Re-Tubing My Peavey Triple X Head

[adios_viper_town]

hi guys,
just wondering what tubes i should look at putting into my Peavey Triple X.
its the first time I've re-tubed it since I bought it and I've heard in passing there is tubes available that can make my Peavey match/better a Mesa.

Any help guys?

 

[slayercannibalsuffohead]

hi guys,
just wondering what tubes i should look at putting into my Peavey Triple X.
its the first time I've re-tubed it since I bought it and I've heard in passing there is tubes available that can make my Peavey match/better a Mesa.

Any help guys?

I bought my XXX about 18 months ago and thought it sounded good straight outta the box. Decided to change tubes for a comparison and it went from an 8 to a 9.5!

Mine came stock with the Ruby 6L6s, and some EH in the preamp. Swapped the EHs for JJ ecc83s and the Rubys for JJ EL34s and have not looked back.

My overall sound has become tighter and more aggressive, (i have the switch at the back set to loose) and I have plenty of gain on tap. When I record the XXX I have the gain at 9 oclock, and when I am just piss fartin around I can get the gain to max out to around 1 ocklock before things start to become muddy and messy.

I also find with these tubes that the XXX responds better with eqs and what not hooked up to it, where as it doesnt sound as good through my 6505+ or my 5150.

When I am going for a Cannibal Corpse tone (kill) I use the XXX. Its the best out of the 3 to get that tone. CC use Mesas with a keeley modded metalzone, (pat a 2 channel triple) and (rob a 3 channel triple). I have to add a coupla pedals before the amp and in the loop to achieve it, but its well worth it in the end.

I run all this through my randall warhead cabs (vintage 30s and Jaguars for the 15s) that may help or it may not.

Either way I highly recommend that set-up (so does Gary Holt)! You should be on your way to a path of complete BRUTALNESS!

 

[Metaltastic]

www.dougstubes.com
www.thetubestore.com
NOT www.eurotubes.com

Check the first two sites (and avoid the third) for reviews of the tubes and see what you think! For me, though, I really like Penta Labs 12AX7's (basically the best of the Shuguang 9th gen. bunch, just selected by Penta and relabeled), and despite the reviews, found the much-loved Tung Sol 12AX7's to be a bit harsher (I did a direct re-amped test awhile ago). Power Tubes I haven't experimented with, but IME JJ and Ruby make good ones for good prices!

 

[kaomao]

why not eurotubes Marcus?
did happen something bad with your orders?

 

[Metaltastic]

Nah, just the fact that the guy stocks exactly ONE brand of tubes means how much advice can he really give you? JJ's are good tubes, that I don't dispute, but the other two places carry them as well as tons of other brands, so they're the ones I always go to (usually dougstubes.com, great dudes)

 

[nwright]

ANd, Eurotubes doesn't seem to realize that some JJ tubes has smaller pins which can cause problems...Bob at Eurotubes is a nutcase, anyway, with his "integrated quads" and outright disdain for those who disagree with his claims (including Peavey themselves). There have been more and more stories of the place on HCAF with dudes having bad experiences from the place, from bad tubes to bad service.

Doug's Tubes is where it's at.

I replaced the Ruby 6L6GC's in my XXX with Ruby EL34's and it sounds a little more aggressive in the mids.

I use Shuguang 9th gen 12AX7's. They smooth out the highs a bit so they don't sound harsh like most EH 12AX7's I hear.

 

[bibz]

Currently have in my jsx; tung sol, 9th, 9th, pentalabs pre's and svetlana 6l6 in the power section, loving it. Been through jj 6l6 and el34's but end up hating the highs on those guys, if its just them wearing out then they don't last long at all. Svets sound sweet as, would like to try those or mullard in el34's, maybe kt77's if the next batch reports good, but next time I'll get three more tung sols and a set of tad6l6.

 

[wishtheend]

I have never had any bad experience with Bob @ Eurotubes in the 10+ times I've ordered from him. I've retubed 6505s, Dual Recs, Deliverance and others. Actually, the info he gave me when I hit him up about retubing my Deliverance was exactly in line with what VHT told me. The only manufacturer I've heard go against him is Peavey - but that is because they are bias unbelievably cold.

And honestly, I just think JJs are awesome. They have done nothing but improve my tone over stock tubes. His higain pre set for the dual rec did wonders!

