Tube help??

[Lauri]

Its time to change power tubes to my VHT One Hundred( 92' model ), it has the orginal power tubes left.. its hast been played before me much, so do dont make jokes [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

It has 2 x KT 88, so i need suggestions for replacements. Pre-amp tubes are JJ ecc83s, but i need maybe litle bit more defination to my sound. I play with my DK-1 ( EMG 81 & 85 ) in D tuning. And i dont hear the all notes that i play in D -> F strings ( E -> A, in normal tuning..). Or that is only because of the power tubes atm..? [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

But give your oppinions, please [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Dreamland_Rebel]

Re: Tube help??

if it hasn't been played much, i would leave the tubes and try changing your strings and battery first!

[khabibissell]

Re: Tube help??

I like the JJ ECC83's, but recently I tried out some Electro Harmonix 12AX7's and was impressed. They are a little brighter and consequently seem to have more definition than the dark sounding JJ's. You don't have to got nuts and retube the entire thing, just try one in V1 and see if that helps. Another thing you can try is using a 12AT7 in V1. I did that in my Single Rec and it added some clarity and calmed down the gain a bit.

[toejam]

Re: Tube help??

I also like the EH 12AX7s in my Mesa, and my power tubes are JJ EL84. They seem to work very well together, but I didn't really notice much difference in sound when I changed them from the old Mesa tubes.

[Tooling]

Re: Tube help??

Sovtek or SED Svetlana Power Tubes

9th. Gen Chinese preamp tubes

I like the above tubes.

[khabibissell]

Re: Tube help??

For you guys with 6l6's, try the new EH6L6GC's. They sound nice in my F50.

[Cleveland Metal]

Re: Tube help??

My long time preference is SED Svetlana KT88s for the power tubes. My VHT loves them.

I recommend JJ/Tesla preamps and maybe the EH 12ax7 just in the distortion channel, they are a bit hairy for the rest and you'll lose definition. I used to love the chinese cheese grater getter tubes, but they are getting harder to find and many are bad it seems.

[Lauri]

Re: Tube help??

Ok, thanks guys!

It has Ryby tubes atm as power tubes, are those SED Svetlana KT88 how diferent from rybys?

[Cleveland Metal]

Re: Tube help??

Both are very good tubes. The SED Svetlanas in my opinion are better to my ears. G.E.C.'s would be even better, but impossible to find reliably and are big bucks.

I think the Svets are punchier, have a sweeter lead sound and bit better bass response. You may or may not notice the diff. I do.

[parntz145]

Re: Tube help??

I think the best kt88 are the JJ. I use JJ kt88 and the jj 12ax7 in one of my modded Marshalls and Svetlana (sed) EL34 and the 9th generation Chinese 12ax7 in my other head. Both brand are great. I would stay away from the Electro harmonics very good for Mesa gear because they brighten it up. For other brands of amps they are just to bright and harsh.

[Cleveland Metal]

Re: Tube help??

I've always basically disliked the EH stuff as well, but I have a few 12ax7EH tubes and I found that I love having one in the distortion channel socket of my CAE. It is quite heavy and crunchy sounding. Hadn't noticed those particular one to be harsh, although the rest of their 12ax7s have been.
I have JJs in the rest of the sockets of the CAE now as the Chinese cheese graters I had (and loved) where getting weird and a bit crappy on the highs again. But, the Eh really gives chug and crunch to the preamp in that particular socket. I put another JJ in that socket and the amp will sound very anemic in comparision. However, I put a couple more EH's in various places and it just messed with definition. So, I believe they have their place where they can shine.

One thing I found is that when first installed, the Cheese grater chinese sounded better to me that the JJs ever did. BUT, the chinese go downhill after a bit and start sounding sorta sizzley and less musical I think after a while, and the JJ's seem to stay about the same much longer. The JJ's are more reliable and consistant sounding in the long run I believe.

What did you like better about the JJ KT88s than the Svets?