Mesa Nomad 100: pre tube high gain, where?

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Andree88

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Hello!
I've a Mesa Nomad 100 head, I love how it sounds but I just need a little more gain in channel 3..
I have all Mesa 12AX7 from 1 to 4 and a Sovtek 12AX7 LPS on V5.

I actually have a 12AX7B Shuguang (high gain) and a JJ ECC83s (dunno if it's high gain or not).

Should I put it in V1 (parallel input stage) or V3 (3rd and 4th stage channel 2 and 3) or even in V4 (2nd stage channel 2 and 3 + s/r)?
What do You think?
Thanks :)
 
Putting a tube in V1 will affect all three channels equally -- all channels share V1 as their input/1st stage. If you're fine with a little bit more gain on all channels, you can put your high gain tube there.
V3 and V4 are shared by both channels 2 and 3; any tube change there will give both channels 2 and 3 more gain. Finally, the side of V4 that isn't the Channel 2/3 2nd stage is the FX loop recovery stage; any change there has the potential to affect the tone of the whole amp because all three channels pass through the FX loop's recovery stage. That said, I doubt any change would make things worse. The FX recovery stage is supposed to run clean. The FX loop would be kinda useless if effects were being distorted upon recovery back into the amp.

Honestly, I'd try 'em all, and listen carefully, make notes, and decide which one you like best. Start with V1. Any effect there will be the most obvious because it will get amplified by the following stages in each channel. After V1, try V4, then V3.

Let us know how it goes.
 

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