinion that might very well be more than the value of the amp.

 

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Domino would be very thankful. He winces every time the amp craps out while he's jammin'.

fantasticsound...........

 

I would need to see this amp on the bench.

 

Sorry.

[myles_rose]

Originally posted by nonfcomm:

Myles, I play through a Fender pro-tube Twin Amp that I absolutely love, but the high-gain channel is a little bit hot for my purposes. I play mostly blues, jazz, and rock in jazz combos and my church worship team. I enjoy heavy metal and like the heavy gain, but setting the gain on 2 is clean and 3.5-4 is fully saturated. I would like to have more colors of gain and when I turn around to adjust quickly from one sound to the other (like a bluesy drive to a slightly thickened rhythm or to a rock lead), I don't like having to just barely touch the gain knob, so as to not have a Metallica sound going in the middle of a worship service (somehow the older members of the church don't appreciate metal). I know the tubes in that amp are fairly hot, and I have considered putting in a 5751 tube in the first position. I believe both channels share the same first stage, but I'll have to check the schematics for that. What would be your recommendation to cool the gain and add a little more definition to the gain channel?

nonfcomm ...........

 

Both channels share V1, but the gain channel uses V2 on this amp.

 

If you check on my website in my gear area, you will see what I did to a Pro reverb with the same front end as your amp to remedy this common problem.

 

A 5751 in V2 is a step in the right direction, but may not be a big enough step.

 

I use 12AY7s or 12AU7s in these pro tube series amps, make sure the bias is properly set.

[myles_rose]

Originally posted by KHAN:

Myles, with the success of the GT6L6GE, is there any chane that Groove Tubes will ever produce a classic 7025 ?

 

That would certainly make my day.

KHAN..........

 

Due out this summer is the release of the USA GR 6CA7.

 

Perhaps also this summer is another "skunk works" GT project that may release even more "new" tubes.

[KHAN]

Originally posted by myles111:

Due out this summer is the release of the USA GR 6CA7.

I don't need no stinking EL34's!!!!!!!!!!

 

Myles, now that my Bandmaster is right I'm going to get going on my Hotrod DeVille 4-10

 

OUTPUT:

I'm probably going for a pair of 6L6GE's here. The original tubes are the blue Groove tubes. Would you recommend staying with the blues, or a different color and a re-bias? I'm going for versitality in ths amp for the most part.

 

V1:

I'm thinking NOS JAN Philips. I'd like to get as close to the classic Fender chime as possible.

Any Suggestions?

 

V2:

?????????????????????????????????

No clue here. Currently not happy with the distortion here. Kind of buzzy. Way too distorted by the time the knob gets to 4. Any suggestions for something that will retain a nice tone, and lower the gain????

 

V3:

Probably a balanced NOS JAN Philips 12AX7 here as well. Is there anything else that would be a big improvement over that?

 

Thanks

[evets]

Myles,

Yesterday I became aware of a device made by Groove Tubes called the "Substitute" that does (apparently) the same thing as the THD Yellowjackets. Are you familiar with this device?

(My apologies if this has been discussed before)

 

Thanks for being accessible...

 

Steve

[myles_rose]

Originally posted by KHAN:

Originally posted by myles111:

Due out this summer is the release of the USA GR 6CA7.

I don't need no stinking EL34's!!!!!!!!!!

 

Myles, now that my Bandmaster is right I'm going to get going on my Hotrod DeVille 4-10

 

OUTPUT:

I'm probably going for a pair of 6L6GE's here. The original tubes are the blue Groove tubes. Would you recommend staying with the blues, or a different color and a re-bias? I'm going for versitality in ths amp for the most part.

 

V1:

I'm thinking NOS JAN Philips. I'd like to get as close to the classic Fender chime as possible.

Any Suggestions?

 

V2:

?????????????????????????????????

No clue here. Currently not happy with the distortion here. Kind of buzzy. Way too distorted by the time the knob gets to 4. Any suggestions for something that will retain a nice tone, and lower the gain????

 

V3:

Probably a balanced NOS JAN Philips 12AX7 here as well. Is there anything else that would be a big improvement over that?

 

Thanks

This all boils down to taste at this point. Look in my tube primer document for some overall guidelines.

 

7025 smooth plates were the 60s Fender sound in those amps ... RCA, Sylvania.

