# Egnater Tweaker 15 w head.. Opinions?



## __HM__

Topic. Looking to pick myself up one of these little guys for Christmas.. Think with a tube screamer behind it it could be pretty versatile? Im a blues/funk player, but I play some heavy stuff too.. Rage Against The Machine (Lower gain JCM800 sound) is about as heavy as I ever go. What do you guys think? I won't make a final decision til I get to Guitar Center and play one, but it seems really cool! And $350 new, can't really go wrong 

Any input's appreciated, thanks guys!


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## BluesRocker

Get it. I love mine. It is about the most versatile single channel amp you will ever play. Just spectacular.


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## solarburn

Here's a good vid of the Tweakers dirties...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSGq1Xjoidw&feature=related]Egnater Tweaker with a Gibson Les Paul Classic - YouTube[/ame]


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## RiverRatt

You're not about to join the crowd are you Joe?


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## RiverRatt

__HM__ said:


> Topic. Looking to pick myself up one of these little guys for Christmas.. Think with a tube screamer behind it it could be pretty versatile? Im a blues/funk player, but I play some heavy stuff too.. Rage Against The Machine (Lower gain JCM800 sound) is about as heavy as I ever go. What do you guys think? I won't make a final decision til I get to Guitar Center and play one, but it seems really cool! And $350 new, can't really go wrong
> 
> Any input's appreciated, thanks guys!



Cody told it like it is. It is an exremely versatile amp and it will do a convincing Marshall and Fender tone. I don't think the AC setting really sounds like a Vox, but it's a usable tone anyway. The tones you're describing are in there without using the Hot switch, which is like having another amp. Which Tube Screamer do you have? I like using the Hot switch with the gain dialed down and a TS-9 when I need some bite.


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## solarburn

RiverRatt said:


> You're not about to join the crowd are you Joe?



Well I have some EL34's that are going to waste not to mention any other octal tube I have. I wonder how many guys checking this amp out know they can use other power tubes than just the 6V6's it comes with...


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## brp

I may get one in the new year, just waiting to see if Marshall has any low watt tricks up their sleeve for the 50th anniv.
Not likely they'll have something with the versatility the Tweaker has but they might just do something to try to compete with these do all mini heads.
I almost bought a Tweaker instead of the Vox Night Train last year. I'm happy with the NT, especially now with retubing it but still wish it had this kind of versatility.


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## RiverRatt

The Tweaker head is the real deal. I have no experience with the combo, but the head is going to be the most versatile option. Most of us have a few cabs lying around anyway. 

I got rid of my Tweaker 15 and it bothered me until I finally picked up another one. The 15 is my absolute favorite lot-wattage amp now. It's unreal how many great tones are in the thing. Like Joe said, you can use just about any octal power tube in it. IMO it's the perfect amp for rolling power tubes. I've ran 6L6GC's, 5881's, EL34's, etc. and all of them sounded great and you could definitely hear the very unique signature tones of each set of power tubes.

I'm not saying the Tweaker is for everyone, but it does offer a really broad tonal palette to work with. The best power tube I've found for it is a pair of 1970's Russian 6P3S. I've ran every power tube I own through it and I don't think there's a bad tone in it, but the 6P3S really makes it come alive.


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## brp

Oh it'll definitely be the head when I get one.
Lots of tonal options is just what I need.

The only reason I didn't buy one instead of the VNT was I could not find a dealer near me.
I had in advance emailed Egnater about where I'd find a local dealer. They were slow to respond and I eventually went out and bought the Vox.
About a week later, An Egnater distributer finally replied and told me about a dealer that's only about a mile from where I live. *unamused by the irony face*


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## shooto

BluesRocker said:


> Get it. I love mine. It is about the most versatile single channel amp you will ever play. Just spectacular.


 
^ this


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## __HM__

Solarburn and RiverRat, thanks so much. Im sold. That video showcases some intense dirty tones! In the beginning when he nails that F sharp I can totally hear "Bulls on Parade." And I LOVED the little bit of STP at around 4:30  Totally awesome. 

For the record my whole setup is a G&L Legacy (SSS) into a Morely Bad Horsey original wah, into a TS9, into an Ampeg SVT 215E (Ampeg 2x15 cab), nothing in the FX loop. Im mainly a bassist these days, hence the cab.. I sold my DSL100 and my V30 loaded 1960A to fund my bass rig (had to serve the band..) so I'm looking for a cheap replacement that's comparable. Thanks guys. Anymore input is totally welcome!


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## shooto

when you get it, get the MV up to 1-2 o'clock...it REALLY opens up...that's it sweet spot...


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## Moose Lewis

Love my T15 & T40 (set up with EL34s). They both take pedals well out front or in the FX loop. The T15 is one very versatile little powerhouse. The 6P3S tubes that RiverRatt mention bring it into JCM800 territory, so far as dynamic crunch response. They sound good with a variety of tubes... but the 6P3S are best, IMO. The stock 6V6s make it sound too compressed... worth changing them out for just about anything. If you're going for more of a Fender tone, 6L6GCs will get you there. I've heard some clips from RiverRatt with 5881s that were pretty sweet too. The speakers you use will also have a pronounced affect. I'm using vintage Greenbacks with the T40, and a 4x12 cab with Carvin/Eminence GB-12s for the T15 (sounds huge cranked).

Don't like the combo. Needs at least a 2x12 sealed cab for punch and dispersion... but then I've never found a 1x12 setup of any sort that I really liked... they _always_ sound boxy to me.


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## AudioWonderland

RiverRatt said:


> Cody told it like it is. It is an exremely versatile amp and it will do a convincing Marshall and Fender tone. I don't think the AC setting really sounds like a Vox, but it's a usable tone anyway. The tones you're describing are in there without using the Hot switch, which is like having another amp. Which Tube Screamer do you have? I like using the Hot switch with the gain dialed down and a TS-9 when I need some bite.



I think the Vox setting probably sounds more Mesa than Vox at higher gain settings. I like that personally


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## RiverRatt

If you scoop the AC setting, it does sound like a Mesa. With the mids up, it reminds me of an old Ampeg. 

If you have some KT66's, try them in the power section. They have a distinctly different tone in the Tweaker compared to any other tube I've tried. I wouldn't use them exclusively, but they are very, very smooth in that amp and good for a different recorded tone.


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## RiverRatt

__HM__ said:


> Topic. Looking to pick myself up one of these little guys for Christmas.. Think with a tube screamer behind it it could be pretty versatile? Im a blues/funk player, but I play some heavy stuff too.. Rage Against The Machine (Lower gain JCM800 sound) is about as heavy as I ever go. What do you guys think? I won't make a final decision til I get to Guitar Center and play one, but it seems really cool! And $350 new, can't really go wrong
> 
> Any input's appreciated, thanks guys!



I missed that the first time. That's a great price for that amp. Mine was $400 back in October. Use the $50 you saved to buy some 6P3S power tubes.


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## Rickenjangle

I love mine too. It gets equal play to my Marshalls and Voxes. I guess I use it most on the Fender setting for the obvious reason that I already have the British bases covered...


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## jcm800gridlock

I owned a Tweaker 15w head and used it along with my Avatar 2x12 with G12-H30's. The Tweaker really is a great well-built amp for the money. I really liked playing with all the tone options. It really sounded good at moderate and cranked volumes but I wasn’t really satisfied with the ultra-low bedroom-volume level tones. I was living in a condo at the time and the walls were paper thin noise wise. I returned it to GC within the 30 day return period. Guess what really needed at that time was a 1-2 watt amp with a MV. Now that I am living in a single family home I kind of wish I kept the Tweaker.


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## aryasridhar

I was a fan of the tweaker too, but only until i played the Laney Lionheart L20H Head,20 watts, 2 channel Head with effects loop and great Reverb,
Made from Marine Grade Plywood, It is superb a little expensive but made in the UK, sounds fantastic, really versatile, Gold Plated PCB, Great quality stuff. Just my opinion

I do not get paid by Laney to say all this, but the amp is rock solid and sounds awesome.
I am personally deciding to get either the L20H or the GH50L, another awesome amp, single channel.


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## Moose Lewis

_*>>Hey, Laney!<<*_

... don't ask me - my sense of humor is out of whack today, lol.


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## Rickenjangle

aryasridhar said:


> I was a fan of the tweaker too, but only until i played the Laney Lionheart L20H Head,20 watts, 2 channel Head with effects loop and great Reverb,
> Made from Marine Grade Plywood, It is superb a little expensive but made in the UK, sounds fantastic, really versatile, Gold Plated PCB, Great quality stuff. Just my opinion
> 
> I do not get paid by Laney to say all this, but the amp is rock solid and sounds awesome.
> I am personally deciding to get either the L20H or the GH50L, another awesome amp, single channel.



I just looked at the Lionheart head, and here in the states you could get a pair of Tweakers and a stereo echo to split 'em for the same price as just one Lionheart head...

So to me, it's like Apples to Oranges.


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## solarburn

The Laney Cub 12R would be more of an apples to apples price wise.

Versatility still goes to the Tweaker.

Having said that if most of that tweak-a-bility goes to waste and I end up with the same ole' settings then the playing field is leveled.

What I really like about the Tweaker is the fact you can change power tubes along with all the amp voicings it offers. I'd pop in some EL34's/6CA7's that just sit around my room waiting for an amp. Too fun!

The Laney crunch is nice though.


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## aryasridhar

Rickenjangle said:


> I just looked at the Lionheart head, and here in the states you could get a pair of Tweakers and a stereo echo to split 'em for the same price as just one Lionheart head...
> 
> So to me, it's like Apples to Oranges.



Here in India, I could get a tweaker for USD650
and the Lionheart Head for USD 745
So there is only a difference of USD 95, but the Lionheart is well worth the extra cash.

Its like the Egnater is cheaper there and its expensive here and vice versa for the lionheart.


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## Rickenjangle

aryasridhar said:


> Its like the Egnater is cheaper there and its expensive here and vice versa for the lionheart.




That must be the case! 

Kind of like, in the States you can get a Class 5 for $349 if you shop around - and for $399 you can get the custom-colors...in the UK it's around 349 GBP for the same amp - which is (off the top of my head) like $550 here...


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## aryasridhar

Rickenjangle said:


> That must be the case!
> 
> Kind of like, in the States you can get a Class 5 for $349 if you shop around - and for $399 you can get the custom-colors...in the UK it's around 349 GBP for the same amp - which is (off the top of my head) like $550 here...



Yeah, prices in the UK for UK made stuff are too much, I wonder how Marshall manages to get the price down for their products in the US and everywhere else the price remains higher.
A Class 5 head here in India would cost me about USD 660, which is too much for a 5 watt amp, I don't care if its a Marshall and if its made in UK or in Mars, the price doesn't justify the product.

Its really clear that we pay for the Marshall Badge than the product itself.


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## Moose Lewis

'Cause they know we're all broke.


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## RiverRatt

Moose Lewis said:


> 'Cause they know we're all broke.



By broke do you mean you can't afford to buy new gear, or you're having to sell gear? I'm hanging on to the first option as long as I can. I can't think of any piece of gear that I'd want to be without. I've got a Les Paul and a Strat that are both excellent guitars and I have a great set of amps. I've probably got enough parts lying around to assemble at least one complete guitar, too. I am unloading some tubes and components to try to lighten the Christmas load. You gotta take care of the kids, but I'm not going to go into debt just to buy Christmas presents this year. I'd rather not get a bunch of stuff I don't need than get a credit card bill ever month for 15 years.


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## Moose Lewis

It's a combination of both for me. Like clockwork, I can never make any money this time of year - and things seem to break or unexpected bills show up.

Meh - I was really just making a semi-humorous quip about the economy. I doubt we get them cheaper for that reason. Maybe supply and demand... I know 'we' buy a lot of 'em. I'm lookin' to get another next year. Haven't entirely decided... I just know what I want it to do, not do and sound like, lol.

But back on topic - lovin' the Tweaker ABY stack. It's a sonic journey of fun!


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## RiverRatt

I know what you mean.

Tweaker-wise, my rig isn't in much danger of leaving the house anytime soon. I put the Tweaker/2x12 on my right side and the Vintage Modern on the left. In the middle is the Mac and recording stuff. There's also a pedal board in the middle of all this. It's cramped and I trip over a cable just about every day, but the tone is worth it. I've been working the Strat a lot lately. I'm not running a lot of FX, usually just OD, stereo chorus and delay. The chorus is used to split the signal and get a little stereo separation. The delay is only on one amp. You wouldn't believe how good this setup sounds.


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## Moose Lewis

I would have to add a third amp to my setup for that - I'm too addicted to having 3 straight amp tones at the click of a switch (fat clean/crunchy/singing distortion)... but the more I play with both amps at once (Y), the more I'm leaning that way.

... maybe when I get 'that' Marshall next year.  I've still got a spare cab loaded with Green Berets.


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## brp

So how do the switches work? Are these basically just kicking in preset EQ curves essentially?


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## AudioWonderland

brp said:


> So how do the switches work? Are these basically just kicking in preset EQ curves essentially?



I think it changes the tone stacks.


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## RiverRatt

I just found out that you can leave a Tweaker 15 head powered up for 24 hours without anything frying.


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## Moose Lewis

You're not supposed to do that? When I get a new amp, I generally leave it on for 3 days (and play it as much as possible) to burn in tubes and such. Both the T15 and T40 got three day cookin' upon arrival.

Also, if it has issues - they are likely to show up. BTW, I'm not recommending this... it's just something I've done for years with new amps. I don't like surprises in the heat of battle.


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## __HM__

Jesus, this topic's still alive..? haha..

Thanks again everybody, looks like my parents and my girlfriend are gonna put some money together and get me a Tweaker 15 with the matching Tweaker 1x12 for Christmas! Hell yes!


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## RiverRatt

I still have a good pair of 6P3S power tubes for it when you get it.


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## __HM__

^Ha, tempting.  BTW, RiverRatt, how do ya like that Seismic cab? I've been looking at picking one of their 2x12s up for a while.. can't really beat $150.


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## RiverRatt

I got mine for $125. It sounds really good. It's made from 1/2" plywood. Even with those Eminence Legends in it, it's not very heavy. From the front it looks fine. It's got recessed Marshall-style handles which aren't exactly straight but they work.

Don't expect perfection for those prices, though. I can only speak for the cabinet I got, but the T-nuts for the speakers didn't even pretend to line up. I ended up turning the speakers slightly and using four 3/4" #10 screws. The T-nuts were anchored in place with a couple of big screws on each one. I had to take all those out to get the speakers to mount flush. It said front or rear-loading but I wouldn't try front-loading it. The grille is detachable but I don't know if there would be enough clearance with the speakers sticking out the front. 

There's a medium-sized rounded cutout in the back baffle and the tolex is pulled loose all the way around it. If they hadn't trimmed it so close and had folded some of it inside the baffle I think it would have stayed.


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## __HM__

So it sounds good, but the quality is sub par.. Get what you pay for, I spose. Was it worth the $125?


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## RiverRatt

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. It was worth $125 but they really cut some corners with it. I don't think it's finger-jointed. All the joins are reinforced with a hardwood strip so I'm not 100% sure, but it looks like it's butt-jointed. It feels pretty solid but if you're going to be moving it around a lot I'd be wary. It does come pre-wired with parallel wiring, so I ended up with an 8 ohm cab.


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## Moose Lewis

Hey HM ~ snag those 6P3S tubes. They're not crazy expensive and you'll love what it does for the T15.


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## paul-e-mann

RiverRatt said:


> I missed that the first time. That's a great price for that amp. Mine was $400 back in October. Use the $50 you saved to buy some 6P3S power tubes.



If youre patient and on the big store's mailing lists you'll get a 20% off coupon. I got one in an email a month ago I was so tempted to get a Tweaker but the timing was wrong and didnt have the cash. So bummed...


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## woodddj

Musicians friend and guitar center had a special $50 off $299 perchase. The tweakers or on sale for $350. So a new tweaker for $300 ain't that bad.


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## brp

Hey Alan,
Do you or have you used the Tweaker 15's fx loop?
If so, how'd it work for you?


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## RiverRatt

I ran an ancient Digitech FX processor in the loop but it's been awhile. It's fairly transparent - no noise or degradation of the signal. It's tube-driven, which is a plus for me. I use a pedalboard now and usually run everything in front of the amp but I was impressed the times I've used the loop.


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## Moose Lewis

I run a Hardwire R7 'verb in the FX loop... works a treat.  Everything else is out front.


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## Rickenjangle

I have an Alesis Nanoverb that I run in the loop when I use my Tweaker. It's nice and transparent, and enables me to run the amp a bit 'hotter' than I normally would live, where I usually get my overdrive from pedals. This way I can bring one fewer pedal and use my volume knob to ride the clean/mean line. 
I find if I put the ambient effects in front of the amp in this mode it sounds kinda washed out and strange.


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## __HM__

Update: I got the cabinet a few days ago at Guitar Center. Havent gotten a chance to plug anything into it yet, but besides the G12H being Chinese made, I'm very happy with it! 

The head shipped a few days back from zZSounds (Guitar Center was sold out!), should be here Wednesday. 

A NAD/NCD shall follow accordingly!  

Thanks for the positive input, ya'll 

Edit: Merry 12 minutes late Christmas!


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## solarburn

__HM__ said:


> Update: I got the cabinet a few days ago at Guitar Center. Havent gotten a chance to plug anything into it yet, but besides the G12H being Chinese made, I'm very happy with it!
> 
> The head shipped a few days back from zZSounds (Guitar Center was sold out!), should be here Wednesday.
> 
> A NAD/NCD shall follow accordingly!
> 
> Thanks for the positive input, ya'll
> 
> Edit: Merry 12 minutes late Christmas!



Waiting to hear about it.


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## brp

brp said:


> I may get one in the new year, just waiting to see if Marshall has any low watt tricks up their sleeve for the 50th anniv.
> Not likely they'll have something with the versatility the Tweaker has but they might just do something to try to compete with these do all mini heads.




Well, I was all set and certain to buy a Tweaker head when I'm in Seattle next weekend, but now with all this talk of Marshall mini heads, I think I should at least wait and see what they say at NAMM.... damm... waiting sucks.
Might pick up a Classic Vibe Tele instead in the meantime.


Once I know if/when and how much and how attainable these alleged mini JCM/JTM/JVM/DSL/JMP heads are going to be, I'll rethink the Tweaker 15h plan.


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## RiverRatt

I'd go ahead and get the Tweaker. It may be months before the new Marshalls hit the streets.


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## johnfv

IMO, a 15 watt amp is much more practical than a 1 watt amp...


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## brp

Yes, true Alan. Especially the one I want if their doing them chronologically per decade.

I already have a 15 watter, John. I want the Tweaker and/or the Marshall mini's for recording and different tones, but you're certainly right.

Ya, I can still buy the Tweaker after hearing the NAMM news though. Waiting a week won't hurt. But waiting months for the JCM and JVM mini's to come out will. Hmmm.... torn.... Now I'm back to getting the Tweaker sooner rather than later. It's a bit cheaper ($50) for me to buy it while in Seattle than locally.
lol GAS is a horrible disease.


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## scat7s

damn man, i got bit by the GAS bug tonight.

im suddenly obsessed with getting the T-15...so many features and tones for $300????

i gotta scrape up some cash...


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## RiverRatt

brp said:


> Yes, true Alan. Especially the one I want if their doing them chronologically per decade.
> 
> I already have a 15 watter, John. I want the Tweaker and/or the Marshall mini's for recording and different tones, but you're certainly right.
> 
> Ya, I can still buy the Tweaker after hearing the NAMM news though. Waiting a week won't hurt. But waiting months for the JCM and JVM mini's to come out will. Hmmm.... torn.... Now I'm back to getting the Tweaker sooner rather than later. It's a bit cheaper ($50) for me to buy it while in Seattle than locally.
> lol GAS is a horrible disease.



IMO Marshall tone is what the Tweaker does best. If you already have a 2x12 or 4x12 cab for it, it will sound much better than the single Egnater 12 cab.


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## RiverRatt

This is a quick clip I did with the Tweaker and my R8 Les Paul. I posted it in one of the other Tweaker threads awhile back. It's double-tracked with pretty much the same settings on each track.

tweaker.mp3


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## brp

RiverRatt said:


> This is a quick clip I did with the Tweaker and my R8 Les Paul. I posted it in one of the other Tweaker threads awhile back. It's double-tracked with pretty much the same settings on each track.
> 
> tweaker.mp3



I missed this post until now. Sounds cool!



RiverRatt said:


> IMO Marshall tone is what the Tweaker does best. If you already have a 2x12 or 4x12 cab for it, it will sound much better than the single Egnater 12 cab.




Ya, I only have a couple 1 x 12 cabs, the Tweaker ext. cab and a converted Fender combo w/ a 12 " 8 ohm Fender in it. Thinking about grabbing a 16 ohm Greenback to put in it so I can run both cabs.

Went through Tukwila yesterday and picked up a Tweaker and here she is:






Sounds great so far, I'll be retubing it though as you know.
The effects loop sounds good.
I sent you a PM about your "tweaks" for Marshall tone from the Tweaker but if you'd like to post here for everyone that's cool too.

I'm loving the Brit/AC/USA switch.

I noticed right off how responsive it is to tweaks to the guitar's tone knob, eq tweaks, even the tone knob on my pedals. More so than the VNT below it there.
Loving this thing and I've only played with it for about an hour so far.


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## solarburn

Hnad!


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## RiverRatt

Yeah man, that Tweaker 15 is one of the coolest amps I've owned. When I first got mine, I'd sit down for the purpose of going through all the settings and I'd get something happening and play on that one setting for an hour. It really feels good to zone out like that for awhile after putting up with work and a house full of teenagers.

Do you have any old 6V6GT's to run in it? I've got a few dozen if you want I'll throw you a pair in with the others. I've never gotten all my 6V6's together at once, but I know I have at least a couple dozen of them. Ironic since they aren't even close to being my favorite power tube.


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## brp

I don't have anything to run in it but the stock ones.

And ya, I know what you mean about zoning out. I started checking this thing out today and ended up staying on a sound I'd dialed in for about 30 minutes. I really have yet to check out every tone setting at length, but I will.

I gotta get some clips of my Night Train done and maybe I'll throw together some of this too for comparison.

And thanks a bunch for any and all tubes Alan!!! Let me know.

This thing is great, just what I needed and truthfully what I should have got in the first place but the NT is great too. I really wanted this for the effects loop (since couldn't get reverb to sound good in front of the NT when overdriven) and for the range of tones available and it is delivering.

I'm going to eventually try it with the NT at the same time.


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## AudioWonderland

RiverRatt said:


> IMO Marshall tone is what the Tweaker does best. If you already have a 2x12 or 4x12 cab for it, it will sound much better than the single Egnater 12 cab.



No doubt. Loading up a set of EL34's certainly encourages those tones as well


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## Moose Lewis

FWIW, the EL34s I tried in the T15 were a bit muddy for my taste (and I'm an EL34 Marshall enthusiast); although EL34s were just the ticket for the T40.

The best (and most Marshally) tone I've gotten to date with the T15 is from the 6P3S tubes that RiverRatt has been touting... crunchy, dynamic & tight. They're not expensive for NOS tubes either.


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## johnfv

The funny thing is I really like my Tweaker 15 for the Fenderish cleans and rarely change the settings from that (the 6P3S tubes are great for that also). It does demonstrate how versatile the Tweaker is when we're talking about how well it emulates very different classic amps.


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## AudioWonderland

Moose Lewis said:


> FWIW, the EL34s I tried in the T15 were a bit muddy for my taste (and I'm an EL34 Marshall enthusiast); although EL34s were just the ticket for the T40.
> 
> The best (and most Marshally) tone I've gotten to date with the T15 is from the 6P3S tubes that RiverRatt has been touting... crunchy, dynamic & tight. They're not expensive for NOS tubes either.



To me the T15 has a big ass on it even with the 6V6 tubes. I thought the EL34's tightened it up some and made the overall dirty sounds less "splatty" for lack of a better term.. I didn't hold out hope the low end would be reduced but I have EQ for that when needed


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## AudioWonderland

johnfv said:


> The funny thing is I really like my Tweaker 15 for the Fenderish cleans and rarely change the settings from that (the 6P3S tubes are great for that also). It does demonstrate how versatile the Tweaker is when we're talking about how well it emulates very different classic amps.



Honestly, while the Marshall tones are pretty damn good, the good Recto channel (Vox my ass) is what sold me on it. I have Marshalls I can use.

Over all though, it does great emulations of 3 distinct tones, is low wattage, has a loop and has a small foot print. Its going to get a lot of use in my studio.


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## RiverRatt

I never really thought about it before but the VX setting with the Hot gain switch on and the mids scooped does sound like a Mesa. You can do a passable Vox tone if you use the hot switch and crank the mids and treble and roll off the bass.

It's one of those amps that you have to work at to make it sound bad.


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## scat7s

well guys, im sold. 

tax returns are coming, (i hope! fingers crossed that i'll get something back!)

anyway, if i get a return, im buying myself a tweaker 15. 

cant wait! seems like an ideal recording tool.


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## Rickenjangle

johnfv said:


> The funny thing is I really like my Tweaker 15 for the Fenderish cleans and rarely change the settings from that ...



Me too - and if you've got a Gretsch you're in for a treat if you turn the Master all the way up, and set the controls for vintage/fender/gain about 2PM/bass(Noon)/Mid(9PM)/Treb(Noon)/clean/tight/bright.

Gets the amp into Fender piggyback bassman territory. I need to get the second 1x12 cabinet but overall I am very happy with this amp. Sounds great with anything I throw at it.


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## johnfv

Rickenjangle said:


> ...Fender piggyback bassman territory...


I still have a blackface Showman I bought as a teen. The Tweaker lets me get the same vibe but I can get the power tubes working at a lower volume. Check out the 6P3S tubes that Alan has, they really make magic in the Tweaker...


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## RiverRatt

I'm out of everything but the 1965 tubes. I've got a guitar to get into playing condition, then some pickups to pay for. If there's enough interest I can get another batch of them but they weren't moving very fast. I didn't really push them, though. I should try harder - they are incredible in the Tweaker 15. I've put a lot of tubes through that amp and the ones that came closest to the 6P3S was a couple of 60 year old Tung-Sol 5881's.

If anybody wants to try the 1965 tubes, drop me a PM. I think I still have at least two good pairs. They are a little more mid-focused; to me they sound more like EL34's.

Thanks for the plug, john!


----------



## shooto

RiverRatt said:


> I'm out of everything but the 1965 tubes. I've got a guitar to get into playing condition, then some pickups to pay for. If there's enough interest I can get another batch of them but they weren't moving very fast. I didn't really push them, though. I should try harder - they are incredible in the Tweaker 15. I've put a lot of tubes through that amp and the ones that came closest to the 6P3S was a couple of 60 year old Tung-Sol 5881's.
> 
> If anybody wants to try the 1965 tubes, drop me a PM. I think I still have at least two good pairs. They are a little more mid-focused; to me they sound more like EL34's.
> 
> Thanks for the plug, john!


 
^ first, what is 1965 tubes?...and second, how much?

thanks


----------



## RiverRatt

shooto said:


> ^ first, what is 1965 tubes?...and second, how much?
> 
> thanks



Russian 6P3S that were made in 1965. John would have known what I meant but I should have made it more clear. I was doing $20 a pair. My favorite 6P3S were some that I got from a HAM radio guy that were made in 1978. I'm watching for some to come up for sale.


----------



## brp

RiverRatt said:


> Russian 6P3S that were made in 1965. John would have known what I meant but I should have made it more clear. I was doing $20 a pair. My favorite 6P3S were some that I got from a HAM radio guy that were made in 1978. I'm watching for some to come up for sale.



Which ones are the ones I'm getting, the 78's? I assume that's right by the sound of it but just checking...


----------



## RiverRatt

Yours are the last 1988 pair I had. They sound like the 1978 tubes. I think I only have one 1978 tube other than the pair in my amp. If I can sell a few more preamp tubes, I'll probably be ordering some more Russian 6P3S. Dude owes me a tube, anyway.


----------



## johnfv

I have a '65 in my JCA Pico and it sounds great. It is interesting that in this case the later tubes often sound better than the older ones. It is more about how they _color_ the sound (not exactly "HiFi" response). They fatten up the low mids and there is a natural compression (I mean that in a GOOD way). I did a clip a while back - nothing fancy (one is completely dry, the other has a little verb added in the mix). Just a Strat thru the Tweaker (a little TC delay in front) and 6P3S tubes...

http://johnviehweg.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/RussianTweakerVERB.mp3
http://johnviehweg.com/wordpress/?p=233


----------



## brp

johnfv said:


> I have a '65 in my JCA Pico and it sounds great. It is interesting that in this case the later tubes often sound better than the older ones. It is more about how they _color_ the sound (not exactly "HiFi" response). They fatten up the low mids and there is a natural compression (I mean that in a GOOD way). I did a clip a while back - nothing fancy (one is completely dry, the other has a little verb added in the mix). Just a Strat thru the Tweaker (a little TC delay in front) and 6P3S tubes...
> 
> http://johnviehweg.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/RussianTweakerVERB.mp3
> From Russia with Love | John Viehweg



Oooo, I like the sounds of all that John. The clips sound great!

And thanks Alan.


----------



## RiverRatt

johnfv said:


> I have a '65 in my JCA Pico and it sounds great. It is interesting that in this case the later tubes often sound better than the older ones. It is more about how they _color_ the sound (not exactly "HiFi" response). They fatten up the low mids and there is a natural compression (I mean that in a GOOD way). I did a clip a while back - nothing fancy (one is completely dry, the other has a little verb added in the mix). Just a Strat thru the Tweaker (a little TC delay in front) and 6P3S tubes...
> 
> http://johnviehweg.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/RussianTweakerVERB.mp3
> From Russia with Love | John Viehweg



You want some 1965 spares? I think I had a bad first impression from them because Moose had a bad experience. They sounded fine until you pushed them hard and then they farted out. I've tried all the rest and they have a great low-mid spike for the Marshall sounds but can still do the Fender cleans.


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## johnfv

RiverRatt said:


> ...They sounded fine until you pushed them hard and then they farted out...


That must be it, I'm using it in the Pico so it is not getting pushed hard. I just hear the nice fat low mids...


----------



## brp

Holy crap have I ever been having a lot of fun with the Tweaker in the last 2 days!

I haven't really played with it very much at all, as I got really sick for a week and a half the day after bringing it home a couple weeks ago.

But I got a new guitar on Sat. and got it ready to go yesterday, so I had to put it through it's paces and the Tweaker at the same time as it turns out.
This sounds great and I haven't even got my replacement tubes yet (should be here this week or early next.)

Anyways, I haven't really played with any effects (at least not time/mod based) in forever because my other amps have no loop and they sounded terrible w/ effects in front, other than a boost/OD.

The Tweaker loop sounds awesome, after getting levels sorted out.
So I've been stting here making new patches from Scratch on my Peavey Profex and progamming the footswitches etc. Having a ball. 

This thing sounds sooooo good!
Can't wait to retube it for even more sweet tone.


----------



## brp

Posted this in the preamp tube thread but thought you Tweaker guys might be more likely to see it here.

Just about to retube my Tweaker but not sure what I should put in the preamp and specifically V1. What do you guys think? I'd like to maximize the Marshallness.
Here's what I have available:

- Matsushita (thanks again Alan!)
- Black Plate RCA (Baldwin marked)
- Grey Plate RCA (Thanks Marty!)
- G.E. 7025 (Electrohome marked)

I also have a NOS Sylvania, it's in the PI of my Night Train but I could swap that around with something from above, or a CP JJ or Sovtek. Also have a RFT in the V1 of my Night Train, kinda want to leave it there though.

I was planning to leave the V2 and V3 stock for now in the Tweaker to see how the Power and V1 rolling sounds, but any of the above could be used for V2/3 as well. The stock 12AX7's in the Tweaker are Electro Harmonix.

Any input appreciated....


----------



## RiverRatt

Electro Harmonix? My stock tubes were Egnater labeled Sovteks. Probably the same thing. Like I said in the preamp thread, the Matsushita will work well in V1. The RFT would also be a good choice. Put your Sylvanias, etc. in V2 and V3. They aren't gain stages and won't affect the tone. I even tried jumpering the effects loop to bring the other tube into the mix, but it didn't do anything noticeable.


----------



## brp

Yep, EH.
I just asked you about that actually, after your reply in the tubes thread, that's what I get for posting this in both lol

According to Wikipedia, New Sensor owns both Sovtek and EH now so ya most likely the same thing anyway.


----------



## brp

Tweaker sounds awesome with the 63PS and the Matsushita in V1!
I left the EH in V2 & V3 for now. Left the panels off though


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## RiverRatt

I checked my old Egnater tubes. They are labeled 7025/12AX7WA and under that Sovtek. They probably used whatever was available. Glad you like that line-up. Don't get hung up on one set of power tubes just yet. Run a few through there and see which ones do what. You may find you like one set better for a particular tone.


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## brp

Mine are labeled:
" 12AX7EH
electro-harmonix
Made in Russia
09 03 "

Ya, I really should get some EL34's to try in there too.
This is a great amp for me to get to know different tubes.


----------



## johnfv

I never even bothered to change the preamp tubes on mine (crazy I know)... just put the 6P3S in there and cranked it!


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## shooto

can anyone explain the difference they hear between EL34s and 6P3Ss in the Tweaker?


----------



## scat7s

hey guys, is there any way to acquire the schematic for this amp? 

i cant seem to find it online, but i was wondering if anyone has contacted egnater, if they will mail one to you if you ask? or if one happens to be included in the manual (fat chance right?)

or are they pretty tight about their schems getting into the public domain? maybe its just too new? and they will release it eventually? im just real curious to look it over...


----------



## RiverRatt

shooto said:


> can anyone explain the difference they hear between EL34s and 6P3Ss in the Tweaker?



It's really hard to describe a sound. If you took the best parts of an EL34, 5881, and 6L6GC and combined them into one tube, it might sound like a 6P3S. They are all over eBay and very affordable. I have some 1965 6P3S leftovers. IMO they tend to sound a little more like an EL34 than the ones from the 1970's and 1980's. The 6P3S is a popular audiophile tube as well. I've heard that Clapton uses these in his amps but I can't prove or disprove that.


----------



## scat7s

well, im late to the party, but i got my tweaker today. got a great deal from CL on a 6mos old gently used tweaker 15, with the soft case. 

i made arrangements last night to meet this guy and check it out, having gone soley on everyone's great reviews here, i had never plugged in to one. so i went to GC this morning and checked it out. i have to admit, my initial impressions of the one in the store were "ok", but not amazing. the longer i played around w/it, the more i was digging it though. 

so, i picked mine up later this afternoon, i think the one i got sounds better than the one from the store, a bit more clarity? maybe a hair cleaner on the gain. but felt like more harmonic content, and just overall a bit sweeter. 

the one at GC was plugged into a tweaker 1x12, the one i bought used, the guy had it pluged into an old ampeg V4 4x12 cab....that probably accounts for a lot of the different character i was noticing. i also noticed, the one at the store, the switches seemed more responsive than the one i purchased. 

but i was much more impressed with mine than GC's overall. im pretty pumped...this is going to be fun. 

the guy selling it had a small music store as well, so i picked up an aphex type C aural exciter and an old ibanez MD1000 digital delay, both rack, plus the amp for $300!!!

pretty good deal i think...

so, have you guys been just popping different power tubes in it? plug and play? or if i want to try el34's, do i have to do any modifications? thanks...

oh yeah, this little fucker is loud too!


----------



## RiverRatt

Congatulations Scat. I had a very similar experience. I tried one out at Guitar Center and wasn't terribly impressed. When I got it home it was like a completely different amp. I will say that IMO it needs at least a 2x12 cab to sound its best.

Yeah, you can use just about any octal power tubes you want in it. No biasing, just plug-n-play. I've only used common guitar amp tube types and never had a problem. I wouldn't suggest using anything spec'd under a 6V6GT. I've got some big ol' 6L6G's, the "Coke Bottle" tubes, and they have this great compressed overdrive sound.


----------



## scat7s

cool thanks RR...this is gonna be fun!


----------



## scat7s

what have you guys' speaker preferences been?


----------



## RiverRatt

I had a Marshall 1966B 2x12 cab that was awesome with the amp but they are pretty rare. BluesRocker got it and my first Tweaker in a trade I kinda regret making but at least I know it found a good home. Right now I'm using a cheap 2x12 with Eminence Legends. It's a semi open-backed cab so it sounds different from the Marshall cab. Maybe even a little more versatile. 

Don't be afraid to experiment. It's really hard IMO to make a Tweaker 15 sound bad.


----------



## brp

I'm looking for a G1265 or a greenback 16ohm to put in the other 1x12 cab I have, so that I'll have 2 x 12" in separate 1x12" cabs.

I have the Tweaker ext. cab and it sounds great.

And my Tweaker was new in box and didn't have a soft case. Not that I'd use it.


----------



## scat7s

i didnt think the eg 1x12 was that impressive, but, it was in the store, and they wouldnt let me crank it for more than a few moments....so not a fair judgement i suppose...


----------



## johnfv

I have a vintage JBL K120 in a small ported 1x12 cab and when I am going for the Fender cleans I love it for the Tweaker ( http://johnviehweg.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/RussianTweakerVERB.mp3 ). I think Alan may be out but the 63PS tubes are amazing in this amp. For crunch, I love WGS speakers.


----------



## scat7s

ive been meaning to look those tubes up, ive never heard of them, except from reading along in this thread...im anxious to try some el34's, and i have a nice stash of old rca blackplate 6v6's that i finally have an amp to use them in...

cant wait to roll some pre's too...


----------



## scat7s

hey guys just wanted to thank you for turning me on to this little rig. its pretty awesome. 

got my rca's plugged in, and a nice holland amperex in v1...tone to the bone. great power level for rehearsals too. fully cranked, on the verge of exploding tones at reasonable levels. great harmonic content, and controllable feedback if you want it...

killer. 

sounds great thru my V30/T-75 2x12 too...

so far, im partial to the modern/brit/hot/normal/tight settings....i like the deep setting for bdrm levels, gain about 12 to 1 o'clock, w/a volume pedal to clean it up on rhythm tones. again....killer amp. 

brilliantly engineered for such a simple and compact amplifier. 

take care men, thank you.


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## RiverRatt

I don't know what you play, but if you've got a hot humbucker guitar try the AC setting modern/hot/tight and scoop the mids all the way. 10 - 0 - 10 and crank that sucker up. You'll think your playing one of those overpriced diamond-plate amps.


----------



## DragonSarc

gots an opportunity to pic up 1 of this, you guys think 250 US is a good deal? 
I missed out few months a guys was selling 1 for 200 bucks


----------



## scat7s

i think thats a great deal...grab it, i think you'll dig, im not sure how anyone wouldnt. it does rock to high gain very well...crisp, articulate, and with some character. 

@ RR, yeah, im not a diamond plate kinda player. but, when i set it up in my dual amp configuration, i found that mixed with my JTM60, i liked the AC/clean with the gain cranked, and master up loud w/a volume pedal to clean it up....f*kn awesome. so far ive been running the EQ's around 12 oclock...give or take. 

what a great amp. played around with some old valvo el34's and just scored about 8 telefunkin and GB mullards for cheap at the indie music shop. that place rules...they all test good, cant wait to play around with those too.

i wish the schematics were out there....im dying to see how this thing ticks...the loop is curious....not sure how it works....as far as the dedicated 12ax7....


----------



## DragonSarc

dang missed out the guy sold it this morning sux  well just got to look out again for it hope fully it will pop out again at CL


----------



## RiverRatt

scat7s said:


> @ RR, yeah, im not a diamond plate kinda player. but, when i set it up in my dual amp configuration, i found that mixed with my JTM60, i liked the AC/clean with the gain cranked, and master up loud w/a volume pedal to clean it up....f*kn awesome. so far ive been running the EQ's around 12 oclock...give or take.



I'm not a big MESA fan either, but it's cool that the amp is that versatile. I like to use the AC setting, hot gain, mids and treble on 10, bass on 0. It sounds more like a Vox to me that way.


----------



## scat7s

im probably repeating myself, but what brilliant little pc of engineering, its basically got all the "mods" most people would be chasing at the flick of a switch.

im still in the honeymoon phase obviously, but i love this thing.

btw, do any of you guys notice a hum that fades in and back out when switching out of standby? its just a quick thing, but, the first couple times i heard it, i got nervous...but it seems to happen every time i switch it on....wondering if its something that they all do, or just mine?


----------



## RiverRatt

Mine doesn't do that, but it sounds like it might be transformer noise.


----------



## scat7s

that was my gut. it seems to only happen on cold start up...

so i picked up an alesis nanoverb today too, put her in the loop. sounds awesome. what a cool simple unit, and it doesnt suck tone. nice reverbs too...im in tone heaven!


----------



## scat7s

ok, some second impressions....in a dual amp rig, (JTM60), vintage/AC/clean/deep, gain cranked, master as high as your room will take...i had the chance to debut it in full rehearsal mode last night. 

i pulled the el34's and went back to the RCA 6V6, it didnt have enough distinction from the JTM60 which is el34 loaded. the mids got too overpowering or something. 

this fuckin amp rules im tellin ya...the downside, i could only get the master up to 1 oclock!! this thing is loud!!! maybe 1:30....

incredible though, really, its so damn clean and articulate, but still manages to have some crunchy balls hanging down...best tone i may have ever had....time will tell. 

this amp sings for rock tones though...anyone reading along, who may have the chance to pick one up....cant really speak to its ability to go metal, but for rock tones...i dont think you can miss with this one.


----------



## Hydra

Bruce Egnater brags too much, saying he's at the forefront of amp technology, Marshall is MILES ahead of Egnater


----------



## scat7s

ok, had my first tweaker issues last night....

EDIT: im a dummy. 

i thought my tweaker broke down last night, but it was operator error...


----------



## RiverRatt

Hydra said:


> Bruce Egnater brags too much, saying he's at the forefront of amp technology, Marshall is MILES ahead of Egnater



Thank you for that unsolicited testimonial. Do you own one of either? I doubt it.


----------



## AudioWonderland

Hydra said:


> Bruce Egnater brags too much, saying he's at the forefront of amp technology, Marshall is MILES ahead of Egnater



No, they really aren't....


----------



## scat7s

ok guys, i thought i had an amp failure the other night, turns out i didnt, but tonight, while i still had the amp out of the chassis, i took some measurements, and according to the weber bias calculator, this little bugger is pumping out......


get this, 16watts........per tube! yep, 32 watts from a pair of 6v6's. holy crap. 

i think im going to pull my rca's and throw the sovteks back in. thats ABUSE!

has anyone else bothered to look at theirs? man, no wonder this thing screams. 

id like to take it down to a more reasonable bias, but im afraid it will lose its character. also, if anyone thinks of it, check your power transformer after playing for a bit. mine gets very hot. almost too hot to touch. 

im not sure what to do about this bias, if anything. any thoughts???


----------



## RiverRatt

I don't know what to tell you. Post it over in the workbench where some techs will see it. Are the tubes redplating? What was the issue you had?


----------



## scat7s

have you ever checked your bias? 

i get the feeling that this isnt unusual, that these numbers are probably typical for this amp. but was just curious if anyone had bothered to take some measurements on their amps.

no, the tubes are not redplating, theres no issues really, other than it runs real hot to the touch, and sounds like shes bias REAL hot. my problem the other night was my own fault, not the amp.


----------



## RiverRatt

I think you're probably right. I don't know the normal operating voltages on the amp, but if the tubes are happy and the amp sounds good, everything is probably OK.


----------



## brp

Any of you guys ever notice that using the effects loop significantly drops the volume?
Like even if you run a cord out the send and straight back into the return, the volume drops.
Is this because the FX loop tube isn't getting driven hard enough? 
Seems odd that running a cord from the send back to the return with nothing in between attenuating the signal would make the volume drop.

I've found a solution to this for myself, just wondering if anyone else has this problem.


----------



## scat7s

i dont have that problem with mine....

could it be your V2 has a weak triode? try a different tube in that slot.

btw, i am still LOVING this amp. i use it every week at rehearsal and it is a pleasure...i feel compelled to thank you guys again for turning me on to it...


----------



## brp

scat7s said:


> could it be your V2 has a weak triode? try a different tube in that slot.



Hmm, yes I will do that. Never have, still stock in there.
I've changed everything else except v2 and 3, got NOS in v1 and power stage.
This is why I mentioned it, to get input on whether its normal and what to do if it's not so thanks.


----------



## buttercar

I have had my Tweaker for about a year and I still love it! I have an Egnater Tourmaster 2x12 cab that I run with it. I ABY it with a JCM800 4212 for live shows and have had awesome results. The amazing thing is that the Tweaker is nearly as loud as the 800! pretty amazing for a 15 watter. I'm waiting on some NOS 6P3S tubes that I ordered at the recommendation of RiverRatt. I will post an update after I get them up and running.


