Philip OKeefe Posted August 3, 2004 Share Posted August 3, 2004 Guitplayer brought a THD Univalve amp to the musicplayer BBQ we had over at my place last Sunday, and I was quite impressed with it... I may pick one up on Ebay one of these days. I also noticed the Yellowjacket tube converters on the THD website ( www.thdelectronics.com ) - has anyone tried these? I was thinking of grabbing a pair with EL84's and trying them in my Princeton II amp to give me an additional tonal option over the NOS 6V6 Groove Tubes I have in it. Any comments about them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dak Lander Posted August 3, 2004 Share Posted August 3, 2004 Avatar Speakers is now a THD distributor. Our Joint "When you come slam bang up against trouble, it never looks half as bad if you face up to it." The Duke... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar Geezer Posted August 3, 2004 Share Posted August 3, 2004 I know James-Italy is a BIG fan...and I seem to remember JJ picking up the Yellowjackets...and of course Myles is THE Biggest fan of THD...so hang loose, they'll be along in a while LynNG Lynn G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Strat Posted August 3, 2004 Share Posted August 3, 2004 I seem to remember Teahead talking about using yellowjackets with his old Fender amp, before he went to the AC-30. BlueStrat a.k.a. "El Guapo" ...Better fuzz through science... http://geocities.com/teleman28056/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip OKeefe Posted August 5, 2004 Author Share Posted August 5, 2004 Thanks for the input guys... hopefully they'll see this and respond now that I've bumped it back to page one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James-Italy Posted August 5, 2004 Share Posted August 5, 2004 Hi Phil! Nice to you here on the guitar forum I love my Univalve both as a straight head and as a pre-amp. It's got a line out that you can plug into the guitar input on any other amp for incredible sounds. You can use the line-out simultaneously with the speaker out btw for a wall of sound. If you heard Guitplayer then you know what the capabilities of the little tone monster are. It was Guit and Myles that turned me on to this little baby. If Guitplayer didn't bring along a lot of different tubes to show off, trust me when I tell you that you'd be amazed just how many different tones you can get from the Univalve when changing tube combinations. Another thing about the Univalve is people say it LOVES pedals. I don't really use any pedals except a TS9/808, just passing on what I've been told. I bought a Yellowjacket so I could use EL84's but I haven't bought any good tubes to really hear it in action. While it works perfectly, I'm not so impressed to be honest, but that's probably because I prefer the smoke of 6V6's over the chime of the EL84's. All of THD's stuff is top quality and made by musicians. Drop on over at UnivalveForum and you can gleam lots of info off of users. Ed DeGenaro is always on and is just super guy and a VERY talented guitar player. I'd highly reccomend the Univalve and if I had to choose just one of my amps to keep, there is no doubt it would be the Uni. Buy one, you won't regret it. My Gear My Attempts at Music Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip OKeefe Posted August 5, 2004 Author Share Posted August 5, 2004 Hi James! Thanks for the information and the link. I was actually very impressed with the UniValve. Guitplayer only have a 12AX7M and a 6550 in the UniValve - we didn't have time to try changing out the tubes in it, but the tone that it was producing with that combo was impressive. I actually would probably buy a pair of Yellow Jackets so I could use them in my old Princeton II, and maybe also use one of them with the UniValve. I do like the "smoke" of a good pair of 6V6's (I've got 50's era NOS GT's in the Princeton II, and I love them), but I also like the classic Vox chime tone too, so I'd want both. Those are probably my two favorite power amp tube types. 6L6's and EL34's are okay too, but the lower power tubes just have such a nice tone to them IMO. I've got some old Mullard and Telefunken 12AX7's in storage that I could try in it, as well as some old 12AT7's for less preamp gain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DIAMOND DUST Posted August 5, 2004 Share Posted August 5, 2004 I have had my Univalve for about 6 months now, and every time I play it i'm still amazed how freakin' great it sounds. It's so touch sensitive that I've really learned to relax both hands when i'm playing fast lead lines or complex chord changes. It's such a treat to be able to put all my old tubes to use. And like James said, when you run the line out into the front of another amp it's amazing. Anyway, I wouldn't be able to live without it. http://b-cordova.dmusic.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip OKeefe Posted August 5, 2004 Author Share Posted August 5, 2004 Thanks DD... I too was impressed with the touch sensitivity of the UniValve, as well as the definition of each individual note in a full chord, even when playing with lots of distortion. Very impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip OKeefe Posted August 6, 2004 Author Share Posted August 6, 2004 Bumping, and hoping Myles will weigh in with his thoughts... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip OKeefe Posted August 7, 2004 Author Share Posted August 7, 2004 Has anyone seen Myles lately? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip OKeefe Posted August 11, 2004 Author Share Posted August 11, 2004 One last attempt to bump this so Myles can respond... BTW, if you do see this Myles, tube recommendations and preferences would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J J Posted August 11, 2004 Share Posted August 11, 2004 sorry for the delay Philip. I got my Yellow Jackets a little after christmas and when i got them i loved em. BUT, one day our band was jamming and a horrible cracking noise was comming out of my amp (i was PISSED ), so i put the 6L6's that my amp came with back into my amp and the problem was gone. After that i e-mailed THD and told them about it and they told me to try new EL84s, so i did. About 2 weeks later they came in the mail and i tried them and the same problem i had before still remained. So i might ship my YJ to them for repairs, i dont know yet. I've relized that the Yellowjackets are one of those things that YOU only seem to hear the difference in the sound and not someone else you happen to be showing them to. Kind of a personal thing, really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillWelcome Home Studios Posted August 11, 2004 Share Posted August 11, 2004 I'd probably be in the UniValve camp (15 watts, more or less), but someone playing out might want the BiValve. (30 watts.) Bill "I believe that entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot." Steve Martin Show business: we're all here because we're not all there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar Geezer Posted August 11, 2004 Share Posted August 11, 2004 Originally posted by Philip O'Keefe: Has anyone seen Myles lately? Wasn't he at the Moderators Meeting Yall have on the French Riviera? Lynn G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip OKeefe Posted August 17, 2004 Author Share Posted August 17, 2004 Originally posted by guitar geezer: Originally posted by Philip O'Keefe: Has anyone seen Myles lately? Wasn't he at the Moderators Meeting Yall have on the French Riviera? I must have missed the memo - again. Oh, I just scored a THD UniValve on Ebay for six bones. Should be here in about a week. Still looking for tube suggestions and preferences from as many people as I can get 'em from. Myles? Myles? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alguit Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 Philip, Recently I've kept my Univalve at my church and have stayed with one tube setup: JJ 12ax7 and a Groove Tubes 6L6GE. The tone is so warm, fat, sparkly and alive that every time I have a gig I'm tempted to drive down to the church and pick up the head. I don't only because I have other, louder heads at home. Still, I've gigged with the Univalve, and with a single-coil guitar have found adequate headroom. Also, if one has the ability to mic an amp, size and power are not issues. While I was experimenting with the Univalve at home, I definitely had a ball swapping different tubes in and out. Mostly, I played with output tubes; other than effects pedals, I've found that I really like 12ax7's in the preamp section. The JJ's are really great sounding; I did try an old Telefunken and an equally old Mullard, and they were very nice-it's just that I couldn't discern a huge difference among the three. I did buy a NOS Mullard EL34 which was amazing as well as a Mazda 6V6 which also impressed, but I've gotten terrific results with a Groove Tubes EL 34 and E-H's version. One of my favorite tones came with a GT KT66. It was powerful, warm and thick...except it's so tall that the cage won't screw completely on the top of the head! THD did such a great job on the Univalve that I think one can't go too wrong with just about any tubes put into it. Enjoy! ps- I purchased some of the NOS tubes from Hi-Test, which advertises in Vintage Guitar Monthly. Greg will sell individual tubes, which I learned some places were reluctant to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip OKeefe Posted August 17, 2004 Author Share Posted August 17, 2004 I've got a fairly good collection of preamp tubes sitting around - some Mullards and Telefunkens, a few Sylvanias and GE's... 12AX7's and 12AU7's, maybe a couple of 12AY7's... power amp tubes are going to be the first thing I'm going to need to get. I THINK I might have some spare 6L6's, and I know I've got some GT EL34's... and I could probably try the NOS GT 6V6's from my Princeton II and see how those sound (but would have to get one just for the Univalve if I really like it... the Princeton II is not going tubeless for long - I like it too much). I really am going to want to pick up a good 6550 for it - Guitplayer had one in his Univalve at the party we did earlier this month, and it sounded great. Anyone know anything about how they set up the rectification on the UniValve? It's got to be SS... I kind of wish they had a tube rectifier in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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