solarburnDSL50

Anytime and welcome to the family here!

__________________
78' 2203 JMP/OR15/GR TMB on a full stack of GB's=Rock Nirvanah
Martimus Maximus Tonepacks in my amps. TOOBS!

GR amplifiers. I've been thumped!

Joey's bring'n sexy back!

Its "Boo-tique" fellas cause that price scares the tone out of my fingers...

Marshall Amps

__________________
This advertising will not be shown in this way to registered members.
Register your free account today and become a member on Marshall Amp Forum

joshuaaewallen

Welcome to the forum! Your adventures in using new production tubes is potentially a great addition to this discussion, as you may have noticed this thread has almost exclusively revolved around NOS and used vintage tubes. We would love to hear some feedback on new tubes since, as Marty always reminds us, NOS tubes won't be around forever!

I would have to say that solarburn is probably right. I've only been rolling tubes for a short time now, so my experience is limited, but V4 does seem to be sensitive to what goes into it. In my amp if it's not a nice stable tube then the amp can get noisy fast...

__________________
Josh

-2004 PRS Custom 24 10 Top (Sustainiac System w/ Duncan Alnico II bridge PickUp)
-1999 Marshall JCM 2000 TSL (Wilder Amplification mods)
-Martimus Maximus Preamp Tone Pack (Rollin' With Da Homie's)
-ElectroHarmonix .44 Magnum
-PRS Dallas 120 2x12 Vintage 30's
-Digitech RP1000

RiverRatt

Thanks Marty!
Yes, the markings are exactly like that. It's good to know for sure what it is. I don't have any way to test it other than using it, so I put it in my Blackheart Little Giant last night along with a Tung-Sol RI preamp tube and it roars.

MartyStrat54

Well, as I told Joe (Solar) who just picked up the VOX Night Train, those little tube amps are like tube checkers. They are so simple in design that if you put a bad tube in it, it will let you know right away. I'm glad it's a keeper.

Marty

MartyStrat54

Welcome to the forum Sean! Without sounding like an arse, I have to say that I am not much of a fan of Groove Tubes. This is because they take other tubes and "rebrand" them as Groove Tubes. GT is not a manufacturer of vacuum tubes, so it buys all of their tubes, usually from Russia. You can go to the Tube Store online and see what they say about Groove Tubes, Ruby and Fender tubes. They are all relabled tubes.

What does this mean to you? Well, you can get the same tubes for less money by just buying Sovtek, Svetlana or JJ/Tesla. Now GT does have a few tubes "made to their specifications," but I doubt if they are jaw droppers. They probably sound just like a Sovtek 12AX7W-LPS.

Take some time and go to the Tube Depot and the Tube Store for comments on a variety of 12AX7 tubes. A real "sleeper" is the Electro-Harmonix 12AX7 (EH-12AX7) currently on sale at the Tube Store for $11.95 each. It has a fantastic write up and works solidly in all four positions. My next pick would be the Tung-Sol's and then the Sovtek-LPS. I have four of the EH's and I am currently using them in an all tube Hi Fi amp with great success.

I'm just passing this info on to you and you can take it however you want to. I just didn't want you to think GT's were something special.

As far as the phase inverter (V4) goes, I was taught that it needs to be balanced, but now research shows this isn't the case. "However," if you feel you want a balanced tube in that position, you can sure order one and go that route.

Marty

YMI5150?

Alright, I'm jumping in. New to the tube scene and this has been overwhelming...but very cool to read. I'm an engineer/tinkerer so I'm liable to get totally sucked in along with you guys.

I've got a TSL601 with unknown upgrades. I am an early VH tone chaser and get the whole tone in the hands thing.

I do believe that I can make some changes to my setup to get that clean yet crunchy sound that Ed, Warren, G Lynch, Angus all had back in the day. I'm beginning to search for a half stack to help out but am hoping that you can summarize all this testing into a few preamp tube winners. I started a thread on 601 upgrades and Marty had great input but I could use a little more direction (which brand 12Ax7 black plate?, what test results to look for, etc.). You mentioned some having more sensitivity to vibration and not being a good choice for a combo.

I'm also hearing that I should leave the power side of things alone until after these mods are done and re-evaluate. Concur?

I am like you Josh, I don't turn it up much past 2-3 very often. Hopefully there's a decent solution at lower volumes...

Any chance of putting together an executive summary for an ongoing tone chasing project? Like a progress report so-to-speak...

