Tone is everything and when you find it nothing is the same again.
My Dogs Bollocks is all the things that might help you get your tone or put a smile on your face.
Don't know what tone is, then this page is just a load of BOLLOCKS.
You can now follow My Dog's Bollocks on Twatter.... https://twitter.com/KeithJayJohns
Sarah from Kewaunee, Wisconsin, USA....Got in touch to say she has used George L's for the same amount of time as me....and after having a good look over all her GL's Plugs has found no plating coming away....That's good to know and was what I was hoping for....Sarah also gave me details of a trick she uses to keep her GL's from coming loose....
Sarah uses thin strips of self amalgamating silicone tape wrapped once over into the small cavity above the thread of the plugs screw down cap....This acts as a locking seal....stopping the caps from coming loose and breaking the signal....
I hope you can see what Sarah does with her plugs from my photos....I have made up all my cables that I use on my smaller pedalboard using this mod and I am amazed at the difference this thin piece of tape makes....
The caps of the GL's plugs are solidly held in place....self amalgamating tape does not use any adhesive....so there is no mess....and when needed to be removed is as easy as removing a rubber band....This tip is truly awesome....Incredibly easy and incredibly cheap....and makes the George L's plugs pretty much perfect....well....just as long as no more plating comes away....
Sarah....I Thank You a thousand times over....Please get back in touch as I have deleted your comment by mistake....k.j.
In the never ending search for more tone the things that we change the least are our tubes. Most of us never giving them a second thought, a blown tube is replaced with the same make and model that the amp came with....easy....but the difference between tubes can be as stark as night and day....sort of....
Changing Pre Amp and Power Amp Tubes is never going to make a Fender amp sound like a Marshall or visa versa but they can make your amp sound and play more to your liking....just remember that 90% of how your amp sounds is in its design, not it's tubes.
12AX7 - ECC83
There are lots of big names in the tube world, Sovtek, Electro-Harmonix, JJ Electronic, Tung-Sol, but not all manufacture tubes. GT and Ruby don't make their own tubes, they buy in and re-brand tubes with their own logo. GT have recently been bought by Fender who only use GT tubes in their amps, a good way of keeping your amp sounding it's best is to use nothing but GT tubes....But talk to a lot of Fender amp owners and Tung-Sol tubes seem to be the preferred choice.
The GT Guess Who Hall of Shame
Tung-Sol have masses of musicality, I'd call them tight and airy. Electro Harmonix are very similar to Tung-Sol but break up sooner for better blues and rock tones. JJ's on the other hand are huge in the bass department with hard mids and clean highs, great for Marshalls and Humbuckers. I have a pair of GT 7025 that were the best tubes I had ever played but they don’t sell them any more. They still sell a 7025 but it's not the same long plate version and they don’t sound the same.
Tube Names - Gain Factors
From the above chart you can see the gain values of each tube and that a 12AX7 “US Name” is the same tube as a ECC83 “European Name”. I have always thought the euro names were misleading in that the ECC81 has more gain than a ECC82, so where does the ECC83 get it's name, it should be a ECC80?. I have put the 5751 in the 12AX7 line as its very closely related to a AX7, it's more closely related to a AX7 than it is to a 12AT7 or a 12AU7.
Pre Amp Tubes
JJ ECC803 - Slovakian - a very high powered 12AX7 tube, extra bite and shimmer in the high frequencies.
Tung-Sol 12AX7 - Russian - very powerful, ultra low noise. tight, punchy, articulate, a very musical tube.
Electro Harmonix - 12AX7 - Russian - easy break up, aggressive, very low noise. probably the best tube in the world and one of the cheapest.
JJ 5751 – Slovakian – low powered 12AX7, very low noise. has bite and shimmer with a good low end.
JJ ECC82 - Slovakian - the lowest output tube you can get. In the pre amp it will reduce gain and give a warm, smooth and balanced EQ out put.
Sovtek 12AX7-LPS - Russian - surprisingly smooth across the EQ response - great for gain but prone to micro-phonics in combo amps.