----------



## Söulcaster

How does the tweaker 15 or the VNT15 sound through a 4x12 cab?


----------



## RiverRatt

buttercar said:


> I have had my Tweaker for about a year and I still love it! I have an Egnater Tourmaster 2x12 cab that I run with it. I ABY it with a JCM800 4212 for live shows and have had awesome results. The amazing thing is that the Tweaker is nearly as loud as the 800! pretty amazing for a 15 watter. I'm waiting on some NOS 6P3S tubes that I ordered at the recommendation of RiverRatt. I will post an update after I get them up and running.



Be sure to give us a review when you get them installed. What's the production year of the ones you bought?


----------



## scat7s

Söulcaster said:


> How does the tweaker 15 or the VNT15 sound through a 4x12 cab?


 

probably sounds twice as good as it does thru my 2x12...haha

its still a great amp. still loving it...


----------



## RiverRatt

It sounds tighter. The Marshall settings sound great. I like the Modern and Tight switches. Put it on the Vox setting and change it from tight to deep, scoop the mids and crank the gain and it sounds like a MESA. It's noticeably different from my 2x12. It's not a full open back, it's got one of those smaller, rounded cutouts with two of the old Eminence Legends from a Randall cab. It's a nice rig. I wouldn't mind running across another Marshall 1965 or 1966 cabs. They work really well with the Tweaker.


----------



## buttercar

RiverRatt said:


> Be sure to give us a review when you get them installed. What's the production year of the ones you bought?



I found a pair of 1978's. I'm really anxious to get them!!! I will give a review when I get them in!


----------



## scat7s

im partial to the vox eq, with tight engaged at normal volumes. i crank the gain and bass on the clean setting. treble and mids around noonish. nice old school crunchy OD, cleans up with a light touch. 

ive got a slightly oversized pine 2x12 open back, loaded w/celestion 75's. sounds great....


----------



## buttercar

Got my 6P3S tubes in today, and I have to say they sound awesome! Very crisp, clear and crunchy on the British setting. I use this amp in stereo with my JCM 800, and it actually has a similar quality to the sound I get from the Marshall. I will try to post a recording soon.


----------



## RiverRatt

The best 6P3S I've used are the 1978's. The 1965's were more EL34-like but they didn't sound as big on the Fender setting. Still not bad at all. 

I did a power tube comparison with mine awhile back. I tried a pair of KT66's, Groove Tubes Mullard xF2 reissues, RCA 6L6GC's and a pair of old 5881's from the 1950's. The 5881's were the hands-down winner. The KT66's have a tone that's distinctly different from anything else and they sound good, but it's kinda like plugging into a hi-fi amp with a little more gain... you'll just have to try those for yourself to see what I mean. The 5881's have a lot of the qualities of an EL34 but can do the Fender thing, too. The 6L6GC's are great on the Vox channel with the mids scooped and the gain hot. The EL34's do about what you'd expect - they sound great on the Marshall settings. When I had the DSL50, I could get its tone out of the Tweaker with EL34's. The Tweaker had a better high-gain tone.

John, the only preamp tube you really need to change out is V1. The other two are the effects loop driver and phase inverter. V1 is the tube closest to the front of the amp. The one on the back left (looking from the back) is the FX loop driver. The one closest to the power tubes is naturally the phase inverter. You can get a lot of tone from a Mullard or Amperex in V1. Just about any of the usual Philips 12AX7's will sound great. I haven't played around with the PI tube as much. It doesn't seem to affect the sound as much as changing the PI in a Marshall does.


----------



## RiverRatt

Okay, about the phase inverter. Since I just mentioned in the post above that it didn't have much effect on the sound, I thought I should add to that post because I was *wrong*. I had been running a green print Sylvania JAN-12AX7 as a PI tube in the Tweaker 15. It's always sounded thick and punchy. I took that Sylvania out and tried a strong Amperex I65. There was a very noticeable drop in volume, loss of dynamics and punch, and I shut the amp off after about 5 minutes. 

I picked up a few tubes this weekend. One was an old Sylvania 6681/12AX7 with the yellow Sylvania label. We had tested it on my friend's recently calibrated B&K 707 and it pegged the needle at 120%. On my Hickok 800, 1250 is a new tube and 475 is minimum good. I checked a couple of other 12AX7's first on the Hickok to make sure it was working well. I got around 875/875 on the Sylvania that came out of the amp. Another tube, a strong GE that we tested on the B&K at around 90% tested at around 1050/1100 on the Hickok. I tested the yellow Sylvania and got a reading of 3200/2800! That's almost four times what the Sylvania I had been using tested!

I put the nuclear Sylvania in the Tweaker and it sounded GOOD. I was afraid with that much gain that it would be too hot and distort but I played on it for about an hour and I didn't want to stop then. The tone was similar to the other weaker Sylvania I was using. With the high-gain tube, there was a lot more of that thick and punchy sound and using the high gain setting on the amp it was brutal! I don't have any other Sylvanias that test that hot, but Marty might. You owe it to your ears to give it a try!


----------



## kilsin

i bought an egnater 15w tweaker and the manual says the tubes need to biased. RiverRat says they do not. i have a poweramp tube failure and would love to replace them myself. can anybody confirm or deny his statement?


----------



## kilsin

RiverRatt said:


> Congatulations Scat. I had a very similar experience. I tried one out at Guitar Center and wasn't terribly impressed. When I got it home it was like a completely different amp. I will say that IMO it needs at least a 2x12 cab to sound its best.
> 
> Yeah, you can use just about any octal power tubes you want in it. No biasing, just plug-n-play. I've only used common guitar amp tube types and never had a problem. I wouldn't suggest using anything spec'd under a 6V6GT. I've got some big ol' 6L6G's, the "Coke Bottle" tubes, and they have this great compressed overdrive sound.



this is what i'm refering to.


----------



## RiverRatt

This is the email I got from Egnater customer service when I asked them basically the same thing.

_What you heard it true. You can put any Power Tube (not including EL84) as you like. I put in EL34 but it made the amp darker and perfect for Fender Strats. If you are going to use a Les Paul, put in 6v6 or 6L6s. So as far as the output, it will be the same. It still remains 15w.

-- 
Thanks,
Adam Cameron
Egnater Amplifiers_


----------



## GuitarBuilder

RiverRatt said:


> This is the email I got from Egnater customer service when I asked them basically the same thing.
> 
> _What you heard it true. You can put any Power Tube (not including EL84) as you like. I put in EL34 but it made the amp darker and perfect for Fender Strats. If you are going to use a Les Paul, put in 6v6 or 6L6s. So as far as the output, it will be the same. It still remains 15w.
> 
> --
> Thanks,
> Adam Cameron
> Egnater Amplifiers_



This just underscores the versatility and coolness factor!


----------



## kilsin

Awesome! thank you.


----------



## kilsin

btw, my amp cut out when cranked after 5 or so minutes. it dropped to a real low volume. turned the amp off, then turned the amp back on and it has full volume.... till i crank it up again. 

the tubes are original.


----------



## scat7s

if you bought it new, return it. 

i wouldnt fuck around with that crap if its still under warranty.

if its not...hmmm, i dont know, thats an odd problem. 

ive had intermittent failures with mine too, the first time, i think i figured out it was operator error, but the last time it went out, it was right at the end of an hour long set, perfect timing, then when i got it back to the house the next day, it worked. 

thats my only complaint so far, it has just quit on me too, but it always "fixes itself". which would seem to indicate a heat factor...try a small fan on the back, see if that helps.

i might recommend using some plastic safe connector cleaner, spray all jacks switches, including your loop jacks and impedance selector sw. as well. peace of mind.


----------



## RiverRatt

Yeah scat, that does sound like a heat issue. I agree about returning it, too. Talk to Egnater first if you want, they have been super-good about fixing problems, but if it's fresh out-of-the-box, take it back. Otherwise, you'll have to ship it to them for repair and wait for it to come back. I've had two of the 15 watt heads and never a problem with either.


----------



## GuitarBuilder

scat7s said:


> if you bought it new, return it.
> 
> i wouldnt fuck around with that crap if its still under warranty.
> 
> if its not...hmmm, i dont know, thats an odd problem.
> 
> ive had intermittent failures with mine too, the first time, i think i figured out it was operator error, but the last time it went out, it was right at the end of an hour long set, perfect timing, then when i got it back to the house the next day, it worked.
> 
> thats my only complaint so far, it has just quit on me too, but it always "fixes itself". which would seem to indicate a heat factor...try a small fan on the back, see if that helps.
> 
> i might recommend using some plastic safe connector cleaner, spray all jacks switches, including your loop jacks and impedance selector sw. as well. peace of mind.



Bruce stands behind his products - go get a new one.


----------



## scat7s

> Bruce stands behind his products - go get a new one.


i bought mine used...

funny thing is, ive used it for rehearsal for a while now, 6 mos or more?, 4 or 5 hours at a time. it doesnt seem to fail with any regularity or in any predictable way.


----------



## paul-e-mann

I really like them. I just looked on ebay, none to be had used for cheap. I guess people like them enough not to sell them. Dont really need one but would consider buying one for fun if cheap enough.


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## kilsin

mine was purchased used, the seller never played it at loud volumes.


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## RiverRatt

I got my 2nd Tweaker 15 head at Guitar Center. I'd bought a Jet City JCA20H almost a month earlier and I still didn't care for it, so I was within the return time. I bought the Jet City head in Memphis and returned it to the Nashville store, which caused some minor confusion. IIRC, the Jet City head was selling for $299 and the Tweaker 15H was $399. I took some random effects pedal I probably paid $20 or less for, and traded it in on the Tweaker head. They were having that Trade-in Trade-up thing where they give you 15% off a new item when you trade something in. So, I got $60 off the Tweaker with the 15% discount, I think I got a $30 trade-in allowance on the dust-collector pedal. The refund on the Jet City was around $325 including the sales tax. I think I ended up paying tax on about $40 and walked out with the Tweaker 15 head, an Ibanez TS-9 reissue, and a Boss GE-7 EQ pedal.


----------



## minerman

After hearing some of the clips of the Tweaker, I'm getting more interested in this amp.....

A couple questions for those that have one:

1) Does it have enough gain for metal (older stuff like Dokken, Scorpions, etc) without using a boost???

2) I've read you can change the power tubes without re-bias, is this true???

Thanks in advance!!!


----------



## RiverRatt

Yes and Yes. 

To answer #1, there is a switch linked to the gain control that's labeled HOT and CLEAN. If you set the amp to the Vx tone, scoop the mids, and put the gain selector on HOT and crank it, it sounds massive. Put a good cab and speakers with it. IMO it needs at least a 2x12 to really get a thick, chunky tone.

Question #2 is true, but only for the Tweaker 15. Somebody (Moose?) has a Tweaker 40 and verified that it will accept different output tubes, but they do require biasing.


----------



## minerman

Thanks for the answering the questions I had about the Tweaker, one more thing, do you think it would sound pretty good through a 1x12 Greenback cab???? Won't be gigging, only recording at home......

Thanks in advance!!!!


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## brp

It will likely record very well with a 1x12 Greenback, but as someone who has used the 15 head with a couple different 1x12's and recently bought a 2x12, it definitely does benefit from the 2x12 (as would be expected with practically any amp).
It sound great with the Tweaker 112 designed for it though! (1 x G12H-30 70th)

Also, +1 to RiverRatt's comments on the gain. Definitely capable of some serious metal, especially if just for recording.


----------



## scat7s

we have finally added another guitar player to our mix, and i have stopped using my marshall in my rig, just using the tweaker 15 thru a 2x12. 

anyway, the other night at practice, i was able to really get that thing cooking. had the master on 8. it was loud, and sounded big and fat. 

best tones ive gotten out of it yet. 

i find myself partial to the fender setting lately. low gain, but gets crunchy with the volume pedal up. sounds f-ing great.


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## minerman

Sorry to bump this thread guys, but I've got some serious GAS for this amp right now.....I was going to hold off, & try to get one of the 1w Marshalls (& still might later on, the JVM would be my first choice....), but from all the clips I've heard it's a really versatile amp, & would be a really good choice for my use......

If anyone has anymore clips, please post 'em up here (I think I've heard most of 'em here, but can't be 100% sure.....I've also did the YouTube thing, but I'd still like to hear more of what this amp can do.....), as I'm really looking at buying this head in the next little while........

Thanks in advance!!!!!!!


----------



## scat7s

go hit the store and play thru a couple of them. not that the "in store" experience will give you the best representation, but it might be better than youtube.


----------



## RiverRatt

This is the only thing I could find, and I think I may have posted it here before. I've probably recorded more clips with the Tweaker but it's been awhile and I don't remember which ones are which amp. This was just a tone check and IIRC this is my Les Paul on the Brit channel on the left. I don't remember what I used on the right channel. I know it was the Tweaker but I can't remember the settings or the guitar. This is through a 2x12 with Eminence Legends.

tweaker.mp3

Scat, I hated the Tweaker when I heard it in the store. It was at Guitar Center and the 13-year-old metalheads were out in force. I couldn't even hear the differences in the three modes. 

I went ahead and got one after a month anyway after reading reviews but what really sold me was being able to use any of the octal power tubes in it that I had. *Note that this does not include 7591's or 7027's. They have to have the same pinout as the 6V6GT's.*


----------



## minerman

Thanks River Ratt, I think you have posted that before, but no biggie, sounds great man!!!!!

I'm really leaning toward this amp head right now, I've wanted a 1w Marshall since hearing about 'em, but to be honest, I just can't swing the $$$ for one, unless I'll be able to get a JVM1 when they're announced to be released. Still, $750 is a lot of money for me really, I mean, sure, I work & make pretty good $$$, but I have a lot of bills, & we like to eat too.......I could buy the Tweaker head, & a couple decent mics for what I'd give just for the 1w Marshall.....

I'd say that 99% I'll be buying a Tweaker 15w head in about a month or so, I've got over half of the $$$ in my "stash" place, so another couple weeks & I should have enough to just buy it........I've already got a 1x12 Greenaback cab, so that should sound pretty decent, & eventually, I'm gonna buy another cab (V30).....

I've thought about driving to Guitar Center & maybe trading my HT-5 in on one, but I'd kinda like to keep it in a way too, it's a decent little amp, I just want something else that's got a couple/few different sounds other than what it offers......Driving to GC would take a whole day for me too, the nearest one is about 2 1/2 hour drive, one way......yeah, I live out in the sticks....

Thanks again for the clips, & your opinion(s) on this little amp, if nothing terrible happens in the next few weeks, hopefully I can post a few clips of _my_ Tweaker.......


----------



## brp

Do it, you won't be disappointed.
I don't see you using your HT-5 much once you have the Tweaker but maybe for a little something different that you can as quickly coax out of the Tweaker,


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## scat7s

v-30's sound great with it too.


----------



## RiverRatt

minerman said:


> Thanks River Ratt, I think you have posted that before, but no biggie, sounds great man!!!!!
> 
> I'm really leaning toward this amp head right now, I've wanted a 1w Marshall since hearing about 'em, but to be honest, I just can't swing the $$$ for one, unless I'll be able to get a JVM1 when they're announced to be released. Still, $750 is a lot of money for me really, I mean, sure, I work & make pretty good $$$, but I have a lot of bills, & we like to eat too.......I could buy the Tweaker head, & a couple decent mics for what I'd give just for the 1w Marshall.....
> 
> I'd say that 99% I'll be buying a Tweaker 15w head in about a month or so, I've got over half of the $$$ in my "stash" place, so another couple weeks & I should have enough to just buy it........I've already got a 1x12 Greenaback cab, so that should sound pretty decent, & eventually, I'm gonna buy another cab (V30).....
> 
> I've thought about driving to Guitar Center & maybe trading my HT-5 in on one, but I'd kinda like to keep it in a way too, it's a decent little amp, I just want something else that's got a couple/few different sounds other than what it offers......Driving to GC would take a whole day for me too, the nearest one is about 2 1/2 hour drive, one way......yeah, I live out in the sticks....
> 
> Thanks again for the clips, & your opinion(s) on this little amp, if nothing terrible happens in the next few weeks, hopefully I can post a few clips of _my_ Tweaker.......



Thanks, I appreciate the compliment. I hardly ever record lead stuff, I usually end up playing rhythm parts.

I recorded this tonight. It's the first thing I've recorded since I had surgery on my hand and elbow around a month ago, so please give me a break on the sloppiness. I recorded the first track accidentally. I'd never even played this song before, but I heard it recently and remembered that I liked it when it came out. Hell, it may not even be close - my apologies to Social Distortion, but I was recording a new speaker I bought and tried to fill it out with a second guitar part and bass. I do finally get it fairly tight if you hang on for awhile. The first guitar is my Tweaker 15 on the Brit channel with a typical hot and mid-heavy Marshall tone. That track is panned to right center and is a 1973 Utah speaker I found at a local shop today. The second guitar is the other side of the cabinet - a WGS Green Beret that I got from Dirty Steve (Thanks man!) panned left and the bass is somewhere in the middle. Guitar is a Gibson SG 490T bridge pickup. I had a pair of 1978 Russian 6P3S power tubes in the Tweaker 

badluck.mp3


----------



## minerman

Thanks for posting another clip RiverRatt, not too familiar with WGS' different speakers (comparing 'em to Celestions), but from what info I found (a really quick Google search..) seems it's pretty much the same Greenback (give or take.....) speaker I have, & I like the left panned tone a little more than the other, so I'd say you're convincing me to buy the Tweaker 15 head......

No worries about the performance on the clip dude, & even more so since you just had surgery, keep at the playing, but take it slow so you don't do anything to hurt what you just had fixed.....

The more clips I hear of the Tweaker 15w, the more I like it, & the more I realize that my HT-5 is lacking what I want/need from my setup....I'm gonna see if I can swing it next week (maybe, maybe not...) & order the Tweaker. The Blackstar through the Greenback cab I have sounds ok, but there's just not enough "bite", even with the treble dimed, and/or which way I set the ISF dial.....

I'm looking for an amp (like the 15 watter) that'll give me a few different tones, for recording (won't be doing any gigs...). I've been wanting a 1w Marshall since I heard about 'em, but maybe the Egnater will give me the tones I want/need, & save me some $$$ too........

BTW, what mic/position did you record the clips with, & what were the settings on the amp???

Thanks again for posting the clip!!!!


----------



## RiverRatt

The amp was set to modern on the preamp volume, master vol. on around 4, Brit on the tone stack, and Normal and Tight on the power section. It's a classic Marshall sound and it's completely dry. Nothing other than a cable, Tweaker 15, 2x12 cabinet, and a Sennheiser E609 mic about 2 inches off axis on the speakers and maybe an inch or two offf the grill (probably why it picked up pick noise). You can hear the pick noise bad on the first guitar. That's pretty much it. Those 6P3S are the best tubes you can put in the power section of the Tweaker. Too many people have heard it themselves to argue. It's like they were made to be together. Those recorded tones were completely dry. No effects whatsoever. That's just a Tweaker 15 and a Gibson SG. If you can find some of the 6P14P Russian tubes dated around 1977-78, those seem to be the best ones. I've ordered in bulk from Russian sellers on eBay and they are very reasonable and very reliable as well. Probably cheaper than any other NOS octal tubes available, and they ROCK, and these 1978's I have are the best! I was selling them for awhile, but I haven't ordered a batch since I got the Tweaker. If you're looking for any, check with me first, or go to one of the Russian sellers on eBay. These guys are in the most part very reliable and very honest. Check their feedback. That one set of 6P3S are all I have right now. Keep a lookout in the classifieds and maybe I'll have some more soon. I may even order them tonight. They really bring the Tweaker to life. I don't think you'll be the least bit disappointed. They knocked the ball out of the park with this amp. Hell, if I can make the recording sound decent, just think what somebody who knows WTF they are doing could accomplish with that head. If you want a single head that does Marshall, Vox, Fender, MESA, and just about anything else tone-wise, you need this amp.

Look in the Classifieds for the 6P3S. I should have some here in a week or two. If there's anything you're looking for, shoot me a PM. Odds are I have it, as long as it's not a Euro power tube. I've got USA power and pre's out the wazoo.

Seriously, grab one of the Tweaker 15's. It's one of the must-have amps of the decade. The next one that comes to mind is the Marshall Class 5.

The surgery recovery is going great - I didn't miss a single f'in day of playing guitar. I had to have percocets for the first few days, but it's coming around. My first 3 fingers are stronger than they've been in ages. I'm having to play 2 and 3 finger chords until my pinky finger gets stronger, so I'm noodling on stuff that doesn't require a lot of complex chords. I've been trying some Rush, but I'm not quite there yet. Thanks for the kind words. I don't believe you'll ever be disappointed in the Tweaker 15. It's the single best amp I've ever owned as far as versatility and just sounding GOOD no matter what you do to it.

The bass was direct into the Mac, but the guitars both had that Sennheiser E609 on them. That's probably the best $100 I've spent on guitar in forever! That mic was made to record guitars and it is damned good. I don't think I could even find my Shure SM57 if I went and tried. The 609 is flat and although I have a nice boom stand and a clip-on gooseneck for recording amps, I get the best tones with the 609 about an inch or two in front of the grille cloth. Don't sweat this amp. You can pick up used ones easily for 3 bills and there are several of us on here who can hook you up with some magic glass for it. I know I've rattled on about the power tubes, but the only two 12AX7's you need to worry about is V1 and V3. V1 has both gain stages, so it matters a LOT. I like a hot tube in the phase inverter spot. Again, Sylvanias, Raytheons, RCA, GE all work really well as a phase inverter. I think I have a Sylvania that tests about 1/3 higher than any other one I own. 

If you do get the Tweaker, I have just about any pair of common octals you want, as long as you don't go above a KT66 or 6L6GC. I'm lousy with the 6L6GC's and I will part with them for a reasonable $20 or $30. They are almost as good as the 6P3S and I literally have at least a half-dozen pairs. You get the amp, we'll help you get it sounding RIGHT.


----------



## RiverRatt

minerman said:


> Thanks for posting another clip RiverRatt, not too familiar with WGS' different speakers (comparing 'em to Celestions), but from what info I found (a really quick Google search..) seems it's pretty much the same Greenback (give or take.....) speaker I have, & I like the left panned tone a little more than the other, so I'd say you're convincing me to buy the Tweaker 15 head!



You aren't going to go wrong with it. They are still selling used for no more than $100 off the chain store prices. You can flip if for a minimal loss if you don't like it, but before you decide whether you like it or not, get with me or Marty and get a decent set of tubes for it. I have a pair of just about any octal power tube that will work in the Tweaker 15 (except the Russian toobz!). 

Both guitars were the Tweaker 15. The right-ish one is the one I laid down without knowing I was going to do something with it. The second guitar, the left one you liked, is almost exactly the same settings, but going through the Utah speaker I picked up today. Both are awesome, but when you use a classic Fender speaker and a Marshall-driven Celestion, you really have to work at it to find a bad tone.


----------



## DirtySteve

Hey RR, sounds great! Glad your enjoying the speaker.


----------



## RiverRatt

No, it sounds sloppy. I was pretty tore up last night. That speaker is great and the tone was the reason I posted it in the first place. I can never make it sound as good recorded as it sounds live. I might try it again this weekend but this time I will lay down drums and bass first. My timing isn't good enough to do it the way I did last night. I'm not used to drinking like that anymore. I started with Pinot noir and finished up with some 120 proof moonshine. My eyes keep wanting to cross this morning.


----------



## minerman

Thanks for the details again RiverRatt, I think I'm just gonna buy one of the 15w heads & wait on the 1w Marshall. Hell, I may not even buy the Marshall if the Egnater delivers the tones I want. 

There's still some more gear on my "list" to buy, including the E609 mic, & another 1x12 cab (V30). I've also been looking at some more guitars (drooling over a Les Paul...), but what I have will do for now (MIM Fender Strat H-S-S, Ibanez RG350DX), my main goal is to find an amp tone that I'm happy with (which I also know could take years, the tone quest is never ending....), & money is an issue to be honest, like I've mentioned, I work & make pretty decent $$$, but I have a lot of bills/responsibility, & those priorities have to come first....sorry to go off topic there...

I'll definitely keep those tubes in mind when I finally do get the amp (I'm like a kid, seems like I have to wait forever on stuff like this....)....

Thanks again for posting the clip, I think you've sold me on the Egnater!!!


----------



## RiverRatt

That's great! I like the concept of the mini Marshalls but you could buy two more versatile heads for that kind of money. I have the same cash issues as you, so I do a lot of gear trading and while I probably would have bought the JTM or JMP if I had the spare cash,it would have been more for the collectibility than anything else. I'm really happy with the setup I have now. Hopefully I'm through for awhile 

Speaking of trading, the power tubes are fair game. I like OD pedals and most others for that matter.


----------



## RiverRatt

Again, sorry for the drunken rambling. I haven't pulled one like that in a long, long time. I am off blood thinners for awhile and just started back with them so I figured one binge wouldn't hurt.


----------



## DirtySteve

RiverRatt said:


> No, it sounds sloppy. I was pretty tore up last night. That speaker is great and the tone was the reason I posted it in the first place. I can never make it sound as good recorded as it sounds live. I might try it again this weekend but this time I will lay down drums and bass first. My timing isn't good enough to do it the way I did last night. I'm not used to drinking like that anymore. I started with Pinot noir and finished up with some 120 proof moonshine. My eyes keep wanting to cross this morning.



Well, I was mainly speaking of the tone and not necessarily commenting on the playing, though it wasn't "that" bad. You have a great excuse though.


----------



## RiverRatt

I should have at least had a click track. I was recording with headphones for the first time with my Mac. One channel burned out on my old Dynaco power amp so I couldn't use monitors. I picked up some nice AKG headphones on the Stupid Deal of the Day. I actually think I'm going to like recording with them more than monitors. I can hear the backing tracks and monitor my live amp through them at the same time and they don't dampen the ambient tone too bad either.


----------



## minerman

I always track with headphones RR, it just makes my playing much, much tighter, as I can hear any mistake really easily....that's a big reason I bought the 1x12 cab (& going to buy another eventually), so I can put it in another room, mic'd up, & be able to monitor what's coming through the mic/daw, instead of the amp "taking over" the room....I also have a re-amp box too, sometimes I'll use an ampsim/modeler to record di's late at night, then re-amp 'em later.....

Instead of a click, I use MIDI drums to get the basic song structure, then I go back & program (actually using a vsti called Jamstix 3 that is pretty cool......) the drums. After I think the drums are ok (time changes, slight tempo things like having a chorus just a tad faster, etc...), then I re-track the guitars so they fit with the drums a little better.....just the way I do it anyway......

The 'phones I use are cheap, a pair of $20 Sony MDR-150's, actually my second pair, again, they're cheap, but I know 'em really well, been using those for almost 4 years now. I do need to buy a good set (along with a bunch of other stuff), but like you, $$$ is tight here.......

I'm pretty set on buying the Tweaker now, maybe in a couple weeks I'll have it. Not going to be able to make the trip to GC this weekend (or the next few for that matter, gonna have to work a few Saturday's.....sucks, but it's overtime/extra $$$$........)so I may order it online....

I'll keep you in mind regarding those tubes, & I appreciate all the help/info....and, by all means, if there's anything else about the amp you wanna mention, please feel free!!!!!!!

Thanks again!!!


----------



## brp

I always track anything semi-serious with headphones (and the cab in another room behind 2 doors) as well.

I have a couple different sets of phones, a Sony set and a Fostex set. Both sound pretty ok, one is louder. Neither sound anything like the track sounds coming out of the monitors or like the cab sounds.
I leave the ehad in the control room and try to make tweaks via the nearfield monitors before going to headphones for the actual takes.

Gonna roll some tubes in the Tweaker this weekend hopefully. Still haven't tried those NOS EL34's I got from you, Allan, or any other power tube besides the 63PS I got from you.


----------



## minerman

brp said:


> I always track anything semi-serious with headphones (and the cab in another room behind 2 doors) as well.
> 
> I have a couple different sets of phones, a Sony set and a Fostex set. Both sound pretty ok, one is louder. Neither sound anything like the track sounds coming out of the monitors or like the cab sounds.
> I leave the ehad in the control room and try to make tweaks via the nearfield monitors before going to headphones for the actual takes.


 
Exactly how I track stuff man, & a big reason I bought a re-amp box, so I can do tweaks to the sound while the guitar part is playing through the amp (mic position, tone on the amp, etc)...


----------



## RiverRatt

A guy gave me an isolation box he built himself and it looks good, but I don't have a nice speaker for it at the moment. He says it works really well. I may have to get a driver for it and put the E609 in. It's that gray carpet covering on the outside, pretty decent plywood, mic and speaker hookups on the outside, and inside is lots of acoustic foam.


----------



## minerman

I'm considering an iso box too RR, as my wife can't handle the noise when I use my amp (it's only 5 watts too, just imagine if I had a bigger, louder amp  .....), but dunno if it'd work well or not. From all the clips/info I've heard, the Rivera Silent Sister sounds the best, but is also the most expensive (I do know you get what you pay for too, cheaper price means a cheaper product.....). The Randall & Jet City iso cabs are priced pretty close, but I've heard a lot of mixed reviews about 'em. The Randall comes loaded with a V30 (which is the next speaker/cab I want) & the Jet City has an Eminence (which I know nothing about, except for reviews/clips on the 'net). But for someone like me (who only does the recording thing for a hobby), I'd say the Randall or the Jet City would do ok. 

From what info I can find, the sound/noise is cut by about 1/3, which would probably work for me using a low watt amp.....

Talked to the "warden" (my wife) about the Tweaker, & I've convinced her I need the amp, so it's just a matter of time, maybe a couple of weeks.....


----------



## Riffraff

MAN! You guys got the GAS going again. :Ohno: There is a used one for sale locally for $300 and I've been considering flipping my seldom used '78 SF Vibro Champ for it.


----------



## minerman

Hey River Ratt, didn't you say Guitar Center takes trade ins???? Just curious to what they'd give me for my Blackstar HT-5 combo. I've had it since March, & it's never left my home. I know I'd have to give 'em some $$$, but just wondering how much they'd give me for my HT-5......it's the HT-5C (no reverb, 2 channel, 12" speaker).....

I've got some serious GAS for the Egnater right now.......


----------



## scat7s

sell it privately. 

the store doesnt give a crap if its never left home. and they will give you 30% of what its worth.


----------



## RiverRatt

minerman said:


> Hey River Ratt, didn't you say Guitar Center takes trade ins???? Just curious to what they'd give me for my Blackstar HT-5 combo. I've had it since March, & it's never left my home. I know I'd have to give 'em some $$$, but just wondering how much they'd give me for my HT-5......it's the HT-5C (no reverb, 2 channel, 12" speaker).....
> 
> I've got some serious GAS for the Egnater right now.......



They should allow you around $140 to $160 for it tops, plus you'll get 10% off any new gear because you traded something in. If it's in like-new condition, they will be more likely to go with the higher number. The Tweaker 15 head sells new for $400, so you're automatically going to get it for $40 off, or $360. So, by the time they figure in your trade-in, you will probably end up paying tax on somewhere in the neighborhood of $200. All you have to do to figure a GC trade-in allowance is check the eBay completed listings and see what the amp is selling for (NOT what people are asking!) in auctions. They will allow you 60% of what your gear is selling for. 

You can also bring in more than one item to trade in. Sometimes I'll load up a bunch of gear I don't use and don't have any real money tied up in, like multi-effects processors, pedals I don't like or never use, stuff like that. 

I don't know how Craigslist and the economy is in your area, but it's getting so around here that you have to practically give something away to move it. By the time I figure in the trade-in allowance and the 10% off, I usually end up getting about what I could out of my gear if I sold it locally or on eBay. Also, if you trade at GC, you don't get hit with the double-whammy eBay fee and PayPal fee, and usually it's a lot easier. I had a run-in with an a$$hole manager recently, but they made it right so I like them again (just not the manager).


----------



## Riffraff

Came home with a Tweaker 15 head last night. Kept the SFVC & kicked my Acoustasonic 30 out instead. I can't wait to put this thing through it's paces. I've got a few little 6V6 amps full of RCAs ready to donate.


----------



## aussiebluesville

Well after reading about these little unit's i just had to have one, wow i'm excited what tones you can get from this little powerhouse, i'm running it through a blackstar 1x12 with celestion seventy80 speaker and its great, at the moment i'm running 6v6 jj's and stock 12ax7 sovteks, using either my strat or tele, thinking of trying a few tube variations, what do you guys think the tubes that would be nice for the strat or tele, i'm happy with the tone of the 6v6's but what would be a possible tube change in the pre's or power tubes.


----------



## johnfv

The tweaker sounds damn good with the stock tubes, what I like the best so far is the 6P3S tubes Alan has. They sound great and have a nice natural compression (note they are tall so you have to put them in through the top; take the shield off). Here's a clip I recorded with a Strat and Tweaker (6P3S):
http://johnviehweg.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/RussianTweakerVERB.mp3

Details here:
http://www.marshallforum.com/cellar/35102-russia-love.html


----------



## RiverRatt

You'll have to get the 6P3S tubes from eBay. I only have one pair left and they aren't going anywhere. Last time I bought a batch, I got 16 tubes for a great price and a reasonable shipping charge from Russia. Now, everyone there is selling either pairs or quads or they are selling lots of 50 or so. There's no in-between.

Aussie, it's well worth picking up a few old sets of power tubes. They really have a big impact on the tone. For preamp tubes, V1 is the gain stages, V2 is the FX loop driver, and V3 is the phase inverter. I've used Telefunken, Mullard, GE, etc. and I really couldn't say which is better. Put a good high-gain 12AX7 in V3 and try a few different tubes in V1. Don't worry about V2 unless you use the FX loop a lot. It's almost impossible to make this amp sound bad.


----------



## scat7s

i was running some old rca 6v6, but one was failing, so i popped in some new EH6v6gt's, and have been happy with those. i'll have to match up another pair of 6v6's eventually, i have several rca's still laying about, but i havent matched up a set yet.

i run tele's in the preamp v1 and v3.

ive been tracking heavy with it for a week, vox option with my sg sounds great, marshall with the yamaha sbg. 

clean channel about 6 on the gain and master cranked, or nearly cranked. nice rhythm tones, good harmonic content.


----------



## minerman

GAS is killing me guys, I have a 3 day weekend, so I think I'm going to Guitar Center either tomorrow or Monday. I'm even considering trading my Strat off for this amp. It's a MIM H-S-S, but I really don't play it much. The Ibanez is my main guitar, right now. I hate to get rid of it, but I'm really wanting this amp, & can't swing the cash to just buy it straight out.

I twisted my knee at work Monday, so I'm really going to have to watch the $$$, as it's looking like surgery (again, had tendon repair in '94, same knee) eventually, & even though I'll get compensation (hurt on the job), it'll be a while before I have any $$$ coming in (if/when they do the surgery).....I'm still working, but it's getting harder & harder just to get around at work (the mine roof is only about 48-54" high.....), & eventually (which won't be long), I won't be able to do it, & will have to have my knee "fixed"....

My Dad has been diagnosed with lung cancer too (he's 75, an ex-coal miner, but is in very, very good spirits about this), & I may have to help my parents out with some things in the next little while.....

Gonna do some long, hard thinking on this, may or may not happen. Selling either my Blackstar or Strat locally/privately ain't gonna happen around here, there's just nobody interested that I can find, so again, gonna do some thinking on this for another day or so......

Life sure can serve a big 'ol shit sandwich sometimes, & lately, I've been getting a big bite......the music thing has kept me sane for years now....

Sorry to go off-topic there guys.....

*johnfv*: Clips sound great man, very, very nice!!!!!


----------



## Riffraff

Digging mine so far. I'm going to finish this DIY 212 then finish it with matching black tolex and cane grill. It's 14" deep just like Egnater's 112 cab. I think it will make a badass little mini-stack.






I've got this pair of '74 CTS alnicos in it right now. 






I might pull a pair of greenbacks from my 425A cab and try those too to see which I like better. I love the head through my 412 but would like to use it with the 212 for portability reasons. If I like the greenbacks I can just pick some up for it. I have a feeling the CTS speakers are going to shine with my Strat in Fender and Vox modes and the Greenbacks will be my favorite Marshall mode speakers. I would like to find something that works well for both. I'm running another one of these CTS speakers in one of my 1482s and it works well in that even for the heavy stuff so they might work out.

As far as tubes go, I've got a few RCA 6V6 gray plates to try out and a few different 12AX7 flavors...Silvertone labeled Sylvanias, a yellow label Sylvania which I think is a little higher gain and a pair of RCAs.


----------



## johnfv

Riffraff said:


> ...this DIY 212...


Looks cool, what speakers are those? You don't see that many aluminum domes these days.


----------



## Riffraff

johnfv said:


> Looks cool, what speakers are those? You don't see that many aluminum domes these days.



I was just adding that but you were too quick. They are '74 CTS alnicos that were pulled from a Kustom Tuck & Roll cab.


----------



## aussiebluesville

johnfv said:


> The tweaker sounds damn good with the stock tubes, what I like the best so far is the 6P3S tubes Alan has. They sound great and have a nice natural compression (note they are tall so you have to put them in through the top; take the shield off). Here's a clip I recorded with a Strat and Tweaker (6P3S):
> http://johnviehweg.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/RussianTweakerVERB.mp3
> 
> Details here:
> http://www.marshallforum.com/cellar/35102-russia-love.html



johnfv is this track with the 6P3S and stock 12ax7's, BTW nice playin ..  sounds awesome, the clarity was real impressive!

And can you put the top grille back on once you get the 6P3S's in! i'm going to order some 6P3S's today, seen some 70's for about $28 au delivered on ebay from russia, that seems reasonable for a set of 4?


----------



## RiverRatt

Yes you can put the grille back in place with the 6P3S. The only tubes I've tried that were too tall for it were a pair of old RCA 6L6G tubes. Like John said though, you need to remove the bear trap tube retainers. They aren't necessary and will cause problems with tubes that have large bases or metal bases.


----------



## johnfv

aussiebluesville said:


> johnfv is this track with the 6P3S and stock 12ax7's...


Yes, stock preamp tubes. Alan gave the details on the install. $28 seems a fair price to me (but Alan would know better than I do). Of the ones I have tried the '78 ones sound best.


----------



## RiverRatt

When I bought that big bunch of 6P3S tubes, I paid around $80 shipped for 16 tubes. They were $30 for the eight 1987 tubes, and $35 for eight more from 1965. I had one that was DOA, and I sent one pair to Moose Lewis and one of them was bad. The tube worked, but sounded nasty. The other 14 were fine. 

The current prices are way too high for me to buy them and make any money off them. I sold mine for around $20 a pair and I didn't make much at that. If you can find them for around $5 each plus shipping, buy a few. You can sell the ones you don't use. After you hear them in the Tweaker, you'll want a good set and another backup set. They sound that good.


----------



## aussiebluesville

thanks guys, i have ordered the 6P3S's from russia, i got 6 coming and there's 2 @ 78 and the rest are marked 70's, looking forward to trying them out!


----------



## brp

Riffraff said:


> It's 14" deep just like Egnater's 112 cab.



I don't know if you're referring to a different 1x12 but the Tweaker 1x12 I have is only 10.5" deep.
Egnater has the wrong dimensions for the Tweaker 112x on their website, at least compared to the version of it I have. Their stated height and width dimensions are not the same as mine either.
Mine is 14.5(H) X 20(W) X 10.5(D).


Also, I think it's the '87 6P3S that I got from RR and they sound great.
Still haven't got around to trying the EL34's I picked up for it a few weeks ago but going to very soon.


----------



## minerman

So I drove to GC today, with my HT-5, considering the trade. Even with the holiday sale price, I just couldn't let my amp go for what they wanted to give. I pretty much already knew this, but it did me some good to get out of the house, & I did get to try the amp out.....

I used a 1x12 Greenback cab, pretty much identical to what I have here, with a guitar that was identical.....

Pretty impressed with the sound of the amp, & the tone switches did make a difference to my ears, even if really subtle. So, I suppose I'm just gonna keep saving my $$$, & just buy the amp straight out. 

Keep sounding like a broken record, but maybe in a couple weeks I'll have it. Hurt my knee at work last week (Monday), so there may be some time off work involved (possibly surgery), & my Dad's sick (don't wanna go into details, but it's pretty serious...), so I'll have to watch my $$$ for a little while, but again, not to sound like a broken record, but hopefully in a couple weeks I'll have this little amp.....

I like the amp a lot, & I even tried out a couple different amps, but to me, the Egnater sounded the best.....


----------



## Riffraff

brp said:


> I don't know if you're referring to a different 1x12 but the Tweaker 1x12 I have is only 10.5" deep.
> Egnater has the wrong dimensions for the Tweaker 112x on their website, at least compared to the version of it I have. Their stated height and width dimensions are not the same as mine either.
> Mine is 14.5(H) X 20(W) X 10.5(D)



Ah...I must have remembered someone else's post incorrectly. Well mine is currently 14" deep but may be cutting down a little on the tablesaw before I finish it. I made it extra deep for bottom thump and then figured I would trim it a little at a time while testing it until I get it where I want it.


----------



## scat7s

seems like deeper might be better...especially for a 1x12..no?


----------



## RiverRatt

The tonal changes aren't so subtle when you get the amp out of the store and crank it up. With mine, I pretty much have four sounds with it that I go back & forth between. USA for clean, AC set to vintage and hot for midrangey Vox tones (bass at zero, mid and treble dimed) and modern and hot for scooped RectoClone distortion with the mids at zero and treble and bass cranked, and Brit set to modern & tight. There are endless variations of those, but those are where I start.

Keep in mind that as good as the Tweaker sounds with the stock glass, there's a whole arsenal of power tubes that work just fine in it and all give it a different sound and feel without losing the core tones of the amp. There's not an octal power tube that sounds bad in it, but if you hear it with a pair of Russian 6P3S or USA 6K6GT's, it's incredible.


----------



## scat7s

6K6GT's?

i have a few of these laying around, i saved them for a fender standalone reverb clone i was building. 

i was under the impression that the 6K6 couldnt handle the plate voltages...

what would you describe as the diff tonally between the 6k6 and 6v6?


----------



## scat7s

hmmm. 

just looked up the datasheets, 6k6 and 6v6 both rated at 285 plate voltage...i'll have to try those 6k6's out!


----------



## RiverRatt

The 6K6 has long been a substitute for 6V6's in Fender amps. They match up almost identically except in output power. They are supposed to have roughly half the output power of a 6V6. In the Tweaker, that doesn't translate to a lowered perceived volume, it just sounds like the tubes are working harder. They are great on the Marshall and Vox settings, kind of like a hot EL84 amp. I think I've posted on here before that they sound really EL84-like in the Tweaker. 

You sound like me. If it's a tube that I might find a use for some day, I never throw them away. I've been picking up 6K6GT's here and there for several months now. I have a nice personal stash 

Go give 'em a try. You can thank me later...


----------



## scat7s

cool man...

i'll thank you now and later...cant wait to check em out!


----------



## RiverRatt

I'm letting the amp warm up with a 6K6 pair in it right now. There's a forum brother I owe a favor to, and he has a Tweaker. I'm auditioning the tubes before I decide which to send. It's amazing how you can have a lot of one tube type and not a one matches another construction-wise or electrically.


----------



## scat7s

yep, thats what ive got too...a bunch of orphan 6k6's


----------



## aussiebluesville

RiverRatt said:


> I'm letting the amp warm up with a 6K6 pair in it right now. There's a forum brother I owe a favor to, and he has a Tweaker. I'm auditioning the tubes before I decide which to send. It's amazing how you can have a lot of one tube type and not a one matches another construction-wise or electrically.



Now you have me excited again with another power tube 6K6? I love tweaking with tubes in amps and this has me now looking at where i can find these to try as well, i'm still excited about the 6P3S, THEY HAVE POSTED THEM TOO! Anyway i see ebay dont seem to have many 6K6 here in Oz, have to search worldwide and see if i can find a couple of these 6k6 to play with also!


----------



## Riffraff

I picked up a beat old BD2 yesterday to try with it. 

Just unreal! I'm not touching that cab. It's staying 14" deep. I'll fit it with a split back so I can run closed, partial or open. Time to order matching tolex & cane grill cloth. The CTS alnicos are amazing sounding. I didn't think they would be but they really are. I'm running MIA Ash Deluxe Strat with SCNs and my Les Paul Standard w/Burstbuckers > MIJ SD-1 > BD-2 > Tweaker > 212 cab. I stuck my TCE G-Sharp in the loop and dialed in a spring 'verb setting. With the Strat I leave the BD2 on and kick in the SD1 for leads and heavy rock tone. The Tweaker is outstanding in all 3 voicings. Loved the Fender & Vox tones with the verb. Nice shimmering crunch, just beautiful. I'm not sure I can even pick a favorite. With my Lester I just run the BD2 and ride the volume control on the guitar for rhythm lead changes. Again all voicings stellar but my favorite is Marshall sounds. I've got to say, I can't remember the last time I was so satisfied with an amp's tone. This is definitely the best $300 I've ever spent. NOW, it's time to start swapping glass.


