Peavey 6505+ preamp tubes shootout

[AmericanDeathHead]

My 6505+ is about to get all 6 preamp tubes as JJECC83s and 4 powertubes as JJ6L6GC's from tube depot. I haven't changed any tubes in 2 years and it shows in tone. I was considering a tongsol in V1 but like post says WTF does it matter anyway. FYI tubedepot online has sale on JJ's till october 30th. It will only cost me $110 for ALL tubes with shipping! That's half the cost as MF or GC online. My factory power tubes don't even have any labels on them. I also ordered a THD 16ohm hotplate to jam with which is a reply to the dude who can't practice over 3 post gain. Just get this THD and use it at practice for total gain/distortion breakup at high amp volume output but low speaker output volumes to save your hearing. I'll let you know if the all JJ tubes are different as it's been years since it had new tubes. Can't wait to get them! \../

 

[AllanD]

I wish I had tubes more my 6505+, it's sitting in my closet :[


Someone want to sell me a 6 used tubes? Throw me an offer.

 

[Clark Kent]

+1000 @ Wolfeman

I mean think about all the different factors that make a guitar tone. Guitar: tone wood, strings, pickups, play style + million more. Amp: well a million different things. Cab & mic: IMO cabs, mics and mic positions make almost 50% of the overall tone. Yet most guitar players don't care enough to experiment what works best for them.

1 millimeter on the cab mic makes a bigger difference than any preamp tube change.

 

[Clark Kent]

That being said I liked the low end on the second clip. I think I felt like it was tighter and ballsier but I'm sure I couldn't tell the difference in a blindfold test.

What cabinet is that and what mic/mics are you using? Just so you know... you just got match EQ'd:



Sorry!

 

[::XeS::]

Holy shit...my threads are interesting only if they become necro-threads

 

[kylendm]

The only real difference between 12ax7s I ever got were between Tung-sols and any other 12ax7. Tung-sols somehow feel like they have less gain.

 

[Full_Tilt]

I was going thru my Peavey VK today it only has 3 preamp tubes but it generally makes up for that with the clipping gain stage [button] but anyway I noticed the gain wasnt smooth it just sounded loose on the mutes and a bit like power stage insanity even at low volume on the open chords so I whipped out all 3 of the Electro harmonix 12AX7EH tubes and put in 3 that I had sitting around from the 80's they just have "ECC83" written in big red print . Tone is similar but the actual bite of the palm mutes is as tight as a nut now, also the open chords sound smoother and less "slurred" .
So my conclusion is that some preamp tubes sound crap .

 

[Ensi]

Holy shit...my threads are interesting only if they become necro-threads

Related: 6505+ kicks ass.

Unrelated: People shouldn't say like "dude this thread is FIVE YEARS OLD OMG Y U BUMP THREAD" to a thread that is full of info and interesting opinions. I didn't know any of the subject until I read it here.

 

[cboysen]

A little unrelated:

:Xes: - How did you obtain that sound? - I've used you as reference for what I'm 'aiming for' in another thread, since I got this 6505+ 112, with the speaker out hooked to a koch loadbox, and from there a line out to my audio interface, but no matter what (even with impulses), I'm miles away from your sound, and my gain structure is so uneven and blurry it's making me sad.

Kind regards
Christian

 

[::XeS::]

Thank you very much!
In all honesty I think that sound sucks....it was one of the first recordings I did with the 6505+ so I wasn't very used to the amp..
I like much more the kind of sound I get nowadays: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1436721/1960_TR.mp3

 

[cboysen]

Thank you very much!
In all honesty I think that sound sucks....it was one of the first recordings I did with the 6505+ so I wasn't very used to the amp..
I like much more the kind of sound I get nowadays: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1436721/1960_TR.mp3

Owh god, please stop raising the bar and making the gap between my stuff and your stuff even bigger..

Anyway - there is a little bizzle of high fizz sizzle loco going on in your tone, like something around 5-6khz orso, other than that it's really great - your first tone is a little smoother and warmer, I like that a lot too - seems like you have turned that presences knob to around 7-8ish?

