tlp1234
Moderator
Preface; All these years playing and "gear heading 
" (for me that would be 1972 to the present) hollow-state amps w/6V6 power sections weren't one of my curiosities. Not even the iconic Fender Deluxe Reverb. Like a multitude of others I simply started out using the gear available to me without much thought of how it was made or where it came from. If it functioned reliably, and sounded good to me at the time, I raved on and made the best of it.
Even as a stupid teen tinkering and learning the rudiments of electricity poking/prodding, shocking the shit out of myself, burning up shit and later refining my skills and knowledge with much reading, experimenting, and finally formal education of such, I always eschewed all the debates and highly opinionated commentary about how much difference a specific type of output tube makes in the design amalgam that contributes at least in part to the "tone, feel, et al" of a particular tube guitar amp.
No doubt output tube types (and where and how they're mfr'd) do make a difference. Just how much I won't debate. Neither will I debate all those subtle nuances that each individual set of ears hears vs not hear. However, I respect differing opinions on this and try to contain (and constantly question) my own dogma on all it. I continue to learn from everyone regardless. These days, I'd rather just ask questions and process the answers. Often, the more I dig into things, the more I discover how ignorant I really am on the subject matter. Just like everyone else, the sum of my specific knowledge is a work in progress.
Got a variety of amps at the moment. Matchless, Mesa, Wizard, Friedman, coulple of SLO's from 1998-2001. Really pleased with them. G.A.S. at a minimum. The power sections of those run the partial gamut....e.g; EL34 (Matchless Clubman, Matchless Independance, Wizard MC50, Friedman SB50), KT150 (Wizard MCII), KT200 (Wizard MTL MKII), 5881 (Soldano SLO MKI's), 6L6 (Mesa MKI, MKIIC+, MKIV Rev A's, MKIV Rev B, MKV 90W, MKVII), EL84 (Matchless Lightning, Matchless C30).
Sorry for that long-stupid-word-salad-pontification. Hopefully the aforementioned doesn't come across that way too much. Just my feeble attempt to add context.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hopefully on a more specific departure point.......started with Carr Skylark, then Carr Mercury V, Wizard MC25. To be fair.....I found none of those horrible for what I do. I've still got some 6V6 powered amps I'll talk about in a bit.
The MC25 was the hottest small amp of it's type I've ever played (for whatever that's worth). The reasons I moved it was (and it was a difficult decision) I used my upgraded MC50 much, much more at the time. The MC25 sounded damned good at the time for what it was. But to my ears, my MC50 has a baseline high & upper mid sheen and presence that I just couldn't dial into the MC25. Oh sure.....I could get some subtle differences with different cabinets and speakers and get close to what I was looking for, but I've always picked amps whose base tone was good enough to my ears without having to suffer a mind numbing plethora of speaker and tube swaps. I've never been one to do much of that anyway, but made an exception with the MC25 because it was a killer little amp. I probably would have kept it if Steve aka "velcro fly" hadn't had his at the time mint condition Matchless Laurel Canyon 20W combo up for trade.
Back to 6V6 power sections and relevant amps....e.g. Carr Skylark, Mercury V, MC25. Even though these amps have an overall different character, they all have to my ears a certain tonal commonality that was driving me nuts! I'll do my best to describe what I was hearing. Out of none of them, at the time, could I get the airy, shimmering highs and upper mids I craved. My ears heard, for my lack of a better word and somewhat metaphorically speaking, a "burnished" tone. Anything left or right of that tonal center point was too dark or grating and harsh. And I'm talking on stage with a band as the acid test.
I struggled to find a middle ground. Also I struggled to dial out a somewhat loose and Neil Young crashy low-mid greasiness when the power section was driven to clip. I'm not dissing that sound. Plenty of folks love that. If it sounds good to you, then it is good and all that subjectivety, but it wasn't working for me.
Gawd, this was driving me apeshit!! I asked every tube amp technical type and designer I respect and've known for a long, long time, plus plenty I didn't. To make a long story short the answers ranged from "well it's just you" to "you're just an old fucking dumbass in dire need of hearing aids". Lots in between not worth mentioning. Oh well......ask and you shall recieve.
Now enter the 20W Matchless Laurel Canyon (2 X 6V6)......hmmm. Sounds like no Matchless I've ever played through (and I've played through most of the models they make past & present). Dumb luck smiles on me this time. In an attempt to be succinct, I say it has much less of what I didn't want in the others, and slightly tighter lows/less splatty. Once I tweak the tone stack where I want, find a compromise gain/master setting. I can slam the power section to clip when needed. Roll off the volume on the guitar and it cleans up nicely.....very sweet. Looking forward to the 40W version I ordered direct from Matchless. Should be here early 2024.
Onto the Mesa California Tweed 4:40 Combo (4 X 6V6). Dumb luck smiles on me twice! Killer transparent FX loop. Power scales from 2W to 40W (2w/10w/20w/30w/40w). Jensen 40W Blackbird Alnico....s...w...eeeeee...t!
There's some fabulous knowledge here on the board, so please share whatever you wish.
Even if it's to tell me what a rambling worthless post this is, or what a babbling senile old fucker I am.
It's all good....it really is.
" (for me that would be 1972 to the present) hollow-state amps w/6V6 power sections weren't one of my curiosities. Not even the iconic Fender Deluxe Reverb. Like a multitude of others I simply started out using the gear available to me without much thought of how it was made or where it came from. If it functioned reliably, and sounded good to me at the time, I raved on and made the best of it.Even as a stupid teen tinkering and learning the rudiments of electricity poking/prodding, shocking the shit out of myself, burning up shit and later refining my skills and knowledge with much reading, experimenting, and finally formal education of such, I always eschewed all the debates and highly opinionated commentary about how much difference a specific type of output tube makes in the design amalgam that contributes at least in part to the "tone, feel, et al" of a particular tube guitar amp.
No doubt output tube types (and where and how they're mfr'd) do make a difference. Just how much I won't debate. Neither will I debate all those subtle nuances that each individual set of ears hears vs not hear. However, I respect differing opinions on this and try to contain (and constantly question) my own dogma on all it. I continue to learn from everyone regardless. These days, I'd rather just ask questions and process the answers. Often, the more I dig into things, the more I discover how ignorant I really am on the subject matter. Just like everyone else, the sum of my specific knowledge is a work in progress.
Got a variety of amps at the moment. Matchless, Mesa, Wizard, Friedman, coulple of SLO's from 1998-2001. Really pleased with them. G.A.S. at a minimum. The power sections of those run the partial gamut....e.g; EL34 (Matchless Clubman, Matchless Independance, Wizard MC50, Friedman SB50), KT150 (Wizard MCII), KT200 (Wizard MTL MKII), 5881 (Soldano SLO MKI's), 6L6 (Mesa MKI, MKIIC+, MKIV Rev A's, MKIV Rev B, MKV 90W, MKVII), EL84 (Matchless Lightning, Matchless C30).
Sorry for that long-stupid-word-salad-pontification. Hopefully the aforementioned doesn't come across that way too much. Just my feeble attempt to add context.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hopefully on a more specific departure point.......started with Carr Skylark, then Carr Mercury V, Wizard MC25. To be fair.....I found none of those horrible for what I do. I've still got some 6V6 powered amps I'll talk about in a bit.
The MC25 was the hottest small amp of it's type I've ever played (for whatever that's worth). The reasons I moved it was (and it was a difficult decision) I used my upgraded MC50 much, much more at the time. The MC25 sounded damned good at the time for what it was. But to my ears, my MC50 has a baseline high & upper mid sheen and presence that I just couldn't dial into the MC25. Oh sure.....I could get some subtle differences with different cabinets and speakers and get close to what I was looking for, but I've always picked amps whose base tone was good enough to my ears without having to suffer a mind numbing plethora of speaker and tube swaps. I've never been one to do much of that anyway, but made an exception with the MC25 because it was a killer little amp. I probably would have kept it if Steve aka "velcro fly" hadn't had his at the time mint condition Matchless Laurel Canyon 20W combo up for trade.
Back to 6V6 power sections and relevant amps....e.g. Carr Skylark, Mercury V, MC25. Even though these amps have an overall different character, they all have to my ears a certain tonal commonality that was driving me nuts! I'll do my best to describe what I was hearing. Out of none of them, at the time, could I get the airy, shimmering highs and upper mids I craved. My ears heard, for my lack of a better word and somewhat metaphorically speaking, a "burnished" tone. Anything left or right of that tonal center point was too dark or grating and harsh. And I'm talking on stage with a band as the acid test.
I struggled to find a middle ground. Also I struggled to dial out a somewhat loose and Neil Young crashy low-mid greasiness when the power section was driven to clip. I'm not dissing that sound. Plenty of folks love that. If it sounds good to you, then it is good and all that subjectivety, but it wasn't working for me.
Gawd, this was driving me apeshit!! I asked every tube amp technical type and designer I respect and've known for a long, long time, plus plenty I didn't. To make a long story short the answers ranged from "well it's just you" to "you're just an old fucking dumbass in dire need of hearing aids". Lots in between not worth mentioning. Oh well......ask and you shall recieve.
Now enter the 20W Matchless Laurel Canyon (2 X 6V6)......hmmm. Sounds like no Matchless I've ever played through (and I've played through most of the models they make past & present). Dumb luck smiles on me this time. In an attempt to be succinct, I say it has much less of what I didn't want in the others, and slightly tighter lows/less splatty. Once I tweak the tone stack where I want, find a compromise gain/master setting. I can slam the power section to clip when needed. Roll off the volume on the guitar and it cleans up nicely.....very sweet. Looking forward to the 40W version I ordered direct from Matchless. Should be here early 2024.
Onto the Mesa California Tweed 4:40 Combo (4 X 6V6). Dumb luck smiles on me twice! Killer transparent FX loop. Power scales from 2W to 40W (2w/10w/20w/30w/40w). Jensen 40W Blackbird Alnico....s...w...eeeeee...t!
There's some fabulous knowledge here on the board, so please share whatever you wish.
Even if it's to tell me what a rambling worthless post this is, or what a babbling senile old fucker I am.
It's all good....it really is.
