Ok, I gotta retube the Vh4....

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Joeytpg

Joeytpg

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opened it up and it's got some Fender tubes (6L6) I'm going EL34. Plus all the preamp tubes are also fender, I changed the V1 tube for a tube-town 12AX7 that olaf recommended me. I liked what it did to my Einstein, so I'm ordering more of these.

Any idea which EL34 should I order?

Olaf, same as the ones I got here for the Einstein? two more to match the pair I already bought (didn't install it on the Einstein since I like how it sounded with only the V1 swap)

?
 
Those Fender ones are probably Groove Tubes and 6L6's to boot. The amp will be running ice cold! Be sure to flip the switch on the top of the chassis to the 34 from the 6L6 position, if yours has one. It is between the power and preamp tube sockets. This will throw the plate voltage up a little hotter. Then you will certainly need to rebias because it will be low. There are a half dozen tubes to choose from and these are all based on experience. I have been using power and preamp tubes from JJ's for years in the Uberschall and my Mesa. Got a set of EC83S and E34L's for the VH4 too. To me, they are a little less gainy than ones that came in the amp. Bought a set of Chinese 12AX7 preamp tubes and SED E34 winged C's. I do actually like this set up a little better although the SED's are little more pricey than the JJ's. But, who gives a shit when you spend $4500 for an amp, spending $125 to retube isn't gonna break the bank.

Steve
 
Thanks Steve, Olaf recommended me some KT77 since I wanna keep that "6L6" bigness, but at the same time have some EL34 crunch.....so he says KT77 sound like a mix between the two.

What do you say?

What I'm looking after is an overall GREAT sound.... I'm not looking to make ch.3 shine more than the other or the cleans stand out more than the others..... I want all the channels to sound great, PLUS make the bottom end as tight as possible........

so based on your experience, which one do you recommend?
 
Seeing I am a Diezel noob myself, I just can tell you from what I know and that is for what I do, the SED's sound best overall to me. JJ's are good tubes and the 77 may soon come to be a replacement for the 34 (see Tone Quest report). I know the 77's are going to be a little tighter than the 34's and they run at similar voltage/bias. I didn't like the 6L6 in the VH4 at all. In my Mesa all I run are JJ 6L6GC's. I always run the VH4 over top of my Uberschall for the tone I am after and in general use no effects except for a little flange from time to time and delay on leads running through on the VH4. The Uber stays dry on channel 2 with loads of saturation and the VH4 brings out the Toolish grit I am always after or the mids on the severe drop tunings I play on some stuff (drop A, Bb, B). That's what works for me.

If you are trying to really affect the clean channels of your VH4, something else may work better. Olaf seems to be the man with the experience around here. So, he should be able to best dial you in. Really, its experimenting. I would say though, you will notice LOADS of difference getting those GT's out of there though. The 6L6 family runs cold and especially the GT's.

For some good advice on tube substitutions, go to http://www.eurotubes.com. He strictly deals in JJ's and doesn't offer info on retubing Diezels. But he has loads of info on Marshall and Mesa tube substitutions and goes into detail on tone differences, etc on those amps, especially with the 88'7, 77's, vs 6L6 and 34's. I buy all my JJ's from him and he ships overseas. Pop him an email and he will personally mail you back on your dilemma.

The SED's I got from http://www.thetubestore.com and they ship overseas too. Good selection there. Sounds like everyone like the Ruby's. Never tried them in anything though.

Experiment and let everyone know from your experience.

Steve
 
alright, thank you so much Steve, I got the KT77, lets see how it improves.

thank you! :D
 
EL34: chinese EL34B STR (Tube Town) or Svetlana EL34 =C=
KT77: JJ
or JJ EL34 L (what Peter uses now)

in the end it depends on your taste and how reliable your tube seller is.
 
duesentrieb":321v3xu6 said:
or JJ EL34 L (what Peter uses now)
Click to expand...

do you know (i'm sure you do :D ) - is it the E34L or the "normal" EL34? i was looking around on Eurotubes yesterday and found those two - and the description of the E34L sounded VERY attractive to me. :)
 
hi Olaf, a quick question for you ;)

does the bias value change during the life of the tubes inside the amp?
is it necessary to adjust it periodically?
thank you!
 
Yes, it changes thru wear. The older and the harder they were driven the less output they have (less current).
I have a Mesa 400+ Bass on my bench where the 12 (!) 6L6 have a current of 5mA (built in 198x) ;)

It depends how often you use the amp and hor hard its driven. Somebody like Andy who uses it so often for gigs and on the road a check should be made monthly.
The average bedroom people should check it once in a year or so.
 
ok :) i use my amp pretty much like 2 times a week for 1-2 hours at time.

stupid question...does it make a change how much gain you use on the amp for tubes?
e.g. if i use just the clean channel or ch3 full gain :) does it change the life span of the tubes?
(maybe you already answered me above )
 
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