Lookie what I'm picking up today...

[Superlizard]

I think it gives more crunch with out losing some of that Drunk-rock charm.

"Drunk-rock charm"?  Heheheh... I like that description.  I'm 100% "drunk-rock tone" all the way, man.

 

[DangerousR6]

What kind of head is that on the fender?

That's the Ups Box 65 watter. It's got the brown sound. It's also made entirely from recycled materials. :laughing7:

Ahhhhhhh, yes the elusive "Brown sound"..... :laughing11:

 

[DangerousR6]

This may be a dumb question, but I've seen that some people use 6550's in place of EL34's. Some say they are even "crunchier" than the EL34's, do they just break up faster and do they stay crunchy in milk?..... :icon_scratch:

 

[DangerousR6]

What I have learned over the years about the power tubes is that the 6L6's are harder to distort than the EL34's.  This can be interpreted in a couple of ways, but here is my take...  The EL34's will be warmer and less rigid, better suited for longer drawn out notes.  The 6L6's will be rigid and precise and well suited for speed picking/crunch, or higher fidelity clean sounds.  The preamp is where most of your distortion is coming from, so the power amp will either warm that up, or tighten that up.  6L6's generally run a little more power through them as well.  After quite a bit of searching, I settled on KT77's which are EL34 analogs that are between the two sides of the spectrum, tighter than EL34's but not as rigid as 6L6's.  I think it gives more crunch with out losing some of that Drunk-rock charm.

As far as pedals to increase the crunch, your overdrives and distortion pedals are your best bet.  Also take a look at boost pedals, they tend to give you that "11" sound that a lot of people like.  Look's like a lot of fun.
Patrick

After a lot of reading on Eurotubes, I think I might try the KT77's also, he states that they are a bit crunchier than the EL34's....Not a bad price either... :icon_thumright:

 

[Patrick from Davis]

6550's actually do not break up much at all.  They are very high fidelity, if you will.  Because of that, they do not distort the distorted preamp signal making it "fuzzy"-ier  This allows you to play with fast attack that is desirable in more of the high gain crunch sounds because you need the definition "around the edges," when playing fast.  A good test is to see how well an open chord sounds.  If you can hear all of the notes, not mush, it will probably be a good crunch machine.  The KT88 is very similar to the 6550 but a bit warmer.  You see these two output tubes in all of the metaller amps.  Now, I am not really sure if you can just plunk them into the same spot as an EL34.  I know that they were based on the 6L6 but for higher voltages, but tube histories/compatibilities are generally convoluted.  There are some amp design specs that need to be followed.  From what I have picked up, it looks like they require a lower impedance from the output transformer (I am probably messing up something here)  But that does make sense, these tubes/amps with these tubes always seem to have a higher wattage.  A lower impedance would go hand in hand with that.  They also have a larger plate dissipation spec than the other tubes commonly used.  They are beefy.

As far as the KT77's, they are a drop in replacement for an EL34.  I have an EH EL34 and a JJ KT77 for my little 5 watt home build, and the KT77 is a much crunchier modern high gain sound.  I generally get the JJ's from the Tube Depot.  They are cheap and deliver pretty darn quick.
Patrick

 

[DocNrock]

That's what I said about the KT77's  :icon_biggrin:

 

[DangerousR6]

That's what I said about the KT77's   :icon_biggrin:

Yes you did Doc....I must start paying more attention...  :glasses9:

 

[GitDiv]

Also, on the preamp side, you might want to try 12BZ7's in place of the 12AX7's. More crunch, when pushed, and much more character in general. Just plop them in and listen.

Cheap too. About $6.99 each from Antique Electronics.

Tube Depot and The Tube Store carry them also at a similarly low price.

You can change the cathode bias resistor and/or bypass cap for more headroom, but it's really not necessary. I just roll back on my guitar volume. Much better than a Overdrive pedal IMHO....More organic.

Oh, and KT77's in the power amp are excellent.


-Dave

 

[DangerousR6]

Also, on the preamp side, you might want to try 12BZ7's in place of the 12AX7's. More crunch, when pushed, and much more character in general. Just plop them in and listen.

Cheap too. About $6.99 each from Antique Electronics.

Tube Depot and The Tube Store carry them also at a similarly low price.

You can change the cathode bias resistor and/or bypass cap for more headroom, but it's really not necessary. I just roll back on my guitar volume. Much better than a Overdrive pedal IMHO....More organic.

Oh, and KT77's in the power amp are excellent.


-Dave

Thanks Dave, but I've bought a set of tubes from Eurotubes.. A set of JJ E34L's with 4 ECC83s and one ECC82, with one of the ECC83's balanced for the phase inverter... :icon_thumright:

 

[Superlizard]

Thanks Dave, but I've bought a set of tubes from Eurotubes.. A set of JJ E34L's with 4 ECC83s and one ECC82, with one of the ECC83's balanced for the phase inverter... :icon_thumright:

Yo man - check PMs.

 

[DocNrock]

Also, on the preamp side, you might want to try 12BZ7's in place of the 12AX7's. More crunch, when pushed, and much more character in general. Just plop them in and listen.

Cheap too. About $6.99 each from Antique Electronics.

Tube Depot and The Tube Store carry them also at a similarly low price.

You can change the cathode bias resistor and/or bypass cap for more headroom, but it's really not necessary. I just roll back on my guitar volume. Much better than a Overdrive pedal IMHO....More organic.

Oh, and KT77's in the power amp are excellent.


-Dave

Thanks Dave, but I've bought a set of tubes from Eurotubes.. A set of JJ E34L's with 4 ECC83s and one ECC82, with one of the ECC83's balanced for the phase inverter... :icon_thumright:

Now you're sounding like a guy who knows tubes.  :icon_biggrin:

 

[DangerousR6]

Also, on the preamp side, you might want to try 12BZ7's in place of the 12AX7's. More crunch, when pushed, and much more character in general. Just plop them in and listen.

Cheap too. About $6.99 each from Antique Electronics.

Tube Depot and The Tube Store carry them also at a similarly low price.

You can change the cathode bias resistor and/or bypass cap for more headroom, but it's really not necessary. I just roll back on my guitar volume. Much better than a Overdrive pedal IMHO....More organic.

Oh, and KT77's in the power amp are excellent.


-Dave

Thanks Dave, but I've bought a set of tubes from Eurotubes.. A set of JJ E34L's with 4 ECC83s and one ECC82, with one of the ECC83's balanced for the phase inverter... :icon_thumright:

Now you're sounding like a guy who knows tubes.   :icon_biggrin:

I'm getting there, tooooooooobs should be here monday. Got the stuff to check the bias. Although I can't set the bias on my amp, I can still check it to make sure they're not set to hot. This particular Crate is sort of an in between, it can use wither 6L6's or EL34's, but it's circuitry figures out what tubes are in it and adjusts it's self. There's no trim pot to adjust the bias, it's all controlled by resistors on the board.. :dontknow: