Random question regarding Balanced Amp Tubes!

[Nephilim]

Ok, as you guys may have see, I had another thread on which metal amp I should buy, and for the time being, I'm just going to get myself a Peavey 6505+ 112. Now I'm going to change the valves on this, and I had a random question. I'm going to get my valves from Hotrox, and you have the option of picking the quality of certain tubes:


Premium tested - are tested for all possible shorts, noise, microphonics and musical tone

V1 / phase splitter - is really the cream of the crop, tested as above and also balanced triods, extra low microphonics, tested for prestine tonal qualities

Factory tested - are how they come direct from the factory.

Standard Tested: Tested for all faults and crackles etc but balanced triodes are not guranteed.

Now I get why you pay the extra money for the V1/Phase Splitter option, to make sure it's balanced. But I also had another thought by looking at the Peavey 6505+ 112's Tube Layout:

V1a Input gain-shared by Rhythm and Lead
V1b and V2a- Rhythm Channel
V2b, V3, V4- Lead channel
V5a- Effects Return Stage
V5b- Phase Inverter

I can see from this why you pay extra to have a Balanced Tube in V1 and V5 (Phase Splitter), but would it be beneficial to also have a Balanced Tube in V2 as well seeing as it's shared between the Rhythm & Lead channel? V3 & V4 are obviously only used by the Lead Channel, so I'd only get Premium tested for that. What do you think, or am I completely way off? If I am then, ah well, no harm in asking, at least I'm actually asking a pretty unique question, lol. Thanks for reading this monster of a post anyways, haha.

[Nephilim]

Is it me or does the red and blue make your eyes go funny? It keeps going out of focus, and sometimes appearing 3D, haha. Sorry if this bothers anyone.

[jpfamps]

You don't need a balanced valve in the PI, it doesn't help at all.

This myth is mainly propagated by valve vendours in order to extract more cash from you.

It IS worth having valves tested for microphonics if they are to be used in a high gain combo.

[Nephilim]

So should I definitely get them all premium tested then? And as Hotrox the best place to get tubes in the UK by any chance?

[JacksonRR]

You don't need a balanced valve in the PI, it doesn't help at all.

This myth is mainly propagated by valve vendours in order to extract more cash from you.

It IS worth having valves tested for microphonics if they are to be used in a high gain combo.

That's because nothing after it is perfectly matched, most of all the output tranny, yeah?

[marauder]

That's because nothing after it is perfectly matched, most of all the output tranny, yeah?

And the anode resistors on most amps pi tube are not the same value to compensate for unbalanced tubes.

[Alex]

I had a 5150 amp and the only real difference I could make out was with the V1. I think my ears are cr@p. I'd save myself money, buy two JJ ECC803s for V1 and V2 and the rest some bulk whatevers for the other positions. Buy one or two spares, in case one is faulty. Most likely you'll need a noise gate anyway with that amp, so what is the point in spending extra cash for low noise ones? ;-) But in all seriousness, I did spend extra cash ones for low noise ones and when comparing couldn't find any significant difference. I think the reason is that the 5150 is a very brash and brutal high-gain amp and not a delicate, vintage-style boutique amp; in an old Fender you'd probably hear a much bigger difference.

Never buy second hand preamp tubes. They loose sound quality over time and use, but unlike power tubes don't die (I think). Resell the old ones as "NOS Mullards" on Ebay. :-) (joke!)

[Nephilim]

How about?:

V1 - Tung Sol 12AX7
V2 - JJ 12AX7
V3 - Tung Sol 12AX7
V4 - JJ 12AX7
V5 - Tung Sol 12AX7

I've heard mixing JJs and Tung Sols is meant to be really good. And I've figured putting them in that position will give every channel the best of both worlds as you can see below by what tubes will be used at the time:

V1a Input gain-shared by Rhythm and Lead
V1b and V2a- Rhythm Channel
V2b, V3, V4- Lead channel
V5a- Effects Return Stage
V5b- Phase Inverter

What do you think about my choice?

[jpfamps]

You don't need a balanced valve in the PI, it doesn't help at all.

This myth is mainly propagated by valve vendours in order to extract more cash from you.

It IS worth having valves tested for microphonics if they are to be used in a high gain combo.

That's because nothing after it is perfectly matched, most of all the output tranny, yeah?

No.

TUsing a balanced valve in the PI doesn't actually help the balance of the PI.

However, you are correct that the OT is unlikely to be matched.

From my own "experiments" there is little difference in sound between the perfectly balanced PI and a slightly unbalanced one, so I'm not sure that the quest for a perfectly balanced PI is worth the effort.