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  1. RiverRatt

    Fender amps....Mexican VS American

    I had an early ‘90s Blues Deluxe not too long ago. I think it has lush cleans. I had a 2018 DRRI right after that and I wished I’d kept the Blues Deluxe. My favorite amp right now is a 1st gen Mesa Rectoverb 50. It sounds great with any guitar. My Strat is incredible though it. Also I built a...
  2. RiverRatt

    12BY7 as a low watt output tube

    There are countless choices. I have so many sweep tubes to try that I’ll never get around to trying them all. One that really worked well was a 6CM6. It sounds like a big bottle tube. I think Guitar-Rocker is working on a push-pull 6CM6 amp. I also have some RCA black plate 6DQ6 that I want to...
  3. RiverRatt

    12BY7 as a low watt output tube

    I built a little amp a while back. I got it working and put it aside. I got it out this weekend and got it dialed in. It’s a tweed type SE circuit, and I used a 12BY7 pentode. The 12BY7 is used as a driver tube in ham radio gear. It makes a pretty sweet output tube. I guess it sounds more like...
  4. RiverRatt

    Guitars, what do you think?

    Gibson, Fender, Suhr. I haven’t tried a PRS that I like yet. I’d put an early period Fugijen Jackson or Charvel in their place. I just can’t figure out what PRS is going for. They make beautiful guitars but to me they feel like somebody tried to cross a Les Paul double cut with a strat and...
  5. RiverRatt

    NGDeja Vu - Schecter content

    Hell I don’t know. I could find something I want more tomorrow, or I could keep it until I die. I hope I’m not jinxing myself. Those could very well be the same day the way my luck runs. 🤣
  6. RiverRatt

    Preamp Tubes? - Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How?

    The ones with the dull black plates are either RCA or Tung-Sol. There are two characteristics that positively identify a Raytheon without fail. The plates will be shiny black, not matte. Also, the exhaust tip will have that pipette look I mentioned - parallel sides with the top melted into a...
  7. RiverRatt

    Preamp Tubes? - Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How?

    Now my question is, when was this tube made? Was it just before the black plates or just before Japan?
  8. RiverRatt

    Preamp Tubes? - Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How?

    A lot of companiies used that plate design, I just didn’t ever remember Raytheon using a long gray plate in a USA 12AX7. I am always glad to learn something new
  9. RiverRatt

    NGDeja Vu - Schecter content

    3 or 4 years ago I traded a Fender Super 60 for a Schecter C-1 Platinum. The guitar is a solid player. Perfect action, great balance and sustain… it feels like one piece of wood. I put a set of EMG RetroActive Fat55 humbuckers in it, and it was incredible. I never intended to sell the guitar...
  10. RiverRatt

    Preamp Tubes? - Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How?

    Here it is Micky. All this time and I still can’t take a decent tube pic.
  11. RiverRatt

    Preamp Tubes? - Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How?

    If anyone is still interested in preamp tubes, I found an oddball. I bought a Raytheon JRP-12AX7 off eBay recently. When I got it, it had long gray plates. By all accounts, it is a USA made tube. I’ve never seen a Raytheon 12AX7 with gray plates though that wasn’t Japanese. It’s a pretty safe...
  12. RiverRatt

    Preamp Tubes? - Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How?

    I love this thread. So many rabbit holes. It’s always felt like a bunch of friends sitting around talking. You never know what direction a conversation will go in. I grew up in a big family and Sunday afternoon BS sessions were a ritual.
  13. RiverRatt

    Preamp Tubes? - Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How?

    I think you chose the right action. No voltage problems whatsoever. I would not try to use the ECC823. A 12AU7 will effectively neuter the amp. Save those for an amp that was designed for them. As for Mr. Underwood’s statement, you obviously haven’t read this entire thread. If you had, you...
  14. RiverRatt

    Do you have that "one"?

    I have two that are very special. A 1999 Les Paul Standard and a Partscaster that I built. I have had a lot of strats, and this is one of the best. The LP is from the “golden age” of the ‘90s and is phenomenal.
  15. RiverRatt

    NGD Fender Vintera ‘50s Strat kinda sorta

    Thanks, I tend to have better luck with partscasters. I can trick them out any way I like. The pearloid pickguard is a throwback to my first Fender, a ‘60s Daphne Blue Mustang I got when I was 16.
  16. RiverRatt

    NGD Fender Vintera ‘50s Strat kinda sorta

    That’s what the MIJ ‘54 looked like. The new ‘50s style neck is very close to the feel of that neck.
  17. RiverRatt

    NGD Fender Vintera ‘50s Strat kinda sorta

    Yes they are. It felt like a good, vintage strat neck. The guitar it came from was nice overall, but it looked like ass. Somebody scratched up the finish and painted it baby blue, then painted it silver. By the time I cleaned it up, it looked rough.
  18. RiverRatt

    NGD Fender Vintera ‘50s Strat kinda sorta

    I have been jonesing for a ‘50s style strat for a while. One of my favorite Strats ever was one I made using a ‘54 neck from an ‘80s MIJ Fender reissue and a ‘90s Fiesta Red body. So, when I saw this neck from The Stratosphere for $60 less than other sellers, I snagged it. The plan was to find...
  19. RiverRatt

    Starting JTM45 Build. Have a few questions please.

    I built a great ValveStorm JTM45 in a Bluesbreaker sized 2x12 combo cab. I can share a few things that helped me along. I had to use grid stoppers on the output tubes. Seems like it’s a thing with Metro/ValveStorm JTM45’s. I used Heyboer transformers and a ClassicTone 20H choke. I’ve read all...
  20. RiverRatt

    NGD: 1999 Gibson Les Paul Standard

    I know right? Thinking back, the best Les Pauls I’ve had were all plain tops. This is my first vintage sunburst. I’ve had an Ebony Standard, a clownburst Deluxe and a dark cherry Custom, all from the ‘70s. Unfortunately I can’t afford more than one at a time. This one is a solid instrument...

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