----------



## scat7s

i cant pick a fav setting either...fender, vox, marshall, they all sound good, and the nice thing is when switching between them, you dont have to mess with the EQ settings if you dont want to. 

the fender is the only setting im tempted to adjust the EQ on sometimes...the vox sounds killer with my sg, and the marshall provides a nice mid boost with any axe.

really is some very clever engineering...


----------



## RiverRatt

I don't hear nearly as many people with the other Tweakers speaking out. I really didn't see the need for one with more power. It's too much stuff to be fiddling with on a gig, but it's the perfect home recording amp. Well, for me anyway. I wish Moose Lewis would come back around. He was loving his in the studio.

Scat, did you ever get around to trying your 6K6 tubes?


----------



## scat7s

> Scat, did you ever get around to trying your 6K6 tubes?



i did, and i pulled em. didnt care for them, but they all tested pretty weak or even marginal...so i went back to fresh healthy 6v6's.

i'll keep my eyes peeled for a couple of stronger ones...


----------



## aussiebluesville

hey guys i got the 4 x 6P3S tubes (coded 9107), 2 for spares!, the 70's pair is still coming!  these 9107 codes may relate to 91 tubes, well anyway they sound absolutely fantastic, i also tried a few different preamp tubes and have likened to this setup:
*Power tubes :
6P3S (9107)
Preamp tubes :
V1 : Tungsol ECC803s gold pin
V2 : JJ ECC83s
V3 : Mesa 12ax7-A*

Lovin this amp  and thanks to RR(alan) , i have a few 6K6 tubes on their way to try as well!


----------



## minerman

Finally pulling the trigger on this amp, ordered from Sweetwater this morning, should be here sometime next week!!!!!! Pretty stoked, can't wait!!!!


----------



## RiverRatt

Congrats, minerman! Sweetwater should get that to you pretty quickly.


----------



## scat7s

my marshall has been gathering dust since ive gone exclusively to the tweaker...

so much more volume freindly than any 50w marshall for a small band setup, you can ride the master to get into "bloom" territory with volume to spare if needed...i can still overpower the drummer if i wanted to. and he's a pretty hard hitter.

what a great amp...


----------



## RiverRatt

I've been giving my new Marshall JTM610 combo a pretty good workout. I think it sounds better than the DSL or Vintage Modern heads I used to have. It goes from great cleans to crunch to heavy. I really need to sell an amp but I don't want to get rid of any of them. It may have to be the Ampeg half stack. It's the only one I can point to and say that I really wouldn't miss it if it were gone. I will keep the JTM610, Class 5 and the Tweaker 15 - those guys aren't going anywhere.


----------



## scat7s

how is the 3x10 setup? sounds interesting...i'll bet it sounds better than the 1x12...

i have the 1x12 version, it is a nice and versatile amp, but is loud as hell, really doesnt open up until past noon on the master...way too loud for my environment. 

you must have gotten a good deal on it? they dont have a great reputation as far as durability.

(oh yeah, thats the 30w version? no?) that might be a more managable volume...


----------



## RiverRatt

Mine is the 60 watt combo. I figure if the amp has lasted this long, it must be a good one. Someone put heavy foil shielding on the chassis above the EL34's but left the other side open. There are vents in the bottom of the chassis above the tubes which makes no sense at all. I may get a little DC fan and blow some cool air across the power tubes but it's not a high priority. So far I've had one glitch with it. I thought a filter cap was going bad and I got in the chassis and poked around. There are two 600V 50uf caps that are obviously replacements. They were supposed to be smaller radial caps and instead they installed some big old axial caps. It looks like when you stand a resistor up on end in a circuit board for more room, except whoever did the job didn't insulate the wiring and one leg was shorting out on the metal can on the capacitor. I hope all the fixes are that easy!

The three 10's are good speakers. I know Eminence can build some good stuff, and these really capture the Marshall tone. I wasn't happy with the bass response at first, and I think that was because it was all JJ tubes. Swapping the EL34's out for RFT's and putting a Mullard in V1 certainly fixed the bass response. I was actually using the presence control before too long. The plate voltage is around 480v, and I have them biased at 38mV which is maybe a little hot, but if you allow for the screen current it's about right at 70%. I didn't check and see how the JJ EL34's were biased before I changed them out. 

Do you have any documents for the JTM60 combos? I got a set of schematics from the Dr. Tube site but they don't appear to be for my amp.


----------



## scat7s

i have found two versions of the JTM60 schematic. (actually it is labelled as the JCM600 i think?)

i'll try to dig up the links for you...the only real diff i saw between the two, was the diode clipping part of the circuit was slightly changed from one to the next. and the 20uf filter caps were actually dual 10uf's on the board, def from the factory like that.

and yeah, ive mounted a muffin fan to the underside of the tube cage pulling the hot air away from the tubes/cct board. it seems to help.
i had melted and cracked preamp sockets (replaced w/ceramic), but otherwise the board was in decent shape...ive seen pics of some pretty f-ed up boards...


----------



## scat7s

here is the JTM60 schematic in PDF (or two parts of it anyway)


http://www.prowessamplifiers.com/schematics/Marshall/Jtm_60-Poweramp.html


http://www.prowessamplifiers.com/schematics/Marshall/Jtm_60-Preamp.html

here is what i think is the 600 version of the schematic...just a couple of minor differences from what i can tell. this one should have all 3 pages...

http://www.amparchives.com/Amp%20Archives/Marshall/Schematics%20&%20Layouts/Marshall%20Amp%20Schematics/JTM600/


----------



## RiverRatt

I should have taken some gut shots of mine while I had it opened up. The boards look like new. I'm not sure which filter caps you mean. Mine had a row of 22uf 450v caps on the vertical board.


----------



## scat7s

RiverRatt said:


> I should have taken some gut shots of mine while I had it opened up. The boards look like new. I'm not sure which filter caps you mean. Mine had a row of 22uf 450v caps on the vertical board.


 
those are the ones...the schematic said 22uf, mine were paired up 10uf's.

wasnt sure if your amp would be the same. but im pretty sure on mine it was a factory install. they were hot glued in place and looked original. 

my only complaint with mine is a mild crackle like sound in the preamp. i tried for weeks/months to locate the source...its not very noticable in a room, but trying to record, it gets annoying. 

one of these days i'll track it down. thats the nice part about all of those flying lead connectors, you can isolate entire sections of the cct for testing...though it hasnt helped me to locate my issue yet haha...


----------



## RiverRatt

I found a loose-looking lead with two blue wires and a white one that connected the preamp board to the power supply. It looked loose so I tugged on the cable and it came right out and the channel selector quit working but the amp kept right on going. When I put it back on, I got bit. Pretty good, too. It made a couple of light burns on my left arm. I was talking to my wife and not paying attention. That's why I don't like to work with anybody else in the room. My daughter keeps stealing my supply of chopsticks, too. I blame them.

I'd try going over all the boards and unplugging and re-connecting all those leads and see if the crackle goes away. Those connectors aren't the most heavy-duty I've seen. Clean your tube sockets and tube pins too.


----------



## aussiebluesville

aussiebluesville said:


> hey guys i got the 4 x 6P3S tubes (coded 9107), 2 for spares!, the 70's pair is still coming!  these 9107 codes may relate to 91 tubes, well anyway they sound absolutely fantastic, i also tried a few different preamp tubes and have likened to this setup:
> ]Power tubes :
> 6P3S (9107)
> Preamp tubes :
> V1 : Tungsol ECC803s gold pin
> V2 : JJ ECC83s
> V3 : Mesa 12ax7-A
> 
> Lovin this amp  and thanks to RR(alan) , i have a few 6K6 tubes on their way to try as well!



*Changed the v1 Tungsol 803s to this setup, the Tungsol was getting microphonic when hot and under load 
Power tubes :
6P3S (9107)
Preamp tubes :
V1 : 12AX7 Telefunken
V2 : Egnater branded 12ax7(sovtek)
V3 : Mesa 12ax7-A
*

This really brought the amp alive


----------



## scat7s

new tung sols suck, i dont know why, but they are probably the most unreliable tube available today ime, and seems to be confirmed the longer i hang around the MF and hear everyone elses stories.


----------



## RiverRatt

You know, those 6K6 tubes are getting a rather cool reception from the people who have tried them. I thought they added a different voice to the amp. I think they have the breakup and compression of an EL84. If you go into it thinking they are going to give you fender cleans, they won't. What they will do is allow you to have that saturated power tube distortion at a much lower level. I think it's great on the Vox and Marshall settings. IMO they have much better definition than a 6V6. Set it to Vox, Hot on the gain, and roll the bass off and you'll notice the EL84 vibe.


----------



## scat7s

> You know, those 6K6 tubes are getting a rather cool reception from the people who have tried them


 
i tried them for a couple days...but, like i said, mine were not in tip top condition, about 60% on the best ones i have, so im sure that had an effect. but i found that i lost some of my harmonic content using them. but, if im being fair, my rca 6v6's didnt quite have the harmonic response that im getting out of my basically brand new EH 6v6's. 

maybe i just got a lucky set of EH's...they might be a little hot. but they just kick ass for my tones. i never use the "hot" switch. i run on clean, with gain about 6, and master as loud as i can get it in a given situation, but at least on 5. 

love the vox and marshall settings lately. i was hooked on the fender for a bit, but it seems a little tighter sounding on vox or marsh, or maybe its just a more pleasing bitey mid range quality.


----------



## RiverRatt

I've noticed a jump in volume when switching to the Marshall setting. I think it's because it kicks in a lot more mids on that tone stack.


----------



## brp

RiverRatt said:


> I've noticed a jump in volume when switching to the Marshall setting. I think it's because it kicks in a lot more mids on that tone stack.



Same here. I concur that it is a boost in the mids that the human ear perceives "better" so therefore as louder (or however you want to say it)


----------



## scat7s

actually, i notice more of a mid-cut on the vox setting, as both the marshall and fender setting seem to produce a boost in the mids...and with it percieved volume


----------



## aussiebluesville

scat7s said:


> actually, i notice more of a mid-cut on the vox setting, as both the marshall and fender setting seem to produce a boost in the mids...and with it percieved volume



+1 on this, i'm finding the same especially since i put the telefunken in v1, it seems to have a boost in those settings!... is it maybe because the telefunken 12ax7 is a higher gain tube?


----------



## johnfv

RiverRatt said:


> ...those 6K6 tubes...allow you to have that saturated power tube distortion at a much lower level...


I use my Tweaker for clean - low gain with the master wide open; the 6P3S tubes are perfect for this. I agree that if you are going for crunch the 6K6 is a good choice and will let you do it at lower volume.


----------



## scat7s

aussiebluesville said:


> +1 on this, i'm finding the same especially since i put the telefunken in v1, it seems to have a boost in those settings!... is it maybe because the telefunken 12ax7 is a higher gain tube?


 
i think its just the nature of the eq circuit.

btw, i think ive already asked but, has anyone seen a tweaker schematic floating around the web yet? id love to have a look...


----------



## Riffraff

scat7s said:


> my marshall has been gathering dust since ive gone exclusively to the tweaker...
> 
> so much more volume freindly than any 50w marshall for a small band setup, you can ride the master to get into "bloom" territory with volume to spare if needed...i can still overpower the drummer if i wanted to. and he's a pretty hard hitter.
> 
> what a great amp...



My 2266 half stack is on Craigslist now.


----------



## scat7s

Riffraff said:


> My 2266 half stack is on Craigslist now.


 
...and there you have it.

testify brother riff raff! amen!


----------



## RiverRatt

Riffraff said:


> My 2266 half stack is on Craigslist now.



I don't know if you're serious or not, but I know what you mean. I sold my DSL for a Vintage Modern, then traded the Vintage Modern for a Vox AC15C1, an Ampeg VL-1002 half stack and some cash. I sold the Vox because it didn't do anything the Tweaker couldn't do.


----------



## Riffraff

Actually I am. I got mine as an experiment to see if I could find something smaller to cover my Marshall tones. It does that and and more. So I'm clearing out my 2266 because I really need the space. I already have a buyer lined up to take it next Saturday. I'm sure I will miss it but mostly I will just miss having a full size Marshall around. It's been a while since I've been without one but it's definitely more than I need these days. My job sucks up so much of my time that gigging is completely out of the question and I don't really need an amp that size for home use and the occasional jam. My small amps completely cover that ground. It does feel a little scary though, I must admit.


----------



## Riffraff

Tried out some vintage RCAs in it today. 








There stayin' in for a bit.


----------



## minerman

Had to cancel my order on the amp guys, my dad's health is getting worse , & my parents needed my help, so I guess the amp is just gonna have to wait.....life is really kicking my ass right now, so many things going on, it's just overwhelming for me at times......sorry to go off topic (again), but just wanted to let you guys know what's happening here.....

Still gonna buy the amp though, might be a few more days before I do though, but I'll get it eventually....


----------



## RiverRatt

Riffraff, what are you running in the preamp? I think it responds really well to a good tone tube in V1.

Minerman, don't feel bad dude. You're doing the right thing. Family comes first. You'll get around to the amp when you can. I've been there more times than once and made the wrong decision on a few of them. Waiting is the smart thing. I'm needing to sell that big ass Ampeg that I really don't need. Everybody wants to trade me guitars for it though. The economy is getting pretty grim around here. Amps are cheaper than they've been since the 1970's.


----------



## Riffraff

I've got Fender labeled RCA's in V1 & V3. I was eyeballin' 6P3s tubes on Ebay yesterday. What brand are you running? I see Reflector & Saratov tubes up there that are all in the same boxes. Are they the same company? Do you have to pull the chassis out of the box to put them in? I had to pull the chassis to get V3 in because I can't see the pin orientation and discovered one of the nut retainers on my amp is broken. I wish the nuts were welded in place. I guess I need to contact Egnater for a replacement and a few spares.

Here is how it sounds with a singlepole loaded Strat.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl0rVQxGchM[/ame]


----------



## RiverRatt

Yes, those 63PS are the same tube. Reflektor is the factory and Saratov is the city the factory is located in. They also have a 6P3S-E which is NOT the same tube. They may sound great - I've never used one. There's also a 6P6S which is a 6V6GT sub. I've been wanting to try a couple of those.


----------



## RiverRatt

Forgot about the chassis question. I have the top vent off of my amp and it's pretty easy to see how the socket is oriented. I've never pulled the chassis on mine. It's easier to get to V1 if you pull V2 and V3 first. You need to pick up a couple of nice old tubes for V1 and a hottie for V3. The Fender tubes are relabeled Groove Tubes, which are relabeled Russian or Chinese tubes.


----------



## Riffraff

RiverRatt said:


> Forgot about the chassis question. I have the top vent off of my amp and it's pretty easy to see how the socket is oriented. I've never pulled the chassis on mine. It's easier to get to V1 if you pull V2 and V3 first. You need to pick up a couple of nice old tubes for V1 and a hottie for V3. The Fender tubes are relabeled Groove Tubes, which are relabeled Russian or Chinese tubes.



Ah, yes I do need some then. I pulled them from my '78 SFVC thinking they were RCA. It was full of it's original glass when I got it in the early '80s and I'm pretty sure that is what the original 6V6 was. The rectifier is an RCA. I've got a few '60s Sylvania 12AX7s in my Silvertone I can try out until then.


----------



## minerman

Thanks for the encouragment Alan, you're right, I'll eventually get the amp, maybe even re-order it this week, just depends on what happens really...

Cool clip Riffraff, love the bright sound, without it sounding too harsh, exactly the kind of tone I'm looking for (but with some more gain/drive of course....)....what speakers are you using in the cab????


----------



## aussiebluesville

RiverRatt said:


> Yes, those 63PS are the same tube. Reflektor is the factory and Saratov is the city the factory is located in. They also have a 6P3S-E which is NOT the same tube. They may sound great - I've never used one. There's also a 6P6S which is a 6V6GT sub. I've been wanting to try a couple of those.



Yes i'm lovin the 6P3S (9107) reflektor tubes they really bring the amp into another class of tone for sure, with a nice telefunken in V1 and a high gain Mesa 12ax7 in V3 this thing rocks, i left the egnater branded 12ax7 in V2, i'm keen to try the 6K6's coming thanks to RR and i might even look for a few 6P6S to try i've seen them come up on ebay (AUS) so will keep an eye out, but at the moment i'm sticking with the 6P3S's and waitng on some that i ordered that were matched 70's so they may be interesting! But really you wont be disappointed in 6P3S in this amp. 
BTW minerman the wait must be painful in getting this amp, but family first and when it's time you will never be sorry in the wait and purchase of this little terror of an amp, through a nice cab it's awesome, yeah i think a nicer speaker maybe all i save for to put in the cab, even though i do find the celestion seventy/80 OK in the blackstar 1x12 once you tweak the mid's etc on the amp!


----------



## Riffraff

minerman said:


> Cool clip Riffraff, love the bright sound, without it sounding too harsh, exactly the kind of tone I'm looking for (but with some more gain/drive of course....)....what speakers are you using in the cab????



It's got gain-O-plenty if that is you game. This was taken from the same clip as before with a single pole loaded Strat. It's nicer still in Marshall mode with my Lester and a boost. I want to eventually mix a greenback with an alnico in this cab. 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVn_T8Pd_B0]Tweaker hard clip aup - YouTube[/ame]

The speakers are just a pair of old 12" CTS alnicos I had kicking around for a project.


----------



## RiverRatt

Okay, for everyone who has tried or is about to try the 6K6 tubes in the Tweaker 15:

I was using these tubes with the more gainy settings. They need to be saturated to sound their best. When I have these tubes in, I'm in Mesa-mode. If you play on the Vox setting with the mids rolled off and the treble and bass dimed, they sound huge. I never really even tried them for cleans. They also work pretty well with the Vox setting and the mids cranked and the treble and bass rolled off. It's a really decent super-saturated AC30-type tone. Try some Brian May or R.E.M. stuff - it nails the tone.


----------



## aussiebluesville

Well i just wanted to let you guy's know i got the 6P3S 1978 pair of tubes and must say they are in and going strong, definately a worthy tube in the tweaker, so my 2 pair of the 9107 coded will be my backup tubes, very happy with the setup and tube compliment in there at the moment, the 78's are pretty sweet!


----------



## minerman

Pulled the trigger on this amp (again), should be here in a few days, hopefully nothing else will come up .....


----------



## johnfv

aussiebluesville said:


> Well i just wanted to let you guy's know i got the 6P3S 1978 pair of tubes and must say they are in and going strong, definately a worthy tube in the tweaker, so my 2 pair of the 9107 coded will be my backup tubes, very happy with the setup and tube compliment in there at the moment, the 78's are pretty sweet!


The 78 6P3S tubes that Alan got were exceptional, glad to hear you like yours...


----------



## minerman

My Tweaker 15w head & Boss SD-1 (only pedal I have right now is the POD X3 Live, & to be honest, it sucks the tone running it into the front of an amp, might be ok using the delay/modulation effects in the Tweaker's loop, I'll find out in a couple/few more days.....) will be here Tuesday.....I'm trading shifts with the dayshift guy (pulling a double Thursday), so I'll have all day/evening Wednesday to see what the little amp will do....pretty stoked!!!!! 


I've decided to just keep the Blackstar HT-5 for now too, but hopefully I won't even need it when the Egnater arrives.....


Clips & pics to come in a few more days....


----------



## RiverRatt

I love how everyone who buys a Tweaker 15 turns into an ambassador for Bruce Egnater and his cool toy. I'm sure there are people out there who didn't like the amp - there are always a few - but I don't think I remember an amp that has gotten this many positive reviews from so many people who are using it for completely different tones. I'd keep it just for the power tube swapping capability. If you're selling tubes, it's great to have an amp that you can audition practically any octal power tube in. If I ever run across another head for a good price, I'm getting it. I can wire up my 2x12 for stereo and it's just big enough to fit two Tweaker 15's on side-by-side. I've already measured it.


----------



## Mike_LA

Ok, so you guys are blowing my mind, I had no idea that you could swap tubes like that in the Tweaker 15.
Since getting my 6100 I haven't even turned on the tweaker but now there is renewed interest . . . 
Crazy . . .​​


----------



## minerman

About to head off to work, but the T15 & SD-1 will be here sometime before 4:30 today....I'll have all day & evening to run it through it's paces tomorrow though, pretty excited to be honest!!!


----------



## RiverRatt

Mike_LA said:


> Ok, so you guys are blowing my mind, I had no idea that you could swap tubes like that in the Tweaker 15.
> Since getting my 6100 I haven't even turned on the tweaker but now there is renewed interest . . .
> Crazy . . .​​



Yeah, it is crazy. That's one of the best if not THE best feature of the amps and they don't even mention it.


----------



## minerman

Well, it's finally here, but it's too late to plug in & try it out.....first thing in the morning though, & I'll have all day, I'm off work tomorrow......


----------



## RiverRatt

A new amp AND a day off from work. You're in for a treat! Go ahead and order a pair of 6P3S tubes from eBay. If you were really planning this, you should have worked it out so that they got to you at the same time as the amp. Now you'll have to have another day off work when you get them. Surely you've at least hooked it up and played a little. I couldn't sleep without trying it out first.


----------



## minerman

Actually Alan, when I first got the HT-5, I woke everybody up at about this time....It was on about 1-2, but still woke 'em up.....

I've waited this long, I can wait a few more hours, plus I'll be able to crank it, as I'll have the place to myself all day......

Here she is, on top of my Marshall Micro-Stack:







I'll take some better pics tomorrow, this was taken with my cell phone....
And should post some clips too, have to admit, I'm pretty stoked about having this little amp.....


----------



## minerman

On the "other" day off thing, I get a whole week during Thanksgiving, so that's not too far off......and actually, I'm gonna pay for being off tomorrow, I have to pull a 17 hour shift Thursday (leave home around 5 am, get home around midnight, an hour drive one way, & that's driving like a maniac too.....), & have to be back at work at 10 am Friday (work 'til 6 that evening.....), so I'll be pretty much dead Friday evening, but it's ok, I'll have Saturday & Sunday to spend with the amp!!!

Already looking at those tubes you keep recommending, Alan, might order a set of 'em sometime this week....


----------



## Riffraff

You are in for a treat brother. Try that amp all by itself before you try it with the boost.


----------



## minerman

So far, I'm really impressed with this amp, & have only played through it for an hour or so. The jack on my Ibanez was screwy (fixed it though....), & I first thought I had gotten a bad tube or something was wrong with the amp, but I finally found the problem & took care of it (and yes, I was pretty close to being one of the most pissed off guys ever...)....

