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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Different tubes and the
Different tubes and the
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CarlA
348 posts
May 30, 2013
6:10 PM
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I am a total newbie when it comes to tube amps, etc.
I regularly hear people referring to the "sound" that specific tubes produce.
My question is are there any references, etc that explain the types of "sound" that specific tubes make, etc. ??
Thanks!
-Carl
Last Edited by CarlA on May 30, 2013 6:12 PM
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SuperBee
1166 posts
May 30, 2013
6:38 PM
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I was recently reading in Gerald Weber's "desktop guide to hip vintage amplifiers" (not sure if I have that title exactly correct) an explanation which seemed not unreasonable.
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Last Edited by SuperBee on May 30, 2013 6:45 PM
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Greg Heumann
2165 posts
May 30, 2013
8:38 PM
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Among tubes of DIFFERENT types - yes there are different characteristics - best example which spawns arguments of religious zeal - 6L6 vs EL34 for power tubes.
Among tubes of the SAME type - yes there are differences - a new cheap Chinese 12AX7 has a much harsher tone than an NOS black plate RCA 12AX7 from the 60's. Of course, the former costs about $6 and the latter can go as high as $100.
But one of the most important reasons harp players change tubes is to lower the gain of an amp from guitar levels to levels that are more harp friendly. This does NOT have to change the sound, but it will make the amp much easier to drive.
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/Greg
BlowsMeAway Productions
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5F6H
1625 posts
May 31, 2013
1:04 AM
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Tubes sound different, but you can only evaluate that difference in your application (with your amp/mic/instrument). Tubes themselves make no sound at all unless you put them in a circuit, then the circuit makes 90%+ of the sound.
That's one reason it makes sense to use a commonly used amp/design so that you have multiple points of reference from people aiming for the same thing as you.
Regarding power tubes, these sound massively different, even for identical sounding tubes, at different bias settings. If I were to play you 3 bassmans with big variations in bias, they would sound just as different as if they had different brands, or types of power tube, within reason (e.g. 6L6 vs EL34/6550...though don't try it, the sockets need rewiring first).
Really, it makes more sense to talk about a specific amp/design, then talk about the tube choices for that amp/design.
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