[myles_rose]

Originally posted by evets:

Myles,

Yesterday I became aware of a device made by Groove Tubes called the "Substitute" that does (apparently) the same thing as the THD Yellowjackets. Are you familiar with this device?

(My apologies if this has been discussed before)

 

Thanks for being accessible...

 

Steve

evets .. ... Steve ........

 

Yes, I know this device, it is called the 928-PR, and can be seen on this page: http://www.groovetubes.com/tubes_list.cfm?ObjectGroup_ID=110

 

By the way, the inventor of this (Red Rhodes) was the fellow that showed everybody else such as THD how to make these. So yes, we know about these, they work great.

[nonfcomm]

hey myles. I looked up what you did, and I think I am going to try a 5751 in V1 and a 12AU7 in V2. I read in another reply of yours about a tube retailer named Doug to buy tubes from (I live in the middle of nowhere, we have no tube stores), but what kind of tubes would you recommend for this amp? thanks

 

Dan

[myles_rose]

Originally posted by nonfcomm:

hey myles. I looked up what you did, and I think I am going to try a 5751 in V1 and a 12AU7 in V2. I read in another reply of yours about a tube retailer named Doug to buy tubes from (I live in the middle of nowhere, we have no tube stores), but what kind of tubes would you recommend for this amp? thanks

 

Dan

Dan,

 

I get a lot of questions, so am not sure about what amp we are talking about.

 

IF it is a Pro Tube series, keep a 12AX7 type in V1, as that is the BF sound. Doug is great, I'd see if he has any 7025 NOS tubes for that spot.

 

For V2, try a 12AY7 first, any good one will work, these are even at GT at:

 

http://www.groovetubes.com/product.cfm?Product_ID=1779

 

I personally use the NOS high end low noise version of these tubes, especially in tweed front ends such as a deluxe or bassman, and even more so in a high gain position such as the Fender Pro Tube Series amps that can have a lot of noise from this spot. These are pricy, but last forever and are very quiet:

 

http://www.groovetubes.com/product.cfm?Product_ID=1215

[meek20]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Originally posted by meek20:

Hello, Myles! I was hoping that you could help me with this one.

 

I've had my Mesa Maverick 4x10 for about a year now. I enjoy the tone of it, matched with my PRS CE-24. Since it is a class A amplifier, I know that it will be time to replace the tubes before long.

 

Does anyone have suggestions about what might be some good replacement tubes (pre-amp & output), when the time comes? Will I need to stay with Mesa replacements, or would it be better to look at some alternatives?

 

Thanks!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

meek20 ..........

 

Mesa sells their tubes at great prices, and they do a great matching job. You can use other tubes, just stay in the 4-5-6 range, as Mesa tubes need to be in a very narrow range.

 

This is all covered in my tube primer, mentioned in another post somewhere on this forum.

 

I prefer different tubes than the stock ones, and if you have more than 300 hours on the stock EL84s it is long overdue for replacement.

 

--------------------

Myles S. Rose

 

Thanks for the response. When you said that you had other preferences other than the stock tubes, which ones were you referring to? I'm just looking for some well-informed ideas.

 

Thanks!

--Meek20

[nonfcomm]

Myles, I hate to be a bother, but I have another question. On my Fender pro-tube twin. You recommended I look for a NOS 7025 tube. At a site you recommended, I found these two tubes:

 

Sovtek 7025/12AX7WA

Stock on most guitar amps

 

Ei 7025/12AX7 Long smooth silver plate, one of the best sounding in current production

 

Neither of them mention being NOS. So, I am basically asking, what is the difference? I will try to read your tube primer (so you don't have to repeat the whole tube theory), but are these as good as NOS or should I hold out to find a NOS tube? Thanks for all your time

 

Dan

[Chris Hebb]

Myles, should I avoid amps using EF86's like the plague? Although they make 12ax7 adapters, wouldn't that be like dropping a 4-cylinder economy engine into a Ferrari? I can't seem to find any EF86's new and fear that the supply of superior NOS EF86's may dry up someday soon...

[daddyelmis]

Myles:

 

Bought a 59 Bassman Reissue and love it. Want to replace the solid state rectifier with tube, and from what I've read you can "go downward" on rectifier tubes . . . GZ34/5AR4 to 5U4 or 5y3. I this correct? My understanding is that the lower your go, the less load put on the power tranny. The Bassman RI is spec'd for 5AR4 or 5U4, but can I go lower (the goal is to reduce the output power a bit for club play). Ultimately, I'll likely work a Hotplate or Weber MASS into this amp, but I want to go to a tube rectifier anyway and thought this might be one step in the right direction.

