Tube amps, distortion: coarse/tight... recommendations, thoughts?

[MSGfan]

A VHT is much tighter... by far. Soldanos are great amps - I've owned a HR50XL+ that I modded, currently own a really nice SLO clone, and have played two 'real' SLOs. The VHTs are tighter. Really, in my playing experience - the VHT is tighter than *any* other tube amp. I've played buddas, bogners, owned many of the mesas, tons of Marshalls, modded marshalls (voodoo hex), badcats, Vettas, HD147s, etc...

VHT is tighter. No offense John, but the VHT 50/CL I owned made every Mesa rectifier I have ever owned (2 dual rectifier rackmounts, an early (first 250) Dual recto reverse chassis head, Single rectifier head) sound like it was a floptacular mess.

Pete

I've always wanted to try the VHTs, but don't know of any dealers close. Belive me, if I didn't use the overdrive pedal with the Dual Recto's to tighten up the sound it would be way too loose. I actually set up the amp to sound loose to begain with, Tube rectifier "ON", Spongy mode "ON" (if I'm useing it w/ EL34's, off if w/ 6L6's) The overdrive as a slight clean boost (gain "off", output about 12 o'clock, tone dimed or at 3 o'clock) tightens it up just enough to make it sound killer tight.
The early Dual Recto's (under serial# 500) ran on the orange channel and set on the channel cloneing mode are the only ones I'll own!
Pete, you wouldn't happen to still own that# 250 Dual Recto would you?...and have it for sale? LOL!!

[horns666]

It may just been that suspect tube goin' bad that's been making it really dead for that stuff..

I'm not changin' my pups..

My Charvel SDIII / USA floyd rose classic Strat/ RR1 and Wolfgang are dead mint in their cases like they day I bought them new..that shall not happen.

My main Charvel SD 1 Koa..that is a pretty lively guitar for me and my right arm since '95, I could nail every harmonic on every note with it..with my Marshall and any other amp I played with it. My Strat is really brite with a PAF Pro in the bridge, and that doesn't help.

Maybe life will come back into the Uber once it's resolved..I still think a pedal may work, if it don't I'll just take it back..

All my geetars have their own voice and I like them all as is..they all have their place.

[Endrik]

go and buy a guitar with brighter pickups then

[Inearthed]

From what I read online yesterday, the VHT G-100-UL Pittbull sounds like it would do the trick, but at just over THREE GRAND I don't think I'll be able to afford that until after I win the lottery. The SLO100 sounds like it would fit the bill well, too, but at $3400... uh... well... it'll be a while goddammit! Unless I could get one used, but still, that's gonna cost an arm, a leg, and probably some other body part.

VHT also makes some slightly lower models that are good as well. The 100CL / 50CL are pretty inexpensive used. ($1100-1300)

I was meaning to ask, do you need cleans as well or just high gain sounds?

[horns666]

go and buy a guitar with brighter pickups then

My USA Floyd Rose classic w/PAF pro has a treble boost in the tone pot..it's brite as shit..still no harmonics, not like it's supposed to be..

My kids cheap Reverse import Jackson is very brite..played that last night..plays pretty good..

Prolly just that bummer tube

[charvelguy]

VHT and SLO 100's are roughly half those amounts you listed.. used.

The mA and mV thing is a bit confusing. I'm not much of a math wiz
but obviously both are 1/1000 of their respective term.

From what I gather.. and I'm again no electrical or math wiz so feel free to correct me.. both are a measure of flow rate. one is a measure of flow that is time based and the other is a measure of potential flow through one ohm of resistance.

Typically mV is used in measuring from output transducers..

If the Marshall manual calls for 90mV..as long as you are gradual in your increases.. I would not have any issue with raising it up to even a 100mV.

You only have to be wary about it when levels get to a point to where a tube fries out or the board starts heating up causing things to melt and/or arcing occurs.
Someone did that to an amp of mine once where the bias controls were located on the back of the chassis covered by plugs. It caused some arcing issues when the tubes went bad.

Where is the threshold of how much is too much? That would be something I cannot adequately answer.

[Soloist1]

This may help with the bias confusion. Check out this site.

https://weberspeakerscom.secure.powweb.com/biasrite/br_page.htm

Basically the Marshall bias points are a circuit that they put there to help do a quick bias adjustment. The 90mV is actually 90mA. It's the combined cathode current of the two tubes for that power section. Basically they want you to set the bias of each tube at 45mA. The only problem with that method is that it is an assumption. It's assuming that both tubes were actually matched correctly and that the plate voltage for each is somewhere between 325-350 volts DC.

Check out the link on that page labelled bias calculator. It helps you understand what all this volts and milliamps crap means for each tube type. It's a great tool. Especially for someone that gigs. Honestly if you play as much as you do you should check your bias often. As the tubes get older the values will change and your tubes will fall out of the correct bias range. You can tell if a tube is going bad with it also as the reading will be way out of range from what they should be.

[charvelguy]

There is a internal circuit that combines two tubes of the output section? inside and outside pairs?
So there's two bias pots on the chassis of a TSL?
Thanks for that link btw.

[MBreinin]

The king of all amps!!!!!

[horns666]

Mike, I had a bud that cherished his Fender blackface with a kick stand to prop it at a angle..I forgot what kind of amp..twin reverb I think..

He sounded great with it..wasn't my thing ..he was just into blues.

[yabba]

fender champs rule!

try that thing through a 4x12!

[MBreinin]

Mike, I had a bud that cherished his Fender blackface with a kick stand to prop it at a angle..I forgot what kind of amp..twin reverb I think..

He sounded great with it..wasn't my thing ..he was just into blues.

This one would be more of your thing, Bill...trust me. Its a mini-Recto meets hot-rodded Marshall kind of thing. If you want it "clean", you have to turn the gain down to 2, max. 7 watts and 3 12ax7s!!

[MBreinin]

fender champs rule!

try that thing through a 4x12!

I run it through a 2x12 and a dead Peavey Studio Pro 112 that is acting as a 1x12 cab..so I have it in a 3x12!!

Mike

[horns666]

Mike, No shit, you know what I like so I must take your word...Looks pretty cool!!

I think John had an old Fender LONG ago..I forgot about that.

[Firebird V]

Well.... how about a used SLO then? 2 grand and under.... Errrr... still expensive right??? Fuck yeah. Anyway, THe VHT is the tightest I have ever heard. Even tighter than the Deizel to my ears anyway... I a/b ed a Bogner Uber and a VHT Pitbull a at store a few months ago and I would have bought them both because they were awesome but for tight metal I would own the VHT. How about a 5150? They are tight... The 2 I have owned sounded great. Not an SLO but they can be dialed in to be chest crushing tight. Especially with a parametric eq and a noise gate. I bet you could get all of that used for under or around a grand.