I'll post feedback once I get a few to try out.

Cheer and this is awesome. Keep it up!

MartyStrat54

Wow! Great to see ya over here in the mecca of Tube Mechanics 101.

I think it would be sort of difficult to condense these seven pages into a couple of paragraphs. I will however try to answer your questions.

First off, I think I already gave you some advice on the differences between open and closed back cabinets. The 601 is the same as my 602, but it only has one 12 and that ain't gonna do it. I actually think you should get a good 2 by 12 cab, before doing any tube tweaking, but that's just my opinion. You will get immediate bass response with an extra 12, so think about that.

Black Plate tubes were only made by a few manufacturers. Other manufacturers bought these tubes and put their labels on them. The most sought after BP is the RCA. These tubes exhibit a punchier mid sound to them. Guitars are basically tenor instruments, so you are looking at low-mid's up to mid-highs. If you want a punchier mid, the BP is the way to go. The other manufacturer that I like for BP's is Raytheon. They made really good tubes in their day.

And yes, preamp tubes have long, medium and short plates. The shorter the plate, the more rigid the plate structure. This translates into less vibration and microphonics. Some manufacturer's made tubes that were "ruggedized" and were capable of taking more vibration, regardless of plate length. Combo amps are very hard on preamp tubes and when picking NOS or current production, it is best to buy the one's with medium or short plates. I have recently gone against this in my quest for tone by using tubes that have longer plates, but astronomical gain. If I ruin them, I'll blame Josh and Joe.

Yes, I would try and get a better cabinet, then play with the preamp tubes and then, if necessary, change the power tubes. Power tubes do sound different, but it can be a subtle change most of the time. If you have good, trained ears, you should be able to hear the nuances of the different brands of power tubes. Here again I will note that Black Plate power tubes are highly desirable, but are damn near impossible to find in an EL34. RCA made some BP 6CA7's in the 50's and they go for about $200 a piece when available and that is out of my price range even for two.

If you do not play very loud, it would be advantageous to have higher gain preamp tubes so your window of sound shaping is larger at lower volumes. When I switched over to the super high gain 12AX7's, it was astonishing to discover that I had a lot more tweaking capabilities with my amp. My tone controls sort of jumped out at me. My sound between the pre and the master was different. I think one hot tube is all you really need and I have the best luck putting it in V2 (just my opinion). "If" the high gainer lasts in my combo, then I will consider putting the BP back in there with it. That produces a one-of-a-kind sound. Otherwise I may just put bot of them into my TSL100.

If you can spend the time to read all of the pages, you'll see that there is a lot of info being hammered out. I know that it is a lot of reading, but I go back and reread certain parts all of the time. You got in at a good time, because Joe, Josh and myself will all be posting new info. I have been using my TSL122 as a test bed, because Josh has the same amp and it sort of gives us some experimental credibility. However, I do have several 602's and I might try some tubes in it. However, both amps have speaker mod's and they are already fitted with NOS USA tubes, so they're really not stock 602's.

Once again, welcome to the thread.

Marty

RiverRatt

Marty is right on about the closed back cab. I briefly had a TSL601 before I bought my DSL. The DSL/4x12 combination was the tone I've been looking for the last 30 years. The TSL combo sounded good, but just not quite what I was looking for. To be fair though, I never tried it with a closed-back cab. I'm like you YMI5150, I usually don't get the volume up over 3 or 4, and IMHO the GTEL34M is the best-sounding new EL34 I've tried. They are great at bedroom volume, and only get better as you crank them up. I'm still sold on my RCA side-getter preamp tubes, but this thread has given me a lot of new ideas to try out.
If you want a great deal on a 2x12 cab, check out Avatar. You can get a nice Marshall-style cab with whatever flavor of Celestions you want for under 4 bills.

YMI5150?

Wow you guys are 2 cool. thanks for the advice. I like the 2x12 idea. I found a 1960B 4x12 on Craigslist for $350 but doubt its still available.

the 601 is already a bit too inconvenient to move so adding a cabinet won't bother me. I'll start looking around.

"Greenbacks" have what real P/N when looking around?

Cheers,

Kevin

P.S. I'll try to attach a pic of my babies. I've spent the last year making my own guitars, starting of course with the Frank and recently the EBMM. Currently it's the only area that I can reciprocate knowledge...

