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View Full Version : New Tubes are in..WOW!



Radioboy950
January 8th, 2008, 04:03 PM
My Rivera Quiana sounds phenomanal after having it re-tubed with JJ's (from Eurotubes) and bias set at 38mA.
There's a rich & warm crunch...and no more unwanted snap, crackle, pop & hiss. I had the original "Winged C" power tubes, which were getting a little flakey. The amp runs super-quiet now, and I get much better response when adjusting EQ, Focus and Presence controls. My humbuckers sound great as always, and I really noticed an improvement with the single coils in my Tele.

I went with a pair of 6L6GC's, and 5 ECC83S preamp tubes. But I tried something different and had Bob select 3 graded for higher gain. I am diggin it!

Here's the way I see it:
As musicians and tone geeks, we pay good money for our equipment. So, why not spend a few dollars to make it sound the very best.
Similar to a nice guitar, which sounds pretty good with the same old strings. But regular string changes make it sound even fuller, richer...snappier.

The amp was fun before, but NOW she really sings. :rockon:

Robert
January 8th, 2008, 04:08 PM
That must be a sweet amp. How much do they go for? Is it loud?

Radioboy950
January 8th, 2008, 04:17 PM
Ya know Robert, I'm confident this amp would handle just about anything, at 50W. The combo's cab is open in back, so it's nice & chunky. 50 tube watts sounds friggin amazing.

But most of the time, I am running this amp at half-power, thanks to the Vintage/Modern switch in back. Vintage sounds warm and creamy.
Man, I have to post some clips for you guys.

A bit pricey...about $2000 new. Bought mine used for $1300. I expect to have this amp for a long time.

Robert
January 8th, 2008, 04:23 PM
Yes, please post some clips - what are you waiting for!! :beer: :)

abraxas
January 8th, 2008, 05:20 PM
Way to go, nice for you Radioboy! :AOK:

The Quiana is on of the best combos made today! Respect! :master:

oldguy
January 8th, 2008, 05:28 PM
I really enjoy buying tubes from Bob Pletka at Eurotubes. He always seems to have a little time to talk amps, no matter how busy he is. He answers e-mails fast, and he's great to do business with. Ships orders out super-quick, too.:AOK:
You're right about keeping your tubes upgraded. I've played amphs longer than I should have w/o retubing, and they still sounded good, but when I finally got around to re-tubing and biasing, they sounded great!:AOK:

Yes, clips of an amp that sweet would be great!
Whenever you have time, of course....... (are you busy now...what are you doing right now???):D :D :rotflmao:

Bloozcat
January 10th, 2008, 11:42 AM
Other than the power tubes being new, I suspect that the different pre-amp tubes are most responsible for the new and better sound. Bob at Eurotubes sure knows those JJ's. He's become the go to guy for those tubes for a lot of people.

mrmudcat
January 10th, 2008, 11:55 AM
I really enjoy buying tubes from Bob Pletka at Eurotubes. He always seems to have a little time to talk amps, no matter how busy he is. He answers e-mails fast, and he's great to do business with. Ships orders out super-quick, too.:AOK:
You're right about keeping your tubes upgraded. I've played amphs longer than I should have w/o retubing, and they still sounded good, but when I finally got around to re-tubing and biasing, they sounded great!:AOK:

Yes, clips of an amp that sweet would be great!
Whenever you have time, of course....... (are you busy now...what are you doing right now???):D :D :rotflmao:


+++1

sunvalleylaw
January 10th, 2008, 06:18 PM
I really enjoy buying tubes from Bob Pletka at Eurotubes. He always seems to have a little time to talk amps, no matter how busy he is. He answers e-mails fast, and he's great to do business with. Ships orders out super-quick, too.:AOK:
You're right about keeping your tubes upgraded. I've played amphs longer than I should have w/o retubing, and they still sounded good, but when I finally got around to re-tubing and biasing, they sounded great!:AOK:

Yes, clips of an amp that sweet would be great!
Whenever you have time, of course....... (are you busy now...what are you doing right now???):D :D :rotflmao:

I don't need to just yet, but when I do need to replace some tubes, I plan to contact those guys.

Radioboy950
January 10th, 2008, 06:45 PM
I don't need to just yet, but when I do need to replace some tubes, I plan to contact those guys.

Good move indeed, SVL.

And now that I have the bias set for Bob's carefully matched and graded valves (groovy) , a re-bias isn't really necessary when I re-order from them.

It certainly doesn't hurt to have the sockets cleaned & checked out and bias adjusted at each re-tube, but what I'm saying is that I do trust the Eurotube folks to supply me with precise matches. :AOK: