Question:
Hey guys, I'm planning on replacing my old tubes on my Vox AC30 and I was wondering what tubes would be good to get.
I am not very familiar with tubes so if you guys could help that would be great.
Answer:
If you liked the tubes in there just fine, just get the same kind that you got in there now.
Answer:
Well the tubes that I've been playing are alright but they came with the amp.
Are their like certain types of tubes for certain types sounds/genres?
Answer:
This is a big topic. Tube quality varies and different tubes have different qualities. The first big choice is whether to go new or NOS.
NOS tubes are New Old Stock and are tubes manufactured when the big tube companies were all operating, but have never been used. They are quite expensive, but can have much superior tone. They are not in limitless supply and it is said that quality is decreasing as the best tubes get used up.
New tubes come from various manufacturers and are mostly made in the far east or the old Soviet Bloc countries. Groove Tubes has retooled to manufacture some tubes in the US, but not all types are made yet.
Watford Valves in the UK are an excellent company and ship world wide. They have some top musicians as their clients. They do both new and NOS and all valves are tested before shipping. They also have their own range of valves (Harma) which are rebadged new or NOS valves. I have a set of Harma EL84s in my Laney and they are excellent.
EuroTubes are in the states and do JJ tubes. I am waiting for a set of JJ ECC83s for the Laney so we'll soon see how they pan out.
The Laney came with TAD tubes, but these only lasted a year and were noisy. The EL84s didn't have as much focus as the Harmas, and didn't have as tight a bass response.
When you come to change the tubes you have a few things to think about. If you play mostly clean, then you will want lower gain preamp tubes, and possibly lower gain power tubes to keep the signal nice and sparkly. If you like lots of preamp distortion then go for higher gain preamp tubes. If you can crank the amp regularly, then go for low gain preamp tubes and high gain power tubes. That way you can get the power stage overdriven and get the real magic tube sound.
Hope this helps a little
John
Answer:
Ah thanks John for your help.
So if I wanted high gain preamp tubes which tubes/companies would I look for?
I saw Switchfoot play with a Sovtek head on top a Vox AC30 and I loved their sound so I'm sorta looking for Sovtek tubes.
How do I know which tubes are high gain?
For example: Sovtek 6SL7GT - What do the numbers and letters mean?
Thanks so much!
Answer:
Originally Posted by companycar Ah thanks John for your help.
So if I wanted high gain preamp tubes which tubes/companies would I look for?
I saw Switchfoot play with a Sovtek head on top a Vox AC30 and I loved their sound so I'm sorta looking for Sovtek tubes.
How do I know which tubes are high gain?
For example: Sovtek 6SL7GT - What do the numbers and letters mean?
Thanks so much! the numbers and letters generally have more to do with design that gain.
If you look at your current tube set, you'll find that you have 4xEL84 (these are power tubes) and i think 3x12AX7 (12AX7s are pre-amp tubes)
Sovtek tubes are considered to be the bottom of the barrel as far as tube purists go. whether or not they're good or bad, I have no idea. I had Groove Tubes in my HRDlx and they worked just fine
Answer:
I like groovetubes myself. Not a big Sovtek fan, they seem rather harsh and lacking in the tonal qualities. In the rockmaster I currently have JJ's. Nice, but I preffered the groovetubes. I have one of the 2 good groove tubes from the rockmaster in the valve junior. Very nice sound, and I put a JJ el84 in there. I liked that better than the groovetube or sovtek I tried in there.
Sovteks sound buzzy and a touch hollow to me. YMMV.
Answer:
interesting tidbit bill, if you look closely at your GTs, you might find old sovtek labeling on them.
Answer:
Originally Posted by thesteve interesting tidbit bill, if you look closely at your GTs, you might find old sovtek labeling on them. nope, very old groove tubes, no sign of sovtek on them.
Answer:
Originally Posted by BillSPrestonEsq nope, very old groove tubes, no sign of sovtek on them. hmm...wow. I know the GTs I had on my HRDlx were relabeled Sovteks. They were still good though, just as good as the JJs I put on afterwards, at least to my ear.
though since JJs are much cheaper...
Answer:
Originally Posted by thesteve hmm...wow. I know the GTs I had on my HRDlx were relabeled Sovteks. They were still good though, just as good as the JJs I put on afterwards, at least to my ear.
though since JJs are much cheaper... these were rockmaster originals so heaven only knows how old they were.
Answer:
Hey so I only use the brilliant channel on my Vox and I can see the light of the tube is very dim from looking at it but the others are fine.
Can I just replace the tube that looks dim or do I have replace every tube?
Answer:
Originally Posted by companycar Ah thanks John for your help.
So if I wanted high gain preamp tubes which tubes/companies would I look for?
I saw Switchfoot play with a Sovtek head on top a Vox AC30 and I loved their sound so I'm sorta looking for Sovtek tubes.
How do I know which tubes are high gain?
For example: Sovtek 6SL7GT - What do the numbers and letters mean?
Thanks so much!
To find out the gain of your tube, it needs to be tested. Watfor Valves, who I mentioned in my post, test, match and grade their tubes. Any other decent tube vendor should do the same.
The letters and numbers refer to the tube type.
John
Answer:
Originally Posted by companycar Hey so I only use the brilliant channel on my Vox and I can see the light of the tube is very dim from looking at it but the others are fine.
Can I just replace the tube that looks dim or do I have replace every tube?
Keep in mind that the brightness or dimness of a tube really doesn't tell you much about how well it's working or not in a guitar amp. The only thing to avoid is a tube that glows a bright RED. That's a power tube that's about ready to give up its ghost, and if it does, it might take your power transformer down with it. Avoid the bright red glow. I wouldn't replace tubes (otherwise) for any other reason unrelated to the tone of the amp.
Nate
Answer:
Originally Posted by thesteve hmm...wow. I know the GTs I had on my HRDlx were relabeled Sovteks.
Yeah, I think that if you go to the store today and pick up some GrooveTubes, they are basically just relabelled Sovteks.
I've come to realize that there's a lot of "placebo-effect" opinions that are quite prevalent in the tubes crowd, so I usually just order a set of a certain kind that I might be interested in and try them out. I re-order the ones I like.
Nate