The New Tone Thread

Those tubes look exactly like Groove Tubes or Rubys. More like Ruby, which i think are rebranded TADs anyway. Whatever the case, they should be good!

I'm personally more of a believer in power tube tone changes than preamp tube tone changes.
 
JDOD said:
I thought the type of tube didn't really influence tone, Greg?

I think Nirvana used groove tubes
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I don't think preamp tubes make that much of a difference. That's what we were talking about a few pages back. Preamp tubes. Power tubes matter more to me. That's just my opinion.
 
Greg_L said:
By the way Jdude, did you see Montage of Heck? The Kurt Cobain fluff piece? It was pretty good.
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I've watched it a few times Greg, it's been on cable for a while now...I thought it was pretty good myself, but damn if him & Courtney weren't way the fuck out there man...I thought it was sad in a way too, especially him nodding out while holding his baby, obviously smacked up...

I'm sure the movie didn't really show how crazy their lives really were either...
 
Greg_L said:
By the way Jdude, did you see Montage of Heck? The Kurt Cobain fluff piece? It was pretty good.
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I haven't yet. Not in theatres near me. Really want to though. Despite always being a fan of the music and owning most it I only read a biog of him for the first time the other day.

Fucking wish he'd kept on releasing music.
 
minerman said:
I've watched it a few times Greg, it's been on cable for a while now...I thought it was pretty good myself, but damn if him & Courtney weren't way the fuck out there man...I thought it was sad in a way too, especially him nodding out while holding his baby, obviously smacked up...

I'm sure the movie didn't really show how crazy their lives really were either...
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What I've read about him suggested his lifestyle was pretty crazy and his using insanely heavy even by serious junkie standards
 
Ok, so I swapped the tubes out, set the bias and.....There's a definitely a difference in these tubes...It's nothing extreme, but I can hear a difference.

The amp has a little more clarity along with a little more bottom end (you can hear different highs/clarity a little in these clips, but I can hear the low end more so in these 2 clips...), & it seems to be just a hair louder, so I'm probably just gonna leave the TAD's in there, & use the JJ's for a spare set.

Dunno how long the JJ's had been in the amp, but to me, the amp sounds better with the new tubes. Maybe it's just me, I dunno, but it feels like it did when I first got this amp, dunno how to explain it other than it just feels more "alive" with my playing, something I'd been missing for a little while with it...

These probably aren't the best clips in the world after listening to them, the low end is kinda flubby, but I had all the tonestack knobs on "5" except the resonance which was completely off, the master & gain knobs were on "8". I still had a little left on the volume/gain knobs, but it loses clarity if I push it any farther than this. I know I could've dialed the mic in a little better, but here they are anyway...

LP > interface > re-amp box > Chupa > G12-65 re-issue > e609

Chupacabra:

Resonance: 0
Presence: 5
Bass: 5
Middle: 5
Treble: 5
Master: 8
Gain 2: 8
Gain 1: 8
Era: plexi
Bright 2: C
Bright 1: C
Focus: off


1st clip: JJ power tubes
2nd clip: TAD power tubes

JJ EL34's

TAD EL34's

I also did a few clips with it in different modes (I'll post 'em up a little later), messing with the bright switches, & this is where I can definitely tell a difference...This thing is great in plexi mode, & from what I can tell, it's pretty damn close to a real one, but where this thing really shines is the gain-y sounds. I just love how this thing sounds & feels, I know I keep on & on about it, but IMO it's a killer amp....
 
I think the mids are better in the TAD clip, but the bottom and tops are roughly about the same to me. Not enough difference to worry about one way or the other IMO.
 
Greg_L said:
I think the mids are better in the TAD clip, but the bottom and tops are roughly about the same to me. Not enough difference to worry about one way or the other IMO.
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Yeah, I can tell in the room it's got just a little more clarity & bottom end, but not enough to worry with. So, gonna leave it like it is, I think it sounds good myself, so I'm not fuckin' with it...:D.

Had a look at what I'll be into swapping the pot out on the puzzy trimmer, & there's already a hole in the chassis, but not the plate, so I can either just drill a hole through the plate, or use a speaker jack. Probably gonna just drill a hole in the plate because it's already there in the chassis to begin with, & shouldn't be that hard really...A couple solder connections after that & I should be in business...
 
Here's a couple more clips I made fucking around today, one in plexi mode, & the other in 80's...

LP > interface > re-amp box > Chupa > G12-65 re-issue > e609

Chupa:

Resonance: 0
Presence: 3
Bass: 2
Middle: 5
Treble: 5
Master: 8
Gain 2: 7
Gain 1: 8
Era: plexi
Bright 2: C
Bright 1: R
Focus: off

Plexi mode



Chupa:

Resonance: 0
Presence: 5
Bass: 5
Middle: 5
Treble: 5
Master: 8
Gain 2: 5
Gain 1: 8
Era: 80's
Bright 2: C
Bright 1: C
Focus: off

80's mode
 
2nd one sounds better to me. Not by much, but if you hear it in the room and it affects your playing then it's important
 
I'll throw in a vote for the 80's mode as it is right now. My ears seemed to like it a little better. It's a little more crisp and tight and together. I guess it would all depend on what tune it would be going into though right? they are both really great sounding.
 
Thanks Shan, the 80's mode is my favorite on that amp by far dude, it's just got "that" sound I've always loved...The thing I like about that amp is I get all these different tones, just plugging straight into the amp, no pedals...

I did turn the puzzy trimmer pot down just a little yesterday ( it was about halfway, & I turned it down to about 1/3 of the way up), & it did have an affect on the amount of gain the amp's got. I'm gonna move the trimmer knob to the oustide/back panel... The newer Chupa amps are like this when you buy 'em now, & IMO is how it should be. Won't take much to do this, & will give me another knob on the amp to mess with...:laughings:.







The top pic is actually my amp, the bottom pics aren't, but you get the idea of the little mod I'm gonna do...Parts (1m pot & knob) will be here around the first of the week...I've got a few 250k pots, but I need a 1m for this...Should be a pretty easy/simple little mod that'll give me a little more variation on the different levels of gain...
 
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