Do different valves really alter the amps sound?

[KH Guitar Freak]

I tried a Mesa SPAX7 preamp valve in V1 of my Roadster, and now its quiet and the attack is more immediate now... 

[JohnnyC]

there is plenty of good info on the net(and this thread) but id just use it as a guideline.
dont get me wrong ...im all up for finding the best combination of pre and power tubes and have spent/wasted plenty of time and $ trying out all diffrent types but at the end of the day, If you arent happy with the sound of your amp and think changing tubes is going to magicaly alter the sound, be prepared to be dissapointed.

IMO theres not THAT much noticable diffrence between changing brand x  with brand Y of a same type of most brands of tubes. changing the first gain stage preamp tube will generally show some changes and sure one type may have more <insert corksniffery term> compared to another... but seriously the tone of end result isnt that much diffrent. (especially with these high gainer amps with all the cascading gain stages)

and this doenst even take into account drift in tube specification over diffrent batches.

if you change tube type thats another story...but IMO if your not happy with the sound youve either

A) got the wrong amp (for you)
b) got the wrong speaker/cab (for your amp)
C) have something defective/malfunctioning somewhere in the chain (which includes the person playing the instrument/amp)

id take a lot of tube type reviews on the net with a grain of salt...as tone is subjective...and theres just too many variables to take into account

eg...someone who states that brand xyz of tubes made a "world of a diffrence"...etc could have just:
1) replaced old/worn/dud tubes with new tubes that are biased correctly (same as driving a car with shit oil/flat tyres...then getting good oil/and racing slicks etc)
2) been talking themselves into justifying their spending their $$$ on a product.

[JohnnyC]

If you have a popular amp like a mesa or 5150 & want a particular tone especially if it to is popular & popular pickups, then douges tubes is a winner & I would recommend them.

However if you have a boutique amp Diezel, VHT, Rivera, Bogner etc & use custom wound pickups & you are chasing a particular sound, Douges is still helpful, however limited.

If your amp/pickup situation or the tone you are chasing is out there, then it is best to start by chasing up sites that offer tube comparisons. Then look in your amp & see what it has. Figure out what you do & don't like about the tone of your amp currently & use the chart to reign it in to where you want it.
Also read up on your amp & figure out which tubes do what before doing anything else. 

+1 on this advice.
and ive ordered from dougs tubes, the tubestore, and eurotubes and have had no hassles with any of them. those guys love to get all geeky and chat about stuff

also learning about how your amp and biasing is a real bonus.
many sources for biasing information just specify plate (or cathode) current settings eg telling you to bias your 6L6s at "35 milliamps" really is misleading.

Unless you take the plate voltage of the amp into consideration, a current specification is meaningless.

[same same]

Excuse my lack of knowledge on the subject but should all the valves be glowing in my Combo? One of the two power tubes (EL34 I think) doesn't seam to glow at all.

[cdtBEAST]

 
get it checked by a professional BEFORE you play it any more. If there is a serious problem here it WILL FUCK your amp.

[cdtBEAST]

I have found the biggest changes in tone will come from v1 in the pre & your power tubes.

Basically v1 is your noticable distortion. Your power tubes are your drive & how loud your amp can go cleanly/ headroom. You will notice the differences in power tube tone as you increase the volume. All get warmer with volume. Some have extended treble response, some have extended treble response without distorting. Some will distort earlier giving more drive & others will just keep getting louder without much distortion @ all.

Changing tubes will not alter the fundamental tone of the amp. They can help with small annoying tonal issues though.

Amps like the 5150 rely on a balance of the pre & power section to generate tone. This however can lead to issues as when you find the perfect tone, you can't move anything & everyone else has to work around you.

Amps like the pittbull & Diezel tend to generate most of their tone through the pre section, meaning you can wind the volume knob around & the tone stays cosistant other than it gets a little warmer with more volume.

becuase these amps don't rely on the power tubes as much, they tend to look after them a lot better.

This is less of a problem with el34 based amps as they are designed to sound great loud as that is where the el34 tube is designed to operate. Loud & hot.

The Diezel Herbert fixes all these issues by, having a kick ass pre section on all channels, running 6 power tubes so they don't get overworked. It can run el34, 6L6 & kt88. But it's fucking awseome feature is that it can run 2 el34's, 2 6L6's & 2 kt88's @ THE SAME TIME. Giving you the best of all worlds.

[RichardMTS]

Since there's a few guys here that know what there talking about I would like to ask a question 
I have acquired a VH100R loaded with electro harmonix EL34's, I would like to change them over to 6L6's there is a switch on the back to change the bias from el34 to 6L6.
Now i know tubes aren't always exactly the same as each other so i will have to order a matched quad but will the bias switch be enough to just swap them over or will i still have to get the amp rebiased? I have read elsewhere that they're a pretty solidly built head so it should be a simple case of swapping and switching but as someone stated before don't believe everything you read on the internet!
Also does anyone have a ball park figure of what this will cost and how long they need the amp for?
Any help would be greatly appreciated 

[JohnnyC]

Since there's a few guys here that know what there talking about I would like to ask a question 
I have acquired a VH100R loaded with electro harmonix EL34's, I would like to change them over to 6L6's there is a switch on the back to change the bias from el34 to 6L6.
Now i know tubes aren't always exactly the same as each other so i will have to order a matched quad but will the bias switch be enough to just swap them over or will i still have to get the amp rebiased? I have read elsewhere that they're a pretty solidly built head so it should be a simple case of swapping and switching but as someone stated before don't believe everything you read on the internet!
Also does anyone have a ball park figure of what this will cost and how long they need the amp for?
Any help would be greatly appreciated 

the switch will get you roughly in the ballpark.
i would still get it biased.

[same same]

Shocked
get it checked by a professional BEFORE you play it any more. If there is a serious problem here it WILL FUCK your amp.

I haven't played it since that last post, But tonight i decided to turn in on and turn the lights off to see if it was glowing at all, turned out to be a good idea as i noticed that there was a blue Hue surrounding the one working Powertube!!! SO both tubes are cooked yeah?

Should i just replace these, or get the Whole amp checked? How much would that set me back, As a student im usually broke unless kevin stimulates me......

Really sux cause im suppose to let some one demo the jackson though it tomorrow.......

[same same]

So, I've read that the Randall RG50TC can take 6L6 vavles and it give the amp a more rounded out sound. Anyone know if there is a place in Bentley or if a place can pickup my amp (I no car ). Do I have to buy the valves or can they supply them?

[erecshyrinol]

A couple of good sites, infowise and ordering online:

http://thetubestore.com/

https://ssl.eurotubes.com/cart/index.php

I'm thinking of retubing the EL34s in my Bugera to 6L6s.

[cdtBEAST]

Get the amp biased.

Asfor prices/professional advice give Jim @ Blue Glow a call after 5 any week day 0417970318 & he will look after you. Tell him Simon with the VHT & 5150 sent you.