New Preamp Myasnikov. New Video

[bubbastain]

Just got this Monday morning and I was pretty blown away as soon as I turned it on. I was like "Holy shit! the gain is only on 2!". For some reason I was expecting more heavy crunch to high-ish gain instead of High Gain to Higher gain. So yeah, A shit ton of gain on this fucker. Still cleans up very nicely with the volume knob on my guitar. There was a Myasnikov Superlead thread two years ago here where I posted that I wanted to try one. Better late than never. Seems the build quality is great.

I guess my only criticism I could give it is that it's too high gain for 95% of my personal tone. Even with low output PAF ish type pickups, running the gain at noon is just me a ridiculous amount for me. I tried running a 12AT7 in the first preamp slot but it made it too bright and harsh. I need to try one of those 5751 or JJ 12DW7's I guess to get it into my comfort zone. Or not, cause it's a fucking beast and I should let it be.

Anyways, here is a clip. POS First Act guitar straight into the preamp. Peavey Sheffield 1200 speaker. SM57 into iRig Pre HD straight into my iPhone. RAW.

12AT7 in V1 and V2 as well as a RFT 12AX7 in V3. Oh, and a boost.

.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

I hear you on the gain. I have one of these as well and may even have commented on it a few years back. It is fantastic but yes, the gain is nuts. I think I run the gain below half way even. I think it would have been awesome to include a crunch side to this thing but I think he offers that as a custom job.

 

[bubbastain]

Had some more fun with this thing today. Did some tube swapping and tried a different power amp. I tried an old Mullard in the V1 position and it sounded really good but was too microphonic. I put in an old Westinghouse made in Japan 12AX7 and it lowered the gain a little and sounds really good. I'm gonna order a couple of 5751 tubes to try out too.
I also ran it into the loop return of my Hayden MoFo 30 (30 watt EL84 powered) head and it also sounded really good. I did a side by side with my 6505+ head and I thought it was surprisingly similar to the lead channel. That's a good thing in my book. I'd say it has a tad more clarity though. I'm really happy with it for what it is, but it might be a little redundant. I'll wait and see how the lower gain preamp tubes work out. Might even consider modding it. It looks really mod friendly on the inside.

 

[JackBootedThug]

sounds chewy as fuck....i like it.

 

[Riffraff]

See if you can get your hands on a 12AY7.

A 5751 has a gain factor of 70.

A 12AT7 has a gain factor of 60 (better for function positions like PI, reverb, etc & often harsh in 12AX7 audio positions).

A 12AY7 has a gain factor of 45 which should make a big difference.

I have a GE 6072 (12AY7) in my stash. I think I'll give that a go in V2 of my Valvesonic Plexi.

 

[psychodave]

What about sending him an email and asking for a simple mod to lower the gain a little.

 

[thenine]

5751 should do you. I have 2 (V1 and V2) in a Splawn modded Marshall I have. You can also use a HBE Detox EQ (or similar) to cut the level a bit going in. Then Click BOOM to turn it off and unleash the fookin fury!

 

[Riffraff]

One mod for the SLO channel in the X88 which is what that preamp is a clone of was to remove the cap across the gain pot. It supposedly made it less fizzy.

I found the 6072 in my stash.

The Valvesonic isn't overly gainy. It can get heavy in the 800 or 900 modes with the boost switch on but the gain level is very controllable so this will be a bit wasted in that. I should try it in my Rockmaster to see what it does for the Ultra channel.

 

[godgrinder]

I didn't like 5751 in my Soldano's, it did drop the gain a bit but made the low end hollow sounding.

A good option I found was the JJ ECC83MG (mid gain), it still sounds like a 12AX7 but with less gain. If swapping V1 didn't drop the gain to the level you like you can get away with having it in both V1 and V2 without changing the sound too drastically.

 

[bubbastain]

What about sending him an email and asking for a simple mod to lower the gain a little.

Yup, that’s definitely the plan if a tube swap doesn’t do it. I have a feeling the tube swap will get me close, but ultimately i think there is a simple mod that will get me right in the sweet spot. It looks like it would be really easy to swap any parts.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

What about sending him an email and asking for a simple mod to lower the gain a little.

I was going to do this but just haven't gotten around to it this week. Would probably be a cool mod, flip it on the switch. But for my needs, gain at noon is more than enough for lead playing. Surprisingly even pinned, while chewy and a bit softer, it doesn't lose the high end and bite. Very surprising. The clarity on this preamp is impressive, his demos don't do his preamps justice. I run mine through the loop of my RM100.

 

[ClintN667]

How does your channel not have more subscribers?

 

[PDC]

I have swapped JJ 5751s through the gain stages of a couple of my amps and could definitely tell the difference in gain. Tamed the amp nicely and allowed me to use more sweep of the gain control. At higher gain settings, it definitely was not the same as lower settings with the traditional 12AX7. The gain was warmer, smoother and more controllable. I’m still running 5751s in my modded Metro 12xxx.

 

[bubbastain]

How does your channel not have more subscribers?

I am NOT a YouTuber. Honestly, the only reason I have a YouTube account is for New (fill in the blank) Days I’ve posted here and GGF over the years. I just figured a NAD thread is better with a video clip. But, You will never see my face or hear my voice and I will never ask/tell someone to hit the subscribe button and leave a comment. That being said, if one of my clips gives someone a bit more info on a particular piece of gear then that’s cool. I know I appreciate them when I’m researching a potential purchase.

 

[bubbastain]

So I ordered some tubes last night but they won’t be here until Saturday or Monday at the latest. Working with what I have I have found a combination that puts me right on the nose. NOS Mullard 12AT7 I bought recently in V1, an old Ei 12AT7 in V2 and an old RFT 12AX7 in V3. Really nice sweep on the gain knob now. I’ll post a video clip later today.

 

[bubbastain]

New video. Mullard 12AT7 in V1, Ei 12AT7 in V2 and RFT 12AX7 in V3

 

[LP Freak]

Damn, that sounds great

 

[Mr. Willy]

This may be a dumb question, but where are the knobs on that power amp? Preamp sounds killer, btw.

 

[bubbastain]

This may be a dumb question, but where are the knobs on that power amp? Preamp sounds killer, btw.

There is only a volume knob. It’s on the back right above the input. There is also a line out and level control for that too, but I don’t use it. No presence or resonance on this model. Would be nice if it did have them though.

 

[Jeff Hilligan]

Did you say you're using a PAF pickup? That second clip sounds awesome I think I'm going back to a preamp and a PV 60-60 or maybe I'll haul my 120-120 at a storage