Settings/tube substitutions for DC-3 "metallification&q

[larseko]

Hi,

my DC-3 combo is great, but I still find it a bit lacking in the metal (rhythm) department. Not too little gain, but I find it a bit grainy/gritty/mushy... eh. Not sure how to describe it, but it doesn't seem so focused. Anyway, I thought I should give tube substitutions a go, as I have heard this will change the sound dramatically. I've heard good things about Eurotubes' kits, but I wanted to check here first what I can expect with the tubes I've got and if substituting any of them with some tubes I have lying around will have any effect.

First, here is the current setup. I am not sure how old the tubes are, but the previous owner claimed they were changed regularly/recently (I don't know if he meant both preamp and power tubes) when I bought the amp last fall.

Power stage:
4x Sovtek EL84/6bq5 0111

Preamp stage:
v6 SOVTEK 12AX7LPS
v5 SOVTEK 12AX7LPS
v4 RUBY 12AX7A-C
v3 SOVTEK 12AX7LPS
v2 RUBY 12AX7A-C
v1 MESA 70..STUM(?) \n .A ECC83 (letters are faint, so the dots are unknown letters/numbers).

So which characteristics could I expect here? Are there any partial substitutions that will affect my "problem" without damaging my wallet too much? And will substituting any of these with some "ECC83M"'s (that were in my Marshall JCM 900) do anything. It's a bit awkward to get to the tubes there, so I don't want to do too much fiddling there before I settle with something.

Last, if you have any settings that works well for Metallica/Master of puppets kind of sound please tell ;-) By the way, when will we see the DC's in the settings database?

Best regards,

Lars Erik

 

[Monsta-Tone]

I don't have any settings for you, but I'm sure those tones are in there. I haven't been able to not find a tone yet with my DC-3.


As for tubes, here is what I'm using:
V1 JJ ECC83S
V2 Electro Harmonix 12AX7 (kind of buzzy, might put the JJ back in)
V3 JJ ECC83S
V4 JJ ECC83S
V5 Mesa 12AX7
V6 JJ ECC83S


Here is what they do:
V1 1st Gain stage for both channels
V2 2nd & 3rd Gain stage for Lead (this is the one that will affect your Lead tone the most)
V3 4th Gain stage for Lead channel/FX Loop
V4 2nd & 3rd Gain stage for Clean (this will affect your Clean tones the most out of any others)
V5 Reverb
V6 Phase Inverter


If your amp sounds mushy, I would call Bob at Eurotubes. He is the man when it comes to re-tubing Mesa's. He tests each tube, which is golden. I buy them in bulk and throw away many.

He can get you the tone you are looking for. I realize it's a bit more expensive, but you are right, you don't want to swap too many tubes in the DC-3. It will drive you nuts.

I actually turn mine upside down so that I can see the tube socket.

Hope this helps.

 

[larseko]

Wow, thanks for the quick and thorough reply, monsta-tone. I turned the amp up-side-down, a lot easier that way. Thanks. And you know what? the V3 tube didn't glow?! So I first swapped V2 just to check the tonal differences of the tubes, and it wasn't that huge a difference, and then I swapped V3 with a Marshall tube (I think), and alas it glowed and there was, I think, I significant difference! I will try it some more tomorrow, but could it really be the case that one of the tubes were blown? Anyway, I will definitely send this Bob a message and ask for his advice and probably order one of those higain DC-3 kits.

Best,

Lars Erik

 

[larseko]

Ok, I just ordered the high gain option retube kit from Eurotubes. Great shop! I am excited now, I'd have to change those tubes at some stage anyway.