oldguy
November 18th, 2006, 08:02 AM
Not sure it would be considered a "mod", but I got around to a project I've been wanting to do for a while. I replaced the tubes (all 2 of them) in the Valve Jr. head with a couple of JJ's. The EL 84 is a cooler "28" grade and the 12AX7 is the JJ ECC803S gold pin.
My impressions:
The amp "warmed up", notes seem "tighter" both low and highs seem clearer and less muddy. The amp seems (to me, at least) to have a bit more headroom before breakup begins, and when it does start breaking up, it's more harmonically "in tune" with itself. Notes seem more even, less ghost notes. When bending strings and using finger vibrato, the amp "follows" what you're doing better than before. And it sounds overall better, as long as you play cleanly. I think it's less forgiving of mistakes than before. What you play is what you get, you play sloppy, you hear it plainly. OOPS!:D
I also ordered a warmer grade EL84 (36 grade), an ECC83S gold pin, and an ECC 81, and will be doing more swaps later to see what results they yield. But for now I'm leaving it like it is so I can PLAY it since I finally have a weekend off!
Glenn
My impressions:
The amp "warmed up", notes seem "tighter" both low and highs seem clearer and less muddy. The amp seems (to me, at least) to have a bit more headroom before breakup begins, and when it does start breaking up, it's more harmonically "in tune" with itself. Notes seem more even, less ghost notes. When bending strings and using finger vibrato, the amp "follows" what you're doing better than before. And it sounds overall better, as long as you play cleanly. I think it's less forgiving of mistakes than before. What you play is what you get, you play sloppy, you hear it plainly. OOPS!:D
I also ordered a warmer grade EL84 (36 grade), an ECC83S gold pin, and an ECC 81, and will be doing more swaps later to see what results they yield. But for now I'm leaving it like it is so I can PLAY it since I finally have a weekend off!
Glenn