Where'd my bass go?

[johnnyg88]

Hey guys!

New member here.

Anyway, I've been using my Electra Dyne 2x12 Combo that I purchased in November. It sounded great at the store but when I brought it home it took some getting used to. I graduated from a Fender Twin Reverb Reissue. It sounded great but it just wasn't versatile enough for my work. Anyway, it took more work to dial in than the Twin, it probably wasn't until a month or two later that I finally felt right with this amp. It's a killer amp!

Recently it seems as though the amp is much more bright and less bassy. Which is strange because this amp is supposed to be huge sounding, right? I'm finding that I'm pushing the bass to about noon or more, while I used to just run it at about 10:00 or so. This is with the Volume control around 2:00 and the Treble about 1:00 and the Mid about 1:00. I had just the right balance with my settings for a while but now things sound more piercing.

Any ideas? I'm assuming that I may need new Preamp tubes... the amp had been sitting on the showroom floor for a couple years, it was one of about two or three ED's that they ever had in stock. It was just collecting dust, no one really knew anything about it and no customer was really interested in trying it. AND I got it for a steal! They were really anxious to move that thing.

Any help would be great.

Thanks!

jg

 

[elvis]

I doubt it is a tube problem. Preamp tubes can hold their tone for years, unlike power tubes that have much higher power dissipation.

One thing that I have noticed with my Dyne is that if I play it for a long time I get used to the tone and forget it is there. It can be both bright and bassy, and if I don't play through my recto once in a while I just get calibrated to the Dyne and it sounds flat.

Another possibility is that you moved it. A lot of the low end reflects off the back wall and the floor. Or, if you changed the angle (you are playing with it pointed more directly at your ears instead of your knees). You will hear way more high end with it pointed at your ears.

 

[topalchohol]

I disagree, I think it could be a preamp or poweramp tube. I have had a few go out over the last few years, all were relatively new. Also, make sure all tubes are seated properly. Also, make sure you are using a proper power cord plugged into an outlet that has proper wire as small wire can choke bass. Also, as stated if you moved where it is at in the room, or ear proximity can also change what you hear. The mid knob is very powerful and a little bump in mids adds treble as well. If you go from no reverb to using reverb, this will also brighten things up. Good luck and let us know what you find.

 

[johnnyg88]

I know I'm late, but I ended up getting a new set of 6L6's to see if that alleviated my problem. Unfortunately, a pair of them fried that night at the gig and took out a fuse and some screen grid resistors. I had to rush it to Mesa Hollywood to get it fixed under warranty and get the tubes replaced as well.

All is working again. I tried it with the settings that the tech left on the amp and he had the bass at around 1 o clock (I usually run it at around 10 o clock) with a little less mids than I would expect (I use noon to 1 o clock, he had about 10) and it sounded really full in the room. This amp is making me rethink how I usually dial an amp in and it is actually making me more aware when I dial simpler amps, like my plexi.

Anyway, I'm curious to experiment with some preamp tubes. The manual has a diagram that says which tubes are which channel, but some of them seem to affect two channels. I keep hearing suggestions to change V1 for the clean sound but according to the chart it doesn't affect the clean sound. I'm not sure what to follow here! Any ideas?

Thanks!

jg