Dumbing down my DC5

[Casper]

Hi all, been awhile for me..hope everyone is gigging and doing well.
I have all JJs in my DC5 and I love the quietness and response..but I am finding the clean channel gets dirty too fast and my distortion is so over the top I can barely use it for the gig I'm in.
Clean: I am able to turn the preamp to about 1 or maybe 2 before I set the amp up for the night. (keeping the mid knob under 3 as well)
Dirty channel is just too saturated. (gain at 3.5 to be usable now, beyond that..mud metal.
I am tweaking this thing to death.
Heres what I'm thinking. Putting a 12AT or 12 AU7 in V1 or V2 to cut the power back a bit and possibly going with later break up 6L6s. Maybe this amp wasn't designed for sparkly cleans ( I hear that it isn't), but I want to try this..anyone have an opinion?
Shaun

 

[LTE]

I get mine to get amazing cleans as well as amazing high gain, all with the same tubes....

mabye its turning to "mud" on the lead channel because you are running the bass too high?

 

[Sixstringpsycho]

I am getting great cleans with JJs as well, the bass controls on my DC-5 are brutal sensitive, I recorded some cleans from mine www.myspace.com/horizonsdawnmusic. the bass on clean was at 2 with EQ off.

 

[edward]

Hi Shaun,

The DC5 "A-version" will most assuredly offer you less spanky-clean headroom the the later "B-version" ...I have the A, and love it, but never play spanky clean. That said, I can get her to go pristine and sparkly, but as you mentioned, tubes are the way to go here.

Nice thing about the DC series (which is brilliant in design IMHO!), is that each channel has their own preamp tubes after the V1. What I have done is go with a 12AT7 in the PI spot. This does much to "gain down" both channels. I found the Lead channel highs to be smoother, the mids to be more defined, and the gain settings more usable (I can go to 7 now with single coils and still get nice indiv note definition!). Buckers maybe to 4-5, depending on how thick I want it. The unintended benefit was a creamier OD tone, making the old AX7 tube sound grainy by comparison. Very nice!

I then placed a 5751 in the V4 which further "gains down" the clean channel nicely, offering a warm fur for gorgeous semi-cleans (think rich Fender Blackface tone), but can also get glassy and sparkly Fender (Silverface), as well.

I can bore you with myriad tube swaps I made, but suffice it to say these two changes made the brunt of the difference. I eventually "nuanced" the tone with some NOS tubes, but that's a finer point. Whether NOS or current-production tubes, I definitely recommend that you not use the Mesa tubes given the tone you sound like you're trying to get. The Mesa ones I have had in my hands were just too "hard" and "in your face" compared to others ...which is fine if you prefer a more aggressive tone. Oh, and pickups definitely make a significant difference, to be sure. The nice thing about this amp (like any good tube amp, of course), is that it responds very well to different guitars. So maybe single coils or low-output buckers may work better for this particular gig you're setting up for. Hope this helps you a bit

Edward

 

[Casper]

Thanks for insight Edward (and everyone else). I am going to pull the amp off the road next week and try Eds suggestions. I think I have too much amp for the gig I have :lol:
I think its not good to have to "reign in" or dial down an amp before a show..This things got a 454 in it..and I am on a VW gig..

 

[edward]

Thanks for insight Edward (and everyone else). I am going to pull the amp off the road next week and try Eds suggestions. I think I have too much amp for the gig I have :lol:
I think its not good to have to "reign in" or dial down an amp before a show..This things got a 454 in it..and I am on a VW gig..

:lol:
I've played in VW situations ...no problemo! (May I mention church as well where I clearly could not, ahem, crank it up ...the plexi shield I built, though, did help ).

FWIW, I find my DC5 so versatile, with so many different tones it can reach, with the aforementioned tube swaps. Of course your ears and YMMV, but I have never felt that I was "reigning in" any of that Boogie Tone Goodness. If you still can't get the tone you want at low volume, the Express is a very nice alternative for cleans to mid-gain tone glory (...loving my 5:25 but nothing is ever replacing my DC ).

Edward

 

[rico717]

I have a 1990 version of the DC5 and I get great cleans and overdrive without tube modification. I am really surprised that some players do not get the tone they want out of this amp. It has great headroom and I wounder what type of pickups you have on your guitar. Also the treble control is notorious for being way to powerful. I find on this amp to just keep fiddling with the knobs and do not look at the numbers, it will distract you. I was going to sell my DC 5 and a buyer came by to look at it, but when I plugged it in I knew I would never have an amp that small, with that much power and versatility. If the clean is clean I can do anything with pedals.

Peace, have fun
Play music
www.latinsoulproject.com

Rico

 

[herrball]

I've got 2 fairly new SED 6L6s in mine with some JJs for preamps and I'm getting great cleans out of channel-1.
Vol1 on 6 , Treble-6, mid/bass around 4 presence at 5 with rev at 4 and the channel master at 4. overall master at 3.5 and these are some pretty spanky cleans with EMGs. I will admit though that even with the gain at 5 on the lead channel, I get brutal distortion. TBM all at 4 with the EQ on the lead channel starting with a classic V and then pulling down the 2nd to right fader below the mid fader to roll off the raspiness. I have to roll back the vol on the guitar to attempt anything semi clean on the lead channel. ( Robben Fordish)

I've had my DC-5 B for 3yrs and at times prefer it to my MKIII.

 

[eschoendorff]

Oddly enough, for my tastes, the only tubes that ever make my DC-5 (B) sound "right" are the Mesa-branded ones.

 

[Casper]

Update.
As I said in another post, I currently have all JJs..BUT, I put a 12AT7 in V1 and another in V6 for the PI. I think V6 has to be balanced? I am also considering (from other posts I've read) putting a Jan 5751 in V1 as well. Almost there I hope..

Shaun