Glass Tubes of Power Perfection
Power Amp Tubes
6V6 Power Tubes have a vintage tone giving an even mix of lows, mids and highs. they have a lower power out put compared to 6L6's
6L6 Power Tubes have a very nice mix of tone. they sound tighter and warmer than 6V6's. a 5881 is basically a low power 6L6....20watt rather than 30watt. A KT66 has a smoother tone with tight lows.
EL34 Power Tubes have a harsher tone with more bass response than 6L6 or 6V6 tubes, more like a classic Marshall sound. a KT77 tight mids with more open highs than a EL34
KT88 Power Tubes similar to a smaller EL84 in the mids, but with more lows and highs for a modern Marshall sound.
Yellow Jackets tube converters allow EL84 power tubes to be used in place of 6L6, EL34, 6V6. EL84's have a lower power out put compared to EL34's but use a small 9 pin design rather than the 8 pin design of 6V6, 6L6, EL34 and KT tubes.
Changing Power Tubes....all 8 pin power tubes can be changed for any other 8 pin tube, "some tubes missing pins" but will involve re-baising of most guitar amps and should only be done by qualified technician.
My Egnater Renegade has a very modern sounding lead channel that I have lowered the gain on with the aid of a 12AU7 for a vintage Marshall, AC-DC tone. My clean channel, I have emphasized the US Fender tone with a JJ ECC803s for some extra grit in the top end.
The tubes that I have in the Renegade at the moment for home use are......
“Channel 1”
V1 - Tung-Sol 12AU7 "has a gain factor of 20%, this reducers the gain in both channels"
V2 - JJ ECC803S “for some dirt in the top end” (this is now a Tung-Sol 12AX7 - sounds better)
“Channel 2”
V3 - JJ ECC83S "12AX7" (this is now a JJ ECC82 - sounds better)
V4 - JJ ECC83S "12AX7"
“FX Loop”
V5 - JJ 5751 "low powered 12AX7, for giving the FX Loop a bit more headroom"
“Phase Inverter”
V6 - Tung-Sol 12AX7
"with these tubes Channel 1 is clean with a hint of break up when pushed, Channel 2 is very Vintage Rock sounding"
POWER TUBES
6V6's in the 6L6 side to reduce the volume a very small amount for a US Tone.
EL34's in the EL34 for the British Tone.
"the Renegade has 2 channel assignable Master Volumes, so I use the 2 MV to give the 6V6 tubes a boost to keep up with the EL34's"
The valves that I have in the Renegade for gig use are......
“Channel 1”
V1 - JJ ECC83S
V2 - JJ ECC803S “for some dirt in the top end”
“Channel 2”
V3 - JJ ECC83S "12AX7"
V4 - JJ ECC82 "12AU7" "to reduce the Egnater's Modern Gain Tone...."
“FX Loop”
V5 - JJ 5751 "low powered 12AX7, for giving the FX Loop a bit more headroom"
“Phase Inverter”
V6 - Tung-Sol 12AX7...."I also use a Tung-Sol 12AU7 to drop the power output through the floor for home use"
POWER TUBES
6L6's in the US Tone Side.
E34L's in the EL34 side for the British Tone.
"These tubes give a very tight powerful tone, Channel 2 has reduced gain to keep it sounding Rock not Metal. The 12AV7 in the PI position will help to get sustain and dynamics at a lower volume for home use."
Power Tube Distortion....the holy grail of tone....actually comes from the Phase Inverter tube breaking up. Fitting an 12AU7 tube will cut a amps rated power to about half....but a 100watt amp is not twice as loud as a 50watt amp, it's more like 100watt and 75watt and it's the same with valves. Fitting a 5751 in a 100watt amp will make it sound like a 90watt amp and fitting a ECC82 will make the 100watt amp sound more like 40watts....what the AU7 does is give you more sustain and playing dynamics at a lower volume. The AU7 will start to break up sooner than a AX7 would....your amp will still be loud....DRUM KIT LOUD.