Attached Images

2 babies small.JPG (24.2 KB, 15 views)

MartyStrat54

Here is an except from my last round of tube swapping:

I then took a Mullard (that we'll call M1) that measured very stout and replaced the BP with it. There was a slight drop in the "big gain" sensation, but not much as this tube tested 104/106. Some of the bottom end that I liked went away, but still not bad. The clean was very chimey and touch harmonics would just ring like a door bell. Swapping the M1 and the ICBM made a difference on total gain characteristics. The clean channel was more creamier sounding (and some people prefer this). However, this arrangement made the number 2 and 3 channels awesome. I was able to crank the pre up harder. So now I am thinking maybe the ICBM should be in V2 with a Mullard in V1. However, I put the RCA 7025 back into V1 and "Wow!" what a sound. This is how I finally left it.

RCA 1961 7025-V1
RCA/Mullard 1964 12AX7-V2
GE 1959 12AX7-V3
GE 1959 12AX7-V4

Today I took all of these tubes out and brought in two RCA Black Plates. These are the 12AX7WA's. These tubes tested below 100, but above 92. Still would be considered NOS. Also in the mix are two GE Black Plates. One tests hot and the other tests lower, but still is good. So, we are going to go all BP on this test. I put the strongest RCA WA in V1 (94/96). Then I put GE1 in V2 (106/108). I then put GE2 (92/94) in the tone stack and WA2 (87/84) in the phase inverter position, V4.

Turn amp on. TSL122. I play a little and does it sound good. I can tell that I have a stout tube in V2, just because of the way the pre/post controls act. Again, the tone controls are very sensitive and that would be from the solid GE BP in the tone stack. These tubes give a very, shall I say darker, bluesy tone. The low mid's are very thick and this appears to be covering up some of the highs. My Man O' War speakers are sparkly and chimey, but these tubes have smoothed out the high end of the speakers. If I boost the highs, I get them, but I think it takes away some of the overall sound quality by bringing in some hiss. Not much, but I can hear it with my ears. (54 year old thrashed out ears.)

Conclusion: Too many BP's. The sound was good, but not what I'm after. My prior experiments have proved that one, maybe two BP's is the magic number.

Left V1 and V2 as is and put in the short plate GE's (that I originally had in the 122). Turn on amp. Much better. Now she is balanced again sound wise. I'm back to having that great blend of tone and controls. Gee, those little GE short plates sound good. Maybe that's why I had them in there in the first place.

Left V1 and V2 as is and put in the M1 and M2 Mullards. The M1 is a stout one so this puts a stout tube in V2 (GE1) and V3 (M1). Turn on amp. The hot tube in the tone stack doesn't really do much to the overall gain. It sounds good though. I take M1 and put it in V1 and I take WA1 and put it in the tone stack. Wow, what a difference. She's big and ballsy now. The WA sounds great in V3. Great overall "chime" to the sound. My speakers are perky and brighter sounding. Yeah, this is a good tube set up. I really like the sound.

V1-Mullard High Gain-M1-Medium Gray Plate
V2-GE High Gain-GE1-Medium Black Plate
V3-RCA 12AX7WA-WA1-Medium Black Plate
V4-RCA 12AX7WA-WA2-Medium Black Plate

I don't think the phase inverter cares whether it has a black or gray plate. With this in mind, I really only had two BP's in the active positions. Just like my other setting (see far above), I now have a gray plate in V1, but it is a hotter, high gain tube. Not so much as the ICBM or the Raytheon BP, but still pretty hot. The GE1 is an above average high gain tube as well. So it seems like I'm the happiest when I have two high gain tubes in V1 and V2.

Side Note: I measured 14, 12AX7's that were all made in Russia. Only two of them measured with above average gain. The rest were "new" tubes that just barely tested good on my B and K. This is a pretty good test result of what to expect when buying "new" tubes. They test good, but do you think you will hear a difference in your amp between "new" tubes and USA NOS tubes that are measuring 142? Sure, not all are that stout, but most of the tubes I am buying are in the 92 range. That beats the hell out of a 72.

Closing note: I am awaiting more tubes. Yes I broke down and I have bid and won more tubes. I'm still not done yet. However, in the bank are two more Black Plate GE's. One is super strong and the other is just good on one side and strong on the other (40/32 and 52/32).<Different tube tester than mine.
Also, I have the four Amperex tubes coming and my latest big buy was a lot of four RCA and four Sylvania's for $83 bucks, or just over 10 bucks a tube. I am aslo bidding on mor black plates. One of the lots of six tubes just went up while I was typing in this info. Maybe too high. There is a pair I'm looking at as well.

