Do you mean balanced (phase balanced)? If so, that would be correct since the PI tube splits the signal to your output tubes 180 degrees out of phase and having them balanced will ensure max performance of the output tubes. Do you notice any drop off in volume with the 12AT7 vs AX7? The drop off in my Super Reverb is very significant when the pi is a 12AT7.
Bob at Eurotubes has very good JJ balanced 12AX7s and AT7s
Before you do anything else... Make sure you have a heavier set of strings on, 11-52 minimum, SRVs were heavier than that. Then tune to E flat (D#). You will be surprised at how much difference that makes. You will then need to use a tube screamer based overdrive pedal. Use clean (or just near break-up) tone on your amp. I don't think the on-board OD on the OTS will get you what you want. SRV really built his sound over a large clean tone from what ever amp he was using. From there it is matter of experimenting with OD box settings, amp setting and guitar pickup settings. The texas specials should work just fine. As always, any player's tone is a function of their picking and fingering techniques. SRV had a lot of unique , but not so obvious, right & left hand techniques. Those techniques coupled with the down tuning of the Strat are really what created his tone. Only the most obsessive player will master those nuances.
Keep in mind that he played Fender Vibroverbs, a Dumble Steel String Singer and Marshall Major and his tone did not change from one amp to the other.
I am posting this as an example of the the OTS (april/may 08, unmodded) tone that does not fall into the ford/carlton category but it seems OK for old fashioned rock & roll. It has kind of an overdriven P-90ish tone despite the guitar being an R9 LP with Burstbuckers. Not great video/sound quality (I don't why it comes up twice in the same post, sorry), but it conveys the concept.
I have replaced the stock Tungsol 6L6 tubes with two matched Tube Amp Doctor 6L6WGC - STR...
Wow what a difference the amp now sounds way bigger than before, and is more detailed in both bass, middle and treble frequencies. A lot more head room than the tungsols and also more power...
These valves is definetly worth a try
just my 2 cents
Thanks for the info. I mentioned these in another post. I recently put Tungsol 5881 in my OTS with positive results and, based on previous experience, I thought the TAD 6L6WGC STR might provide the same advantages of the 5881 but with greater musicality. It sounds as though you have confirmed that.
I went through this same thought process and in the end, Nik's prices are so good I just went ahead and purchased from him. The JJ ECC83S is a hot pre-amp tube and should be used when you want early break-up or more distortion.
This question is best answered by Nik, but they appear to be the same as all the other JJ tubes I have purchased over the years. I have purchased a couple dozen at least over the past 3-4 years. I usually get mine from Bob at Eurotubes and they have consistently good performance. Just like any tube they are not necessarily the best for all applications, but they are for most applications.
As far as shipping across the world, since they are manufactured in the Czech Republic I would imagine just about everybody but Czechs get them after shipping "all over the world" and this can be said for almost any tube.
John, I understand your premise but, for me, I seldom get a chance to mike anything at gigs. So, I like the open back cabs more for my purposes. I used to use a Boogie 1 12 Thiele cab pretty regular and also a 1936 Marshall. While I liked the sound, and I know it projected to the audience well, and was punchy for sure, I couldn't hear them well overall for the bars, small stages, etc that I had/have to deal with. So back to the semi open cabs for me. That's why I'm concerned about a speaker in question having some thump in an open back application.
Ed
Well Ed, it comes down to what works best for your situation. Anybody's advice is going to be biased to their own experiences; and with guitars and amps those experiences vary widely. For most of my playing career, my gear was very much dictated by my financial situation, and then what was practical for my gigging situation. Only over the past few years have I had the opportunity to explore different tonal options on a recreational basis. Good Luck in your quest and let us know how it turns out.
Ok, thanks...........+1 on the floorish position. I always strive to do that whenever possible. Like to have the punchiest sound possible. Unfortunately, as I'm sure you know, sometimes on small stages, you gotta put 'em a chair and angle up, to be able to hear, etc........
