Ill tell you what Im looking for....you name the tube....VH4

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eonblue
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Well after quite some time i just blew my first power tube. Bound to happen:)


Emphasis on CH3 here

So, what I am looking for is DEFINITION. I like an extremely tight mid-range crunch with a very clear distinction between strings. Crunchety crunch crunch. Now, I tune to drop C but find myself turning the Bass and Deep controls way down. Probably never over 33% for either. We arent talking nu-metal here so im not interested in a thundering bottom end or insance gain(usually keep it just over noon) Needs to be tight, but the emphasis is on mid-range with a nice sizzle.

Suggestions friends? :D
 
It seems you're describing the kind of sound I try to go after. If you're running 6L6s and you find yourself turning the bass down, you might try EL34s. I tried a few brands and liked Ruby's best, but in comparing EL34s to 6L6s, I felt like the VH4 lost some of its mojo with EL34s. If you use channel 1 at all, you'll miss what it sounded like with 6L6s. That may just be my opinion though.

In the world of 6L6s I am currently running TAD 6L6GC-STR tubes. They bring out a different character in the VH4 that I haven't heard in other tubes. There is definitely more "sizzle" than I've heard in any other tube but you may have to turn the gain down slightly to retain definition. Dialed in right though (especially if you crank the upper mids slightly with an EQ) they can have a very defined attack. And like I said, the sizzle is there, which was hard for me to find with other tubes. If you try TADs stay away from the WGC-STRs, as they are supposed to be smoother sounding.

Other than that I like the Ruby 6L6MSTRs. I may give those another try next time. I had good luck with them in the past, and they were also close to what I was looking for, with a different character from the TADs.

Stay away from the EH and SED Winged C 6L6s. The SEDs in particular are great if you want a smooth sound, but they are very bassy and get muddy in the VH4 for channel 3 if you're looking for definition.

No matter what tube you try pay attention to your bias setting. From what I've found a lower setting will sound colder, less bassy, and more defined. A higher setting will sound warmer, more bassy, and less defined. So try setting the bias a little bit on the lower side.

I'm interested to hear what others have to say as well!
 
Yeah, hey thanks man. If we could get a good opinion from everyone it would be a pretty useful sticky. I couldnt really find much using the search.

As to your thoughts. Im(was) running Ruby EL34's. They were the stock tubes. Got me really close to what I was going for but never felt like I QUITE got that super hard attack, without getting icey along with a nice round fat bottom that didnt outweigh the mids. I dunno sound is really hard to describe huh? Heheheh. It also sort of seemed like I could never quite find that spot around noon on CH3 gain where it was still nice and crunchy but not losing definition.

Hell, Im probably getting prety nitpicky here.

As to the 6L6's, I guess my only concern is that it seems the general description of them vs. EL34's is that they are a bit smoother with better cleans(which I would love but have heavy CH3 priority). Are these TAD's different in that aspect?

And you know what, now that I think of it.....I never get to really crank the hell out of the amp(maybe 10 oclock max on occasion) and that might have a good bit to do with it. Perhaps at the levels I have to play at Im forced to rely a bit more on the preamp distortion than I would like. Any thoughts on how opening the amp up a bit does to the tone?

Ill stop rambling now....
 
I think the Poweramp has the most to do with it. The VH4 sounds alot more defined and tends to cut really well when the master is up higher..10:00 should be plenty high enough though..
Mess with the Channel Volume to find the sweet spot.

I boost the input with a Maxon OD808 for Ch 3 and it does the trick quite nicely..Pretty much just the sound you're looking for! :rock:
 
guitarman967":2uew2w1v said:
I think the Poweramp has the most to do with it. The VH4 sounds alot more defined and tends to cut really well when the master is up higher..10:00 should be plenty high enough though..
Mess with the Channel Volume to find the sweet spot.

I boost the input with a Maxon OD808 for Ch 3 and it does the trick quite nicely..Pretty much just the sound you're looking for! :rock:
Click to expand...

Good call I also like boosting channel 3 with a tubescreamer type pedal set low, gives it a really aggressive edge.
 
ENDITOL":1aiqjioy said:
guitarman967":1aiqjioy said:
I think the Poweramp has the most to do with it. The VH4 sounds alot more defined and tends to cut really well when the master is up higher..10:00 should be plenty high enough though..
Mess with the Channel Volume to find the sweet spot.

I boost the input with a Maxon OD808 for Ch 3 and it does the trick quite nicely..Pretty much just the sound you're looking for! :rock:
Click to expand...

Good call I also like boosting channel 3 with a tubescreamer type pedal set low, gives it a really aggressive edge.
Click to expand...

I listened to your Myspace songs and I have to say the Guitar tone is killer. What did you use for tracking?
 
guitarman967":367cbv7e said:
ENDITOL":367cbv7e said:
guitarman967":367cbv7e said:
I think the Poweramp has the most to do with it. The VH4 sounds alot more defined and tends to cut really well when the master is up higher..10:00 should be plenty high enough though..
Mess with the Channel Volume to find the sweet spot.

I boost the input with a Maxon OD808 for Ch 3 and it does the trick quite nicely..Pretty much just the sound you're looking for! :rock:
Click to expand...

Good call I also like boosting channel 3 with a tubescreamer type pedal set low, gives it a really aggressive edge.
Click to expand...

I listened to your Myspace songs and I have to say the Guitar tone is killer. What did you use for tracking?
Click to expand...

Thanks! We used 1 track each of Herbert and Uberschall straight in, V30 Diezel and Mesa cabs, mics where 57 and 421. Not much post processing either that was pretty close to how the amps sounded in the room. :rock:
 
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