Hi all,

this week I rehearsed with my 1987 using EL84s in a TAD Tube Bone set. They reduce the wattage to about half meaning I can turn up to 7 or 8 without being too loud - just right actually....

Well it was great! The amp was really dirty and sounded really good too. We play quite loud but never loud enough for me to turn up my amp with the stock EL34 tubes - that is too loud! Ideally I need a master volume but I do not want to change the sound. I admit the EL84s are a little darker but some of the Plexi still comes thru.

ps.I have a Power Soak but never use it as I think the sound is compromised - I admit I have not tried it out with the band yet - pending.

Cheers Brett

Hi,

here is a snippet from their advert plus some of my comments:- (ps. I am not advertising for them here - I am not affiliated with them in any way...).

Tone bones are converters in the form of a socket which allows replacement of 6L6GC,6V6 GT,5881 & EL34 with EL84 valves. You remove your EL34 and simply plug in the Tube Bone sockets with EL84s - no re-biasing needed at all.

Converters were first brought to public attention by Andy Marshall of THD with his yellow jackets. Amplifiers which operate in Class A mode such as the VOX AC30 have a sonically richer and more responsive tone. Converters allow you to recreate part of this tone with your amp. They also provide a significant drop in volume of between 8 to 30 watts depending on your amp and the tone bone used. Tone bones are ideal for recording, home practice or for small gigs. Two versions of the tone bone are available PENTODE & TRIODE OPERATION.

The main character of your amp will be retained whether it is a Marshall or Fender. In a 100 watt amplifier 4 pentode tone bones will provide around 30 watts and two in a 50 watt head will provide approximately 15 watts. The sound will become thicker with improved sustain (true - I played mine at 7 / 8 and it was a dream come true! Dirty, yet not compressed or choking - nice even saturated tube gain).

Tone bones are supplied in pairs and come with two EL84 output valves

I use the Groove Tube version and it sounds fantastic. Volume becomes more manageable as the amp needs to be run open and the plexi tone comes through clearly. I didnt expect it to sound as good as it does. Now i can choose between EL34's and the EL84's depending on the gig. What a great product.

Bump