Tube Changing in the Blue Angel

[Slimey]

I spent this week changing out some tubes in the Blue Angel.

I tried GE 6L6 and then SED 6L6 in the 6V6 sockets. The 6L6 substitution is great -- to my ears, more dynamic range and headroom. A bit cleaner sounding and nice break up at higher levels. Less 'dirt' then the 6V6. The GEs sounded pretty similar to the SED tubes, but I'm keeping the GEs as back-ups as they're unmatched random picks.

I played around with some different pre-amp tubes in V1 -- TeleFunKen, GE, Tung-Sol, Sovtek, and Sylvania 12AX7As, a RCA 7025, and a Mullard ECC83. My favorite is the Tung-Sol. Nice clean defined sounds. I think I liked the Mullard too, but unfortunately it was a bit microphonic. For whatever reason, the TeleFunKen sounds better in my Champ then the Blue Angel.

Tonight my Eurotube's JJ complete retube arrived. I pulled everything and put in the JJs. Just like Bob says, the 6V6 is a world apart. Great musical break up -- I think people call this 'more focused'. These are much less 'flabby' (pooping out in the lower frequencies) then the Mesa 6V6. The EL84s have great chime and a wonderful classic rock & roll sound - good classic break-up when cranked.

Overall, I'm very happy with the tube upgrades. I'm keeping the JJs in but will keep the Tung-Sol 12AX7 and the SED 6L6s in the back of the amp for quick tone modding.

Just thought I'd share...

 

[AMG1]

Interesting lots of swapping going on.

What if anything did any of the tubes you tried do for the low end at moderate volume?

My only gripe about the Angel at times is I find myself looking for more bass. I've used an EQ at times to pump it up a bit and it works.

I get nice neck pickup tones no matter what. Its the lead pickup tones on pretty much any guitar that often sound to bright.

 

[Slimey]

Interesting lots of swapping going on.

What if anything did any of the tubes you tried do for the low end at moderate volume?

My only gripe about the Angel at times is I find myself looking for more bass. I've used an EQ at times to pump it up a bit and it works.

I get nice neck pickup tones no matter what. Its the lead pickup tones on pretty much any guitar that often sound to bright.

I have a 4x10 and would probably agree with that -- it can be bright at times, especially with the bridge pickup. I thought that was a result of the speaker set-up, not so much the amplifier per se.

I find the tone controls very sensitive and often minor tweaking is necessary to get the right tone...but the bass side is the weakest part of the bunch (it even says so in the manual). The 6V6 and the 6L6 are less bright then the EL84 and EL84 combination.