Metropoulos Forum

Hey Fellers,

Just warmed up the 76 with the NOS pres I got from TubeTramp. . .

OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!

I am taking every new production tube that I own to the shooting range next weekend. They SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK compared to the Sylvania and the two RCAs I'm running now!

Wow. My amp sounds VERY musical now for the first time since I've owned it. Very sweet indeed. I don't have to fight with my rig to get nice sounds now. I can nail it and get it to break up, or just lay back and still have all that nice chime that I've wanted in my Marshall since day one.

Time to get some NOS outputs!! I was thinking about Rockstah's PPIMV, but I don't know now, I might just leave it as is!

All I know, is that I'll NEVER buy another JJ or GT again. . .EVER!!!

Thank you TubeTramp!

I've not found the huge difference I was expecting from NOS power tubes. Not like using vintage preamp tubes by a long shot -- vintage ECC83/12AX7's are a NECESSITY of life!!!!

I felt that way about power tubes until I tried NOS Tesla EL34. They're incredible.

Flames1950 wrote:I've not found the huge difference I was expecting from NOS power tubes. Not like using vintage preamp tubes by a long shot -- vintage ECC83/12AX7's are a NECESSITY of life!!!!

Ive actually not felt that way about pres either. Not like I was blown away like a maxwell commercial. More like everything good about the amp was slightly better and everything bad was slightly less. Moreso it was going back to new production where it just sounded clearly less musical by comparison.

I cant run anything but nos mullards,all new production pre tubes sound flat or spikey I am left with about 50 new production jj, groove tubes, etc. bluze

bluze81 wrote:I cant run anything but nos mullards,all new production pre tubes sound flat or spikey I am left with about 50 new production jj, groove tubes, etc. bluze

That, my brother, is it in a nutshell.

I either get dead, weak and feckless, or over the top ice pick in the ears.

New production tubes suck boiled monkey ass. I haven't found one yet that was worth a damn. I could have bought TWO sets of NOS pres and one set of good NOS output tubes for what I have FREAKING WASTED buying new production tubes and still had money left over for a burger.

I'm happy/relieved to have solved all the issues with my rig, but I guess I'm kind of pissed too about all of the bullshit claims made by GT and JJ (in particular) about their products.

I am now a true believer. I have been assimilated. . .

Yes NOS is a big differnace as far as 12ax7s go.New pre tubes seem to lack clarity and balls they sound stail,IMO.And the mids are usually barking........in a not cool like sylvania way.

I'll admit I had to go back and forth once to truly realize what was missing.......

Take the JJ ECC803's that George sent me to try when they first came out. I pulled the Telefunkens I'd been using out of my Metro Super Bass, put the JJ's in......hmmm, sound pretty good.......but after a while you realize that you seem to be fighting for the sustain and sonic "intensity" that you used to have. Pop the vintage ones back in, there it is!!!

from my experience, i've not been blown away with NOS tubes VS actual prod, compare to the changes i noticed replacing a reissue dagnall/ drake and a PCB in a reissue marshall amp although i have to say i made more tests to compare caps and trannies than NOS /actual tubes.

i have some mullard and telefunken (as well as some gec) power and pre tubes and will make some other tests soon to hear the exact difference now that i have a place where i can push my amps.
i think differences are smaller except maybe for gain and reliability.

how would you'all rearrange these parts in order of most important ----> least..... in terms of what affects tone? my list would roughly read:



personal picking, strumming, muting style, vibrato, heart

circuit/output tube choice (jtm45/kt66, '67EL34, '72 etc) including it's filtering and feedback tap/resistor

OT brand and type (dagnall,drake,clones, 100W 50W etc)

Speakers

Amp's B+

pickup,string gauge,guitar wood

Cab (size, dimension, material)

mastervolume,attenuator, misc volume reduction tricks

Preamp tubes

Output tube brand

Circuit components (brands, mustards etc.)

Type of pick

Detailed circuit changes (.1 vs.022, tone stack etc etc)

guitar cable brand

Flames1950 wrote:I'll admit I had to go back and forth once to truly realize what was missing.......

Take the JJ ECC803's that George sent me to try when they first came out. I pulled the Telefunkens I'd been using out of my Metro Super Bass, put the JJ's in......hmmm, sound pretty good.......but after a while you realize that you seem to be fighting for the sustain and sonic "intensity" that you used to have. Pop the vintage ones back in, there it is!!!

EXCELLENT description of what I have been going through. The first thing I noticed with the NOS tubes is that I suddenly had gobs of sustain, and I wasn't fighting the amp anymore. The dynamics of my pick attack were suddenly back, and playing became the main concern again, NOT the amp.

It was truly a beautiful experience.

Does TubeTramp Have a website or something?

Just private message Terry, and he'll set you up.

Another thing I really notice with good NOS pres, is the way the clean is so much more beautiful when you roll off the volume on the guitar.
And that big difference translates all the way up to when you turn it to 10.

mightymike wrote:Just private message Terry, and he'll set you up.

Another thing I really notice with good NOS pres, is the way the clean is so much more beautiful when you roll off the volume on the guitar.
And that big difference translates all the way up to when you turn it to 10.

Yep. Amen.

jfhudak wrote:I was thinking about Rockstah's PPIMV, but I don't know now, I might just leave it as is!

Is there something I've overlooked in this forums

Which one is that?

Larry