Has anyone swapped their tubes in the Stiletto?

[Bluesman]

I am conducting a survey to see just how far in depth this infamous "hollywood mod" is actually going to be. I have read all your stories so far and am just getting some general feedback, so If you have any tube swap stories for your Stiletto that you would like to share , please do.

Thank you

Bluesman

 

[Silverwulf]

First thing I did was take out the preamp tubes and drop in a set of high gain front end JJ's. Sounds great to me.

 

[Bluesman]

What style do you play?

 

[Guitarz_18]

I changed the power tubes to a matched quartet of Svetlana EL34s,
increased the low end a great deal. I haven't touched the preamp tubes yet.

I'd like to hear from those that have.

 

[musicbox]

changed my preamp tubes out for the standard jj. v1 v2 v3. made a big enough difference. sort of smoothed out abit of the grain and harshness, took a bit of treble off. like someone said in another thread, makes just the right about of change. biggest difference was an increase in sustain and harmonics.

 

[PRS 10 Top]

In my Stiletto Deuce, I replaced the factory tubes with high-gain JJ ECC83's (12AX7) in V1-V2-V3, an standard ECC83 in V4 and a balanced ECC83 for the phase inverter in V5. After making the switch, IMHO the amp has about 10-15% more gain and attack.

With the amp in 50w mode and a clean boost pedal in front of the amp (I presently alternate between a Homebrew Electronics Power Screamer & Big "D" -- gain knob at 7:00, level around 2:00) in front of the amp, my Stiletto nails the EVH brown sound! Screaming natural harmonics, punch and crunch...pinch harmonics just jump out of the amp!

Initially, I was very disapointed with the Stiletto but after making the tube switch, I'm hooked. Blows away my old jumped JMP!

I also replaced the EL34's with four JJ E34L power amp tubes. Where I've read that some users say this switch makes the amp sound like it has a blanket thrown over it, I feel the E34L adds bottom-end and chunk sorely missing from the stock tubes. As I went back and forth between the stock EL34 & E34L, I noticed the stock EL34's sounded incredibly weak and thin in comparison. The E34L's stay put in the power section now.

Though I'm still using the 5U4GB recto tubes, I will be making the switch to GZ34's. I presently have the GZ34's in my recto and tightens up the amp unbelievably!

 

[Platypus]

In my Stiletto Deuce, I replaced the factory tubes with high-gain JJ ECC83's (12AX7) in V1-V2-V3, an standard ECC83 in V4 and a balanced ECC83 for the phase inverter in V5. After making the switch, IMHO the amp has about 10-15% more gain and attack.

With the amp in 50w mode and a clean boost pedal in front of the amp (I presently alternate between a Homebrew Electronics Power Screamer & Big "D" -- gain knob at 7:00, level around 2:00) in front of the amp, my Stiletto nails the EVH brown sound! Screaming natural harmonics, punch and crunch...pinch harmonics just jump out of the amp!

Initially, I was very disapointed with the Stiletto but after making the tube switch, I'm hooked. Blows away my old jumped JMP!

I also replaced the EL34's with four JJ E34L power amp tubes. Where I've read that some users say this switch makes the amp sound like it has a blanket thrown over it, I feel the E34L adds bottom-end and chunk sorely missing from the stock tubes. As I went back and forth between the stock EL34 & E34L, I noticed the stock EL34's sounded incredibly weak and thin in comparison. The EL34's stay put in the power section now.

Though I'm still using the 5U4GB recto tubes, I will be making the switch to GZ34's. I presently have the GZ34's in my recto and tightens up the amp unbelievably!

There are a lot of people saying JJ's 'sound like a blanket on your amp,' to me that claim is totally ridiculous.

 

[SgtThump]

There are a lot of people saying JJ's 'sound like a blanket on your amp,' to me that claim is totally ridiculous.

That's exactly what I've thought for several years now. JJ preamp tubes do sound like a blanket over the amp to me. They are very dull, mushy and just plain lifeless. I've given them a chance 3-4 times and I come out with the same dull result everytime.

Now on the other hand, I realize people have different opinions. I respect the fact that you like the tubes. I would never say your claim is "totally ridiculous."

Chris

 

[PRS 10 Top]

I think it's a purely a matter of taste and style. In my setup, I use a clean boost and EQ pedal to drive the amp so I can essentially fine tune the shape of my amp's tone. As my priority is gain, the JJ's suit me fine. However, if I played standards or jazz, I'd probably want a different tone and feel. There are too many variables invloved to effectively select the "ultimate" tube.

There are plenty of tube amp afficionados out there who wouldn't touch anything other than NOS. In the early '80's, my main amp was a 1970's Marshall Super Lead Tremelo fully stocked with Mullards. At the time, I played metal and thought the amp sounded like mud and lacked definition. I switched to brand-new Groove Tubes which did the trick for me. Others might disagree...does that make either of us right or wrong? Surely, no!

I believe it's a matter of habit and brand loyalty that leads one to use one type of tube over another. Before I switched over to JJ's, I had Sovtek, EH and Mesa-branded tubes in my Dual & Triple Rectos. In my experience, the JJ's added more of what I was looking for than the other brands, so I stayed with the JJ's.

There is no right or wrong answer. If you're happy with your tone, that's the right tube for you. If not, I think this is a great medium where we can learn from each others' experiences and use these recommendations to make informed decisions.

Sorry for the long, boring rant...

P.S. Sgt. Thump, which preamp tubes do you presently use? Thanks!

 

[Bobbypols]

I second that jj's can give that "blanket" like feeling. However it can be a good thing for overly bright amps as the case with the stiletto. They tend to be a darker tube. Talk to doug at dougs tubes and see what he recommends...as eurotubes unfortinitly just sells 1 tube so you might get a biased opinion...

 

[SgtThump]

P.S. Sgt. Thump, which preamp tubes do you presently use? Thanks!

Right now, I have the new JJ KT77's in the power section and the stock Mesa labelled EHs or Sovteks in the pre. It sounds good to me!