Hi Everyone,
First off let me say this board is great. I'm really hoping some of you can help shed some light on re-tubing my Ace 50 Watt Head. i am a complete Novice when it comes to Tubes and Tubing an amp. I have Never done any of this before.
Although I love the Ace and have been gig'in with it for almost a year now there are a couple things that I find a bit frustrating.
I find the Clean Channels and tones wonderful. I am particularly fond of the Fat Clean although when playing live I usually use Channel one in Crunch.
Channel 2 however is where I think a Re-tube (and from what I've read) will help.
I prefer the Tight Gain on Channel 2 but I find 1st off its way too bright. Especially with single coil strat guitars. I usually have the treble and presence set way way low to try and compensate for this. Also I find that the Bass/low end on this channel is very weak.
Compared to channel 1 it almost seems non existent. I crank the bass knob all the way up too.
So after reading some posts here I contact a local tube supplier and asked their opinion on re-tubing the Ace. To tame the brightness and add some bass.
Here was there 1st suggestion:
"The stock Boogie EL34's are almost certainly relabeled Electro
Harmonix EL34EH tubes. These tubes are, in my opinion, way too bright. A very
good upgrade would be the Winged "C"/SED EL34 tubes. They are warmer, have a wonderful vintage tone, and are very reliable. Here's the link:
http://thetubestore.com/el341.html
In the preamp section, I suggest the Tungsol 12AX7 tubes,
http://thetubestore.com/tungsol12ax7.html
It is unlikely that you need to replace the 5U4 tube you have now, but
if you do wish to, I suggest any US made NOS 5U4GB tube. We have some
available for $24.95 each. I do not expect this tube change to affect
the tone a lot."
Next I suggested that I was looking for more Bass in the Drive Channel 2 side of things
and here was there response:
"Regarding low end enhancing and such, yes, tubes affect this. However I can't say a specific tube will do it. The RFT ECC83 is known to be a darker sounding tube so perhaps one of these in the V2 would help? Something you can experiment with.
http://thetubestore.com/rsdecc83.html"
I was curious what you guys think, especially those of you who have re-tubed your Ace before.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with the Winged "C"/SED EL34 tubes
but for the pre amp section I'm really not sure. I'm not to concerned about the cost of the tubes. I'm willing to pay for good tone. But I know nothing about V1, V2, V3, V4, V5 and what each ones does. (Like I said I am a complete Novice at this)
PS. They have been extremely helpful at the Tube Store, I have no beefs with them or anything like that, I'm just looking for more advice from other Ace owners, and maybe someone to shed some light on the whole V1, V2 etc
I know this is a lot and I appreciate any help or advice you can give.
Thanks!
First off let me say this board is great. I'm really hoping some of you can help shed some light on re-tubing my Ace 50 Watt Head. i am a complete Novice when it comes to Tubes and Tubing an amp. I have Never done any of this before.
Although I love the Ace and have been gig'in with it for almost a year now there are a couple things that I find a bit frustrating.
I find the Clean Channels and tones wonderful. I am particularly fond of the Fat Clean although when playing live I usually use Channel one in Crunch.
Channel 2 however is where I think a Re-tube (and from what I've read) will help.
I prefer the Tight Gain on Channel 2 but I find 1st off its way too bright. Especially with single coil strat guitars. I usually have the treble and presence set way way low to try and compensate for this. Also I find that the Bass/low end on this channel is very weak.
Compared to channel 1 it almost seems non existent. I crank the bass knob all the way up too.
So after reading some posts here I contact a local tube supplier and asked their opinion on re-tubing the Ace. To tame the brightness and add some bass.
Here was there 1st suggestion:
"The stock Boogie EL34's are almost certainly relabeled Electro
Harmonix EL34EH tubes. These tubes are, in my opinion, way too bright. A very
good upgrade would be the Winged "C"/SED EL34 tubes. They are warmer, have a wonderful vintage tone, and are very reliable. Here's the link:
http://thetubestore.com/el341.html
In the preamp section, I suggest the Tungsol 12AX7 tubes,
http://thetubestore.com/tungsol12ax7.html
It is unlikely that you need to replace the 5U4 tube you have now, but
if you do wish to, I suggest any US made NOS 5U4GB tube. We have some
available for $24.95 each. I do not expect this tube change to affect
the tone a lot."
Next I suggested that I was looking for more Bass in the Drive Channel 2 side of things
and here was there response:
"Regarding low end enhancing and such, yes, tubes affect this. However I can't say a specific tube will do it. The RFT ECC83 is known to be a darker sounding tube so perhaps one of these in the V2 would help? Something you can experiment with.
http://thetubestore.com/rsdecc83.html"
I was curious what you guys think, especially those of you who have re-tubed your Ace before.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with the Winged "C"/SED EL34 tubes
but for the pre amp section I'm really not sure. I'm not to concerned about the cost of the tubes. I'm willing to pay for good tone. But I know nothing about V1, V2, V3, V4, V5 and what each ones does. (Like I said I am a complete Novice at this)
PS. They have been extremely helpful at the Tube Store, I have no beefs with them or anything like that, I'm just looking for more advice from other Ace owners, and maybe someone to shed some light on the whole V1, V2 etc
I know this is a lot and I appreciate any help or advice you can give.
Thanks!