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[Pearse]

I have a 100w JMP with new EH EL34s in the power section. i really like the real warm blues tone like gary moore but i also like alot of Van Halen and that Hard rock stuff like GNR and even 70s calssic stuff but all of it real warm and creamy, i want to Know what sort of Pre amp tubes would be good with the power valves i already have.
Thanks for helpin me out.

 

[PaoloJM]

I have a 100w JMP with new EH EL34s in the power section. i really like the real warm blues tone like gary moore but i also like alot of Van Halen and that Hard rock stuff like GNR and even 70s calssic stuff but all of it real warm and creamy, i want to Know what sort of Pre amp tubes would be good with the power valves i already have.
Thanks for helpin me out.

A set of EH/JJ Tesla/Tung Sol/Mullard NOS etc 12AX7s should get you in the zone.
All the guitarists you mentioned get their tone from driving the power tubes hard and you'll have to do the same. It's mostly power tube distortion you're hearing. A good attenuator is the best job for this as it lets you drive the output tubes with making your ears blead. Roll back the preamp gain and hit the power amp hard and
This is the opposite of high gain metal players who tend to get their tone from the preamp section.

 

[stryker59]

yep! thats the route i would go as well!!

 

[plexipaul]

My pick for my 100 watters:

V1: Since V1 has the most effect in the preamp section I want the most low noise tube with the most amount of gain for a reasonable price. ECC83S and TungSol 12AX7 apply on these criteria. Although TungSol 12AX7 has a tad less gain compared to JJ ECC83S it is a more musical tube and more pronounced in bass, mids and highs. For that the TungSol 12AX7 is my favorite for V1.

V2: mainly tone shaping; I have JJ ECC83S in my JMP and a old Mullard ECC83 in my SLP. Both tubes tame some of the highs (i work with M25 Greenbacks).

V3: Phase Inverter; As of today i can confirm the hype about balanced phase inverters, at least this is the case with my Marshalls. I don`t know about other amps. Today i`ve put in Philips NOS JAN GE 5751 in both amps. They do not only make the tone tighter (bass in particular) but also sustaining notes sound lots more musical compared to other non-balanced tubes such as TungSol 12AX7, Marshall ECC83 (white label= chinese), Mullard ECC83, JJ ECC83S and JJ AT7 i`ve experimented with.

 

[Pearse]

Thanks guys i think il try the jj ECC83 s ive heard alot of hype about them thanks for the help.

 

[DragonSarc]

My pick for my 100 watters:

V1: Since V1 has the most effect in the preamp section I want the most low noise tube with the most amount of gain for a reasonable price. ECC83S and TungSol 12AX7 apply on these criteria. Although TungSol 12AX7 has a tad less gain compared to JJ ECC83S it is a more musical tube and more pronounced in bass, mids and highs. For that the TungSol 12AX7 is my favorite for V1.

V2: mainly tone shaping; I have JJ ECC83S in my JMP and a old Mullard ECC83 in my SLP. Both tubes tame some of the highs (i work with M25 Greenbacks).

V3: Phase Inverter; As of today i can confirm the hype about balanced phase inverters, at least this is the case with my Marshalls. I don`t know about other amps. Today i`ve put in Philips NOS JAN GE 5751 in both amps. They do not only make the tone tighter (bass in particular) but also sustaining notes sound lots more musical compared to other non-balanced tubes such as TungSol 12AX7, Marshall ECC83 (white label= chinese), Mullard ECC83, JJ ECC83S and JJ AT7 i`ve experimented with.

how about the TSL 100 100watts it has 4 preamp tubes what does the V3 do? cuz the V4 is the phase inverter.

 

[plexipaul]

how about the TSL 100 100watts it has 4 preamp tubes what does the V3 do? cuz the V4 is the phase inverter.

Don`t pin me on on this but if i recall well i thought one part of V3 (in a 4 stage preampsection) is assigned to reverb/tremolo/vibrato (maybe even line out and/or fx-loops) and one part adds a tad gain to the incoming signal.

 

[357mag]

The problem with the attenuator idea is that sure you can crank up the amp but you will still have to set the speaker at a lower volume. There is the problem. Speaker distortion is important also. For noteworthy speakers like Celestions that have a distinct sound when pushed hard, that also factors into the end result.

 

[PaoloJM]

The problem with the attenuator idea is that sure you can crank up the amp but you will still have to set the speaker at a lower volume. There is the problem. Speaker distortion is important also. For noteworthy speakers like Celestions that have a distinct sound when pushed hard, that also factors into the end result.

This is true. Distortion comes from three main area's of a rig; the preamp, the power amp and the speakers. You can get preamp distortion as any volume you wish. Power amp and speaker distortion can only be gotten by driving both hard. An attenuator is not a complete solution but in my opinion it does get you two of the three sources of distortion (pre and power amp), and does this well, and IMO is well worth the inverstment.

 

[psphill27]

A lot of truth in the above comments. This is one of the reasons that I like using my DSL 401 for recording. I can crank the amp and get a totally rocking sound (also added a Vintage 30). However, I have to pull the gain back from where I set it for practicing. No doubt the classic sound of many musicians (especially playing Marshalls) comes from pushing the amp hard.