GT 7025 - Tung-Sol 12AX7 - JJ ECC803S
A word of warning....
12AU7 and 12AT7 tubes have Plate Currents of about 1 milliamps where the 12AT7 and 12AU7 both have Plate currents of 10 milliamps and will draw more current. Modern high quality resistors will cope with extra heat but....not all amps are built to the same standard.
I contacted Bruce Egnater about using a AU7 in the PI position and this is what he said....
"You won't harm your amp by trying the 12AU7. The issue is that the AU7 draws more current. The Renegade uses 1 watt MF resistors in the critical locations. The 12AU7 will cause more voltage drop (more heat) on those resistors but should be just fine. The fact that the Renegade does not have a post phase inverter master and does have negative feedback in the poweramp, the audible change with the AU7 will probably be minimal and will not reduce the volume if that is your goal."
JJ ECC81 - Ruby 12AT7
The best way to evaluate what tubes will sound best for you is to buy a few and play and swop . Check forums to see what other users of your amp are playing through but remember that how you play will also have an effect, if you play heavy handed you will make a valve break up sooner than a softer player would. I have found that some tubes don't play nice with other tubes, bottom end can simply drop away with some combinations of tubes. 12AT7/ECC81 tubes can be cold and un-musical when compared to the lower powered 12AU7/ECC82 in the same positions.
A good tip when you buy balanced tubes for the FX Loop or Phase Inverter....mark them with a red Sharpie marker pen....because once out of the box you'll never know which ones which.
Spot the Difference Competition
I think my amp does sound better for changing it's tubes for my heavy handed style of playing....but it has been a pain in the ass if I'm being honest....
Dan Erlewine is talking to Bil Kirchen in the latest Stew Mac vid and that got me thinking that it's about time I swopped round the controls on one of my Fender Telecaster's to be able to do some pedal steel volume swells like Bill....
If you have never heard of Bill Kirchen....shame on you....
Go over to his site billkirchen.com and click on Media and listen to some class telecaster tones while your reading my bollocks....
First off I had to route out the control caverty on my Mexican Telecaster....
Nothing is ever easy....
But I do like soldering up copper shielding....
So now the body will happily take the new control positions, time to do some rewiring....
The wiring on a telecaster is super simple....you can not go wrong....
I've said it before but I'll say it again....the best way to clean up a pot base is to cut the old solder off with a sharp blade, not with heat and a solder pump....too much heat will kill a pot the same as too much heat will kill a capacitor. While we are talking caps....I've used a .022 cap but a .047 cap will do just as good....the .022 is good if you never roll off all the top frequencies, its all about how much travel you like in your pot before you get to mud....if you like fast roll off go for the .047 cap, or if a slower roll off appeals a .022 cap fitted will let you control the bite of your tele more.
For the best twang I sand the bottoms of my tele bridges to make sure they are perfectly flat. I then stick three strips of copper tape on the very back end of the bridge. This helps to push the front of the bridge into the body as you screw it down. As you tighten the mounting screws the front of the bridge can lift up and away from the body causing micro-phonics to run away into feedback. You will always get micro-phonics with this kind of telecaster bridge, its part of the guitars charm but too much can be a problem....I also fill the bridge cavity with soft thin foam to push the base of the pickup into the mounting screw threads and keep things from vibrating....
While Bill Kirchen makes pedal steel swells look really easy, take it from me the volume control is still in the wrong position for all but massive handed guitarists. The pickup switch becomes too close to the tone pot when its in the neck position and gets in the way....Leo got it 98% right....
After all this hassle, time will tell if I keep the tele like this....lol....it does look kinda cool like this....k.j.
I found a company on Amazon selling foam acoustic tiles very cheaply and I have always wanted to acoustically treat my music room but the cost always put me off. After reading a couple of reviews these tiles seemed to be very good and couple of hundred pounds compared to a couple of thousand told me it was time to do it....
