Hey MarshallForum, new member here.
Hope it's okay to talk about non-marshalls on this part of the forum >.>
Anyways, I recently bought an otherwise awesome JCA20H with the matching 1x12 cab (I play in an apartment, dont judge xP)
Problem is, it sounds great at lower volumes, around 1-2 (with all of the eq at noon and the gain dimed), but as soon as I get near 3, the high end gets harsh and fizzy, even with the presence down low. I don't know much about tube amps but im guessing this is a problem with the crappy stock chinese tubes they use to save on dosh.
Originally I was going to drop in some Tung-Sol's and JJ's in the preamp section anyways, but since the harshness only comes up on higher volumes I was thinking I may as well replace the EL84s too.
Do you pros think this is a problem with the tubes, or some other part of the amp? Are there any brand of EL84 that are particularly dark or smooth? And if I do replace them, how difficult would it be?
tl;dr new amp sounds good when quiet, sounds too harsh/trebly when loud. should i replace the power tubes, and if i do, which ones should i use/how difficult would it be?