Once I get those Amperex tubes tested, I will be doing tests with them adding them into the mix. They are supposed to be some of the very best tubes made in Holland back in the day.

I also am going to have to come up with my own grading system for all of these tubes. I just ordered 100 white cardboard tube boxes for 12AX7/EL84 type tubes. I will be going back through my tubes and grading them for balance and power. I think if they are over 110, I'll call them "supers" and 90 to 109 will be "high gainers. 70 to 89 will be "regulars."

Marty

joshuaaewallen

So Marty... When do you hang out a shingle, and open your doors to the public as a tube tester extraordinaire? A sort of "have tube, will test" kinda thing?

__________________
Josh

-2004 PRS Custom 24 10 Top (Sustainiac System w/ Duncan Alnico II bridge PickUp)
-1999 Marshall JCM 2000 TSL (Wilder Amplification mods)
-Martimus Maximus Preamp Tone Pack (Rollin' With Da Homie's)
-ElectroHarmonix .44 Magnum
-PRS Dallas 120 2x12 Vintage 30's
-Digitech RP1000

MartyStrat54

Well over at the "other thread," I left you an open invitation for a free tube check up on the EL84's and I would even pay the return postage. I know, I know, a couple of bucks is a big thing nowadays.

I also left the door open if you are interested in a nice low price on a pair of the 1967 Russian EL84's. Let me know.

Remember, besides trying to get cabinets sold, I do about ten tube amps a week. Some of these tubes will find quick homes if you know what I mean. Most of the stuff I do is just cleanings and tube upgrades and bias. I rarely get a burned up mess and when I do, I let them know whether I will be able to fix it or not. I actually did tube amps in the military. Then I got back into tube hi fi. Then working on hi fi amps and such. Then it bled over to guitar amps and there you have it. I do have an adequate amount of test equipment, so I can troubleshoot more serious damage. It's just that there is quicker money doing cleanings and tube upgrades and biasing. I have some customers who drive over 50 miles to get me to tweak their amps. I also have nine cabinets to plug into, including two of my VersaCabs. Right now I am trying to get Ampeg interested in making the VersaCab. It's been 30 days and I haven't heard back from them as of yet. I'm working with Eminence speakers on my V123 speaker. They are finally getting to the next phase of testing. They will be my exclusive speaker for any of my cabinets. With all that is going on, the Ampeg deal is the most important to me. Being single gives me a lot more time to do things I need to do. Anyways, I'm always happy to help you out anyway that I can.

Marty

joshuaaewallen

... Speaking of the other thread... I was having trouble w/ my ISP, so I only now was able to get my reply posted... In a nutshell, there's pics of the tubes that THD includes w/ the YJ's...

I would like to take you up on that... If it's not too much trouble...

... You are a busy guy! It's pretty cool that you are getting your own speakers from Eminence. I'll bet that's gonna be a cool sounding speaker.

MartyStrat54

--russian--

MartyStrat54

LOL... Your great Marty! Actually I'd love to have you test them. Honestly I was thinking of asking if I just have tubes I may buy in the future sent to you for testing and have you forward them to me from there... Of course I would reimburse you for shipping, and your time and trouble... It was a thought... Whaddaya think? Don't feel bad if you want to say no, I won't be offended, but like my ma always said, "You lose nothing by asking".

You can send me tubes for testing any time you like. It will take a little time, but you will be better off. You know the Peace Of Mind thing? We actually got the tubes to each other pretty damn fast when you think about it.

Marty

MartyStrat54

I was doing some cruising and came across this web site. I'd been there before, but it was like two years ago. Read what you like and then use the "Jump to 12AX7's" link to be blown away by pairs of 12AX7's for $400 bucks!!!

Lots of good info though, but mainly on European tubes. He does a combined summary on the USA tubes, but he gives the black plates high marks.

Marty

Go Here:

12AX7 Tubes in Stock

joshuaaewallen

I thought so... And I'm up for peace of mind, that's for sure!

__________________
Josh

-2004 PRS Custom 24 10 Top (Sustainiac System w/ Duncan Alnico II bridge PickUp)
-1999 Marshall JCM 2000 TSL (Wilder Amplification mods)
-Martimus Maximus Preamp Tone Pack (Rollin' With Da Homie's)
-ElectroHarmonix .44 Magnum
-PRS Dallas 120 2x12 Vintage 30's
-Digitech RP1000

MartyStrat54

Ahh??? Your pictures of the Russian EL84's disappeared from the thread. What's up with that?

