DC2 Lead Compression

Good morning all.

I've struggled a bit with too much compression on my lead channel. My Express 5:25, and our other guitarist's MKIIC+ pretty much has no compression on the lead channels. (we spent 4 hrs yesterday with all three amps comparing and swapping drivers) So I put an NOS RCA 12AY7 in V2 (2nd and 3rd gain stage for the lead) and an NOS RCA 5751 in V3 (the last gain stage for the lead) and it's helped some, but I'd still like to open it up a bit more. Any suggestions?

Al

amrose57 said:

Good morning all.

I've struggled a bit with too much compression on my lead channel. My Express 5:25, and our other guitarist's MKIIC+ pretty much has no compression on the lead channels. (we spent 4 hrs yesterday with all three amps comparing and swapping drivers) So I put an NOS RCA 12AY7 in V2 (2nd and 3rd gain stage for the lead) and an NOS RCA 5751 in V3 (the last gain stage for the lead) and it's helped some, but I'd still like to open it up a bit more. Any suggestions?

Al

Click to expand...

An update - I put a 5751 in V1 position as well today (first gain stage of both amps) and it got rid of quite a bit of the compression. It's a current production JJ, as I'm out of NOS 5751s (oh horrors....), but it seems to work much mo-betta. So now I guess I'll buy a couple of additional NOS 5751 tubes, and another NOS 12AY7 and see if there is a combination that will work the best. I've got the gains for both channels on about 3.5, but because of the lower preamp gain I've got the masters on 5 to 6, and the overall volume on about 4.5. In fairness, that's as loud as we'll EVER play here in Western NC, so it's all good. I'll report back after I've gotten the tubes and spent time rolling them.

If anyone else has any other thoughts or ideas I'm all ears.

Al

That's because the DC-2 sucks. I owned one for over a decade. Trying to compare it to a Mark or Express is going to leave you chasing your tail.

Just today I purchased an ECC823 to tame my Lead gain (12au7 for V1B triode) while leaving the Rhythm gain structure intact (12ax7 for V1A): https://www.eurotubes.com/cart/index.php?page=view_products&category_id=2&sub_category_id=254

You could also get the ECC832 for V3, which would put the 12au7 in the 4th lead stage while keeping the 12ax7 for the FX return (V3B)

Eurotubes specifies this application for the DC series in the tube's description. I'm pretty excited about this and will post my results. Totally digging my DC-3 (got it Saturday), and though the lead channel could use some "refining" for my needs, it's by no means a deal breaker. I can use the Lead channel at lower gain (2 - 3) and can put some boost or overdrive in front of the Rhythm channel to get what I want. I can always get more Lead saturation with a pedal. :twisted:

amrose57 said:

amrose57 said:

Good morning all.

I've struggled a bit with too much compression on my lead channel. My Express 5:25, and our other guitarist's MKIIC+ pretty much has no compression on the lead channels. (we spent 4 hrs yesterday with all three amps comparing and swapping drivers) So I put an NOS RCA 12AY7 in V2 (2nd and 3rd gain stage for the lead) and an NOS RCA 5751 in V3 (the last gain stage for the lead) and it's helped some, but I'd still like to open it up a bit more. Any suggestions?

Al

Click to expand...

An update - I put a 5751 in V1 position as well today (first gain stage of both amps) and it got rid of quite a bit of the compression. It's a current production JJ, as I'm out of NOS 5751s (oh horrors....), but it seems to work much mo-betta. So now I guess I'll buy a couple of additional NOS 5751 tubes, and another NOS 12AY7 and see if there is a combination that will work the best. I've got the gains for both channels on about 3.5, but because of the lower preamp gain I've got the masters on 5 to 6, and the overall volume on about 4.5. In fairness, that's as loud as we'll EVER play here in Western NC, so it's all good. I'll report back after I've gotten the tubes and spent time rolling them.

If anyone else has any other thoughts or ideas I'm all ears.

Al

Click to expand...