This amp just blows the HT-5 away, to me, there's no comparison, at all. Through my 1x12 Greenback cab, the highs I'd been missing with the Blackstar are there, all the switches & tone knobs make a real difference when dialing sounds in. Very impressed with the sound & versatility of this little amp......

Anyone wanna buy a Blackstar HT-5??? Will most likely get rid of the HT-5 & use the funds from that for some speakers or another cab......

Even without the boost pedal, I'm really impressed with the T15, so far I'm really happy with it (hopefully it's not the "new" thing), & should only get better the more I use it/get used to it.....

I wanna thank everybody here for recommending this amp, you guys played a huge part in my decision buying this amp....

The wife's still here, so it's time to push her out the door & move a little air for a while...


----------



## Mike_LA

Wow, the surprises just keep coming.
I was searching ebay for a set of the 6P3S tubes you guys have been raving about and then I realized I already bought a set for the 6100 head and was keeping them as a backup . . .

Going to be a fun weekend if I find the time to throw them in . . . . . ​


----------



## minerman

So I've played around with the T15 all day long, it's been a long time since a piece of gear has did that to me, & I've enjoyed every bit of it.....

Awesome little amp, very, very happy with it, sounds great IMHO.....can't wait to get my other speakers/cabs so I'll have even more different tones at my disposal.....

Here's a clip I did today, 2 rhythm tracks, 2 lead, 1 bass, & as usual, a drum vsti....lemme know what you guys think about my "Tweaker Tones"....

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=11938265

And here's a couple better pics I took tonight too:











Just wanna tell all of you that recommended this amp to me, thank you very much, I absolutlely love it so far!!!!!


----------



## scat7s

damn, sounds good minerman! 

that clean channel kicks ass with the gain turned up a bit huh?


----------



## minerman

Thanks scat!!!

To be honest, I think the little amp kicks ass just about any way you have it set. I'd say the HT-5 won't be around here much longer, comparing the T15 & HT-5, well, in my opinion, there isn't a comparison. The HT-5 has the "blanket effect" compared to the T15, like I mentioned, the highs I'd been missing are there with the Tweaker.....

Next step is to trade/sell the Blackstar, & get either another cab (V30), or replace the speakers in my Micro-Stack.....

Thanks again!!!!


----------



## RiverRatt

That sounded great minerman! Excellent playing and the mix is spot-on. 

The 6P3S tubes are a must-have. I'd have never found out about them except from a HAM radio guy I got hooked up with. He had bought 10 of them for some amp/transmitter he was building that never got going. I traded him some big sweep tubes for them and when I tried them in the Tweaker, it was close to the reaction you had yesterday. It's not so much a new tone as a refinement of the amp's tone It retains that sound you're digging so much, but everything just sounds better!. 

I wish Moose Lewis was still hanging around here. He uses his Tweaker 15 in his studio and liked the 6P36 that I sold him two more sets so he would have a spare and another pair to give to a friend of his.


----------



## aussiebluesville

RiverRatt said:


> That sounded great minerman! Excellent playing and the mix is spot-on.
> 
> The 6P3S tubes are a must-have. I'd have never found out about them except from a HAM radio guy I got hooked up with. He had bought 10 of them for some amp/transmitter he was building that never got going. I traded him some big sweep tubes for them and when I tried them in the Tweaker, it was close to the reaction you had yesterday. It's not so much a new tone as a refinement of the amp's tone It retains that sound you're digging so much, but everything just sounds better!.
> 
> I wish Moose Lewis was still hanging around here. He uses his Tweaker 15 in his studio and liked the 6P36 that I sold him two more sets so he would have a spare and another pair to give to a friend of his.



yes the 6P3S is really nice in this amp, i tried the 6k6 and the ge 12ax7 alan and i like it too, but a think the 6P3S is in front at the moment, the tone is a little warmer with nice clarity on most of the settings i have tweaked, but will use the 6k6 a bit more to get a better feel!


----------



## minerman

Thanks for the listen/comments, Alan....
I just got in from a 17 hour shift, so I'm pretty beat to be honest. I used to do that shit all the time when I was younger, but it gets to me now.....

Hate to keep saying this, but I'm loving the T15, & it should only get better when I get the extra/different tubes, & get some more speakers/cabs.....I'm trying to sell the HT-5 locally, but not having much luck. If I could get rid of it, I could use the $$$ for a speaker or two, & a set or two of those tubes you keep recommending.....

In your opinion, what's the best pre-amp tubes to use in this little monster, Alan??? Lemme know, as I've found everything you've told me about this amp has been spot-on, & I highly value your opinion on this stuff.....

Thanks again, one more shift (weird hours tomorrow, 10:30-6:30 pm), & I'll have a couple more full days to spend with this little beast....I know the guys with the 50/100w amps are probably laughing at me, but really, this is the best amp I've owned in years, thanks to everyone who recommended this thing!!!!


----------



## Riffraff

minerman said:


> Thanks again, one more shift (weird hours tomorrow, 10:30-6:30 pm), & I'll have a couple more full days to spend with this little beast....I know the guys with the 50/100w amps are probably laughing at me, but really, this is the best amp I've owned in years, thanks to everyone who recommended this thing!!!!



They wouldn't be laughing after listening to your clip. EXCELLENT!!  

I sold my 2266 last weekend so I'm all in. Love the dog bone handles on your Randall cab. That is exactly what I have been thinking about putting on my 212 DIY when I finish it. It will look nice dressed to match the head.


----------



## RiverRatt

minerman said:


> Thanks for the listen/comments, Alan....
> I just got in from a 17 hour shift, so I'm pretty beat to be honest. I used to do that shit all the time when I was younger, but it gets to me now.....
> 
> Hate to keep saying this, but I'm loving the T15, & it should only get better when I get the extra/different tubes, & get some more speakers/cabs.....I'm trying to sell the HT-5 locally, but not having much luck. If I could get rid of it, I could use the $$$ for a speaker or two, & a set or two of those tubes you keep recommending.....
> 
> In your opinion, what's the best pre-amp tubes to use in this little monster, Alan??? Lemme know, as I've found everything you've told me about this amp has been spot-on, & I highly value your opinion on this stuff.....
> 
> Thanks again, one more shift (weird hours tomorrow, 10:30-6:30 pm), & I'll have a couple more full days to spend with this little beast....I know the guys with the 50/100w amps are probably laughing at me, but really, this is the best amp I've owned in years, thanks to everyone who recommended this thing!!!!



I don't think it sounds bad with the stock preamp tubes. Of course I didn't leave them in 

V1 is the tube closest to the front baffle and you pretty much have to pull the other two to get to it. I've ran a Telefunken smooth plate in mine for ages and love the tone, but any decent quality tube will sound nice. I have used Mullards, Amperex, and several other Philips and USA tubes and it would be hard to pick a favorite.

V2 is the FX loop driver and I can't tell a difference at all in the tone. I don't think I've used the effects loop since I got it but I did jumper it with a short cable just to see what happened. Nothing happened.

V3 is the phase inverter (closest to the power tubes) and IMO a good, high-gain Sylvania is great there. They don't break the bank and they will last a lifetime. Others I'd try there would be a Raytheon black plate or military Raytheon JRP-12AX7, Sylvania JHS-12AX7, GE JG-12AX7, etc. These military tubes are heavy-duty and don't always make a good tone tube, but they are great for phase inverters, tone stack/cathode followers, etc. A strong RCA would probably work if you can find a strong one. I haven't had good luck with RCA tubes.


----------



## Badmonkey

Here's mine i have two




but now i have new dude




and to get the JMP1 i need to sell one of my Tweakers


----------



## minerman

*Badmonkey*: Cool setup, it's a shame you're gonna sell one of the Tweakers, but you've got 2 of 'em, I'd definitely hang onto one of 'em....

What kind of cab/speakers are you using with your T15???

*River Ratt*: Thanks for the info/help (yet again!!!!) on the tubes, you're definitely the guy to ask about this stuff, especially with the T15. I haven't made any decision about any tube changes so far, actually, I'm absolutely loving this little amp the way it is....

I've been looking at your post in the classifieds here, but really can't decide on anything right now. The 6P3S tubes are on the top of the list though (I didn't see any listed in your post, but it seems they're pretty easy to find on Fleabay...), just haven't gotten around to actually buying any of 'em, again, just loving this little amp with the stock tubes!!!!


Still trying to sell the HT-5, possibly a buyer at work, hopefully, he won't back out. If that does happen, gonna take the $$$ from that, buy a V30 (or maybe even a WGS V30 clone), & maybe a GT-75. I already have the Marshall Micro-Cabs, so I did a speaker swap/test to see if there would be any difference sound-wise (took the 12" Greenback & put it in one of the micro-cabs), & I really couldn't tell much difference to be honest....Might go with a 12" for one of the cabs, & a 10" for the other.....decisons, decisions....

Again, I'm very happy with my T15, I've played through this thing all weekend long, & it just keeps making me smile!!!!


----------



## shooto

FWIW, my tech has made a mod to "channel switch" on the Tweak 15 (as you know, it isn't a two-channel amp), but he has a mod that makes the "hot" and "clean" switchable on the fly via footswitch


----------



## Riffraff

shooto said:


> FWIW, my tech has made a mod to "channel switch" on the Tweak 15 (as you know, it isn't a two-channel amp), but he has a mod that makes the "hot" and "clean" switchable on the fly via footswitch



I would imagine that is a pretty easy mod to do since it's already switch controlled. It sounds useful too. 










'70s Saratov 6P3S tubes & '62 Baldwin labeled Sylvanias 12AX7s in route. 
I'm looking forward to firing them up.


----------



## shooto

Riffraff said:


> I would imagine that is a pretty easy mod to do since it's already switch controlled. That sounds like a very useful mod.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I've got a pair each of '70s 6P3S & '62 Baldwin labeled Sylvania 12AX7s in route. I'm looking forward to giving them a test drive.


a

^ Sylvania long black plate 12ax7 is my secret sauce in mine (v1)


----------



## Riffraff

Well the Sylvanias are here already.


----------



## Riffraff

'00 MIA Ash Deluxe Strat with SCN pups > Modded BD2 (V5, T4, G4) > Tweaker 15 Head > Open back 212 cab loaded with '74 CTS Alnicos.

Tubes:
V1 '78 RCA 7025
V2 Sovtek 12AX7WB
V3 '62 Sylvania long plate 12AX7
Power Tubes matched pair of '67 RCA 6V6s

I'm running the head 

Modern
MV - 7
USA
Treb - 6
Mid - 3.5
Bass - 4.5
Clean
Normal
Deep





[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cE-Bw8bLDuI[/ame]

I love this amp!


This amp is the best $300 I've ever spent. There is no question about it. I've got every tone I need with a Strat right at my fingertips using the guitar's controls. I've got the head going through a HotPlate that I've been switching from bypass to -4db which doesn't seen to diminish the tone what so ever. I have a TC Electronics G-Sharp in the amp's loop set for vintage Spring reverb and a touch of soft delay. It sounds outstanding. My 6P3S tubes are in transit from the birthplace of vodka and hot strippers and I can't wait to try them. 

I want to switch to Brit mode, stick the second long plate in V1 and break out my Lester & old SD1 but I'm too lazy to tear it all down right now and fuss with the head. How cool would it be to have a head box for this amp that has a removable lid like the old Traynor YBA-1? It would great to have easy access to the tubes on this amp. I think I might build myself one. I spent some time this morning making a series/parallel box for my 212 cab. My speakers are 8 ohm and I wired them separately so I could use it in stereo with my little reamping rig. I made the cab with a center baffle so it works great for that. The box I made this morning lets me connect the speakers in mono in 4 ohms for my Vibro Champ or 16 ohms so I could use my Hot Plate with my Tweaker. 










Now I can trash the series box I halfassed together using a plastic Folgers coffee can a few weeks ago.


----------



## minerman

Sounds great Riff,
I've not been able to play for the past few days, but I've got 2 days off, so it's gonna happen this weekend.....I'll have the place to myself tomorrow too, so I'll be able to turn the master up!!!

The next thing I wanna get is another cab, loaded with a V30. I'd settle for just the speakers, as I have the Marshall Micro-Cabs, & they'd probably do fine for what I'll be using 'em for (recording)....I'm debating on taking my HT-5 to Guitar Center & just trading it off, I thought I had it sold, but the guy backed out. I even had it in my Jeep at work, but he still backed out. I know I won't get near as much as I paid for it, but I could probably throw in some other stuff I don't use (M-Audio 5" powered monitors, Line 6 Guitar Port interface), & come home with a new cab or speakers.

I'm just gonna keep the stock tubes in mine for now, as the speaker thing is "priority" to me right now, once I get that lined out, then I'll do the tube rolling thing.....

I'll try your setttings with my Strat tomorrow, I've been writing some of mine down, maybe I could post 'em? I dunno, they'd probably have to be "tweaked"  to suit anyone else......

I do know I love my T15, shocked the piss out of me how good it sounds. I've got about 5-6 songs written, & have been waiting on this amp to record the guitar tracks (the Blackstar just doesn't cut it compared to the Egnater, at all....), hopefully, I can get a lot of 'em done tomorrow....

Again, sounds great!!!!!!


----------



## scat7s

the tweaker has a nice attack...its aggressive, even cleaned up a bit. its got a hint of a half cocked wah...but not too much...

its raw, in your face. cool amp...


----------



## brp

I've been thinking about doing that hot/clean switch Mod.
I'd also like to add an effects loops bypass footswitch and have them both on a trs dual footswitch.
I don't think either would be very difficult.




Here's a pic I took tonight of my Tweaker rig. (Just revamped my effects rack w/ a couple new units added)


----------



## minerman

*brp*: Is the Jet City cab in the pic stock??? How do you like the speaker???? I'm on a cab/speaker hunt, of course, the V30 is on top of my list, but maybe something else too.....Greenback, V30, ???????

Do you have any clips with the Tweaker/Jet City cab by any chance????

Still lovin' this little amp though, even through the Greenback cab I have, sounds great, just want another speaker/cab or two for different "flavors"....


----------



## scat7s

the celestion 75 sounds great with this amp to my ears...the tweaker has plenty of midrange bark, the 75's bring some thump when she's turned up.


----------



## brp

That's the Jet City JCA24S+ 2x12.
It's got the JCA branded Eminence based on the Legends.




(not my pic, this is the JCA24S NOT the plus which adds the XLR emulated out and I'm not sure what else if anything)

I love it, sounds great to me, partial back on or off, and a step up from the Tweaker 112X I was using, which is also perfectly fine to me with the G12H30 70th.

I think the JCA24S is the best deal in a 2x12, that's why I got it and no regrets here that's for sure. I couldn't have built my own for what this cost me, at least not cheaper enough to be worth it.

I don't have any clips but will be making some, including some w/ the JCA's emulated XLR out.


----------



## Darth Federer

brp said:


> I've been thinking about doing that hot/clean switch Mod.
> I'd also like to add an effects loops bypass footswitch and have them both on a trs dual footswitch.
> I don't think either would be very difficult.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here's a pic I took tonight of my Tweaker rig. (Just revamped my effects rack w/ a couple new units added)



Damn Brp, you got a lot of gear. Very cool set up in your studio. And the Marshall Forum on the monitor too. You could go in there and not come out for a couple days.


----------



## RiverRatt

I like the G12T-75's with the Tweaker, too. I had a 1966B cab that was great with it. I also like it with a WGS Green Beret - I'm thinking a 2x12 with the WGS Reaper and Green Beret may be in my future.


----------



## minerman

Thanks for the input/suggestions on the speakers guys. I was pretty much set on a Celestion V30, but may go with a G12-75, or even the WGS clones of both. I already have the little Marshall cabs, I'd just have to modify the cut-out (which would be really easy to do, would actually be easier to make new ones) to make a 12" speaker fit. I might even go the 10" route, leaving the Marshall cabs intact, & buy another couple 1x12 cabs, eventually.

I'd been considering an ISO cab, but the past couple weekends, I put my 1x12 in my closet, with pillows, blankets, & rubber-backed rugs on all sides (made a small little tent out of all of it, with the mic inside....), & it actually works pretty good. I did some tracking late at night, & no one even heard it, which amazed me. Granted, I didn't have the T15 cranked, but did have the master vol on about 3, which without the "tent" would've definitely got some attention.....

Spent another day with the T15, & I'm still amazed. Really good sounding little amp that's versatile as hell. I didn't get as many tracks recorded as I'd wanted, but it's ok, the amp, guitar, & songs will always be there for next time. To be honest, I just had a really good time going through the amp's different tones today, getting lost in just playing for a while. 

Thanks again to all who recommended me this amp, I'm having an absolute blast with it!!!!!!


----------



## Badmonkey

minerman said:


> *Badmonkey*: Cool setup, it's a shame you're gonna sell one of the Tweakers, but you've got 2 of 'em, I'd definitely hang onto one of 'em....
> 
> What kind of cab/speakers are you using with your T15???
> 
> *River Ratt*: Thanks for the info/help (yet again!!!!) on the tubes, you're definitely the guy to ask about this stuff, especially with the T15. I haven't made any decision about any tube changes so far, actually, I'm absolutely loving this little amp the way it is....
> 
> I've been looking at your post in the classifieds here, but really can't decide on anything right now. The 6P3S tubes are on the top of the list though (I didn't see any listed in your post, but it seems they're pretty easy to find on Fleabay...), just haven't gotten around to actually buying any of 'em, again, just loving this little amp with the stock tubes!!!!
> 
> 
> Still trying to sell the HT-5, possibly a buyer at work, hopefully, he won't back out. If that does happen, gonna take the $$$ from that, buy a V30 (or maybe even a WGS V30 clone), & maybe a GT-75. I already have the Marshall Micro-Cabs, so I did a speaker swap/test to see if there would be any difference sound-wise (took the 12" Greenback & put it in one of the micro-cabs), & I really couldn't tell much difference to be honest....Might go with a 12" for one of the cabs, & a 10" for the other.....decisons, decisions....
> 
> Again, I'm very happy with my T15, I've played through this thing all weekend long, & it just keeps making me smile!!!!


 
until now I used the dfx to be like a cab for my tweaker 
i need real cab so bad


----------



## RiverRatt

minerman said:


> Thanks for the input/suggestions on the speakers guys. I was pretty much set on a Celestion V30, but may go with a G12-75, or even the WGS clones of both. I already have the little Marshall cabs, I'd just have to modify the cut-out (which would be really easy to do, would actually be easier to make new ones) to make a 12" speaker fit. I might even go the 10" route, leaving the Marshall cabs intact, & buy another couple 1x12 cabs, eventually.



I'm guessing you have the 1965 cabs? Try to find a 1966 cab. It's exactly the same size as the 1965 cabs but has two 12" speakers in it. Mine was the black tolex one - it looked like a miniature 1960B and came with G12T-75's in it.


----------



## minerman

No Alan, the Marshall cabs I have are from a Micro-Stack, 1x10's. I did a quick swap a couple weeks ago, put my 12" Greenback in the bottom (straight), & couldn't tell a lot of difference with it in the little cab. The Randall cab I have is a little bigger than most 1x12's I think (17" x 24" x 11"), & has pretty good bottom/thump to it.....

I may just put 10" Celestions in the micro-cabs, & buy another 1x12......

Still loving the Tweaker, on the hunt for some of those Russian tubes. I contacted Marty, but he's out. He did send me a link for a few pretty cheap on E-Bay, but I'm not sure about buying anything there. I may take a chance on 'em though, but I'm really in no hurry for the tubes, as I think the Tweaker sounds great as it is. I think my next "thing" should be another cab/speaker combination for the amp......


----------



## RiverRatt

If you want 6P3S tubes, you almost have to buy them from Russia. If it's a seller with lots of positive feedback you shouldn't have any problems. Do an eBay search on the 6P3S, ignore the 6P3S-E results, and pay careful attention to the quantity you are ordering and the shipping cost. The tube prices are all over the place. You can usually find someone selling 4, 6 or 8 for the same price others are selling a pair for if you look carefully.


----------



## aussiebluesville

heres are very trusted seller got my 78's 6p3s from them in 12 days:
2 x 6P3S = 6L6 = 6L6GT = 6L6GC = 5881 Tube NOS 1980s NIB | eBay


----------



## minerman

Thanks for the heads up on the tubes, guys. I suppose I'm just gonna have to order a few of 'em in the next few days. I get the whole week of Thanksgiving off, so hopefully I'll have 'em by then.....

On the hunt for either a cab, or a couple of speakers. Possibly even an ISO cab, as the Tweaker is a loud little amp (for use at my home anyway, I'd love to see the look on my wife's face if I had a 50/100w head & 4x12 cab....).....

Anyone here used any of the cheaper ISO cabs??? Of course, from what I've heard/read, the Silent Sister is the best, but damn, $1000 is a just too steep in price for me.......Randall & Jet City make ISO cabs, just wondering if anyone has used either of them, & what they thought about 'em.......


----------



## shooto

aussiebluesville said:


> heres are very trusted seller got my 78's 6p3s from them in 12 days:
> 2 x 6P3S = 6L6 = 6L6GT = 6L6GC = 5881 Tube NOS 1980s NIB | eBay


 
^ were they matched?


----------



## minerman

I didn't see where the seller had said they were, but doing a search for the same tubes, I've found a few different sellers that do have matched sets for sale........


----------



## aussiebluesville

shooto said:


> ^ were they matched?



yes i asked before the order for matched pair of 78's and they were shipped as per request, very good to deal with, just ask the question before you commit to order, once confirmed it's all good!


----------



## Riffraff

The mailman has left me a few packages this week. Got me some fine old glass to mess around with.

First a nice matched pair of '74 6P3S tubes.....






and a '66 Amperex labeled Mullard 12AT7 from the Blackburn factory.






I can't wait to fire them up. :cool2:


----------



## brp

Nice, I have a NOS AT7 in the Tweaker's effects loop slot (V2) that I got from Alan.
Can't remember which brand, sound fine though. Being in the loop slot, not a lot of affect on tone normally.


----------



## Riffraff

I put mine in V1. That was my intention from the beginning. I haven't had a chance to get the amp up loud yet to give it a proper test drive but my first impression is it dropped the gain in a really nice way. It lets me push the amp a little harder and doesn't get brittal sounding. I think it's going to give me just what I was hoping for. I held off on putting the 6P3S tubes in for now. I want to run the amp with just the preamp tube change first to get a baseline. It looks like I have to pull the tube holders and the vent off the amp to get 6P3S tubes to fit.


