Tube Amp Archive

I built a 5E3 (from a Mission kit) with the 6L6 modifications a while back. I also added a choke, and installed a switch to make comparisons between the choke and resistor. With 6L6 tubes installed, I personally preferred the tone with the resistor. The choke cleaned up the sound a bit, and it did "...

My build includes a combo cab and a 1x12 extension and comprises a Non-HRM style Bluesmaster running EL34s. I play country/blues/rock (tele and strat). For me, the most articulate tones that I have gotten come from the combination of an EVM12L in the combo and Red Fang in the Extension. The Red Fang...

My build is a bluesmaster style eq, 50 watt non-hrm with EL34s. My cab is a oval port 1x12 that is a slightly darker sounding cab. So far, my personal fav is a Red Fang. This speaker works really well for me. I play mostly country, and it lets my tone sit nicely on top of acoustic guitar, keys and b...

IC: Nice clips. I hear what you are saying about the body of the notes. Your clips do a nice job of showing several pickup positions so you get a good sense of the overall abilities of the amp. Standing in the room, I typically have to watch the low end and that is what drove my choice of low values...

I have been struggling with my build to come up with an arrangement that allows me to switch between strat, tele and les paul with minimum knob tweaking. Here is my current setup, which so far has gotten me pretty close to my goal. non-hrm 100k/1.5k V1A with 5uf bypass 150k/2.2k V1B with 1uf bypass ...

Without the speaker attenuator in there, this would be real loud in my listening environment. Where are your controls set when you're getting this? Strat and tele - volume between 1:00 - 3:00 to taste, MV around 12:00-1:00. I just tried my amp with a Les Paul. With humbuckers, this combination easi...

greiswig: Our definitions of toothy, grinding clean are about the same. As far as tubes, I have tried in the V1 spot, EH, Tung Sol, RCA, JJ, Westinghouse, EI Elites. I think that's it. The only tube that I did not like was the EI elite. That tube was rich sounding but too microphonic to be usable. A...

greiswig:

I should have some time after this weekend to record some clips. It might help everyone to understand what I am calling "toothy/greasy/gritty" on my clean channel.

I can say that I am enjoying this configuration more and more, esp. since installing the EL34s.

Tom

greiswig: I did some more experimenting with my new configuration. With the volume at 3:00 and the master between 1-2:00, I can get a grinding clean on a strat with Lindy Fralin vintage hots. Perfect for blues and country. That's a little hotter than the settings you suggested. I would not hesitate ...

greiswig: That's an interesting observation. I am just wagering a guess here, but my initial impressions tell me that three important ingredients to the tone I am achieving are the 100k/1.5k on V1A, the bluesmaster PI, and pushing the clean volume and the master volume enough to get the amp cookin. ...

For those interested, I was looking to reduce headroom and get a tone that broke up on clean at more reasonable volumes. I also wanted a more toothy, clean that suits a modern country/blues style of playing. In another thread about the BM PI, Heisthl recommended that I try modifying V1A. The recomme...

Heisthl: Thank you for a great recommendation. I made the change you suggested (as close as my parts would allow), and now I am getting exactly the clean tone I was seeking. I will admit that I was shocked at the significance this change made to the overall feel of the amp. I am gonna post my findin...

Heisthl:

Thanks for the advice. I will give your suggestion a try over the weekend.

I actually want less headroom. The type of cleans I am looking for are the cleans that have a little hair on them. They sound clean with volume rolled back/lighter touch, but get a little dirty when playing with a heavier touch. With my Tele and Strat style guitars, I found in my initial build with ...

I have a d'lite build that currently includes the BM PI. I have read where others have commented about the effects the BM PI has on harmonics and bloom, but I will add a take on it that is a bit different. Where as the original D-lite PI worked well for me when playing with a light touch, as I playe...