tone discussion?

[maliciousteve]

Is it ok to talk about tone in this section? if not please move to where ever it's surposed to go  :D

Now lately i've been paying some serious attention to the high end of my tone. I keep thinking that the high end on my  ADA MP-1 is too fizzy. When i play solos i hear a bit of fizz with the sound. Like there's a boss metal zone on maximum hiding some where in the sound no matter how much i turn down the gain. I replaced the tubes yesterday with JJ 12ax7 tubes and while it did take out some of that fizz, i'm still not happy with it.

I really like the tone i got from the Mesa Mark IV i used, overdriven but still packed a punch and every note sound 'big' and 'full'.

What could be done about this? changing the power tubes in my power amp? changing the power amp all together?

[TwilightOdyssey]

I think this is the right place to talk about amp tone!

What power amp are you using? It could also be your preamp. What valves are you currently using?

[maliciousteve]

I'm using a Peavey Classic 50/50 power amp. The tubes in the ADA are JJ 12ax7's. I'm not sure whats in the power amp

[TwilightOdyssey]

Well, it can definitely be related to the type of valves you're using.  Off the top of my head, it sounds to me like either a. the output of your preamp is clipping the input of the power amp. (You can try running the amp at full volume, and decreasing the output of the preamp), b. the input of the preamp is clipping, c. you are getting some kind of diode clipping (not sure if that's possible on the ADA, tho).

An easy experiment to try is swapping out the 12AX7s in your preamp with 12AT7s. These are much lower gain. You can then see if the tizziness is due to the preamp's input/gain stage, preamp's output, or power amp.

[FELINEGUITARS]

The power amp has EL84s
Steve - these were never changed by me in the short time that i had the amp and I'm not sure about the previous owner - although I know he didnt gig it - home studio use only.

You may get a lot more out of the power amp if you retube it also

You also get less fizz by having OD1 set lower than OD2 on the ADA

See http://www.adadepot.com for lots of info on this subject
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[FELINEGUITARS]

The power amp has EL84s
Steve - these were never changed by me in the short time that i had the amp and I'm not sure about the previous owner - although I know he didnt gig it - home studio use only.

You may get a lot more out of the power amp if you retube it also

You also get less fizz by having OD1 set lower than OD2 on the ADA

See http://www.adadepot.com for lots of info on this subject


The ADAdepot forum is another place to lose many hours learning stuff like on the BKP forum

[Searcher]

I know a few people who haven't liked the tonal characteristics of EL84 tubes, especially for the overdrive tone.   And stock tubes are sometimes not that great anyways.  If you can put JJ 6L6 tubes in there you might be happier with your tone.  You'll wanna see what's involved though; you can't just drop a new type of tube in.

[hunter]

Well, you can like EL84s or not, but I'd never describe a proper pair of EL84s as "fizzy" ... they are more the opposite I'd say ...?

[PhilKing]

You can't change EL84 for 6L6 - different number of pins and size.  You are confusing then with EL34's which can be substituted for 6L6's in some amps.

I had thought though that a 50watt amp would use EL34's.  If it does, try the TO trick and try 6CA7's.  If it is EL84's try Harma STR's from Watford Valves, or check their reports.

[Searcher]

You can't change EL84 for 6L6 - different number of pins and size.  You are confusing then with EL34's which can be substituted for 6L6's in some amps..

Yeah, I wasn't sure about the substitution with 6L6s.  My amp will take 6L6 and EL34 tubes interchangably, though.