A closed back cabinet it a key ingredient to "punchiness". I just put together a 12" Eminence Wizard and an Avatar G112 cube type, closed back, cabinet. It is every bit as loud as my 2 x12 open back cabinet with a G12H20 and Vintage 30. I describe the sound of the bass in the Wizard cabinet as a woody "thunk". To my ear, the Wizard is a very balanced speaker with great bass response and smooth mids/highs. Articulate with out being spiky in higher frequencies. My experience with the G12-65 is that it is a darker, less articulate speaker. A lot people seem to be happy with the G12-65 tone, though.
As far as setting the speaker up off the floor, I have used this method quite often at open jams where your amp is not mic'd and you need to hear your self playing. Even then, it gives you an inaccurate representation of what the audience is hearing. It just isn't the way to do things and should be avoided when possible, IMO. I personally would not waste my time putting together a rig to compensate for that situation and concentrate on getting the best possible tone for the majority of playing situations that you expect to encounter.
I finally had break where I could fiddle around with my gear a little, so I put in some Tung Sol 5881 RI's and a NOS 5751 in my OTS to see what they would do. I was skeptical about both since I have not had good experience with either Sovtek or Tung Sol 5881's in the past. I also was not terribly impressed with the 5751 in V2 of my Super Reverb.
However these tubes in the OTS (5751 in V2) seem to work great. They do take some of the buzziness and highs out, that I usually have to tone down by other means. I think this is a good option for some folks, especially if you have the s&m OTS.
This also gives me hope that the TAD 6L6WGC STR may be a really good fit for the OTS. I had tried them as an upgrade to 5881s in my Bassman, but they did not sound a whole lot different (not too good). They did sound great in my Super Reverb but only lasted about 6 months. They are little more musical than 5881's but are lower powered than 6LGC's.
A good alternative to the 5751 maybe the JJ ECC832. I have one, and may give it try.
I use one Wizard and one Governor in a home made 2x12" portet cab - Sounds GREAT ! :-)
I recently played a 10 song set through this same combination except it was Mojo 2x12 cabinet and the amp was a Marshall JCM2000 DSL 50. While I only used the clean channel and a little tube screamer, I was much impressed.
Max clean headroom is usually achieved with Vol set high, like 2-3 o clock, and master set low, 11 o clock or so.
This'd depend on the guitar/setup used as well.
If it's not loud or sounding weird, a check is needed. A preamp tube might have failed.
A failed preamp tube doesnt mean no sound, the amp'd work still as sometimes, only 1 side of the triode (12AX7 has 2 triodes) has died, or not working correctly.
The best way to verify is by looking at voltages. The plate and cathode voltages will be quite way off than usual.
Sorry to say, but Tungsol reissue 12AX7s had a lot of issue with 1 side failing, for some reason.
We did use some before, so if your amp has Tungsol 12AX7s, and sounding weird, this is to be checked.
I am not sure if the new ones are fine, could have been a bad period / batch from them.
Thanks!
nik
Although they sound pretty good, I have had about 3 newer Tung Sol 12AX7s crap out on me in the past year. Having used JJs for about 4 years now, I am pretty much convinced that they are, on average , the best sounding and most reliable tubes out there, for the price. Both pre-amp and power tubes. There are other good ones , but I am always satisfied with JJs. Bob at Eurotubes sells only JJs and does the best matching I have seen.
As to the low Clean volume phenomena on the OTS... My OTS was shipped late April 2008. I have no idea what version that is, maybe s&m because it can be pretty bright. Now if all the switches are down, the clean volume is anemic (very weak). When in the Bright and Rock positions it is very loud and actually can be louder than the OD mode depending on how the OD and ratio are set. One of the tricks for this amp is figuring out how to manage volume between the clean and OD modes. As the sole guitarist in a band that plays blues & blues rock I have to change tones frequently, and this has been a challenge with the OTS, but I have it fairly well figured out now.
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the amp now sounds way bigger than before, and is more detailed in both bass, middle and treble frequencies. A lot more head room than the tungsols and also more power...