ok, time for some tube advice

[Fragle]

hi guys

as you might now, i love my framus cobra to death. however, it sounds best with a tubescreamer in front, mainly due to the increased high midrange. by itself, it seems to be rather dark sounding...this is with stock tubes and stock (=low) bias, though.
maybe anyone can recommend me some tubes that would make it sound brighter and more in your face, even without the tubescreamer?
the reason why i want to ditch the TS is that i'm now playing in a band that does a lot of dirty->clean changes, and i HATE tapdances with a passion in fact, i'm even too lazy to switch over to the middle or neck positions when playing clean, so go figure

btw, i think the stock tubes are EH in the preamp, and some brand of EL34 (prolly also electro harmonix) in the power section.

thanks

[Cleveland Metal]

Maybe look these over... I prefer the Svetlana Wing C stuff...

http://tubestore.com/el341.html

I'm about ready to order some Tung Sol 12ax7s I think for my CAE3+se actually, so I'd contemplate them.

http://tubestore.com/tungsol12ax7.html

[jackson1]

I noticed my Peavey Classic 50/50 power amp become more middly sounding especially under high volumes, when I fitted JJ Tubes. Those are EL84 mind you, but maybe JJ EL34's have the same characteristics, I dunno. Just for your info.

[Fragle]

back when i still had my laney gh50L i changed the stock tubes to a full set of JJ tubes (EL34s, the laney can also take 6l6), and i found that my sound got considerably darker, so, JJ is kinda out of the question.
the cobra is voiced with a lot of low mids, around 650hz i'd say...which is freaking damn low imho. i guess what i need is more of a 2khz spike to add some cut and bite to the sound...it's very polished right now.
btw, aren't EH preamp tubes considered to be rather bright? because those already are the stock tubes.....maybe i'm wrong, though

[hippietim]

Maybe look these over... I prefer the Svetlana Wing C stuff...

http://tubestore.com/el341.html

I'm about ready to order some Tung Sol 12ax7s I think for my CAE3+se actually, so I'd contemplate them.

http://tubestore.com/tungsol12ax7.html

I just ordered some Tung Sol 12ax7s for my 3+SE. I also ordered some of the Mullard reissues for my 2502 (my Boogie 2:100 has the General Electric reissue 6L6s).

[Fragle]

ok, stupid question.
as far as i know, the framus dragon is supposed to be the more "vintage" sounding version of the cobra, or in other words the cobra is a more modern hotrodded dragon.
now, apparently the dragon has a higher mid voicing than the cobra, which is right up my alley, and my only complaint with the cobra - the mids are centered somewhat TOO low at times, i'd like to have a little more bite without the fizz that comes with raising the treble/presence (hence this thread about brighter tubes)
feature wise, the dragon has everything i need, read: all the bonus features that the cobra has more than the dragon i don't use anyways....
having that said, i'm only worried if the crunch channel rivals the cobra crunch channel in terms of gain and heaviness...kinda like the cobra crunch but higher mids is what i'm looking for.

if so, maybe i should sell the cobra for the dragon....lol, i'm insane
anyway, maybe anybody has played both and can tell be about the differences and similarities.

[Cleveland Metal]

I think that I'd start a seperate thread maybe so people with that experience will look at it. They may not come back here to see this if they already saw this thread was about tubes etc...

[markD]

if you like your amp, try out tubes. the winged C EL34s are sweet!!! i use a variety of preamp tubes in my riveras to get the tone i like. they are mix and match, not all one brand. i spent HOURS swapping out preamp tubes to get the right tone.

maybe just throw an EQ on the floor or in the loop?

[eaeolian]

I'm about ready to order some Tung Sol 12ax7s I think for my CAE3+se actually, so I'd contemplate them.

http://tubestore.com/tungsol12ax7.html

They do kick ass.

However, they won't get you to the "TS in front" sound. No set of tubes will (believe me, I tried). If you just want brighter, try the Tung-Sols or the GT12AX7-Ms.

