Erotomaniac1928
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I just ordered one, but I'm curious as to what others think. How noticeable is the difference from Mesa tubes?
Eurotubes "high gain" retube kit for a DC5
- Thread starter Erotomaniac1928
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I have this set in my DC-10 and it is an animal. Gobs of sustain, and very aggressive!
Now I just need to find the time to put that quad of KT-66's in there that I bought at the same time!
Now I just need to find the time to put that quad of KT-66's in there that I bought at the same time!
MusicManJP6
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I need to order a few high gain JJs to play with - been curious for too long...
eschoendorff
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Are they really taht much better than the MESA tubes? How do you put KT66s in an amp that has a fixed bias?
Here's another scenario... what if I used a sextet of JJs in the preamp and kept the MESA power tubes in place? Would that have a significant impact on the sound?
Here's another scenario... what if I used a sextet of JJs in the preamp and kept the MESA power tubes in place? Would that have a significant impact on the sound?
ryjan
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I put a set of jj high gain tube in a triaxis. The best thing about these tubes is that you can turn the gain down a bit to increase articulation but you still get great saturation. Their 6L6 tubes are my favorites.
madryan
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I've used JJ's (I've got a bunch of them laying around and they're taking up various slots in my amps) but I refuse to deal with Eurotubes. Every time I've called or dealt with those guys it's been a negative so I just don't anymore. I call up Dougs tubes and he takes care of me. Other than that JJ's are just another tube. They fit in a position based on what you're looking for.
Personally my favorite tube for pretty much any mesa is a 5751 in V1. These amps don't need more gain, they need less if anything. The 5751 is a really full nice sounding tube with great articulation that gets rid of any hint of fizzy or buzzy tone.
Personally my favorite tube for pretty much any mesa is a 5751 in V1. These amps don't need more gain, they need less if anything. The 5751 is a really full nice sounding tube with great articulation that gets rid of any hint of fizzy or buzzy tone.
silentrage
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I'd like to get rid of a bit of fizz in my blue stripe, will a 5751 work for me? Any particular brand I should try?
I play mostly prog and melodic death.
I play mostly prog and melodic death.
madryan
Well-known member
silentrage said:
The NOS 5751 that Dougs tubes sells are a stellar tube. I'd look no further.
madryan said:
That's funny! I have had the exact opposite experience with these guys. Doug was too busy talking **** about Bob to listen to what I wanted out of my amp. When I got the set, I must admit that it really improved the lead channel, but made the clean channel suck ***.
As for any tube being better than Mesa tubes.... I don't think that they choose their tubes based upon tone. I really believe that they look at longevity vs. warranty issues. The Sovteks/EH tubes that they use just don't sound that good to my ears. I did really like the Chinese 12AX7's that came in both of the Lonestars that I used to have though.
MusicManJP6
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JJs sound best in DCs, Fs, and Stilettos IMO. Tried them in my other RoV I used to have and they were harsh! Stock Mesas in the RoV sound best for some reason. I went round and round with a good handful of NOS tubes and ended up preferring the stock Mesas...
The JJ's are a little mushier in the gain department. They really help soften up harsh or piercing sounding amps. I think the Mesa/Sovtek/Electro Harmonix really help focus an amp that has a tendancy to become mushy on it's own.
MusicManJP6
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Monsta-Tone said:
That being said... what are your tube preferences for the DC series?
I have the JJ high gain set from Eurotubes in my DC-10 with an old Fender US made 7025 in V4 for the clean channel.
I had the Doug's set in my old DC-5, but V4 made the clean channel sound like ***. I don't think the Penta's are good in that position. The rest of the amp sounded great though.
I had the Doug's set in my old DC-5, but V4 made the clean channel sound like ***. I don't think the Penta's are good in that position. The rest of the amp sounded great though.
madryan
Well-known member
My issues with any of the pre-packaged tube kits is that none of these guys have owned a DC-5.
I just buy a variety of tubes and have them laying around because I'm a tube geek. I like the Shuguangs because they seem to hold up the best and sound the best overall in most amp positions. I keep a variety of everything else and when I want to swap tubes in something, say my DC-5 I do it like this...