----------



## RiverRatt

Riffraff said:


> I put mine in V1. That was my intention from the beginning. I haven't had a chance to get the amp up loud yet to give it a proper test drive but my first impression is it dropped the gain in a really nice way. It lets me push the amp a little harder and doesn't get brittal sounding. I think it's going to give me just what I was hoping for. I held off on putting the 6P3S tubes in for now. I want to run the amp with just the preamp tube change first to get a baseline. It looks like I have to pull the tube holders and the vent off the amp to get 6P3S tubes to fit.



Yeah, you'll have to do that. I don't really think you need those beartrap retainers on an octal tube, especially when the tubes are upright. Fender didn't use tube retainers on those big tubes in their combos and everything stayed put. 

You should see my amp with the KT66's in it right now. In some ways, I like the 66's better. They sound best on the vintage setting IMO but they can handle some gain too. I've been using them for a few weeks and I'm liking them more than I thought I would. 

Riffraff, if you're liking the 12AT7 in V1, you might want to check out a 5751 as well. You keep the strong 12AX7 tone, but it's got more headroom. They don't always improve the tone of the amp, but when they work they do it well.


----------



## Riffraff

Tried them already. One of my customers had them listed in a laundry list of dead inventory they were looking to unload.






When I looked them up in their warehouse records there was no purchase history on them and I started to get excited because that meant they had them for more than 10 years. They are an elevator company and have no knowledge of the value of old glass. They are just parts to be used in vintage elevator controllers to them. I thought the tube gods were smiling on me. I had visions of scoring 50+ NOS tubes at a few bucks each and selling them off for some major gear money but this is what I found when I opened the boxes.






I pulled the purchasing records and saw that they bought a bunch of them from Richardson Electronics in the '90s. National is Richardson's house brand and they relabel. National used a lot of Philips stuff so I was hoping at the very least to find a bunch of USA made JAN military types but they were all Chinese made. I got a pair for the Tweaker. They drop the gain a little but I found them to be a little grainy in V1 when pushed hard. I chalk that up to the fact that they are low cost tubes from an era when China wasn't making the best sounding glass. I liked the Fender labeled 7025 I pulled out of my '70s Vibro Champ better and stuck with that. I was looking at NOS 5751s on Ebay when I bought the 12AT7 Bugleboy. I figured it would be close to the same but with a touch less gain and might give me even more of what I was looking for. The test data on it showed it tested new and well balanced so I grabbed it.


----------



## blues_n_cues

played through a tweaker w/ both my LPs. worked great for all kinds of blues.


----------



## scat7s

> You should see my amp with the KT66's in it right now.



haha, i have some big old coke bottle kt66's i tried with the tweaker, couldnt fit the chassis back in the box!


----------



## RiverRatt

Riffraff said:


> I pulled the purchasing records and saw that they bought a bunch of them from Richardson Electronics in the '90s. National is Richardson's house brand and they relabel. National used a lot of Philips stuff so I was hoping at the very least to find a bunch of USA made JAN military types but they were all Chinese made. I got a pair for the Tweaker. They drop the gain a little but I found them to be a little grainy in V1 when pushed hard. I chalk that up to the fact that they are low cost tubes from an era when China wasn't making the best sounding glass. I liked the Fender labeled 7025 I pulled out of my '70s Vibro Champ better and stuck with that. I was looking at NOS 5751s on Ebay when I bought the 12AT7 Bugleboy. I figured it would be close to the same but with a touch less gain and might give me even more of what I was looking for. The test data on it showed it tested new and well balanced so I grabbed it.



That a shame, man. That does look like an incredible haul. Don't base your judgement on those Chinese tubes. I seriously doubt they are real 5751's. They are more likely to be 12AX7's that tested low. 

I only have one 5751 right now. It's an old JAN Tung-Sol that tests high. I tried it in V1 of the Tweaker right after I posted here. It sounds really good - a little more gain than I thought it would have but not by much. I was able to use only the HOT switch on the gain control the whole time and get a good tone, all the way from clean to down & dirty. It cleaned up well with the guitar volume control.

I've had some green print 5751's; NOS GE and Sylvania 5751's, and this Tung-Sol and they all sounded good, but I think the Sylvanias were the best. Another good option is a 6201. It's a good tone tube like a 5751 but the gain is closer to a 12AT7. I think I have 2 or 3 of those, one is a GE 5-star triple mica and it's a really sweet sounding tube.


----------



## minerman

I was wondering when somebody was gonna bump this thread.......

I've not ordered any of those Russian tubes yet guys, life keeps getting in the way (& I'm actually pretty happy with the amp as-is to be honest...), but I've had a thought that keeps coming back on finding some tubes...

Where I grew up, there was a small grocery/convenience store/ video game room, about 1/8 mile from my parent's house. The old guy was also a tv/radio repairman, he did this as far back as I can remember. He died a few years ago, but his wife still lives there, & the "little store" (that's what we called it when I was a kid...) is still there. I bet there are bunches of tubes there, unless his wife has cleaned the building out since he passed away......Guess I'll just have to try to see tomorrow, as I'm heading to my parent's house anyway, & it's within walking distance from there......

There's also another place I might be able to score some tubes, another tv/radio shop, about 5-6 miles from where I live now, guess I'm gonna have to take a trip to see what I can find around here......

Oh yeah, love my Tweaker amp, really versatile, & sounds great. My favorite setting is: modern, brit, clean, using my SD-1 for a little "bite", treble around 6-7, mids on 4, & the bass on about 8. Through my Greenback cab, sounds really close to a lot of guitar sounds on classic albums......


----------



## RiverRatt

Yeah minerman, those are the kind of places you need to find. It's hard - a lot of the old time radio and TV guys had a workshop at their house and they are hard to find. That sounds like a good one to check. If the tubes are still there, try to get the whole lot if you can get it cheap enough. Unless they have never been picked over, you're going to go through probably 100 tubes before you find a usable one. Nobody ever gets them all when they pick them over. I bought a bunch a few years ago from just such a shop and the lady said they had already picked over her stuff but let me take what was left. I ended up with maybe a dozen 12AX7's, a NOS NIB matched quad of Mullard xF2 EL34's, a nice set of 5881's, a nicer quad of 7591's, and several other semi-valuable members of the same family as the 12AX7. Look for the "junk box". I've never seen a shop that hasn't been looted already that didn't have at least a cardboard carton or two of tubes that are still good for the most part. Sometimes it was easier to throw tubes at something until it started working. The tubes in the box are pulls like that. Untested but probably working. Good luck dude! Let us know how it comes out.


----------



## minerman

Thanks Alan,
If I remember correctly, Burl (the owner/repairman) died about 4-5 years ago, & he had a pretty good sized shop/building, with lots of shelves, boxes, radios/tv's everywhere. But it's been years since I've been in there, so I don't actually know if there'd be anything left at all. I do know the building is still there, & looks like it's been kept up over the years, judging from the outside, but I have no idea what it'd be like inside. I do remember it was well built though, but again, it's been years since I've been inside there......The shop/building was built right behind his home.....

The other shop I mentioned is less likely to have anything, & I haven't been by there in a long time either, so it's a probably a long shot at best...

If there's anything left at Burl's store/shop, I'm pretty sure his wife would probably let me have whatever's in there really cheap, she might even just give me some of the stuff, hard to say, but they were always really good people. I remember when I was little, our tv went out, & Burl loaned us one of his tv's so I could watch my favorite show ("The Incredible Hulk"....years ago, I bet a lot of the guys here in the forum weren't even born then...). Burl also retired from the Air Force, so that raises my interest even more, there may be some vintage glass in there that nobody even knows about.......

I'll let you guys know what I find out tomorrow.....


----------



## dkal24

Does anyone know if the speaker out jacks on the Tweaker are wired in parallel? I'm trying to run two 16 ohm cabs. I want to plug both cabs in to the head and set it for 8 ohms. Is this right?


----------



## Riffraff

I believe they are but you should go to the Egnater website and download the manual. I know it's covered in that because I looked at it and I'm 99.9% sure it said they are parallel. Most amps with multiple speaker jacks are.

I had a few minutes to get the volume up on the tweaker with the Mullard 12AT7. I'm not sure it's going to make the cut. I think I still prefer my RCA 7025. I'll mess around a little more with it, try it with the Lester, maybe a few different pedals. Maybe try a EQ to see if I can dial it in and if I'm still not feeling it I'll put the 7025 back in. It might be a good tube for V2. The Tweaker loop runs a little hot and a 12AT7 in V2 could help with that. I'm glad I decided to try it on it's own before puting the 6P3S tubes in.


----------



## Riffraff

Oh boy was that ever the answer. Lester, SD1 in Brit mode.....that Mullard is singing!


----------



## RiverRatt

minerman said:


> Thanks Alan,
> If I remember correctly, Burl (the owner/repairman) died about 4-5 years ago, & he had a pretty good sized shop/building, with lots of shelves, boxes, radios/tv's everywhere. But it's been years since I've been in there, so I don't actually know if there'd be anything left at all. I do know the building is still there, & looks like it's been kept up over the years, judging from the outside, but I have no idea what it'd be like inside. I do remember it was well built though, but again, it's been years since I've been inside there......The shop/building was built right behind his home.....
> 
> The other shop I mentioned is less likely to have anything, & I haven't been by there in a long time either, so it's a probably a long shot at best...
> 
> If there's anything left at Burl's store/shop, I'm pretty sure his wife would probably let me have whatever's in there really cheap, she might even just give me some of the stuff, hard to say, but they were always really good people. I remember when I was little, our tv went out, & Burl loaned us one of his tv's so I could watch my favorite show ("The Incredible Hulk"....years ago, I bet a lot of the guys here in the forum weren't even born then...). Burl also retired from the Air Force, so that raises my interest even more, there may be some vintage glass in there that nobody even knows about.......
> 
> I'll let you guys know what I find out tomorrow.....



If you get a chance to go through the shop, don't just make a beeline for the tube boxes. Do it right the first time. Open boxes, open drawers, hell, even open the obsolete test equipment. All the old stuff that was made to test radios, televisions, circuits, tubes, etc. all had tubes inside. Occasionally you'll get lucky and find 12AX7's and common octal power tubes. Look for variacs, isolation transformers, and anything that looks like it might even be remotely interesting. Take it home and sort it out there. 

Televisions will OCCASIONALLY yield a good preamp or power tube, but not often. Out of the thousands of tubes I've sorted through, I'll promise you that at least 1/3 of them from a TV shop will be 6GH8's. IMO these are worthless because they don't sell for anything and probably 90 percent of them will be spent. Don't even bother.

If there's any audio equipment lying around like mic preamps, hi-fi amps, reel-to-reel tape machines, CB radios, AM/FM radios, console stereos, check every one of them. That's where you'll find the good stuff. Bring any audio amps home with you. Often these can be converted to guitar amps with just a few component changes and they sound GOOD! Goodsell amps in Nashville started out selling converted Hammond amps in combo form. I have several old Bogen amps and they are probably the best production stuff you'll find from a place like this. HAM radio gear can be OK, but a lot of times they use sweep tubes that won't do you any good unless you know some HAM people you can sell them to. Those guys are all about 1200-watt linear amps and crazy stuff like that.

Oscilloscopes can be good to have. Don't forget the caps and resistors either. The electrolytics may or may not be good, but usually there are plenty of signal caps lying around. I picked up an odd box of 7 and 9-pin test sockets at one shop, maybe 10-15 pieces in all, and they sold for almost $200 on eBay. 

You may find boxes of transistors, IC chips, power and output transformers, tube caddies, etc. Clean the place out. I've made a mess a time or two on my first haul. Don't count on being allowed to go back in a second time and clean up. I felt bad at first at giving what might be considered a lowball offer, but after you put the time in sorting, cleaning, testing, and selling what you've found, you'll see that your lowball offer was actually pretty reasonable. You're the one taking the risk.

One last word (or two): Western Electric. Take ANYTHING that says Western Electric. 

Don't be disappointed if it turns out to be nothing. About 9 out of 10 times the stuff has already been looted. Like I said earlier though, they won't get everything. Don't rush through it looking for treasure or you'll miss it. Go slow and check out everything.


----------



## minerman

Thanks again Alan,
I'm heading up there Sunday afternoon, but don't know if she'll even let me in there or not. She's pretty old, but I'm sure she remembers me, as I spent lots of time there when I was a kid, they had a video arcade, & growing up, that was really the only thing around to do, you gotta remember, I grew up in the sticks (I still live in the sticks, just not as far back as where my parents live.....)......

I'll let you guys know sometime tomorrow evening/night what happened, if anything....the worst that she can say is "no".....

Thanks again!!!!!

I had a little time to crank the amp today, with everything on 10 . While it felt good for a few minutes, the speaker I have just doesn't do the amp justice. It breaks up with the master on about 6-7, & actually sounds it's best around 5-6, so I suppose I'm gonna have to get off my ass, & get some more speakers/cabs......I think an ISO cab would be the way to go for me, as I could record to my heart's content late at night, without waking my wife up, & could always open the door on the cab when I want the sound to be "in my face"......Probably just gonna take my loss on the HT-5, the Marshall Micro-Stack, & a few other things I have that I don't use, trade 'em all in for a Randall ISO cab, maybe another mic, & whatever else I can get out of Guitar Center. Probably won't happen until the week of Thanksgiving, but that's only a couple weeks away.....


----------



## minerman

Well, the trip to the old shop turned out to be nothing, at all. His wife cleaned out the whole place a couple years ago, just throwing everything in the dumpster. She said she remembers her grandson loading up almost a pickup truck load of just old tubes Burl had, & about half of 'em were new, still in boxes. She didn't think any of it would be worth anything, so she threw it all out.....

I kinda had my hopes up about finding some vintage tubes, but no biggie, I suppose I'll just have to look elsewhere.......

Still lovin' my little amp though, sounds great with the stock tubes, but I'm dying to try some different ones in it to see what kind of difference it makes.......


----------



## Riffraff

I'm sorry it didn't pan out for you minerman. It was shaping up to be a good sounding adventure. It would have been amazing if it had worked out. I've never had much luck finding any cool tube deals like that either. As close as I have come is an old scope I found at a yard sale a while back. I found these inside.






When I first saw the Mullard and Amperex Orange Globe logos I nearly shouted for joy but then I noticed that are all ECC88 which are not used in guitar amps. The good news is they are used in some high end tube powered hifi gear so they have some value.


----------



## RiverRatt

That's a shame, minerman. Like I said, about 9 out of 10 times it's like that.


----------



## minerman

No biggie guys, I'm not out anything, at all. I visit my parents every weekend anyway, & close to their house (I can actually see part of the old building from there), so again, no biggie........

I have one more place I know of local/close that may have some tubes, but won't be able to check that out for another week or so. If that doesn't work out (& probably won't), then I'll just have to bite the bullet & buy a few sets to get me started.......


----------



## aussiebluesville

Well i got a Celestion G12T-100 for the 1x12 blackstar cab to replace the seventy/80, and was impressed with the difference the G12T made, pretty happy with the sound Still running the 6p3s tubes in the tweaker, i'm lovin them!


----------



## Riffraff

aussiebluesville said:


> Still running the 6p3s tubes in the tweaker, i'm lovin them!



I just got mine a few days ago and haven't tried them yet. What's your take on the 6P3S tubes? I assume more headroom but how do they differ in tone from the 6V6 tubes in the T15? Still nice break up when pushed? Do they sound better in USA or Brit settings? Yeah, I know.....just plug them in and see for myself but I'm not done playing with the Mullard 12AT7 I stuck in V1. I haven't had the house to myself yet to give it a proper test.  I didn't like it with my Strat in USA mode but it was a whole different animal with my LP in Brit mode. It f'n ROCKS with that especially with a SD1 kicking it in the pants.


----------



## RiverRatt

Don't bother with V2 on the Tweaker 15. All it does is power the FX loop. Put your tone tube in V1 and a good hot tube in V3 for the phase inverter.

You won't get any more or less headroom out of the Tweaker with a power tube change. Some tubes will saturate earlier than others, but it's not a dramatic difference. That's why I was digging those little 6K6GT's awhile back. They are really nice on the Vox and Marshall if you're looking for an EL84-type sound. People who don't use the HOT gain mode generally haven't liked the 6K6.

The thing I like about the 6P3S is that it's a mutt. It's like a mix of my favorite octal power tubes. It responds perfectly to the Tweaker 15's 3 tone-stack options. It does the scooped Fender cleans, the nasal mid-heavy Vox tones, and they can sound like a Vintage or Modern Marshall on the Brit setting. I don't know why or how to explain it, it's just more better.


----------



## aussiebluesville

yes i'm with alan here, it's hard to explain but i have tried the 6v6/different brands, then the 6K6, then the 6P3S and these tubes definately sound better, the cleans in the usa with the strat and tele sound great, but put it on vox or british with the tele and a sd1 and wow that is awesome  i also just have it set on usa with the boss sd1 as an added bonus if i want some gain! i have a telefunken in v1, stock in v2 and a tungsol in v3, nice combo


----------



## Riffraff

That sounds great! I'll get right on that then. I've got a Mullard 12AT7 in V1, stock V2 and a Sylvania long plate in V3. I throw the 6P3S set in on Friday when I have the house to myself. Can't wait. 

So what are your feelings regarding stress on the OT? I like to use a Minimass to knock a little off the top when my neighbors are home. Do the 6P3S set work the OT harder, should I avoid using the attenuator when running those? Don't they pull more current through the OT? I've been searching on the internet for specific info on this but have found nothing more than a lot of people running a variety of tubes without issues.


----------



## aussiebluesville

The 6P3S is a lower rated tube than a EL34 or a true 6L6, it may be 6L6-like but it's no 6L6GC. 
From the data I've found 6P3S should not trouble the OT as egnater state that the OT is sufficiently robust to handle the increased current requirements of these higher-power output tubes. I have run these tubes in other 6v6 type amps as well with no effect on OT's!, and the tweaker has run pretty darn hot over a lot nights with no cool down periods on many occasions.


----------



## Riffraff

Great! That's reassuring to hear. I'm definitely looking forward to giving them a go.


----------



## johnfv

There does seem to be some magic that happens with the Tweaker and the 63PS tubes. One thing I notice: the low mids get fat in a really nice way that very much compliments Strat/Tele tones. Not muddy at all, just nice and fat. I run the master wide open and go for the natural output tube compression as well. Tasty...


----------



## RiverRatt

Riffraff said:


> That sounds great! I'll get right on that then. I've got a Mullard 12AT7 in V1, stock V2 and a Sylvania long plate in V3. I throw the 6P3S set in on Friday when I have the house to myself. Can't wait.
> 
> So what are your feelings regarding stress on the OT? I like to use a Minimass to knock a little off the top when my neighbors are home. Do the 6P3S set work the OT harder, should I avoid using the attenuator when running those? Don't they pull more current through the OT? I've been searching on the internet for specific info on this but have found nothing more than a lot of people running a variety of tubes without issues.



I wouldn't bother with an attenuator. The amp is perfect for late-night playing as-is. It doesn't lose very much character at all as you turn the master volume down. IMO for late night low-volume use, just dial the volume down to where you need it and use the bright and deep switches.

The 6P3S is sometimes labeled as a 6L6GT. If you are a Duncan Amps TDSL user, just type that in the search filter and you'll see that it's _very_ close to a 6L6G.


----------



## Riffraff

The rockets are on their launching pads and the count down has begun.


----------



## RiverRatt

May we assume by your silence that the experiment went well? 

If you get a chance, try a pair of RCA smoked glass 6L6G's in the Tweaker sometime. They won't fit with the grille in place. They sound similar to the 6P3S but maybe a little darker and more compressed. It's a good tone.


----------



## Riffraff

I haven't had a chance to fire them up yet. I'll be all over it tomorrow. I have a 160 mile round trip commute so I get home far too late during the week but I'm off on Fridays. Well sort of....I get endless emails on Fridays regarding things that can't wait until Monday and usually end up having to log in from home to help someone out. But I won't be able to hear my phone going off if the amp is running. 

The 6P3S tubes barely fit with the grille in place. I was able to put it back on after plugging them in. So the 6L6Gs stick out of the vent hole huh? That's pretty funny. EL34s must really be a site then.


----------



## pepeteus

Hi, 

Found this thread some time ago and I've been reading with interest since. So, I just joined this forum and this is my first post here.

I've had a Tweaker 15 head for a few months now and I've been mostly very pleased with. Very good amp for the price indeed! I have two DIY pine cabs - 1x15 with an Eminence Legend 151 and another is 2x12 with a mix of Emi Governor and Red, White and Blues.

The first thing I did when I got the amp was to change the power tubes to NOS Sylvania 6V6GTY tubes. Mine came equipped with Electro-Harmonix. I think EHs aren't bad tubes but since I have a modest stash of old tubes I grabbed one pair of those Sylvanias and they have been in since. They added some clarity and brightness to the clean(er) tones. Until now I've been only using 6V6 power tubes, but the tweaker in me feels like it's time try the other types as well. 

Well, back to the subject as I replied to RiverRatt's post about 6L6Gs. Have you ever tried Sylvania 6L6GA's which are smaller coke bottle tubes? 

I have a few of those, but they are singles. So I just ordered a Uraltone Biasing Tool kit (like the Bias Rite kit) to check my single tubes using my single-ended cathode biased amp. I also have a small stash of other old 6V6 singles and RFT EL34s which I'm going to check if I could make some matched pairs out of them.




RiverRatt said:


> May we assume by your silence that the experiment went well?
> 
> If you get a chance, try a pair of RCA smoked glass 6L6G's in the Tweaker sometime. They won't fit with the grille in place. They sound similar to the 6P3S but maybe a little darker and more compressed. It's a good tone.


----------



## RiverRatt

Welcome to the forum! No, I haven't had many 6L6GA's at all, maybe 2 or 3. I have some RCA black plate 6L6GB's which I think are electrially the same as the GA but they are in the smaller GC style bottle. 

I was told that power tubes don't have to be matched in the Tweaker 15 so you might be able to run your GA's in it. You should verify that with Egnater customer service before you try it... I can't remember if I got that info from Egnater or read it on a forum. I took the day off today and I just got up so I'm a little foggy still.


----------



## minerman

3 more shifts this week, then I get 8 days off.....

Still gonna go tube hunting in a few days, one more place that might have some, dunno, been years since I've been by there, hopefully, I'll find something good.......

Gonna unload a bunch of gear while I'm off too, going to get a Randall ISO cab, should have it by this time next week....

Still lovin' my little Tweaker amp too, can't wait to get this week over so I can just play/have fun, without worrying about work......


----------



## AudioWonderland

shooto said:


> when you get it, get the MV up to 1-2 o'clock...it REALLY opens up...that's it sweet spot...



