Retubed my smallbox

[mniel8195]

Hey guys i retubed my small box combo standard addition. It had ARS power tubes, pres, and one tung sol in the amp. I switched everything out for the tube amp doctor power tubes, chinese pre's, and a jj. I ordered everything valve queen and she suggested ordering a tung sol to see if i liked it more than the jj. I much prefer the tungsol over the jj. If you are need a little more tightness and a little more presence the tung sol is the way to go way more open sounding. The jj feels more gainy but its darker and not as tight on the bottom end. I set the bias at around 30-31.

 

[hammered]

Are you running the Tung Sol in V1 ? How are you liking the TAD power tubes vs the ARS ?

 

[mniel8195]

Honestly i don't know if i can perceive a difference. The biggest difference is switching between the tung sol and the jj in what i think is position 1 because the other tubes are the same. I have found the smallbox a bit bright a gig volume so i may switch it back to the jj. I can really hear the difference with headphones on running through a torpedo live.

 

[hammered]

Honestly i don't know if i can perceive a difference. The biggest difference is switching between the tung sol and the jj in what i think is position 1 because the other tubes are the same. I have found the smallbox a bit bright a gig volume so i may switch it back to the jj. I can really hear the difference with headphones on running through a torpedo live.

V1 would be the furthest preamp tube from the power tubes. I`m running a Ruby HG+ in V1 , Ruby HG in V2 and a Sovtek in V3 with the ARS power tubes. Sounds killer , I believe Rubys are just rebranded Chinese tubes . In my Splawn Super Sport I was running Rubys in V1 & 2 and the bass got a little boomy , switched those out for Tung Sols and the bass tightend up. I haven't had that problem with the Rubys in the Small Box though

 

[mniel8195]

Honestly i don't know if i can perceive a difference. The biggest difference is switching between the tung sol and the jj in what i think is position 1 because the other tubes are the same. I have found the smallbox a bit bright a gig volume so i may switch it back to the jj. I can really hear the difference with headphones on running through a torpedo live.

V1 would be the furthest preamp tube from the power tubes. I`m running a Ruby HG+ in V1 , Ruby HG in V2 and a Sovtek in V3 with the ARS power tubes. Sounds killer , I believe Rubys are just rebranded Chinese tubes . In my Splawn Super Sport I was running Rubys in V1 & 2 and the bass got a little boomy , switched those out for Tung Sols and the bass tightend up. I haven't had that problem with the Rubys in the Small Box though

I think the smallbox ships with TAD el34b power tubes, TAD "chinese re branded" preamp, and jj in v1 nowadays. I may be misquoting Dave but i think he may prefer the tungsol a bit more in v1 but they are not as reliable as the jj. So i purchased everything that comes stock now and decided to try the tung sol and i really like it over the jj because it is less soft and more defined sounding. I believe the rubys are the same tube as the TAD preamp tubes.

 

[atrox]

I'm really digging the new Mullard CV in V1 and V2 of my BE100

 

[hammered]

Honestly i don't know if i can perceive a difference. The biggest difference is switching between the tung sol and the jj in what i think is position 1 because the other tubes are the same. I have found the smallbox a bit bright a gig volume so i may switch it back to the jj. I can really hear the difference with headphones on running through a torpedo live.

V1 would be the furthest preamp tube from the power tubes. I`m running a Ruby HG+ in V1 , Ruby HG in V2 and a Sovtek in V3 with the ARS power tubes. Sounds killer , I believe Rubys are just rebranded Chinese tubes . In my Splawn Super Sport I was running Rubys in V1 & 2 and the bass got a little boomy , switched those out for Tung Sols and the bass tightend up. I haven't had that problem with the Rubys in the Small Box though

I think the smallbox ships with TAD el34b power tubes, TAD "chinese re branded" preamp, and jj in v1 nowadays. I may be misquoting Dave but i think he may prefer the tungsol a bit more in v1 but they are not as reliable as the jj. So i purchased everything that comes stock now and decided to try the tung sol and i really like it over the jj because it is less soft and more defined sounding. I believe the rubys are the same tube as the TAD preamp tubes.

Doug at Dougs tubes says the TAD 12AX7s are the same as the Ruby 12AX7 7025 , I've got a few of those that I'm gonna try in V2 and V3 and the Tung Sol in V1 . I ordered some TAD EL34s from valve queen as I think the ARS EL34s I have in there now are fading , the amp is starting to sound brittle and kind of weak and I'm getting the occasional snap crackle and pop come thru the speakers

 

[mniel8195]

I will tell you... I have had a real revelation about tubes and biasing. I have always rolled my eyes when guys are talking about tube rolling but it makes such a huge difference. The jj sounds great but it is much darker and much softer which some guys may like especially if they are blues guys or using certain pedals. The Tung sol works best for what i am doing. As far as Biasing the amp i purchased a new unit from euro tubes which shows plate voltage.

I warmed up the amp plugged in my guitar and for the first time really spent time tweaking it through headphones. I found that 30 ma sounded really clear but 32 ma is where the magic happens on my amp. Anything over that and i lost clarity for more gain. At 32ma i can roll the volume down and i get this amazing feel on both channels on my split coils through my Suhr modern. Plus the amp plays itself a little but more and i am less reluctant to hit that koko boost.

I originally biased the amp with the jj but had to go back and do it again with the tung sol because my plate voltage went up from around 470-480. Not sure if it's because of the tube swamp but it should be done because just the slightest tweak of the bias makes a world of difference.

 

[hammered]

I will tell you... I have had a real revelation about tubes and biasing. I have always rolled my eyes when guys are talking about tube rolling but it makes such a huge difference. The jj sounds great but it is much darker and much softer which some guys may like especially if they are blues guys or using certain pedals. The Tung sol works best for what i am doing. As far as Biasing the amp i purchased a new unit from euro tubes which shows plate voltage.

I warmed up the amp plugged in my guitar and for the first time really spent time tweaking it through headphones. I found that 30 ma sounded really clear but 32 ma is where the magic happens on my amp. Anything over that and i lost clarity for more gain. At 32ma i can roll the volume down and i get this amazing feel on both channels on my split coils through my Suhr modern. Plus the amp plays itself a little but more and i am less reluctant to hit that koko boost.

I originally biased the amp with the jj but had to go back and do it again with the tung sol because my plate voltage went up from around 470-480. Not sure if it's because of the tube swamp but it should be done because just the slightest tweak of the bias makes a world of difference.

Thanks for this info , I`ve got a set of TAD power tubes on the way so my SB will need to be rebiased . I took out the the Ruby I had been using in V1 and tried the Tung Sol in there. It sounded good but I prefer the Ruby so it went back. In my Splawn I prefer the Tung Sol over the Ruby

 

[hammered]

I put TAD power tubes in my SB and it sounds great. It`s not a big change from the ARS tubes that were in there but to my ears those tubes might have starting to die. With the new TADs the amp sounds open , big and powerful. So I`ve got the TADs in the power section and Ruby 12AX7 HG+ in V1 and Ruby 12AX7 7025 in V2 and V3

 

[mniel8195]

update... I really grew tired of the amp biased a little hotter for some reason. Backed it down to 30ma and its open sounding and less squishy more tight. Love this amp though.

 

[hammered]

For a second time I put the Tung Sol back in V1 and for now I`m gonna leave it in there. I first tried it when I still had the fading ARS tubes in the power section so I wasn`t too thrilled. All sounds good now