The New Tone Thread

Right dude, I've stopped worrying about the cork-sniffing shit, I just basically want tubes that are reliable, & reasonably quiet (I say "reasonably" because with the amount of gain I use at times, there's gonna be noise no matter what)...I'm strapped for cash, & this is a free set of tubes, so I'll take 'em...If I hear they sound better than what I have, I'll leave 'em in the Ceriatone, if not, they'll just be an extra set I didn't have (which I actually need just in case...)...

I really can't complain or bitch because they're totally free...:).
 
Greg_L said:
I really do think tube sniffers are just entertaining themselves.
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I used to think the same thing until I started collecting and experimenting with various types of tubes. Even subtle differences in preamp tubes can change things like gain structure and noise levels in your amp. Long and short plate tubes sound different from each other. Unbalanced triodes can also have an affect depending on which slot you use them in. Some tubes have twice the amount of gain than others do. If you can't hear a drastic difference between a vintage long plate Sylvania 12AX7 and a JJ or Shuguang 12AX7 short plate, then you are stone deaf.
 
Greg_L said:
I really do think tube sniffers are just entertaining themselves.
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That's what I've finally gotten through my thick head dude....Sure, you can hear minute changes in the tone when you swap/roll tubes, but, the tubes I've did this with didn't make enough difference to even swap them out really....Maybe the tubes I have tried are shit, & haven't had a lot to try out, but that's just my experience with it...

Are you gonna be using the attenuator for recording Greg, or did you just buy it to gig with???

I'd love to try one out with my Ceriatone in plexi mode, but the last little while, I've been getting similar tones with that amp in modern mode, at reasonable volumes (like the last couple clips I posted)...

I know the attenuator would help with the volume in regular/plexi mode, but really, I wouldn't need it in 80's/modern mode with that amp...
 
ocnor said:
I used to think the same thing until I started collecting and experimenting with various types of tubes. Even subtle differences in preamp tubes can change things like gain structure and noise levels in your amp. Long and short plate tubes sound different from each other. Unbalanced triodes can also have an affect depending on which slot you use them in. Some tubes have twice the amount of gain than others do. If you can't hear a drastic difference between a vintage long plate Sylvania 12AX7 and a JJ or Shuguang 12AX7 short plate, then you are stone deaf.
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Very interesting Ocnor, like I mentioned, I haven't rolled a lot of tubes, & what I have tried probably weren't much to begin with...

About all the tube rolling I've done have been with my DSL-1 & Tweaker, but again, I don't have a big selection of tubes to begin with, & most of 'em aren't really much different from one another....

I will say I have an RCA 12ax7, & it did add a little mojo to both those amps, but it started making noises/going bad, so I stopped using it...
 
ocnor said:
I used to think the same thing until I started collecting and experimenting with various types of tubes. Even subtle differences in preamp tubes can change things like gain structure and noise levels in your amp. Long and short plate tubes sound different from each other. Unbalanced triodes can also have an affect depending on which slot you use them in. Some tubes have twice the amount of gain than others do. If you can't hear a drastic difference between a vintage long plate Sylvania 12AX7 and a JJ or Shuguang 12AX7 short plate, then you are stone deaf.
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Nah, fuck that shit. You're just entertaining yourself. Tube differences are way down on the list of shit that matters.
 
Greg_L said:
Nah, fuck that shit. You're just entertaining yourself. Tube differences are way down on the list of shit that matters.
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I guess since you just like to crank your amp up to 10 and beat your Les Paul into submission [IE play punk rock] then tubes are a low priority for you. :laughings:


That leaves more tubes for those of us that play real music with actual dynamics. :D
 
ocnor said:
I guess since you just like to crank your amp up to 10 and beat your Les Paul into submission [IE play punk rock] then tubes are a low priority for you. :laughings:


That leaves more tubes for those of us that play real music with actual dynamics. :D
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Lol. Awwww, ocnor got a little butthurt. :laughings:

It is funny though how a dude that would use a speaker sim would worry about a fucking tube. You are all out of whack. Get your shit together. This is not the thread for this stuff.
 
Speaking of banging on Les Pauls like a bad ass, I might pull the trigger on this thing. Might. I'm gonna think about it and try to chop some more off the price.

 
Nice looking Lester dude, but you need a tele....






The binding on this thing is actual piping like used on amps, the pickguard is tolex, checkcloth from a grill cover, & Marshall knobs...I think it's cool, but I like it better without the grillcloth myself...

That's actually the same guitar, a guy in the Marshall forum did that...IIRC, he said the 2nd pic (which is just a mockup, notice how big the knobs are...) is how it is now, he's supposed to post some more pics of it...
 
