Brief background...from the other video posted.
Since I had re-tubed the TC-100 (replaced V3, V4 and power tubes with new Mesa EL34) it was solid proof to my ears there is not much of a difference between the TC-50 and the TC-100, or at least at the volume I was playing. The other video I did had some major flaws in it other than my playing. For starters, I had phase inversion on part of the channels used for recording the TC-100. That in itself will thin out the sound as it was applying a negative blend of the cab clone and the Sennheiser mic. Also the mesa tubes I used in V3 and V4 may have been degraded as they were recycled from my other amps. I found some unopened boxes in my stash and also swapped out the power tubes as the TC-100 has been used heavily since I got it. Perhaps the power tubes are fine but figured I would start tubes with less burn in time on them. After that I could not tell the TC-50 apart from the TC-100. After that, it would be pointless to reveal the differences between the two amps as they sound identical. Okay, there is the slight difference in tone or saturation characteristics that I would probably favor the TC-50 over the TC-100 but that is just one small character that is not hard to get with the TC-100.
EL34 vs 6L6:
So why not hear the difference side by side of the two power tube options that can be used in the TC series? Since the EL34 in both sound nearly identical, why not compare one with the EL34 and the other with 6L6. I chose to run the TC-100 with the 6L6 (STR440) power tube as it does not have that dramatic drop of in perceived volume when using the 6L6 tube as it does with the TC-50. My thoughts when running the TC-50 on the 6L6 power tube is as if the amp is running at 40W or a bit less than the assumed 50W. Could be the difference in midrange saturation that has that effect. For a tone comparison of the Triple Crown, here it is: TC-50 on EL34 and the TC-100 on 6L6.
https://youtu.be/Q8Oq--xOANE
Since I had re-tubed the TC-100 (replaced V3, V4 and power tubes with new Mesa EL34) it was solid proof to my ears there is not much of a difference between the TC-50 and the TC-100, or at least at the volume I was playing. The other video I did had some major flaws in it other than my playing. For starters, I had phase inversion on part of the channels used for recording the TC-100. That in itself will thin out the sound as it was applying a negative blend of the cab clone and the Sennheiser mic. Also the mesa tubes I used in V3 and V4 may have been degraded as they were recycled from my other amps. I found some unopened boxes in my stash and also swapped out the power tubes as the TC-100 has been used heavily since I got it. Perhaps the power tubes are fine but figured I would start tubes with less burn in time on them. After that I could not tell the TC-50 apart from the TC-100. After that, it would be pointless to reveal the differences between the two amps as they sound identical. Okay, there is the slight difference in tone or saturation characteristics that I would probably favor the TC-50 over the TC-100 but that is just one small character that is not hard to get with the TC-100.
EL34 vs 6L6:
So why not hear the difference side by side of the two power tube options that can be used in the TC series? Since the EL34 in both sound nearly identical, why not compare one with the EL34 and the other with 6L6. I chose to run the TC-100 with the 6L6 (STR440) power tube as it does not have that dramatic drop of in perceived volume when using the 6L6 tube as it does with the TC-50. My thoughts when running the TC-50 on the 6L6 power tube is as if the amp is running at 40W or a bit less than the assumed 50W. Could be the difference in midrange saturation that has that effect. For a tone comparison of the Triple Crown, here it is: TC-50 on EL34 and the TC-100 on 6L6.
https://youtu.be/Q8Oq--xOANE
