Metropoulos Forum

Hey everyone, i need to switch out my tubes and i need some help figuring out which ones would suit me best...

i like van halen in general but a tad beefier sounding tone. However, i do like the cleanup of a tube amp when i roll back my volume; i dont want a full out dirty, grungy tone.



any suggestions?

if it will help... heres my equiptment also:
marshall tsl100 amplifier
ash american stratocaster w/ humbucker
vintage 30's 2x12



also, when shopping for power amp tubes on musiciansfriend... why do they offer the tubes in "Hard" "Soft" and "Medium"?

thanks

I don't know whether your into JJ tubes or not, but they aren't bad. A lot of people on here hate them. I'm not sure where they are ordering them from....I hear complaints all the time about them being unreliable. I personally like them and have never had a problem with them. I am ordering from Eurotubes.com. Excellent customer service, the guy there really knows what he is doing. He'll match according to your needs when you talk on the phone w/ him, or through email. He sails full retube kits for the Marshall TSL100, or you could tell him that's the amp you have and the kind of sound you want. Maybe you would like to try KT77's? I think you should check the website out. Like I said, excellent customer service. Otherwise, you might like Tungsols 12ax7s, they aren't bad at all. Svetlana Winged C's are also good. Another option you have of course is NOS, you'll end up paying a lot more for these. If it's worth it to you, then by all means take this route. Hope this helps

FYI I don't know why I just spelled sell like "sail". ....long day.

I have tried the Tungsol 12AX7 Tubes in my TSL 100 and did not like them very much. The seemed lifeless and dark. So far the JJ tubes have sounded the best to my ears.

I have been using the KT77 power tubes and they sound good for my speaker combination, but when plugged into a cab with Vintage 30s, it seemed to have too much low end. I also have a set of E34L's that I am going to try, I just haven't had the time to put them in. Another tube I tried and did not like was the Ruby EL34B. The just sounded too flat and unexciting to me.

Hoped this helped.

thanks its major helpful that you have the tsl. thanks for the information

I have a TSL 100 and I like the JJ KT77's the best and then the Winged =c= EL34's. I have had good luck with Tung-sol RI in the preamp. Try a lower gain tube in the reverb section. NOS Telefunken in the PI helps a great deal also.

Hi guys. Truth be told, I've played with various peramp and power tubes in my tsl, and without a transformer upgrade in the OT and replacing R71 with a choke, my best combo was GT-12AX7M's in V1-3 with a JJ ECC83-S in the PI, with JJ EL34L's for power. Now with a Heyboer HTS-8346 OT and a HTS-7039 choke, I now use JJ ECC83-S's in V1-4 and Electro Harmonix EL34's for power for a very vintage-sounding Judas Priest tone in the Crunch channel with the gain "dimed" and the Master on 3, Treb at 9:00, Mid at 12:00, Bass at 3:00, and Presence at 1:00, no bass boost, no mid scoop.

Enjoy! Dave [/img][/i]

reviving an old thread... Can someone explain the difference in V1, V2, V3, V4? All I know for sure is V4 is the phase inverter stage..?? What tubes go with what channels, etc?

Also, with the KT77's suggested, can you just throw them in any EL34 socket amp? What do you bias them at?

thanks!

You can go with Tungsol 12ax7 reissues..they seem to sound pretty good in that amp, with either jj kt 77 or Winged C el34's (pricey but great tubes) in the power section. Go to Eurotubes.com and they have a TSL/DSL bias video. That amp has 3 posts and bias adjustment pots sticking out the back of amp. It's easy enough to do with a multi-meter.

Flynman wrote:You can go with Tungsol 12ax7 reissues..they seem to sound pretty good in that amp, with either jj kt 77 or Winged C el34's (pricey but great tubes) in the power section. Go to Eurotubes.com and they have a TSL/DSL bias video. That amp has 3 posts and bias adjustment pots sticking out the back of amp. It's easy enough to do with a multi-meter.

yeah i know how to bias the amp, did you even read my newest post?

what are V1, V2, V3, V4 's purposes individually? I.E. V4 is the Phase inverter, you need a "balanced" tube in that one, what are V1, V2, V3?

Yes you can put KT77 in any El34 socket....You say you know how to bias but in your post you ask what to bias it at? That would indicate you don't know how to bias... As for the V1-4 question...let me hold you hand
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2 distinct signal paths:

"clean": V1a - tone stack - V2b - effects loop/reverb - V3a - V3b - V4(a&b)

"dirty": V1a - V1b - V2a - V2b - effects loop/reverb - V3a - v3b - tone stack- V4(a&b)

V3 is a recovery stage and cathode follower and is common to both channels

V4 is the phase inverter

effects loop & reverb are solid state

Sorry V3 is a Reverb tube.

Flynman wrote:Yes you can put KT77 in any El34 socket....You say you know how to bias but in your post you ask what to bias it at? That would indicate you don't know how to bias... As for the V1-4 question...let me hold you hand
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2 distinct signal paths:

"clean": V1a - tone stack - V2b - effects loop/reverb - V3a - V3b - V4(a&b)

"dirty": V1a - V1b - V2a - V2b - effects loop/reverb - V3a - v3b - tone stack- V4(a&b)

V3 is a recovery stage and cathode follower and is common to both channels

V4 is the phase inverter

effects loop & reverb are solid state

thank you, this is what i needed! When I asked about bias and the KT77's, I asked what they are biased at, like do you bias them the same value as a EL34?

Yes they are biased the same as the EL34's . I only mentioned the Eurotube website because it has the bias point and voltages for various tubes. It has some really good info, definelty worth looking at. 80 MV per side works pretty good on that amp.

They have great info if your transformer and power supply are exactly to spec, and your wall voltage is in spec, and that is the least probable thing of all.

What is the voltage at the plates? Ok, now that you biased, what is the voltage at the plates? And now that you rebiased to that voltage, again, what is the voltage at the plates? It's not whatever you read it was, I'll bet.

I love modern times. Just take a median number and run it up the flag pole. Whatever makes a noise.