Marty

joshuaaewallen

Ahh... Yeah. Sorry 'bout that... I got my threads mixed up and accidentally posted the YJ / EL84 stuff here on the Pre-Amp tube thread... So... I switched 'em... Those pics are over there where they belong, and now...

__________________
Josh

-2004 PRS Custom 24 10 Top (Sustainiac System w/ Duncan Alnico II bridge PickUp)
-1999 Marshall JCM 2000 TSL (Wilder Amplification mods)
-Martimus Maximus Preamp Tone Pack (Rollin' With Da Homie's)
-ElectroHarmonix .44 Magnum
-PRS Dallas 120 2x12 Vintage 30's
-Digitech RP1000

solarburnDSL50

Hey my Tubers! Guess what I did last night? Left my NT on stand-by all night. Still works! I put the JJ EL84's in and am demoing them now. Don't know if I like them as much as the stockers. I need to mess around with them a little more. They are a darker tube it seems compared to the stock ones. If I'm not mistaken I think I may have lost a little headroom. I'm going make a couple of preamp tube changes too. Maybe I wore down the Tung Sols leaving em' on all night. A preamp tube change will tell me right away. Could just be how the JJ's are too.

Well I'm almost on vacation for a few weeks so in a couple of days I'm going to roll those tubes Marty gave to me and see how the Marshall likes em'. Heck I can run them in the NT as well. I just have had limited time last couple of weeks. Finally going to get to it.

Another great write up above Marty.

__________________
78' 2203 JMP/OR15/GR TMB on a full stack of GB's=Rock Nirvanah
Martimus Maximus Tonepacks in my amps. TOOBS!

GR amplifiers. I've been thumped!

Joey's bring'n sexy back!

Its "Boo-tique" fellas cause that price scares the tone out of my fingers...

joshuaaewallen

Updated location... I put a JJ in my Valve Junior... Didn't care for it. Too dark in my opinion...

What typically would one expect after leaving their amp on all night? I'm guessing it's not good?

Holy Hannah! Now most of those tubes are really meant for someone who has too much $$$, and nothing else to do with it! Wow.

__________________
Josh

-2004 PRS Custom 24 10 Top (Sustainiac System w/ Duncan Alnico II bridge PickUp)
-1999 Marshall JCM 2000 TSL (Wilder Amplification mods)
-Martimus Maximus Preamp Tone Pack (Rollin' With Da Homie's)
-ElectroHarmonix .44 Magnum
-PRS Dallas 120 2x12 Vintage 30's
-Digitech RP1000

solarburnDSL50

Burning a light bulb out. At least it was on stand-by. I think this is the first time I've done it. Anyways I suppose a tube or 2 could have gone out but not necessarily.

On the JJ I think it has taken some bite or chewiness out of the tone. At least these things aren't real expensive. Still have to play around a little more...

__________________
78' 2203 JMP/OR15/GR TMB on a full stack of GB's=Rock Nirvanah
Martimus Maximus Tonepacks in my amps. TOOBS!

GR amplifiers. I've been thumped!

Joey's bring'n sexy back!

Its "Boo-tique" fellas cause that price scares the tone out of my fingers...

MartyStrat54

It's not going to do a darn thing, except be on all night. Yeah, the tubes rack up some on time, but oh well, they are usually good for 3 to 5,000 hours.

As long as you have speakers hooked up everything will be okay, regardless of whether the stand-by switch is on or off.

Hey Solar. Thought we lost you (he-he.) Great to know that you are going to get some time off. I know that you work the late shift. That can make it tough.

My guess is the JJ's are just not that great of tubes. Try the stock ones back in there and see if everything is "normal" again. You will be getting some good tubes soon enough. Then you won't have to worry about junkie power tubes.

Hang in there. The NT will still be a rollin'. It's not damaged.

Marty

solarburnDSL50

Thanx for the reassurance! I was hop'n it wouldn't be a stress on her, he he. First thing I do is get that damn speaker wire hooked up, before the power cord gets hooked up to the back. I think I will end up putting the stockers back in. Then just wait for the good'ns. I got to go out now so I will be back as soon as I can and let ya know whats up.

__________________
78' 2203 JMP/OR15/GR TMB on a full stack of GB's=Rock Nirvanah
Martimus Maximus Tonepacks in my amps. TOOBS!

