EL34s vs 6L6s

[thebutcher85]

You need to EQ your amp with your ears and not your eyes. Crank the mids up more; guitar is a midrange instrument, if you've got your mids at 10oclock you won't get a "dark" thick metal tone. Mids are your friend, especially for metal. I crank the mids on all my amps and I always get tons of compliments on how my tone is "thick & Br00tal".

Trust me. Crank the mids, and use an overdrive pedal to boost the front of your amp. That's how it's done...

I'll give that a shot.  :headbang1:

Also, what setting do you have set on the dampening switch on the back? I like the "tight" setting when I'm playing modern metal with my downtuned guitars, and I like the mid setting with everything else. The 3120 is such a killer amp, I like it waaaaaay better than any of the 5150 or 6505 series!

I have it set on the "loudest" setting in the back of the head.  It may be the loosest setting?

I like a lot of resonance with my playing; a bit of a good "thrum."  I'm having trouble achieving that, too.

Hmmm, again, I'd suggest to mess around with the different settings and EQ it with your ears, I freakin love my 3120 head, It's got so many awesome tones lurking within...

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

You need to EQ your amp with your ears and not your eyes. Crank the mids up more; guitar is a midrange instrument, if you've got your mids at 10oclock you won't get a "dark" thick metal tone. Mids are your friend, especially for metal. I crank the mids on all my amps and I always get tons of compliments on how my tone is "thick & Br00tal".

Trust me. Crank the mids, and use an overdrive pedal to boost the front of your amp. That's how it's done...

I'll give that a shot.  :headbang1:

Also, what setting do you have set on the dampening switch on the back? I like the "tight" setting when I'm playing modern metal with my downtuned guitars, and I like the mid setting with everything else. The 3120 is such a killer amp, I like it waaaaaay better than any of the 5150 or 6505 series!

I have it set on the "loudest" setting in the back of the head.  It may be the loosest setting?

I like a lot of resonance with my playing; a bit of a good "thrum."  I'm having trouble achieving that, too.

Hmmm, again, I'd suggest to mess around with the different settings and EQ it with your ears, I freakin love my 3120 head, It's got so many awesome tones lurking within...

My ears tell me I've owned my 3120 for over a year and I've been messing around with tones and still fail to find enough "thrum" in it.  I far prefer the 3120 to the 6505, too, and I think it's a great amp, but if I was finding the sound I was looking for after owning it for a year and five months I wouldn't be asking questions about swapping tubes and making some changes.

 

[thebutcher85]

What speaker cab are you running it through? I HATED the stock peavey one and sold it rather quickly; I use my 3120 through a Marshall 1960 4x12 for older metal stuff, and a Mesa boogie recto 4x12 for the modern metal, the recto cab is insane! (Meaning, effing awesome) it's got such a massive low-mid/bass lunch it's unreal...

Before you spend a bunch of money on tubes & stuff I'd suggest trying your amp through some different, high-end cabs, it makes a world of difference! (Oh, and try boosting your amp with a digitech bad monkey overdrive)

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

What speaker cab are you running it through? I HATED the stock peavey one and sold it rather quickly; I use my 3120 through a Marshall 1960 4x12 for older metal stuff, and a Mesa boogie recto 4x12 for the modern metal, the recto cab is insane! (Meaning, effing awesome) it's got such a massive low-mid/bass lunch it's unreal...

Before you spend a bunch of money on tubes & stuff I'd suggest trying your amp through some different, high-end cabs, it makes a world of difference! (Oh, and try boosting your amp with a digitech bad monkey overdrive)

I have an Avatar 4x12 cab and I'm running two Celestion Vintage 30s and two Celestion K-100s.

 

[Patrick from Davis]

Your Avatar is set up similar to the "Uber Cab" from Bogner.  Good set up.  Good cabs as well.  I have two.  Also, new power tubes should run you about $70, not that much considering it is good to put new tires on the machine every once in a while.  It's a Peavey, so you probably can't adjust the bias point.  That means you just plug the power tubes in.  The pre amp tube is less than $20 and doesn't require a tech to do anything to replace.  A cab used is $300 plus speakers, because at $300 you generally get a bunch of, well, less than marvelous speakers.  While the proper cab is a great place to get the sound you are after, the tubes are much easier to start with.  If you want more lows, try that Sovtek 12AX7WB ($13)  If you want a tighter sound, move to 6L6's ($70).  That puts you at $83 bucks before shipping.
Patrick

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

Your Avatar is set up similar to the "Uber Cab" from Bogner.  Good set up.  Good cabs as well.  I have two.  Also, new power tubes should run you about $70, not that much considering it is good to put new tires on the machine every once in a while.  It's a Peavey, so you probably can't adjust the bias point.  That means you just plug the power tubes in.  The pre amp tube is less than $20 and doesn't require a tech to do anything to replace.  A cab used is $300 plus speakers, because at $300 you generally get a bunch of, well, less than marvelous speakers.  While the proper cab is a great place to get the sound you are after, the tubes are much easier to start with.  If you want more lows, try that Sovtek 12AX7WB ($13)  If you want a tighter sound, move to 6L6's ($70).  That puts you at $83 bucks before shipping.
Patrick

Sounds like a good idea.  Will making the changes also give me a little bit more "thrum" or resonance?

 

[Patrick from Davis]

Not sure.  Unfortunately, it is difficult to describe sound with text.  I might not think of the same thing as you are describing.  However, if the power tubes are old, they will sound tired.  For lack of a better term.  New ones are much more eager.  And it is one of the troubles that tube amps have, you have to replace power tubes at some point, like tires on a car.  However, tube amps are very easy to get working in way that guitarists seem to understand, so they are pretty popular.  I have a Peavey Ultra Plus, which is an earlier version of what you have.  It is a great amp, and I can get most everything I want out of it.  I expect that with a little work, yours will be working nicely.  Again, if you get JJ power tubes and that Sovtek 12AX7WB, and they do not work for you, you can easily sell them and get most of your money back.  The name brand thing works for you.  I found I like KT77 power tubes (kinda between an EL34 and a 6L6) for a hotrodded EL34 sound.  For whatever reason, that is the sound that does it for me.  I notice that the amp really is a lot sharper sounding when the new power tubes go in, but the character is more or less the same.
Patrick

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

Not sure.  Unfortunately, it is difficult to describe sound with text.  I might not think of the same thing as you are describing.  However, if the power tubes are old, they will sound tired.  For lack of a better term.  New ones are much more eager.  And it is one of the troubles that tube amps have, you have to replace power tubes at some point, like tires on a car.  However, tube amps are very easy to get working in way that guitarists seem to understand, so they are pretty popular.  I have a Peavey Ultra Plus, which is an earlier version of what you have.  It is a great amp, and I can get most everything I want out of it.  I expect that with a little work, yours will be working nicely.  Again, if you get JJ power tubes and that Sovtek 12AX7WB, and they do not work for you, you can easily sell them and get most of your money back.  The name brand thing works for you.  I found I like KT77 power tubes (kinda between an EL34 and a 6L6) for a hotrodded EL34 sound.  For whatever reason, that is the sound that does it for me.  I notice that the amp really is a lot sharper sounding when the new power tubes go in, but the character is more or less the same.
Patrick

Well, for the price it doesn't hurt to try!

 

[thebutcher85]

Post a clip or a YouTube link of the "thrum" "dark metal" tone you're trying to achieve.

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

Post a clip or a YouTube link of the "thrum" "dark metal" tone you're trying to achieve.

Will do!  Lemme search for one.