|
Post by Michael Bartee on Jun 26, 2008 14:38:26 GMT -7
Ok, I am going to order some NOS tubes for my Ghia very soon and I think I want to stay with a 5751 in V2 but I may change to something different in V1. I have a JJ ECC83s in there right now. It sounds very good with lots of gain and a little on the aggressive side but I think I want to drop the gain back a touch and have a little more warmth. I have the NOS 5Y3 that came in it and GT 5's (EL 84's). What do you guys suggest? I love vintage tones, ie non master volume amps cranked up. I play a Gibson R9 (w/humbuckers), and do blues and rock. I am focusing on the lead tones, I roll the volume back to clean it up. Thanks all,
|
|
|
Post by Lonny Caughron on Jun 27, 2008 9:01:04 GMT -7
Well it is my humble opinion, but this is where I'm at with my ghia right now. V1- NOS Brimar 12AX7, V2- NOS RCA 5751 with balanced triodes, V3/V4 NOS GE EL84s, and V5 NOS Bendix 5Y3. The tone with this set up is freaking awesome. Cleans around 9ish or so are nice and full sounding and the further I crank it or hit it with my trusty Flying Dragon (great pedal by the way) this smooth creamy overdrive that just gets fatter the more the volume is cranked. I have some NOS Mullard EL84s and several other NOS preamp tubes to put in there someday, but I'm just loving the current setup too much and haven't tried anything else. All tubes from Mike at KCA. Highly recommend him.
|
|
|
Post by myles on Jul 1, 2008 9:08:30 GMT -7
Well it is my humble opinion, but this is where I'm at with my ghia right now. V1- NOS Brimar 12AX7, V2- NOS RCA 5751 with balanced triodes, V3/V4 NOS GE EL84s, and V5 NOS Bendix 5Y3. The tone with this set up is freaking awesome. Cleans around 9ish or so are nice and full sounding and the further I crank it or hit it with my trusty Flying Dragon (great pedal by the way) this smooth creamy overdrive that just gets fatter the more the volume is cranked. I have some NOS Mullard EL84s and several other NOS preamp tubes to put in there someday, but I'm just loving the current setup too much and haven't tried anything else. All tubes from Mike at KCA. Highly recommend him. Not much to say here from me other than .... Your setup is about as cool as it can get. Not a lot of room here to move up any higher you are already there.
|
|
|
Post by Michael Bartee on Jul 1, 2008 10:24:33 GMT -7
Well it is my humble opinion, but this is where I'm at with my ghia right now. V1- NOS Brimar 12AX7, V2- NOS RCA 5751 with balanced triodes, V3/V4 NOS GE EL84s, and V5 NOS Bendix 5Y3. The tone with this set up is freaking awesome. Cleans around 9ish or so are nice and full sounding and the further I crank it or hit it with my trusty Flying Dragon (great pedal by the way) this smooth creamy overdrive that just gets fatter the more the volume is cranked. I have some NOS Mullard EL84s and several other NOS preamp tubes to put in there someday, but I'm just loving the current setup too much and haven't tried anything else. All tubes from Mike at KCA. Highly recommend him. Thanks for the information. After Myles chiming in I may just duplicate your choices and give it a try. I love the Ghia and want to give her a good diet of premium valves. I have never been more satisfied with an amplifier in my life. My next Z is going to be another Ghia in a head with a 2x12 blue cabinet. I hooked.
|
|
|
Post by bustertheboy on Jul 2, 2008 15:16:12 GMT -7
Well it is my humble opinion, but this is where I'm at with my ghia right now. V1- NOS Brimar 12AX7, V2- NOS RCA 5751 with balanced triodes, V3/V4 NOS GE EL84s, and V5 NOS Bendix 5Y3. The tone with this set up is freaking awesome. Cleans around 9ish or so are nice and full sounding and the further I crank it or hit it with my trusty Flying Dragon (great pedal by the way) this smooth creamy overdrive that just gets fatter the more the volume is cranked. I have some NOS Mullard EL84s and several other NOS preamp tubes to put in there someday, but I'm just loving the current setup too much and haven't tried anything else. All tubes from Mike at KCA. Highly recommend him. I'd agree with the Brimar (very sweet) and the Bendix- I assume you mean a 6106 (the overbuilt version of a 5Y3). I'd add to that NOS GE for 12AX7 duties and any NOS JAN for 5751. I use the tube depot because it's easier to import to Australia. Brett
|
|
|
Post by Lonny Caughron on Jul 3, 2008 4:15:18 GMT -7
Well it is my humble opinion, but this is where I'm at with my ghia right now. V1- NOS Brimar 12AX7, V2- NOS RCA 5751 with balanced triodes, V3/V4 NOS GE EL84s, and V5 NOS Bendix 5Y3. The tone with this set up is freaking awesome. Cleans around 9ish or so are nice and full sounding and the further I crank it or hit it with my trusty Flying Dragon (great pedal by the way) this smooth creamy overdrive that just gets fatter the more the volume is cranked. I have some NOS Mullard EL84s and several other NOS preamp tubes to put in there someday, but I'm just loving the current setup too much and haven't tried anything else. All tubes from Mike at KCA. Highly recommend him. Not much to say here from me other than .... Your setup is about as cool as it can get. Not a lot of room here to move up any higher you are already there. Myles, Gee thanks. That means a lot coming from you. Almost all of the NOS tube I've bought, were because of information gleaned from your posts.
