Groove tubes sound

[tomanyjacksons]

Anyone here ever have an luck/issues with Groove tube tubes? I have a Valveking 212 that has Ruby tubes for power and JJ for the preamp side I got a new distortion pedal for the mid scooped numetal sound and my amp is showing it's muddy head. I'm only looking to change my pre tubes. I can get Groove tubes locally. I hate to deal with online stores! I'm going to be changing out the speakers as everywhere I've read they are part of this problem but I want to put good tubes in aswell. Any horror stories well wishes or what have yous would be appriciated. Thanks to all.

[jsuttjackson]

I had some in a Mesa MarkIII combo amp I used to have.Never had any problems with them,and they sounded pretty good.I owned it for 3 years,but unfortunately had to sell it about 2 years ago.So longevity of those tubes I couldn't tell you.

[DonP]

Tubes is tubes dude.

It doesn't matter what name is on the label, they are all made in Russia or China.

What matters is these companies supposed to sort through the tubes and pick out the good ones and pass on the duds. So you are paying for hopefully good tubes.

I will say I bought a set of GT 6550's made by GE and one of them died early.

But then again one of my winged C EL34's gave out early too.

[Spivonious]

For the most part tubes are tubes. You will get slightly different characteristics (some are a bit darker, some have a bit more gain), but nothing that will change the sound of your amp.

If you think your combo is muddy sounding, try different speakers. It is amazing how much difference speakers make.

[vondran]

I've retubed by Boogie Mk IIB with Groove Tubes, both preamp and power stages. No problems with any and they've lasted just fine. Didn't notice any difference in sound over the Mesa/Boogie Tubes.

Observation - I wouldn't change tubes & speaker just because you got a new pedal. If it's sounding muddy try either a different pedal or put an EQ in the amp loop or up front. Also, if your current power tubes are old, they can make your sound dull. But preamps should last the lifetime of the amp - or so I'm told by Mesa/Boogie.

[Endrik]

Tubes is tubes dude.

It doesn't matter what name is on the label, they are all made in Russia or China.

JJ's aren't

[Dreamland_Rebel]

JJ's have a certain sound to them that isn't for everybody. try changing the preamp tubes to something like Electro Harmonics. or ruby. or some other russian or chinease tube.

i run tungsol's in my marshall preamp section and like them alot.

[mr426]

I have had GT's in my Mesa mark III a few times.They do last, but I think they are over priced.I got some from Tubestore.com and dig them...They were about half the price of GT's too...

[Cygnus X1]

It depends on how sensitive the amp is.
More dynamic amps will exhibit the differences.

GT does sort theirs, the original manufacturer may not always be known when you buy a GT. Ruby's have a bad reputation for tone.
JJ's are reputed to make better 6V6's than most others.
Winged C for 6L6. Sovtek for really uber-gain preamps.
There are a lot of differences, but some amps (especially high gain)
won't give up those differences so easily.

[khabibissell]

In my experience, JJ pre's tend to darken the tone. Take the advice given above and try some Tung-Sol's, EH's, or even the Sovtek LPS, which is another favorite of mine.

As far as GT's are concerned, they are good tubes. They only negative about them is price really. Basically, they relabel another brand of tube as their own. I bought some GTEL34's for my Stiletto and they turned out to be EH's. The amp sounds pretty righteous, so I'm not complaining...

[tomanyjacksons]

The local shop I'm talking to was very up front about Groove Tubes being relabelled tubes. He has been honest about that and the fact they are a little expensive but we are talking about 3 tubes at around $20 or less each, a few bucks here won't kill me. When I go to change out the speakers I plan on going with Eminence speakers to really save some dough, instead of going with Celestions, which don't get me wrong Cele's sound alright but the price difference is astounding for a poor guy. It never ends. Thanks for all the insight so far, I appreciate it a bunch.

[Spivonious]

Just remember that Celestions and Eminence have very different sounds. If you're looking for cheap Celestion replacements, there are tons of Chinese Celestion clones.

To show how much of a difference speakers make, check out this page: http://www.eminence.com/soundclips.asp

Same guitar, same amp, same player, only the speaker changes.

[Trem]

JJ's have a certain sound to them that isn't for everybody. try changing the preamp tubes to something like Electro Harmonics. or ruby. or some other russian or chinease tube.

i run tungsol's in my marshall preamp section and like them alot.

+1 the new tung sol 12ax7 rule

[tomanyjacksons]

Put 1 Groove tube in a 12ax7r in the gain channel (have to do it one tube at a time money's a bit tight) so far I am more than happy with the change it has made. The distortion has alot smoother feel, less honking sound and a clearer sound. Definitly replacing the rest of them. Not sure what's going into the rest of them, clean channel and the PI, but I'm sure they'll make a better sounding amp out of it in the end. Thanks for the Eminence link I went there before and that's what turned me onto them to begin with. It's been a challenge trying to get so many sounds out of one amp, but around home if you don't play some covers noone wants to book you. The joys of being a musician. Thanks for all the opinions guys it's greatly appreciated.

[toxikdeth]

I have some in my nitro right now and they sound good.