New valves for Engl Powerball, advice needed

[BigK]

Hi guys over the month or two Ive noticed that my powerball seems to be getting fizzer and harsher sounding in the treble, especially when i use higher output pickups. Is this a sign the pre amp valves are going? as far as I can see they are still the original ENGL ecc83's. Basically Im going to get it re-valved and im looking for suggestions....

Ideally i would want valves which have good warm bass clear crunchy midrange with a very smooth round top end to counteract the engls sharp treble. Im not worried about gain as the engl has plenty. I play a bit of everything but mainly modern Hard rock (alterbridge, chevelle, tool) and metal (lamb of god, deftones, 36 crazyfists etc).

Any ideas/advice would be greatly appreciated.

thanks Kieran

[hamfist]

JJ ECC83S are definately the smoothest of the current production pre-amp valves.

What power tubes does that baby take ?

[Stevepage]

When I had a Powerball I used a Tung Sol 12ax7 in V1 and JJ's for the rest. The Tung Sol got rid of alot of that fizz and the JJ's gave it a little more 'thud'.

I'd recommend a EQ pedal in the FX loop too, that really brings out the best in the Powerball.

[BigK]

JJ ECC83S are definately the smoothest of the current production pre-amp valves.

What power tubes does that baby take ?

it takes 6l6GC's.

The guy who had it before me had some JJ6l6's put in but that was a couple of years ago.

[MDV]

Never revalved my PB, so wont comment on that (If I was going to, or rather, when I do, it'll likely be JJs).

+100000000000 to the EQ. I use a boss EQ20, nearly flat, and it opens it right up. Thicker, tighter, deeper, sharper, less fizzy, less boxy, chunkier, tighter. Its awesome. Do it.

[hamfist]

I haven't owned a 6L6 amp for quite a while, but these - http://www.hotroxuk.com/6l6svt-winged-c-10842-0.html - are very well thought of by those "in the know".

[AdamB]

For 6L6's, i'd say =C=

From preamp, Tung Sol all the way, much better than JJ to my ears, much smoother.

[Pete24v]

i had Winged C's in a Blues Deluxe, they took the amp to a higher level tone wise, much better than the stock groove tube branded sovteks

[hamfist]

That's 3 votes for winged C's then .... job done !!

[the_bleeding]

If you want more use out of your gain knob, put a JAN 5751 in V1. Hands down best sounding tube i've ever heard. Has 70% the gain of a regular 12ax7, so it will seriously tame the fizz, and lose some of that compression that powerballs are known for beyond 3 on the gain knob. At the same time, it is super fat sounding, so your tone will get alot fatter and smooth out. Seriously. The powerball SERIOUSLY benefits from a jan 5751 in v1.

[the prince of shred]

eq>preamps>eq>powertubes>eq> speaker cab?

[HTH AMPS]

the new TAD Mullard-repro 7025s have been reported to sound VERY nice - I'm gonna have to get a couple to try... http://www.tubeampdoctor.com/product_info.php?products_id=1749

as for 6L6s, I'd go with =C= brand ones, or if you can spare the extra cash, some JAN 7581s

[BigK]

If you want more use out of your gain knob, put a JAN 5751 in V1. Hands down best sounding tube i've ever heard. Has 70% the gain of a regular 12ax7, so it will seriously tame the fizz, and lose some of that compression that powerballs are known for beyond 3 on the gain knob. At the same time, it is super fat sounding, so your tone will get alot fatter and smooth out. Seriously. The powerball SERIOUSLY benefits from a jan 5751 in v1.

That sounds very intriguing I never use the gain knob past half way, and some extra fatness sounds awesome. What are the EH 5751's like?

It looks like ill be getting some winged c's when i have the cash. I'm goin to try the preamp valves first since the black hole of cash otherwise known as my car has taken most of my new valves fund.

[the_bleeding]

That sounds very intriguing I never use the gain knob past half way, and some extra fatness sounds awesome. What are the EH 5751's like?

It looks like ill be getting some winged c's when i have the cash. I'm goin to try the preamp valves first since the black hole of cash otherwise known as my car has taken most of my new valves fund.

No idea what the EH 5751's are like, but the JANs are definately worth the 20$ or however much they are. They're NOS so they will last forever, and sound fantastic. When i popped the Jan 5751 into my marshall's clean channel, i heard an instant big difference. Cleans were fatter, and also had more chime at the same time. It sounds weird to say that, but it worked. You wont regret shelling out the extra dollars for the tube. Plus is super cheap for a NOS tube.

[hamfist]

This is what you need - http://www.watfordvalves.com/product_detail.asp?id=1784

These are very cheap for NOS tubes. Do not waste your money on EH tubes which will be tonally inferior and only last a tenth of the lifespan of a good NOS tube.