Will different preamp tubes make Herbert/VH4 change sound?

[jonl]

Just curious what would happen?
Or how about changin old preamp tubes and putting the same type in new?
What would change?

Lastly what's the life span on pre's?

 

[i.ak]

To some degree yes. Different tubes will change the tone, but do not expect very dramatic change, still something you will hear for sure when doing A/B-tests.

Im loosing my faith in new production tubes as their quality seems to be crap and it definitely cannot be quaranteed that the two of a same brand's tubes will sound identical. However, also sometimes they do sound more-or-less identical. Life span will depend a lot. Some pres last very long time (years) and some might get microphonic or have some other malfunction in hours. So it really depends and if you are about to have live shows or recording sessions it is a good idea to have a spare set.

 

[jonl]

Thanks a bunch

 

[moguljo]

In my experience preamp valves can make a big difference. Not long ago I changed the lot in my VH4S. After having put in the new ones the sound was really weak, powerless. So, I put the old ones back in and the sound was there again.
I think it depends a lot on what the preamp valves are supposed to deliver: some are good for clean sounds, some are good for distorted sounds, ...
If you want to put in new ones think about what you would like them to sound like and then buy appropriate ones. Obviously it's a good idea to use the same type of valves (12ax7 for example), but you can use different subtypes. Clean sounding ones for the clean channel and dirty sounding ones for the overdrive channels.
To find out which valves are good for what check out www.watfordvalves.com for example. I've ordered my valves through them for a long time and haven't been disappointed yet.

Keep rocking,
Jo