I still ended up with a TS in my rack, switched in and out via MIDI.

[Fragle]

yeah, as i said, i'm not going for that exact TS in front sound. i just want a lil more bite and brightness, that's all.

i swapped out the old tubes in my 5150 for some winged C 6l6GC...they sound amazing in that amp; i wonder if their el34s would give me the added bite i'm looking for.

[horns666]

Fragle bro..you certainly remember that thread about me installing a matched set of 6 Tung Sols in my Uberschall..I played that amp for years with the stock JJ's which some "Marshall" guys like..but I'll NEVER go back to JJ's ...no way!!

Read on bro,..here's all the advice/opinion I could possibly give.. http://www.jcfonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59152

Some may argue that 6 matching Tung Sols wasn't neccessary..but maybe my Uber wouldn't sound the way it does without them..I'm not willing nor care to take that chance nor experiment..it never sounded better, and I couldn't be happier.!!

I remedied the ONLY complaint I had with the Uber..the "honking" midrange when at high volume levels..that's completely GONE!

The amp has much more lows, gain, output and just tighter all together.

Good luck man,

Bill

[Fragle]

yeah, but i thought you said that your uber got darker and more bassy sounding....the cobra has more than enough low end, trust me, and while the mids can get somewhat honky if you don't tweak it carefully i kinda like how that classic EL34 high midrange blends with the overall low mid centered voicing of the amp, so i guess what i'm looking for is even MORE el34 honk
thanks for the input though, much appreciated

[horns666]

Dude your Cobra ..like my Uberschall can get all the sizzle and mids it wants to, that's where all guitar freqs are voiced at, especially when loud..the Tung Sols made my shit much more "full bodied"..and for the first time I back off my bass knob big time..I think that is a nice luxury!!

You said you like to use a stomp for sharper leads, cut and boost, ..I'm think of trying that for myself...for shit and giggles..to make harmonics , squeals and divebombs jump out more because that is a bif part of my playing style.

Yes, it made the Uber "darker..meaning much warmer and definitely tighter with NO 'Honk" whatsoever..but I still have my mids 10 O clock..I can get plenty more mids if I wanted to..before that's all I had with the JJs..nothing but mids..and a very good low mid crunch..Now I have tighter more lows I can feel allowing me to dial in excatly how low end thump I want ..intead of maxing the lows like I used to.

The EL34s don't "honk" like they used to with the Tung Sols..they certainly did with the JJ's..maybe it was just dumb luck and I stumbles on a good combination that works well..all I know, I GLAD I blew a preamp tube and called the tube store and talked to a cool guy named Dan..I advise you to call and talk to him..he was very helpful and hears these requests and complaints all the time, and knows his stuff...he certainly steered me in the right direction, he may be able to do the same for you..

I called the dude back and thanked him like a Mo Fo!!

If you like that Marshall honk..maybe the JJs are your ticket..they're cool in a Marshall..but I don't like them in the Uberschall..especially after dilaing the amp in to these.

Billl Z

[Eric_kv2]

I tryed 5 tung sol gold pin 12ax7s in my cobra and it was too much. It took away from the chord definition and lost its clarity. It basically sounded like an Engl with the gain maxed out. 1 tung sol might do the trick. I've heard from other cobra users is to use electro harmonics in v1 and v4 and in the rest use shuguang 9th generation chinese tubes. As far as power tubes, ruby el34bstr seem to be the flavor of choice. I have Kt-77s in mine and the preamp tubes are all stock Svetlanas. This was odd. I recieved a cobra with svetlanas. Anyways, I can't complain since I think the Svetlanas are fucking awesome in that amp. They sound huge and fuller than the electro harmonics. They are also sturdier and more rugged.

[eaeolian]

the 9thGens have a good rep - I believe that's what Mesa's going to be using from now on. I liked the ones I heard, but not as much as the TungSol.