GR amplifiers. I've been thumped!

Joey's bring'n sexy back!

Its "Boo-tique" fellas cause that price scares the tone out of my fingers...

joshuaaewallen

Ok... Here's a dumb question that I should know the answer to... And it's not necessarily "tube related"...

Why can solid state amps be powered up w/ no speaker load and remain undamaged, but tube amps must have a speaker load or they're wrecked? What exactly happens if you power up your tube amp w/out a load on it?

__________________
Josh

-2004 PRS Custom 24 10 Top (Sustainiac System w/ Duncan Alnico II bridge PickUp)
-1999 Marshall JCM 2000 TSL (Wilder Amplification mods)
-Martimus Maximus Preamp Tone Pack (Rollin' With Da Homie's)
-ElectroHarmonix .44 Magnum
-PRS Dallas 120 2x12 Vintage 30's
-Digitech RP1000

MartyStrat54

Well, there are several things. One is that tube amps work on a voltage change and SS works on a current change. The "power" from the tubes is actually a change in voltage between the grid and the plate. This high voltage goes directly to the output transformer and charges up the primary side. The secondary (speaker load) side will now fire up, but if there is no speaker load the output transformer will go kaput and then everything else starts failing. If the standby is on then it shouldn't do any damage, because the high voltage is not on in the power tubes and therefore the primary side of the OPT is static (no voltage situation).

In a SS amp the preamp "drives" the power transistors. If they aren't getting any drive then they are off. SS amps handle loads "automatically." You can go from an 8 to a 4 to a 2 without making any external changes. The power transistors do go through an OPT, but the way a SS works on current keeps the amp from having problems. Tube amps always have to be on to work. SS amps turn on and off depending on whenever they get a signal through the preamp.

However, I think it is always a good idea to have a speaker load connected to any kind of amp.

joshuaaewallen

Well... In my defense... Between this thread and the Yellow Jacket thread, sooo much information has accumulated that, w/out re-reading vast post regularly, it can be difficult to recall everything...

Plus this added to my confusion: Electro-Harmonix Wins Legal Battle To Keep Russian Factory | Fretbase: Guitars, Tabs, Chords and More - The video is from 2006, but the story is pretty recent, February 2009.

I would have to logically conclude that even though most (I am being generous here by not saying all, even though that wording is more likely true) modern production tubes are inferior to the tubes of yesteryear, there is undoubtedly many differences in design, materials, workmanship, and thus durability & tone, from one tube to the next.

Indeed! Rock on, and thanks Marty!

__________________
Josh

-2004 PRS Custom 24 10 Top (Sustainiac System w/ Duncan Alnico II bridge PickUp)
-1999 Marshall JCM 2000 TSL (Wilder Amplification mods)
-Martimus Maximus Preamp Tone Pack (Rollin' With Da Homie's)
-ElectroHarmonix .44 Magnum
-PRS Dallas 120 2x12 Vintage 30's
-Digitech RP1000

YMI5150?

So I was messing around with my 601 yesterday and I'm wondering if preamp tubes affect harmonics. I noticed that on Channel 2 (crunch), in order to get in the ballpark for classic rock (early VH) tone, gain has to be relatively low, however I lose the ability to get decent harmonics. Is it possible to get an amp set up so that you can have both worlds or are harmonics a function of gain?

MartyStrat54

Plus this added to my confusion: Electro-Harmonix Wins Legal Battle To Keep Russian Factory | Fretbase: Guitars, Tabs, Chords and More - The video is from 2006, but the story is pretty recent, February 2009.

I don't know how old that article is, but if you go to say The Tube Store and punch in EH, it clearly states that EH is part of the New Sensor Corporation. So apparently Mike Matthews didn't want to cut a deal with the Russians, but instead he cut a deal with New Sensor.

I'm also confused about EH selling 2/3's of the world's tubes. I wonder if that really is a combined "New Sensor" number?

Marty

MartyStrat54

Kevin: How's it going? To answer your question, "Yes, preamp tubes do affect your amps ability to produce harmonics at different volume/gain settings."

As I think I told you, you need to get a solid high gain set in V1 and V2. This will allow a bigger window for harmonics at a lower volume setting. Now granted, at a higher volume, these tubes will literally sizzle and sound really sweet. If you are ready to buy a couple of these tubes, send me a private email and we can make the necessary arrangements.

Marty