 

[Metaltastic]

Still, JJ's may be good, but how can you know they're the best unless you've tried others? I've found their pre-amp tubes to be a bit darker than others, and it just seems so ridiculous that a guy carries ONE brand of tubes and seriously expects people to believe he can give fine tuned tone recommendations for them - the couple of times I ordered from them, they were cool, I guess; I mean, they took my money, stuck the tubes in a box, and mailed 'em to me, though they were helpful in giving me pointers for biasing my JSX (I bought my bias probe and multimeter from them).

 

[adios_viper_town]

I bought my XXX about 18 months ago and thought it sounded good straight outta the box. Decided to change tubes for a comparison and it went from an 8 to a 9.5!

Mine came stock with the Ruby 6L6s, and some EH in the preamp. Swapped the EHs for JJ ecc83s and the Rubys for JJ EL34s and have not looked back.

My overall sound has become tighter and more aggressive, (i have the switch at the back set to loose) and I have plenty of gain on tap. When I record the XXX I have the gain at 9 oclock, and when I am just piss fartin around I can get the gain to max out to around 1 ocklock before things start to become muddy and messy.

I also find with these tubes that the XXX responds better with eqs and what not hooked up to it, where as it doesnt sound as good through my 6505+ or my 5150.

When I am going for a Cannibal Corpse tone (kill) I use the XXX. Its the best out of the 3 to get that tone. CC use Mesas with a keeley modded metalzone, (pat a 2 channel triple) and (rob a 3 channel triple). I have to add a coupla pedals before the amp and in the loop to achieve it, but its well worth it in the end.

I run all this through my randall warhead cabs (vintage 30s and Jaguars for the 15s) that may help or it may not.

Either way I highly recommend that set-up (so does Gary Holt)! You should be on your way to a path of complete BRUTALNESS!

okay so, im a bit of a guitar amplifier n00b so to say,
do I use the JJ ECC83's as the pre-amp tubes, and use JJ EL34's for the power amp tubes? or the other way around. I need to know exactly what I need to order in. Im keen on slayercannibalsuffohead's idea.

help?

and any Australian/Brisbane/Gold Coast users know where i can make this magic happen?

 

[everybody's x]

ECC83 is a preamp tube and EL34 is a power amp tube, you need 5 ECC83's and 4 EL34's in whatever brand you would like

 

[Metaltastic]

Doesn't the XXX only have 4 ECC83's/12AX7's, like the JSX?

 

[everybody's x]

4 pres 1 inverter and 4 power tubes I believe

I'll look

 

[everybody's x]

nope, you are right

3 pres 1 inverter and 4 power tubes

 

[cobhc]

I might look at doing this with my triple xxx soon. I've got 3 possibly 4 JJ ECC83S around here somewhere anyways, just need to buy the EL34's.

 

[Emdprodukt]

I have a krank revolution 1 and never changed the tubes so I'm a bit afraid i can do something wrong and kill my amp. everything's fine so far I just wanna play around.

When do I have to worry about the bias of my amp?
how can I find out how high I should set it?

maybe someone wrote a tutorial about this?

 

[Metaltastic]

Does the Rev have adjustable bias? If not, it's fine to just get a good set of matched 6L6's (or 5881's, which I guess are what come standard, but the two are totally interchangeable) and drop 'em in! And preamp tubes can always be replaced without any bias adjustment.

 

[Emdprodukt]

Yes, the bias is adjustable through a very small hole in the chassi.

I really have no knowledge when it comes to tubes. What's the difference between 5881's and 6L6's? (I'm pretty sure mine has JJ 6L6's)

 

[wickedsensation]

Yes, the bias is adjustable through a very small hole in the chassi.

I really have no knowledge when it comes to tubes. What's the difference between 5881's and 6L6's? (I'm pretty sure mine has JJ 6L6's)

It's always safe to bias when you retube the powertubes. On the other hand, you can mix and match tubes in the preamp to suit your tonal needs.

The biggest difference between 5881's and 6L6's is tube construction. 5881's are more ruggedly constructed than your average 6L6 because they are military grade tubes. In my experience, they have always sounded a little duller than your typical 6L6, but some people like them because they are rugged.

Sometimes you can swap powertubes out if you stay within the same bias range, but it's always safe to rebias when you change them or replace them. You'll probably just blow a fuse if you keep changing them without biasing, so don't think you totally destroyed your amp when no sound comes out of it.

If you want to bias it yourself, you should look into a Bias Probe, or take it to a tech if you don't have a lot of experience with biasing amps.

 

[Emdprodukt]

I think it would be good to learn it myself. Best would be getting new tubes, taking them to the tech and asking him to show me how it works. How do I find out how hot I can drive the powertubes?