50w Comp: Lost Highs & Articulation @ Lower Volume

J

Junk Yard Dog

Well-known member
Not sure what's happening, and it could be my ears. I've started playing again after my last gig back in November.

I typically run my Comp at home levels by having the Loop Volume at 1:00, Volume at 8:30, Presence, Bass, Treble all at 10:30. Usually running Old or New to taste. Gain at noon.

However, I find that I've to get the usual treble & clarity, I have my Presence at 3:00 & Treble at 2:00, and it's still sounding a little 'muddy'. In Old.

Any thoughts on this? Could it be a preamp tube or something?
 
Junk Yard Dog said:
Yeah, that blows. I just put new ones in 4 months ago. I’ll give it a shot
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Can I ask what kind exactly?

Just because they are new doesn't mean they are good/sound good. I've rolled Shuguang, EHX, Groove Tube, Penta Labs, Tung Sol, Mullard and JJ - maybe a few others. To my ear, I like JJ's because they seem to be more dark vs bright in my amp and they are just smooth to me. And reliable. So if you have not tried Tung Sol's pre's in there or EXH I would try a few of those in V1 or V2 and I really like the 5751 type in the phase inverter. People seam to rave about the Sovtek LPS in the P.I. slot as well.

If that doesn't brighten up your amp - there may be something wrong with it. Could use s a rebias as well maybe but preamp tubes are easy to do first. I'm not recommending this personally but I actually use a glove and roll tubes while the amps is on and fired up so I can hear the differences more succinctly and also run down bad tubes more quickly.
 
311splawndude said:
Can I ask what kind exactly?

Just because they are new doesn't mean they are good/sound good. I've rolled Shuguang, EHX, Groove Tube, Penta Labs, Tung Sol, Mullard and JJ - maybe a few others. To my ear, I like JJ's because they seem to be more dark vs bright in my amp and they are just smooth to me. And reliable. So if you have not tried Tung Sol's pre's in there or EXH I would try a few of those in V1 or V2 and I really like the 5751 type in the phase inverter. People seam to rave about the Sovtek LPS in the P.I. slot as well.

If that doesn't brighten up your amp - there may be something wrong with it. Could use s a rebias as well maybe but preamp tubes are easy to do first. I'm not recommending this personally but I actually use a glove and roll tubes while the amps is on and fired up so I can hear the differences more succinctly and also run down bad tubes more quickly.
Click to expand...
Yes, of course.

When I installed them in November 2021, they sounded just fine. The amp sounded great, actually.

But something changed maybe two weeks ago or so, not sure exactly when, but recent. When I switch it to Old, the amp is especially 'tubby' in the bottom end. And, I have to crank the highs to get that articulation. ...I'm wondering if it's just that I don't have Volume & Loop Master up high enough, but at these levels, the amp had a clearer tone for sure.

So yeah, maybe a tube went bad.

I have about 20 preamp tubes, btw. What's in there now are tubes bought from Doug's tubes in late October 2021.

The tubes I have in there now:

V1: Tung Sol
V2: Ruby AC75 HG+
V3: Sovtek LPS

Cheers.
 
Junk Yard Dog said:
Yes, of course.

When I installed them in November 2021, they sounded just fine. The amp sounded great, actually.

But something changed maybe two weeks ago or so, not sure exactly when, but recent. When I switch it to Old, the amp is especially 'tubby' in the bottom end. And, I have to crank the highs to get that articulation. ...I'm wondering if it's just that I don't have Volume & Loop Master up high enough, but at these levels, the amp had a clearer tone for sure.

So yeah, maybe a tube went bad.

I have about 20 preamp tubes, btw. What's in there now are tubes bought from Doug's tubes in late October 2021.

The tubes I have in there now:

V1: Tung Sol
V2: Ruby AC75 HG+
V3: Sovtek LPS

Cheers.
Click to expand...


That looks like a Doug recommendation :yes: Good list. I guess I'd be most curious what change you notice by swapping V1 out. Wish I could help more. You don't have some odd pair of speakers that are just now breaking in do you? When I set the loop volume I crank the front volume just up above what is comfortable for me in my room (gig level) and then I use the loop volume to bring it back down to comfy (which is still loud).
 
311splawndude said:
That looks like a Doug recommendation :yes: Good list. I guess I'd be most curious what change you notice by swapping V1 out. Wish I could help more. You don't have some odd pair of speakers that are just now breaking in do you? When I set the loop volume I crank the front volume just up above what is comfortable for me in my room (gig level) and then I use the loop volume to bring it back down to comfy (which is still loud).
Click to expand...
Ha! Yup. I've been buying from Doug for at least 12 years, I think. I love the Ruby AC5 HG+ in all my heads. I'll try to swap out that Tung Sol first & see how we go.
 
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