Out of all of my tube amps, I've only ever replaced the tubes in 1. I did a full retube from Sovtek 12AX7 and 6L6 to JJ ECC83 and 6L6GC. There really was a difference. Not earth-shattering, but a difference nonetheless. It's still the same amp. The Sovteks were a little more stiff and punchy. The JJs are a little more squishy and compressed, with a little smoother breakup. Hell if I still had those Sovteks, I'd do a comparison and post it. Actually I may still have them around here somewhere...but I replaced them because one of the power tubes blew. I'd only have 3 of the 4 6L6 if they didn't go into the trash during a recent house cleaning.
 
Greg_L said:
Lol. Awwww, ocnor got a little butthurt. :laughings:

It is funny though how a dude that would use a speaker sim would worry about a fucking tube. You are all out of whack. Get your shit together. This is not the thread for this stuff.
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My butt feels just fine thank you. Nice of you to care so much about it but that is a little creepy.:D My speaker sim is just a tool that I use when I don't want to be loud. I have three 4X12 cabs to use when I want to rattle the walls. The PDI-03 is used by many pro guitarists such as Alex Lifeson and Joe Bonamassa. Are they all out of whack as well? If you want to neglect a major part of your amps tone [tubes] then go ahead...it doesn't bother me. You're the one that brought up the subject of tubes and now you are saying this isn't the thread for this stuff. :confused:
 
Greg_L said:
Speaking of banging on Les Pauls like a bad ass, I might pull the trigger on this thing. Might. I'm gonna think about it and try to chop some more off the price.

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I love Customs and their big headstocks. When was it made, never seen that finish on a Custom before?
 
ocnor said:
My butt feels just fine thank you. Nice of you to care so much about it but that is a little creepy.:D My speaker sim is just a tool that I use when I don't want to be loud. I have three 4X12 cabs to use when I want to rattle the walls. The PDI-03 is used by many pro guitarists such as Alex Lifeson and Joe Bonamassa. Are they all out of whack as well? If you want to neglect a major part of your amps tone [tubes] then go ahead...it doesn't bother me. You're the one that brought up the subject of tubes and now you are saying this isn't the thread for this stuff. :confused:
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No, this isn't the thread for you to go full stupid about how I play or what I play. We don't do that in here. Talk about your tubes all you want.

If you think your tubes are a "major" part of your tone, then fine. Knock yourself out. I really don't care. I also really don't agree. They're a relatively minor part of your tone. I'm not saying they're all the same. I'm not saying they don't matter at all. I'm saying that I don't think they matter that much...and neither do the people listening. Like I said, you're only entertaining yourself. And that's cool. No problem. We're all entertaining ourselves in different ways. It's nothing to get all fucking retarded and butthurt about.

I mentioned your Palmer thing as a comparison because I do believe the speaker(s) is a much more significant part of the final guitar tone than tubes are, and you're fine with neglecting it entirely. I'm not knocking you for using the Palmer and I don't care which guitar pro also uses one. I'm saying it's strange that you'd worry about a tube while totally not giving a shit about the speaker's part. That's weird to me.

---------- Update ----------

minerman said:
Nice looking Lester dude, but you need a tele....
The binding on this thing is actual piping like used on amps, the pickguard is tolex, checkcloth from a grill cover, & Marshall knobs...I think it's cool, but I like it better without the grillcloth myself...

That's actually the same guitar, a guy in the Marshall forum did that...IIRC, he said the 2nd pic (which is just a mockup, notice how big the knobs are...) is how it is now, he's supposed to post some more pics of it...
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Lol. No thanks. I think that's gross, and I don't like Teles anyway.
 
jonny deep said:
I love Customs and their big headstocks. When was it made, never seen that finish on a Custom before?
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That's a new one. 2014. They originally made them in the late 70s/early 80s, and those originals have now all turned green. They're really cool. This one will probably never turn green because of the modern paint. But I like them a lot. Always have. I think I'm gonna pass for now though. There are a lot of other things I need to do with almost 3 grand.
 
ocnor said:
now you are saying this isn't the thread for this stuff. :confused:
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it is the thread for such things since it does relate to tone but it's not the thread for attacking someones' style of music..

I do agree that tube rolling is over blown since most things that different tubes do I can correct with EQ or gain changes at the amp.

There are certainly differences and you can hear them ......
I even found some long plate tubes that made enough difference in a Fender pro Reverb that it went from sucky to acceptable so I'm not completely closed minded to the idea.

But in general the differences are fairly subtle IMO and I have changed out a LOT of tubes and have used some big money tubes.
I don't find them to be worth big money ...... that's just my opinion and taste though.
 
Lol. There is a bass! First mix pointer. Mix the bass louder.

Friend of mine just came over and she's a classical cellist, the idea of playing a B note over a Gm in the mellower bit didn't sit well.

Did you get as far as the cool flanger bit?
 
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