Tweaker Hybrid preamp?

ramblin390

New member
I noticed in the manual the tweaker 15 and 40 only use 1 preamp tube-the other 2 preamp tubes are for the efx loop and pi-does the tweaker only use 1 tube for the preamp?
 
I emailed Egnater about trying to hard bypass the FX loop and was told that the FX return circuit (V2 preamp tube) was integral to the overall sound and gain of the amp.

I'm guessing that this amp has 2 tube gain stages, which are represented in the 1st preamp tube. Then the signal goes through some solid state devices and finally passes through the FX return circuit. The Marshall JMP-1, which uses 2 tubes and solid state clipping devices, was not a particular fun preamp for me to play - even through an all-tube power amp. I thought the JMP-1 sounded descent enough to not make me think for a second that it was anything but all tube. However, playing it was another story. It didn't feel much better than the feel I've gotten while playing through modelling amps.

I don't believe the Tweaker is in the same class as the JMP-1. The Tweaker feels good to me. I'm still experimenting with preamp & output tubes as well as speakers, but early indications are that the Tweaker is a keeper. ;) It does seem like the speakers really have a lot to do with tone.

Oh, when I replaced the V2 tube with a nice NOS tube, the tone certainly improved with regard to depth and dynamics.
 
viking22":2qwafvst said:
3 12AX7's for a single channel amp is the norm & perfectly normal.No need for a hybrid preamp.
according to the manual 1 tube is for pi-1 is for efx loop-usually you will see more preamp tubes to achieve the amount of gain that the tweaker produces.
 
I've played all-tube amps that couldn't hold a torch to the Tweaker, and I've played tube amps with some solid state components that simply rocked. In the end, I think it comes down to tone and feel. The tone was there, but the feel wasn't. I ended up taking the Tweaker back to GC and getting another amp.

I do like the Tweaker's appearance and think it sounds good. I especially like the fact that you can put nearly any pair of output tubes in it. It truly is a Tweaker!

However, the feel of the amp is important to me as well, and I just couldn't achieve a satisfactory feel with it. That is not to say that the amp won't produce a good feel for you.

My guitar is far from top-of-the-line, and I'm far from what anybody would call a great guitarist, meaning maybe the issue of feel isn't the amp so much as it is me. Doesn't matter to me though because Egnater Amplification was very friendly and helpful whenever I called, and because of that, I may indeed own a different Egnater amp in the future.
 
Back
Top