Pull Chassis
Set chassis upside down on bench with towel or rubber mat underneath and remove tube keeper thingie
Plug everything in normally and power up amp, let warm up normally.
Put in ear plugs (keeps ears fresh)
Start jamming with base tubeset.
Pull ear plugs for just a few seconds and play some pre-set riffs
Flip amp on standby and hot swap V1 let tube warm up for a few seconds
Flip amp off standby and play same pre-set riffs and listen for difference in tone make notes on paper and go back to baseline tube.
Keep doing this with your tubes till you've got an idea of what you like the best then take your best 2 or 3 tubes and run them against each other till you have your favorite V1. Repeat for V2. I generally don't worry about tone with the rest, just longevity.
Once you figure you what you like hopefully you have spares so you can see if the spares sound the same. If they do then they go in your spares carrier and you're set.
I know it sounds anal but I've never had a set of recommended tubes pan out. I always end up with something like what I have in my DC which is a 5751 in V1, a regular JJ in V2, and Shuguangs in V3-5 with a NOS 12AT7 JAN GE in the PI. It's what works killer in that amp.
My Orange runs something completely different and sounded like total *** with JJ's.
I just buy a variety of tubes and have them laying around because I'm a tube geek. I like the Shuguangs because they seem to hold up the best and sound the best overall in most amp positions. I keep a variety of everything else and when I want to swap tubes in something, say my DC-5 I do it like this...
Pull Chassis
Set chassis upside down on bench with towel or rubber mat underneath and remove tube keeper thingie
Plug everything in normally and power up amp, let warm up normally.
Put in ear plugs (keeps ears fresh)
Start jamming with base tubeset.
Pull ear plugs for just a few seconds and play some pre-set riffs
Flip amp on standby and hot swap V1 let tube warm up for a few seconds
Flip amp off standby and play same pre-set riffs and listen for difference in tone make notes on paper and go back to baseline tube.
Keep doing this with your tubes till you've got an idea of what you like the best then take your best 2 or 3 tubes and run them against each other till you have your favorite V1. Repeat for V2. I generally don't worry about tone with the rest, just longevity.
Once you figure you what you like hopefully you have spares so you can see if the spares sound the same. If they do then they go in your spares carrier and you're set.
I know it sounds anal but I've never had a set of recommended tubes pan out. I always end up with something like what I have in my DC which is a 5751 in V1, a regular JJ in V2, and Shuguangs in V3-5 with a NOS 12AT7 JAN GE in the PI. It's what works killer in that amp.
My Orange runs something completely different and sounded like total *** with JJ's.
How do you like the AT7 for a PI? What tonal differences did you notice?
lockbody
Well-known member
Monsta-Tone said:
http://www.forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=33995&p=247536&hilit=phase+inverter#p247536
madryan
Well-known member
Monsta-Tone said:
Simply put the amp is much more touch sensitive. A lower gain tube in V1 coupled with a nice NOS 12AT7 in the PI will yield an amp that responds much more like a nice single channel cranked up than a typical boogie. Or, another analogy would be if you have a nice compressor pedal it's like the difference between playing your amp dirty with the comp pedal turned on vs. turned off.
Mesa stuff isn't super touch sensitive anyway, not compared to something like my VHT or my Orange but it helps alot.
lockbody
Well-known member
madryan said:
What are you refering to when you say "touch sensitive"?
Dynamics, or the difference in volume when picking softly vs. hard, or something else?
I've been thinking of trying this in my Heartbreaker!madryan
Well-known member
lockbody said:
I'm talking about the way my Orange can be dialed in to give a nice heavy crunch sound if I dig in but yield a fairly nice clean sound if I pick lightly. Plus, there's quite a bit of difference in feel between amps like my Orange or my (now sold) VHT or my Boogie stuff. My DC wouldn't come close until I started fiddling with the tubes but now it'll clean up fairly nice with just changes in picking and it'll clean up really nice with just a little tweaking of the volume knob.
Perceived volume isn't much different but it's enough to drop me back in the mix a bit.
