KT88's in a HG Jose?

[fearhk213]

Has anyone ever tried KT88's in the HG Jose? If so, what did you think and how was it different than the usual EL34's? I'm digging the EL34's in mine, but I was wondering if KT88's might give it some low-mids so it's got more of the modern thing going on. Whatcha think???

 

[Anonymous]

You'll have to change the bias resistor first....maybe ya knew..maybe ya didn't?

 

[fearhk213]

You'll have to change the bias resistor first....maybe ya knew..maybe ya didn't?

I did not know. I thought it would just be re-bias. I don't want mess with all that. Thanks for the info

 

[Rufus Leaking]

I personally don't like KT77's in a Jose, although I know some other people who do... To me they make the high end too brash and spikey, instead of round and crunchy like EL34's. They do add some nice tight bottom end but I've never really felt the Jose's lacked in that department anyway.

 

[MrDan666]

I personally don't like KT77's in a Jose, although I know some other people who do... To me they make the high end too brash and spikey, instead of round and crunchy like EL34's. They do add some nice tight bottom end but I've never really felt the Jose's lacked in that department anyway.

+1

I wasnt a huge fan of the KT77's in the HG Jose i had. Winged C EL34's are a much better choice. If your amp has the bass boost/resonance mod, you should be able to dial in all the low mids and bottom end you want

 

[fearhk213]

KT77's may be worth a try. I don't want spikey highs though so I'll have to see...

It's definitely not hurting in the low end; it has an obscene amount of low end. Just looking to add a little bit of those throaty low mids you hear in most of the "modern" sounding amps, but not too much of it. I may try different pickups too. The Aldrich's I have seem to have a pretty smooth midrange in my axe so that may be some of it.

Mine does have the bass boost mod and the frequency mod (what freq. does this thing affect?) on the back. I boost the Jose with a Bad Monkey to tighten things up and come to think of it that's probably the culprit since I have to crank the mess out of the bass boost and the bass on the front to recover some of what the Monkey cuts. So maybe this is a boost and/or pickup thing rather than a tube swap.

What are you guys boosting your Joses with?

 

[Rufus Leaking]

I don't boost mine at all - they've all got tons of gain, plenty of mids and have just the right sag/tight feel, so I don't see any need to. Of course I don't care for boosts much anyway, but on a few amps they do help. Not the Camerons though in my experience.

 

[fearhk213]

I don't boost mine at all - they've all got tons of gain, plenty of mids and have just the right sag/tight feel, so I don't see any need to. Of course I don't care for boosts much anyway, but on a few amps they do help. Not the Camerons though in my experience.

I agree. It's not something you need. They have all the gain and mids you'd ever need. I typically don't like boosts either, but there is something about boosting a Marshall that I really like. Plus I just like turning this amp into a monster

I keep the gain on the boost at 0 and really just use it for the extra tightness and clarity for big distorted chords. I can also get a more muscular/percussive sound out of my pickups without having to go too hot or active.

 

[Capulin Overdrive]

i really liked the EH 6CA7 in my Ocean, and guess while maybe not much more low end, it wouldn't have as much high mids and guess the mid focus would be lower? so defenantly a deferent sound.


Gold Lion KT-77's are a lot deferent from the JJ's, and might do what you are wanting? they defenantly are modern sounding, both Gold Lion 77 and 66's i've tried just have a modern mean sound to them? i tried the Gold Lion KT-77's with my Ocean and liked the sound, but the particular set of tubes i had wouldn't bias up hot enough, so the sound wasn't a 100%. but got the 77's to bias up right in a Cornford, and they are pretty cool in there.


then there's Tung-sol EL-34B's, i tried these in the Ocean and didn't like them? but they are good in some amps, and sound quite a bit deferent than SED's.

 

[fearhk213]

I boost my Jose and Aldrich with a TIM pedal, but I really dont add much gain to it...just a tiny bit of volume.

My Aldrich is kinda bright tone wise. I usually keep the presence around 2 or 3 and the power amp Q around 2 or 3 as well. It is loaded with 9th gen pres and Winged C EL34's. It pushes a lot of clear throaty bottom end. The overall tone is deep (more toward the back) and clear with a lot of nice saturation. I was thinking about tinkering around with the bass Q to remove some of the trebles since I basically have it barely on. It only has a few .001 caps in series and parallel (Jose has the exact same values as well).

My Jose is a high gain version with low gain not using the zenners and high gain using the zenners and another gain stage via push/pull volume knob. It is loaded with 9th gen pres and Chinese EL34's (which are kinda flat sounding). The tone is very forward and up front. Very tight and at times, too tight. I keep the presence between 4 and 6. 4 is smooth tone, 6 is more 80's metal. It has the tight 80's metal tone that I love and with a pedal in front to add "hair", I can get old Metallica and Anthrax. The bass boost/Q on the back is set around 1 pm and pushed in (activating the brighter setting). The overall tone is darker than the Aldrich.

I slapped in a pair or Winged C EL34's this past weekend … damn, the Jose' is like a blow torch. Tons of gain, but very throaty at the same time. I got it with the Chinese EL34's, which sound good, but almost flat…but I prefer the Winged C's a lot more. I am still curious how 6550's would sound...

Yeah dude, the winged c's in a Jose are no joke. That's what I have in mine and it's a monster.