Hey, Lets get back to the subject here! I know I wax poetic all over the place but........... I got the Ad30VT today.......Hey Hey Hey Stopped at the market on the way home for some listening fuel and plugged it in. A little cheesy for first earsies....diddle with the knobbie thingies...Wow cheapest chicken knobs in the world....Good thing I have nice bakelite ones to go on there. BUT you can get some grind outta this...Hmmmmmm Go manual and try the power thingie on the back and then the gain and volume....errr getting confused here. Read manual for 2 secs and realize what's going on....No more confusing than tracking rhythm method...LOL Has a bit o' muddy bottom and a slight snap....Fudge...been playing the Flying V...no wonder... Quick change to the SG....57' classics are much darker on this amp. but muddy bottom.....what to do? Surgery....The DR is going in...Gotta see what's up. Nice speaker, all wires look good, cabinet intact and the layout is cool.....AHA......found it! Why do amp Mfg's use the 12AX7EH as the primary tube or only tube is beyond me.... Soldano uses 12AX7EH's but not the critical one for sound shaping......Check the stash for alternates.......Hmmmmm too many choices here....1950's Sylvania, GE and RCA 12AX7 tubes.......eenie meenie miney mo, I remember the RCA had the sweetest mid and bottom of the bunch last time I tried in the Marshall big box...... Replaced the tube, put it back together and WOWEE it is a different amp! Smooth harmonics, smooth bottom end and musically pleasing. Price check at thetubestore.com is $55.00 each for the RCA NOS premium ones, whatever that is? Next I will start the task of amp/effect to see what the amp modeling is capable of as compared to my PodXT. So the first task is to get a better 12AX7 tube into the AD30VT's guys...... Big difference!
Ess, Skids, ?? What are your favorite setups for this amp? manual or otherwise? I want to get a head start here and see what this can do. I'm spoiled with my home made Champ, Soldano, Mesa Boogie stuff and this seems a bit cheesy but I know it has potential to be killer. I can hear it..........It's a VOX...Korean Mgf. but VOX designed and well designed!
The RCA 12AX7 is a classic NOS preamp tube. Vacuum Tube Valley says, "...nice detail and predictable dynamics. Highs were very smooth with a sweet musical punch."
cool spunky! try inputing it into your {big amp..(CLEAN)} and see how it sounds with some big speakers to push! i wonder how replacing the tube will effect how it emulates the diff amps..... :?: ........:[]¦¦¦¦¦}
Skids, So far all the emulated amps sound much better with the new tube...... It was dodgy before but now it's a keeper
$5o a bit steep for me right now...anyone got anything layin around they'd cut me a deal on for me to do my first re-toob job? :? do i sense a secret weapon kinda "sleeper" trick here? :wink:
Vox, I've always been skeptical of the Ebay tubes. Always bought from dealers and never NOS. Usually I buy SED's or special types for my reverb or what not. I've always had those NOS tubes since I was a kid and don't let them out of my sight. I've never had a mullard but then I have what I have and I'm not buying more....
Skids, The output to the headphones is cool, out to the Dual Rectifier and clean as I could get it is way nuts and too dirty. Soldano will be worse. I'll hook up the Fender Ultimate Chorus tomorrow. The Princeton Chorus will be the shrill crispy 10" speaker syndrome again. Fine speaker as it is stand alone! Just needs a better pre-amp tube is all. Skids, I've had wonderful luck with the Tesla JJ tubes. I use them in all my amps except the Champ and now the Vox as they are single pre-amp tube units and I have the NOS laying around. I've experimented with the NOS RCA/Sylvania/GE and the JJ's are very close and WAYYYYYYYY better than the Electro Harmonix. They are only $9.95 so are a bargain compared to the NOS....
get one of the latest generation Groove Tube mullard 12ax7 reissues .. I have one and it compares favorably for the dough to my amperex bugle boys .. about 22.00 retail
can i get the JJ's locally you think? as much as i like this amp now....i can't imagine another step up, but you got one there so i'll take yer word!!
Somehow you need to try a mullard ECC83/12AX7 in there.....AND the low gain 12AX7 the Stevie Ray used ,can't remember the exact # 5759? just to see.......... They re-silk screen the tubes on Bait...NOT ALL... but caveat emptor! You need to know your exact innards of the tube's you want. I got burned once or twice learning as I trusted most people.....It's just a murky game there
Vox, Pics are the bomb! My RCA has really long plates and the others are shorter except the micro phonic Ei Elite...... Gotta know what you are looking for and match em up...Course the pics on eBay after re-screening aren't going to match......or are not shown...hidden.... Used to know a guy who re-screened IC's and sold cheapies to the Govt as Mil Spec.....He spent 5 years behind bars!
I found the AC15 to have a lot more bottom end and less highs than the AC30. 80's may as well be metal...LOL Boutique is what? Dumble????
JJ 12AX7 are here. Also known as an ECC83.... I buy all my tubes there! http://www.thetubestore.com/tesla12ax7.html