Atm I think my problem with my sound could be caused by my Koch Loadbox 120ii to my Scarlett 2i2 audio interface at line level is so miss-matched in impedance that it ruins everything, and if not, the mic pres are clipping at -3dbu, which really sucks, since the Direct out of the koch is at least 10dbu I guess.. Anyway - Do you got any tips on recording the 6505+ or anything useful, I'd love hear you out!

keep rocking!
Kind regards - Christian

 

[Headof75]

The only real difference between 12ax7s I ever got were between Tung-sols and any other 12ax7. Tung-sols somehow feel like they have less gain.

I agree, but sometimes that can be a good thing surely.
I recently bought a pair of JJs and a pair of Tung Sols to try in my Engl E530, nothing fancy just basic tubes that had been properly tested.
The guy I buy from in the UK is very much of the opinion that the whole balanced tube thing is so much horse shit as well. As he points out it is the imbalances in a tube that make them sonically desirable in guitar amplifier applications, so why would you seek out balanced tubes for that purpose?
Anyway tonally JJs and Tung Sols are supposed to be opposite ends of the spectrum, but I could hardly hear a difference.
The one difference was that having expected to like the JJs I've ended up with the Tung Sols, because they have a lower gain rating (something like 10 points per tube). To my ear this is giving me a tighter more controlled and articulate crunch on the high gain channels and there is still plenty in the tank to draw on if I need it.

 

[::XeS::]

Owh god, please stop raising the bar and making the gap between my stuff and your stuff even bigger..

Anyway - there is a little bizzle of high fizz sizzle loco going on in your tone, like something around 5-6khz orso, other than that it's really great - your first tone is a little smoother and warmer, I like that a lot too - seems like you have turned that presences knob to around 7-8ish?

Atm I think my problem with my sound could be caused by my Koch Loadbox 120ii to my Scarlett 2i2 audio interface at line level is so miss-matched in impedance that it ruins everything, and if not, the mic pres are clipping at -3dbu, which really sucks, since the Direct out of the koch is at least 10dbu I guess.. Anyway - Do you got any tips on recording the 6505+ or anything useful, I'd love hear you out!

keep rocking!
Kind regards - Christian

I think the latest sample had the presence at 6. The difference from this one and the old ones is the cab (marshall 1960 vs custom 2x12 with v30 for the old samples) and way more gain.
Anyway I've never been happy working with impulses...changing mic positions and raising the volume to get more "speaker movement" is the big advantage using mics and cabs. With impulses you have a fixed part in the chain that you can't change so you have to deal with them as they are.

 

[cboysen]

I think the latest sample had the presence at 6. The difference from this one and the old ones is the cab (marshall 1960 vs custom 2x12 with v30 for the old samples) and way more gain.
Anyway I've never been happy working with impulses...changing mic positions and raising the volume to get more "speaker movement" is the big advantage using mics and cabs. With impulses you have a fixed part in the chain that you can't change so you have to deal with them as they are.

I completely agree, but it is sort of a compromise between me living in a neighboorhood close to people with the average age above 50 and me wanting to record metal tracks.

I'm sure an sm57 in front of my Orange PPC412, would get me really good results, but unfortunately, everything and everyone would be turned to dust before I was done sweeping the mic and tweaking the post volume

Would you recommend a passive DI between the direct out of the loadbox and the audio interface? - I'm having a really bad time with endless clipping on the instrument level, since it just can't handle the output from the direct out of the loadbox. `

Kind regards!
Christian

 

[::XeS::]

I don't remember if I've ever used impulses with 6505 but when I used to play my Savage with impulses I connected the loadbox into the speaker out, but I took the signal for the audio interface from the amp fx send.

 

[cboysen]

I don't remember if I've ever used impulses with 6505 but when I used to play my Savage with impulses I connected the loadbox into the speaker out, but I took the signal for the audio interface from the amp fx send.

HMm I tried that too .. Nothing noticable except for the power stage making the sound a wee bit smoother and darker, the clipping still occured even when using the FX out and the gain was still extremely uneven, nothing to compare to your tone for what its worth... oh well Hope that DI stuff will work wonders..

Kind regards
Christian