 

Also, have you ever tried an attenuator on this amp (I note that the speakers are hardwired rather than connected with a 1/4" connector).

 

Thanks.

[Skip_dup1]

Hi Myles

I have a general question about a `cooldown` period for tube gear. Often there`s a situation where you finish playing, you have to move your gear and the tubes are still hot. A bandmate of mine told me that they are easily damaged then because the filaments are still pliable. Is this so, and if so what`s a reasonable time to wait, assuming one has the option, before moving things around?

[KHAN]

Originally posted by nonfcomm:

Myles, I hate to be a bother, but I have another question. On my Fender pro-tube twin. You recommended I look for a NOS 7025 tube. At a site you recommended, I found these two tubes:

 

Sovtek 7025/12AX7WA

Stock on most guitar amps

 

Ei 7025/12AX7 Long smooth silver plate, one of the best sounding in current production

 

Neither of them mention being NOS. So, I am basically asking, what is the difference? I will try to read your tube primer (so you don't have to repeat the whole tube theory), but are these as good as NOS or should I hold out to find a NOS tube? Thanks for all your time

 

Dan

Hi. Myles directed me to the NOS JAN Philips 12AX7WA for my Bandmaster. If you are looking for the 'classic Fender sound', IMO you can't go wrong with these for about $17 each.

 

My favorite new tube would be the JJECC83S, but that of course is a personal preference. I also really like the 12AX7C9 (Chinese).

The Ei didn't really float my boat, but the new producion tubes are so affordable, you are doing yourself a dis-service by not checking them out for yourself.

 

Trying out different tubes is half the fun. Enjoy the ride.

 

[KHAN]

Hi. everyone.

 

My name is KHAN, and I'm a TUBE-O-HOLIC.

[myles_rose]

Originally posted by meek20:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Originally posted by meek20:

Hello, Myles! I was hoping that you could help me with this one.

 

I've had my Mesa Maverick 4x10 for about a year now. I enjoy the tone of it, matched with my PRS CE-24. Since it is a class A amplifier, I know that it will be time to replace the tubes before long.

 

Does anyone have suggestions about what might be some good replacement tubes (pre-amp & output), when the time comes? Will I need to stay with Mesa replacements, or would it be better to look at some alternatives?

 

Thanks!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

meek20 ..........

 

Mesa sells their tubes at great prices, and they do a great matching job. You can use other tubes, just stay in the 4-5-6 range, as Mesa tubes need to be in a very narrow range.

 

This is all covered in my tube primer, mentioned in another post somewhere on this forum.

 

I prefer different tubes than the stock ones, and if you have more than 300 hours on the stock EL84s it is long overdue for replacement.

 

--------------------

Myles S. Rose

 

Thanks for the response. When you said that you had other preferences other than the stock tubes, which ones were you referring to? I'm just looking for some well-informed ideas.

 

Thanks!

--Meek20

meek20.......

 

In your amp I prefer EL84S in #6 for the output tubes, and in V1 and V2 I use 12AX7R3 that I pick for specific measurements (SAG stuff).

[myles_rose]

Originally posted by nonfcomm:

Myles, I hate to be a bother, but I have another question. On my Fender pro-tube twin. You recommended I look for a NOS 7025 tube. At a site you recommended, I found these two tubes:

 

Sovtek 7025/12AX7WA

Stock on most guitar amps

 

Ei 7025/12AX7 Long smooth silver plate, one of the best sounding in current production

 

Neither of them mention being NOS. So, I am basically asking, what is the difference? I will try to read your tube primer (so you don't have to repeat the whole tube theory), but are these as good as NOS or should I hold out to find a NOS tube? Thanks for all your time

 

Dan

Dan - the stock tube is the Sovtek 12AX7WA (GT-12AX7R) and is my least favorite tube in your amp.

 

The 7025's are in the same family, but have more articulation and bite, and these longer plate tubes were what was used (RCA / GE / Sylvania 7025's) originally in Fender BF amps for the most part.

 

The Ei 7025 is a great tube, but it MUST be properly tested and selected, as it's reject rate is 60-90%! Most vendors just sell them all, so there is a lot of junk out there on these.