|
|
|
Post by Lonny Caughron on Jul 3, 2008 4:18:51 GMT -7
Well it is my humble opinion, but this is where I'm at with my ghia right now. V1- NOS Brimar 12AX7, V2- NOS RCA 5751 with balanced triodes, V3/V4 NOS GE EL84s, and V5 NOS Bendix 5Y3. The tone with this set up is freaking awesome. Cleans around 9ish or so are nice and full sounding and the further I crank it or hit it with my trusty Flying Dragon (great pedal by the way) this smooth creamy overdrive that just gets fatter the more the volume is cranked. I have some NOS Mullard EL84s and several other NOS preamp tubes to put in there someday, but I'm just loving the current setup too much and haven't tried anything else. All tubes from Mike at KCA. Highly recommend him. I'd agree with the Brimar (very sweet) and the Bendix- I assume you mean a 6106 (the overbuilt version of a 5Y3). I'd add to that NOS GE for 12AX7 duties and any NOS JAN for 5751. I use the tube depot because it's easier to import to Australia. Brett The link below is for the tube I have. I guess it is a 6106/5Y3WGT www.kcanostubes.com/products/382/NOS-Bendix-6106-5Y3WGT.htm
|
|
|
Post by bustertheboy on Jul 3, 2008 14:31:35 GMT -7
Hi lonny I assume it's the same tube because it is a bendix 6106, but the labelling is JAN-CEA-6106 which I assume is the military tag (joint army navy). Either way it really improved the sound of my amp as the link says. I got both sons (both players) to listen independently to my NOS Phillips 5y3 (a lovely rectifier and sweeter than my NOS Sylvania) and the Bendix. I gave them no clues but both said the Bendix gave more punch, stronger mids and a less ragged treble. One maintained it is louder but that may be the punch factor.
What is your take on NOS EL84's- I have two lots of amperex bugle boys in the post I got cheap on ebay? thanks Brett
|
|
|
Post by Lonny Caughron on Jul 10, 2008 11:59:07 GMT -7
Hi lonny What is your take on NOS EL84's- I have two lots of amperex bugle boys in the post I got cheap on ebay? thanks Brett When I got the amp there was tube rattle from the EL84's I switched to a set of GT EL84S #6 for a while. To me, the NOS tubes give a fatter tone with smoother distortion. The more you crank it the fatter it gets. Overall much better tone. Worth the 100.00 price in my opinion. Of course, with 6 amps to play, they should last me some time. The Mullards are being saved for recording, that is if i ever learn how to play good enough. Lonny
|
|
|
Post by deaconblues on Jul 12, 2008 18:14:29 GMT -7
I just did some tube swapping in my Ghia head. I stuck a NOS GE JAN 5157 in V1 and an NOS RCA 12BH7A in V2. I'm still running the stock GT 6's for power tubes along with the stock rectifier. Swapping tubes in the Ghia seems to make a lot of difference. It's a very responsive amp.
|
|
|
Post by Michael Bartee on Jul 12, 2008 20:35:43 GMT -7
I am going to pick up some tubes for mine but I'm still undecided on exactly what to get. The search continues.
|
|
|
Post by deaconblues on Jul 16, 2008 14:27:50 GMT -7
I just stuck a set of NOS GE EL84's in my Ghia along with a NOS RCA 5Y3. This is in addition to the NOS GE JAN 5157 in V1 and the NOS RCA 12BH7A in V2. Tubes make a dramatic difference in this amp. I'm learning that with different tube combos I can change the feel/response and headroom of this amp to fit many different needs.
|
|
|
Post by Michael Bartee on Jul 17, 2008 17:16:01 GMT -7
I just stuck a set of NOS GE EL84's in my Ghia along with a NOS RCA 5Y3. This is in addition to the NOS GE JAN 5157 in V1 and the NOS RCA 12BH7A in V2. Tubes make a dramatic difference in this amp. I'm learning that with different tube combos I can change the feel/response and headroom of this amp to fit many different needs. How much gain reduction is there with the 5751/12BH7 combination compared to the stock ECC83S/5751? I could give up a little gain for warmth and possibly a touch more clean headroom but don't want to clean it up a lot, if you know what i'm trying to describe.
|
|
|
Post by deaconblues on Aug 7, 2008 6:08:51 GMT -7
"How much gain reduction is there with the 5751/12BH7 combination compared to the stock ECC83S/5751? I could give up a little gain for warmth and possibly a touch more clean headroom but don't want to clean it up a lot, if you know what i'm trying to describe."
There's quite a lot of gain reduction to my ears when going with that tube combo for V1 and V2. You might want to try a Telefunken 12AX7 in V1, if you aren't wanting to reduce gain too much.
Personally, I like the added headroom I get with the 5751/12BH7 combo along with the GE EL84's. It still sounds very warm and if I hit it with any sort of boost/OD it really sings.
|
|
|
Post by myles on Aug 14, 2008 13:36:00 GMT -7
"How much gain reduction is there with the 5751/12BH7 combination compared to the stock ECC83S/5751? I could give up a little gain for warmth and possibly a touch more clean headroom but don't want to clean it up a lot, if you know what i'm trying to describe." There's quite a lot of gain reduction to my ears when going with that tube combo for V1 and V2. You might want to try a Telefunken 12AX7 in V1, if you aren't wanting to reduce gain too much. Personally, I like the added headroom I get with the 5751/12BH7 combo along with the GE EL84's. It still sounds very warm and if I hit it with any sort of boost/OD it really sings. A Telefunken 12AX7 long smooth plate if in spec is the most gainy 12AX7/ECC83 ever produced.
|
|