Comfortex Acoustics have just started making a range of acoustic treatment tiles for the home market rather than the pro market. They come in bulk in large boxes....
I did a very quick estimate and ordered 4 bass traps "£40 + postage for 2 traps per box", 2 boxes of large tiles "£40 + postage for 30 tiles per box" and 2 boxes of small tiles "£20 + postage for 24 tiles per box"....It all came to £240....Bargin....
I was going to stick the tiles up like Maplewood Studio has them in their video but had a problem....I bought 25 meters of Velcro from a company called Easy Time UK but when my order never arrived they were less than helpful....because I am impatient I decided to make up some frames and stick the tiles to them using little adhesive pads and hang them from picture hooks....
The frames are made up from blind slats that I had removed from some IKEA blinds that were too long and stuck them all together with NoNails glue. I used some aluminum tape to keep them from moving while the glue was drying...."remember I said I have no patients"
To be very honest I'm blown away with these tiles from Comfortex Acoustics, before I had the tiles my sound was a bit blurry really and I had put that down to my speakers. I have only used the 4 bass traps and one box of the large tiles and the sound in my room has become amazing. The bottom end has tightened up and the stereo image and become very sharp and detailed. I was going to use the small tiles on my ceiling but apart from maybe a small group of them above my desk don't really need them.
Everything you can see in these photos cost £140 and the difference it has made on the sound in my room has been nothing short of amazing. These acoustic tiles have been without doubt the best things I have ever bought....even when you consider I bought twice as many as I really needed....
I was going to stick my tiles up like Maplewood's drum room
Hope this helps....Amazon refunded my money for the Velcro....so I'm a very happy bunny. k.j.
I always hated using 9volt batteries in my pedals....they were a pain changing them and it gets real expensive when you forget to un-plug a string of pedals. I first used a Dunlop Brick, I remember having a couple of them, they had a habit of stopping working.
I was then given a Diago Power Station 9v daisy chain power supply. I still have it and it goes to gigs with me as a back up.
I have also made up some quick plug-in 9v and 18v battery snaps for emergencies.
I carry a couple of these to every gig....plug and play
But over the years have ended up with a lot of pedals that run better on 18v "OCD-Amp Eleven-Heartbreaker".
I then got myself a T-Rex Fuel Tank Chameleon that rather annoyingly has been less than reliable, the power LED has died twice, went from a cool green colour to a same as everything else blue and then it really died and had to be repaired. "lucky it came with a 3 year warranty".
collectors item in 50 years....rofl
For the last couple of years I've had a Voodoo Pedal Power 2 Plus that has powered all my pedals very happily with no problems.
5 year warranty with the Voodoo
The Power 2 Plus has a Auxiliary AC outlet that I have used to run both my Valvulator and my TC G-System through with no problems.
Anyone know where I can get a better than OEM replacement fan? I'm on
fan number 2 and now it's making noises less than a year later - I use
the amp mostly at home...go figure.
Thanks - Chris
Hi Chris, a few things you can do. You can replace the fan with any PC
Case Fan, Nexus are very good but the Akasa LED Case fans are as good as
you need. You will need to take the white plastic connecter off the
Egnater fan, its quite easy. You don't need the Yellow/White wire on the
new fan. You'll need to solder the Egnater connecter onto your new fan
and your good to go. A few other things you can do....I have put a
Zalman FanMate on my fan, this lets you turn down the power of the fan
to stop it being so loud. It also reduces air flow, so I placed four
rubber feet on the front Egnater grill under the screws this will give
you a small gap between the amp chassis and the grill, and you can feel
cool air being sucked through this gap. It's then just a mater of
reducing the power of the fan till you stop hearing it. The fan on
Renegade amps is very important, YOU DO NEED IT. A new fan, a FanMate
and the gap has stopped the fan noise being noticeable when playing
quiet at home but has also reduced the temperature build up in the amp,
which is good, then when I'm playing a gig I just turn the Zalman
fanMate up full, Easy.