Agree with this 100%


----------



## Riffraff

FINALLY fired up the amp with the 6P3S tubes 

 



I think I'm in love. The clean tones with the Strat are outstanding. I haven't broken out the LP yet. I'm going through the pedal shuffle now to figure out which boost I like best with the Strat. The new tubes have made it necessary to do some pedal board changes and settings tweaks but wow do they sound good already. Got to get back to the action....


********** UPDATE ************

Holy smokes! The Les Paul in Brit mode is even better. It absolutely smokes. I've got the Hot switch set to Clean, the MV is up about 75% and the Gain set at 6. I'm smacking the front end with a Route 66 OD set clean with it's volume on 5 and have a M108 after it to fine tune the cut and thump. This is awesome!

I thought the top grill might get really hot being so close to the tubes but that is not the case at all. I think the 6V6 set actually ran hotter than these. You guy's were dead on about these tubes in the T15, they are match made in heaven.


----------



## Riffraff

I found another great benefit to these tubes. I tried reamping the line out of my Minimass through a rack mounted power amp with the attenuator set to load so I could use the amp with it dialed up to it's sweet spot at conversation levels. That has always worked great with bigger amps but the Tweaker with a 6V6 set had a bit of an over compressed tone to it. That is not the case at all with the bigger bottle 6P3S tubes in it. They deliver in that application too. Great tone at any volume level.  I'll definitely be ordering a spare set of these.


----------



## RiverRatt

Riffraff said:


> I found another great benefit to these tubes. I tried reamping the line out of my Minimass through a rack mounted power amp with the attenuator set to load so I could use the amp with it dialed up to it's sweet spot at conversation levels. That has always worked great with bigger amps but the Tweaker with a 6V6 set had a bit of an over compressed tone to it. That is not the case at all with the bigger bottle 6P3S tubes in it. They deliver in that application too. Great tone at any volume level.  I'll definitely be ordering a spare set of these.



Well, you can thank a HAM operator who goes by "Brick" for the 6P3S craze. He is really amazing. He'll take a handful of huge odd-voltage sweep tubes and build a 1,200 watt linear amp around them. He has had amps that use EL34's, 6L6GC's, and other power pentodes and beam tetrodes. I gave him some sweep tubes and a handful of 12BY7's for his stock of 6P3S. 

I just got a couple from him to try in the Tweaker at first, then I went back and got the rest of them. I think Moose Lewis and johnfv ended up with a pair of those first ones. They were 1970's production and I still have one pair from that batch that I'm NOT selling. I have since bought some old 1960's and some from the 1980's but nothing has sounded as good as the 1970's tubes. I sent a set to moose and the day after he got them he sent me a message that was something like "You KNEW how good these were gonna sound, didn't you???". I ended up selling him another couple of pairs; one for a spare set and another to give to a friend of his who owns a Tweaker. 

I've thought about sending a pair to Bruce Egnater. 6P3S should come stock in the Tweaker 15. Hell, I know there are enough of them out there that he wouldn't run out anytime soon!

I still have to try the 6P6S and the 6P3S-E. The 6P6S is a 6V6GT sub, and I'm not sure what the difference is with the 6P3S-E. It has a small coin base, that's about all.


----------



## Riffraff

I got my set from a seller in Bulgaria selling on Ebay. He seems to have more from the '70s so I will be ordering another set while he still has them. He's got a matched pair of '70s 6P6S tubes too so maybe I'll grab those to try in my Silvertone. They took about 3 weeks to come which wasn't bad at all.


----------



## Riffraff

I was looking around a little I stumbled on to this: http://tubes-store.com/product_info.php?cPath=37_45&products_id=293

$3.50 each in boxes...REALLY?! That's crazy! They offer them in lots of 25 for $3.80 each too packed bulk. These are modern versions I'm sure but wow. They are identified as NOS/NIB but how old could they be really? I guess it really doesn't matter when I consider that I paid less than twice that for a nice matched pair made in the '70s.


----------



## RiverRatt

You can sometimes find someone selling 8 or 10 6P3S tubes on eBay, which is what I look for. Saves money on shipping, etc. If I had the money, I might buy those 25 or 50 tube bulk boxes. Word of warning: Expect to get a bad tube or two in every bulk shipment. I still have a 1965 6P3S out of that batch that looks pristine until you plug it in and notice that the heaters don't light up.

From what I'm reading on the internet, the 6P3S-E is a close sub for a 5881 (that's a REAL Tung-Sol 5881, not the Sovtek 5881WXT). 

IIRC that Barnwood amp that 66Galaxie posted about used 6P6S tubes, so I guess I have tried them. It so, it was just a typical 6V6 tone. I'm not sure which tube Egnater is sending out in the Tweaker 15. IIRC mine looked a lot like the 6P6S. I think I know where they are - TTYAL


----------



## pepeteus

RiverRatt said:


> Welcome to the forum! No, I haven't had many 6L6GA's at all, maybe 2 or 3. I have some RCA black plate 6L6GB's which I think are electrially the same as the GA but they are in the smaller GC style bottle.
> 
> I was told that power tubes don't have to be matched in the Tweaker 15 so you might be able to run your GA's in it. You should verify that with Egnater customer service before you try it... I can't remember if I got that info from Egnater or read it on a forum. I took the day off today and I just got up so I'm a little foggy still.


 
I finally got my biasing tool kit assembled during the weekend and the first thing I did was to check my 6L6GA's. In fact the first 2 pieces I checked were matched within 1 mA. So, I popped those in to the Tweaker. 

I had to remove the grill 'cause the bottles are so tall and if I put the grill back, it just touches the top of the glass. I don't want to bend the grill to get some space between the grill and the glass. Maybe I just put some washers between the grill and the cab "wood" to raise the grill a little bit.

I didn't do any direct comparison between the 6V6GTY's and 6L6GA's but the first impression was that the tone (at least overdriven tones) had a little more meat to it. Somehow the bridge pickup of the Telecaster sounded fatter. That was all at quite a low volume. I have to do more tests when I get to open the volume more.

One thing is that those 6L6GA's look very cool.


----------



## RiverRatt

That was one of the best design decisions they made - putting that grille over the power tubes. You should see it with those KT-66's sticking up out of it. Any of the coke bottle 6L6's are good sounding and worth leaving the grille off for. I don't even know where I put the screws for the back plate and the grille. I don't really care. I'm not going to be selling it anyway.


----------



## minerman

I was waiting for one of you guys to bump this thread, I got an Orange 1x12 with a Vintage 30 speaker this week, & love it!!!!!

I posted a crappy cell phone pic in another thread I started, & didn't wanna put it here, but I have to say the V30 is what I've been looking for all this time. Clean, crunchy, or high gain + boost pedal, the new cab sounds great......I should've gotten the V30 cab back in the summer instead of the Greenback, but now, I have 2 different speakers to use for my recordings (& yes, to me, they are very different speakers, neither better/worse, just different).....

I traded my HT-5 for the new cab (only paid tax, which came to almost $40), & got to keep my Marshall micro-stack, M-Audio 5" monitors, & a few other odds/ends that I expected to trade. I think GC did me pretty good this week, I expected to get burned trading, but it actually worked out pretty good, to me anyway.......

And, I know what "Santa" is bringing me for Christmas, a couple sets of those 6P3S tubes, & a few different pre-amp tubes to try/roll.....

The "other" place I thought might have some old tubes is gone, it'd been years since I'd been by there, & the whole building is gone, so I'm gonna have to take my chances elsewhere....

I was gonna buy an ISO cab so I could get the volume up on the amp, without pissing everybody off, but I think I could just build my own a lot cheaper, that would kill/cut most of the noise. Of course, it'd be a lot bigger than a commercial ISO cab, but I'd be able to fit either of my 1x12's in there, with at least a couple different mics....

My Tweaker ain't going anywhere either, Alan!!!


----------



## RiverRatt

I wish you were closer to here... I have a homemade ISO cabinet that a guy gave me that I would be glad to pass along. I've never even tried it out. I really don't have any use for it - I don't record at really high volumes and I like to do 2 mics with one SM57 or an E609 up tight and an SM57 or SM58 a little back from the cabinet.

Don't wait for somebody to bump the thread... if you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvSZ_HQmZgQ]The Good, the Bad and the Ugly- Tuco Shoots - YouTube[/ame]


----------



## minerman

It's all good Alan!!!! One of my favorite movies btw!!!

On the ISO, I plan on making it wide enough to fit either of my cabs in, & long enough to have about 12" of play in the mic position. Yeah, it'll be a big box (actually a box in a box, with a layer of Roxul on all sides between the two, should make it pretty much silent), but I should be able to get the power tubes cookin' a little bit even late at night....It'll serve double-duty as my ISO cab, & shelf/storage space, so I can pile all my junk on top of it.....

Kinda like this:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFxH9sVe3Ls"]Recording guitars with a DIY Isolation Cabinet (+ how to build one) - YouTube[/ame]


----------



## Riffraff

I went on a little tube salvage mission myself last night. - http://www.marshallforum.com/tone-zone/50443-tube-tester-salvage-run.html#post749093


----------



## Riffraff

Well, the Tweaker seems to like fuzz pedals.

Strat > BD2 > Musket 

I have a G-Sharp in the loop covering reverb & delay duty. I really don't know the tune so I gave it a listen a few times to get the gist of it and then gave it a whirl. It sounded damn nice.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgM8s6rat1I]Musket Fuzz Comfortably Numb - YouTube[/ame]


----------



## minerman

Cool Riff,
Sounds good man, what mic & daw do you use to record your clips? I'd been wondering about that....again, sounds good!!!!


----------



## Riffraff

I use a SM57 plugged into a Digitech Jamman looper pedal. I don't have any real recording stuff. Then I transfer the loop to my computer and use the freeware version of Audacity to amplify the clip to an appropriate level for a Youtube clip (Jamman WAV files are REALLY low volume) and convert it to a MP3. You can also trim it to just the part you want or copy and past the part you want to a new file so you can run your recording long. You can't do multitrack stuff or anything like that but it's not a bad editing tool for a free program.


----------



## RiverRatt

There's nothing wrong with using Audacity for recording. Get a USB cable for your mic and you should be able to record live straight into Audacity. Another option is to find an older Mac with a decent amount of RAM and Garage Band installed. You'll need an audio interface, but that's about it. You can get the last of the Mac PPC (pre-Intel) computers for a really decent price and I use a cheap M-Audio USB interface with mine. You'll have multi-track capability with Garage Band, as well as a really good collection of loops and effects.


----------



## minerman

Great advice (as usual) from Alan.....
I think your clips sound really good, & I honestly thought you already had an interface & were using a daw like Cubase/Reaper myself.......

You could pick up an interface for a couple hundred, & like Alan mentioned, use Audacity, or Reaper (which I think is a great daw, especially for the price), & you'd have multi-track capability....

I'm still learning my Tweaker, but the more I use it, the more I like it. I think it sounds really good with my new V30 cab. The Greenback sounds good too, but doesn't have the high end "bite" I've been after all this time.....But to be honest, I think the Tweaker would sound good with just about any speaker you run it through......


----------



## Gryphon

I just missed a great deal on a Tweaker combo that a guy was selling because he needed money to pay his rent - then his friend stopped by and loaned him the cash. Oh well, I'm pleased for him. No-one should have to sell gear to pay the rent. So while I wait for another one to surface on CL I'll ask a 'tweaking' question:

This amp is very flexible on tubes, and someone earlier said that the one thing the amp could use is a power scaling switch to turn it into a 5W or 1W amp for home use. Well, power scaling works by dropping the B+ voltage, and this amp is cathode bias, and has a power supply voltage selector on the back. Has any USA owner tried their amp on the 230V setting? Selecting 230V windings on the power transformer should halve the B+ delivered to the tubes and roughly cut the power output by a factor of 4. I'd be interested to know if that has the desired effect...


----------



## brp

Gryphon said:


> I'd be interested to know if that has the desired effect...



Hmmm so would I.
I don't want to try it though


----------



## RiverRatt

I think the Tweaker already sounds good at low volume. I've never wanted power scaling and all that stuff.


----------



## Gryphon

Hey- I just picked up a Tweaker off CL. Now I have the amp, I agree with RiverRatt - it makes great tome at low volume so what I suggested is unnecessary.


----------



## Gryphon

My new Tweaker had a tube upgrade done by the previous owner. Mesa tubes. As a result of all the discussion on tube swaps above, yesterday I swapped out V1 for an old Mullard ECC83 that was removed from my JCM900 a few years ago. Wow! It sounded much better...

Today I went the whole hog and put in the EL34s that came out the JCM900 as well. 

A-ha... now THAT really makes a difference. I guess when a set of (supposedly) worn out 1990s tubes sounds noticeably better than an almost new set of modern tubes, you know they did it right in the old days

Those old EL34s are so big I had to take the top grille off to get them in, and was only just able to get the grille back on!


----------



## RiverRatt

A JCM900 most likely came with Tesla EL34's. GOOD tubes, I don't care how many hours they've logged. The old stuff was made to last several thousand hours which can easily encompass the lifespan of an amp if you're not gigging it 5 days a week. It's not like changing the oil in your car, the "if it ain't broke" rule definitely applies here. Keep a spare set of EL34's handy but I'd never throw away a set of power tubes until they give me a reason to.


----------



## armandodiaz

OK so after 3yrs my T15 is sounding a little muddy. I'm thinking of upgrading all the tubes. The consensus seems to be the 6P3S to replace the 6V6GTA is there any brand thats preferred over the others? How about everything else..... V1, V2, V3.


----------



## RiverRatt

There's only the Russian military 6P3S made by Reflektor. They also have a 6P3S-E which is not the same tube. I've never used one so I can't comment on them. The general consensus is that of all the 6P3S pairs I sent around, the 1978 ones are the best-sounding. A couple of years ago, they were going for around $3 per tube. You don't see many deals like that any more unless you buy in bulk.

Put a good tone tube in V1 - it doesn't seem to make as much difference changing out the pre's as it does with the power tubes. I think I have an old Ei in V1 but a GE or really just about any old tube will sound good. V2 is the FX loop driver so I just spend a Chinese or Russian tube there but I never use the loop. V3 is the phase inverter and IMO the amp sounds best with a high-gain tube there. Again, it doesn't seem to matter what brand, just so long as it's a good, hot tube.


----------



## Mike_LA

RiverRatt said:


> Well, you can thank a HAM operator who goes by "Brick" for the 6P3S craze.
> I've thought about sending a pair to Bruce Egnater.


*
Ok so I've been following this thread with interest for a while and since my 6101 is in the shop for a tune up, I just fired up my tweaker 15.
So I was keen to suss out what's shaking with the tube swaps you guys have been doing.

Haven't read any posts that say they blew up their amp 

How long have the experiments been going on for?

I tried to figure out the valves are doing and compare the 6V6 to the 6L6 in the data sheets, but not knowing how the values effect the circuit, it lead me nowhere. Though there seem to be some differences that are large. Hope it's safe for the transformers . . . 

Curious what Egnater would say to the mod.

I'm running some NOS RCA 6V6gts, Phillips 5751s in Pre and Power, and a JJ EC83S in the loop. 
This new set is pretty good so far. The ones that I took out were very microphonic. 
When I touched the input jack with the cable tip, I could hear it clear as a bell. 



*


----------



## armandodiaz

RiverRatt said:


> There's only the Russian military 6P3S made by Reflektor. They also have a 6P3S-E which is not the same tube. I've never used one so I can't comment on them. The general consensus is that of all the 6P3S pairs I sent around, the 1978 ones are the best-sounding. A couple of years ago, they were going for around $3 per tube. You don't see many deals like that any more unless you buy in bulk.
> 
> Put a good tone tube in V1 - it doesn't seem to make as much difference changing out the pre's as it does with the power tubes. I think I have an old Ei in V1 but a GE or really just about any old tube will sound good. V2 is the FX loop driver so I just spend a Chinese or Russian tube there but I never use the loop. V3 is the phase inverter and IMO the amp sounds best with a high-gain tube there. Again, it doesn't seem to matter what brand, just so long as it's a good, hot tube.


 
I'm not familar with all the different tubes can you recommend something for V1 and V3 (I also don't use the loop).
I had a pair of 6L6GC laying around, I put those in there. Sound better than stock but can't wait to get a set of 6P3S, since they are so highly recommended. Also is there a recommended place to get them? All I see are ads on Ebay from Russia (not sure if I can trust buying something from overseas).

Thanks

BTW: the old Egnater (Ruby) tubes were pure black. I think they were due for a change.


----------



## Riffraff

Ended up with a pile of '90s National Branded 5751s today.






Couldn't pass them up. It was a real stupid deal of the month thanks to an industrial customer of mine that no longer has a use for them and decided to liquidate them. Pulled two random tubes for testing and high gain 12AX7 would have been a more accurate designation. I guess Richardson wasn't really checking.


----------



## scat7s

nice, ive got a few old yugoslavian nationals. 

not the best in the world, but good, better than CP.


----------



## Riffraff

I got 40 of them. The two that were tested read 105/105 & 105/110 on a VTV tester. 5751s my a$$, they are 12AX7 tubes. The purchasing records show they came from a batch of 150 purchased in 1994. I originally picked them up to sell them to a reseller who was interested in them but now he has gone dark on me and to be honest I really don't care. I will make out much better selling them myself, especially since I will be hole again after a sleeve.


----------



## RiverRatt

Mike_LA said:


> *
> Ok so I've been following this thread with interest for a while and since my 6101 is in the shop for a tune up, I just fired up my tweaker 15.
> So I was keen to suss out what's shaking with the tube swaps you guys have been doing.
> 
> Haven't read any posts that say they blew up their amp
> 
> How long have the experiments been going on for?
> 
> I tried to figure out the valves are doing and compare the 6V6 to the 6L6 in the data sheets, but not knowing how the values effect the circuit, it lead me nowhere. Though there seem to be some differences that are large. Hope it's safe for the transformers . . .
> 
> Curious what Egnater would say to the mod.
> 
> I'm running some NOS RCA 6V6gts, Phillips 5751s in Pre and Power, and a JJ EC83S in the loop.
> This new set is pretty good so far. The ones that I took out were very microphonic.
> When I touched the input jack with the cable tip, I could hear it clear as a bell.
> 
> 
> 
> *



Somewhere way back in this thread we discussed that. I still have the email from Egnater somewhere buried in my old email archives. I emailed Egnater customer support and I believe it was someone named Cameron who answered and yes, the Tweaker 15 will accept just about any common octal power tube. I remember he said his favorite combination was EL34's and a Strat. In addition to the stock 6V6GT's, I've used the 6P3S, 6K6GT, EL34, 6L6 (both GB and GC versions), KT66, 5881, and probably a few others that I've forgotten. The 6K6 is like a half-power 6V6 and has a more compressed, EL84-style tone in that they have very little clean headroom and sound their best with the preamp set to high gain.


----------



## Saintjonah

Hey guys. I'm a new member, but I've been reading along with this thread for a while. I picked up a Tweaker 15 head a month or two ago, and I'm loving it so far. No issues, really. But this thread made me a little curious about swapping tubes. So I checked out Ebay and found a listing that seems to be for the 6P3S tubes that seem to be all the rage. It was only like $25 total shipped from Ukraine for 4 tubes. 

Listing: 4X 6P3S 6L6 6L6GT Tubes 1970'x OTK Same Codes | eBay

I got them today and I honestly have no idea what I'm looking at. They don't SAY 6P3S on them anywhere, so I just wanted to see if someone could take a look at that listing and tell if I ordered the right thing. The picture in the listing is pretty much what I got, aside from the 74 is a 73 (assuming year?). I'm probably worrying over nothing. Just want to be on the safe side before I go blowing anything up.

I also wanted to thank everyone here for a such a helpful and informative thread. 12 pages with little to no bickering. I think it might be an internet first!


----------



## Mike_LA

RiverRatt said:


> I emailed Egnater customer support and I believe it was someone named Cameron who answered and yes, the Tweaker 15 will accept just about any common octal power tube.



Thanks for the info RR​


----------



## Mike_LA

Saintjonah said:


> They don't SAY 6P3S on them anywhere,








*I think the 6N3C is russian for 6P3S*​


----------



## Saintjonah

Ah, well...that would make some measure of sense. A thing I'm clearly lacking. 

Appreciated. I look forward to trying them out


----------



## Mike_LA

*
С- Cyrillic Capital letter es (equivalent to an ‘S’, but looks likea ‘C’)
Π– Cyrillic Capital letter pe (equivalent to a ‘P’, but looks like an ‘N)’​*


----------



## brp

Saintjonah said:


> I also wanted to thank everyone here for a such a helpful and informative thread. 12 pages with little to no bickering. I think it might be an internet first!




It's because the Tweaker makes everybody happy happy happy!


----------



## Saintjonah

Mike_LA said:


> *
> С- Cyrillic Capital letter es (equivalent to an ‘S’, but looks likea ‘C’)
> Π– Cyrillic Capital letter pe (equivalent to a ‘P’, but looks like an ‘N)’​*



Learn something new every day. Thanks!


----------



## RiverRatt

Be sure to post a review. I haven't heard a bad one yet but everybody's tastes are different. I still think it's pretty hard to make a Tweaker 15 sound bad no matter what you're using.


----------



## Riffraff

Update on my early '90s 5751 tube score.

I completed my previously agreed to sale to a dealer but retained a modest quantity for selling, trading whatever.....(man do they go fast).

Typical 5751's have a gain factor of 70. With a gain factor of 110 these are definitely something different. I've sent more to guy who is going to measure them to both 5751 & 12AX7 specs and report back (my tester is a POS and really isn't good enough to provide that kind of detail). I figured the more data on them the better right?. Once I have that I will post these in the classified section with the data. I traded some with a dude on the Les Paul forum (mylespaul) for a new pair each of JJ EL34s & JJ ECC803s Gold Pins just to have something different for my Tweaker. He has my 5751's in V1 & V3 of his Tweaker with the 6P3S power tubes and is raving about that combination. What I do know is they are a great tube for waking up a dark amp. 5751's are known for their bright bite & open tone. These are no different in that department but they bring the gain too. Do you like the gain the Tweaker's HOT mode adds but find it too muddy? These will fix that. 

What's more fun than old stock NIB TUBZ?

NOTHING!


----------



## minerman

Cool Riff, I was wondering if you were gonna let a few of those go, now I know.....please don't forget about us poor country folk here in VA  when you decide to sell a few of those tubes, your description about cleaning up the "mud" on the hot channel sounds like a remedy I need.....

Again, lemme know what you want for a few of those....


----------



## Riffraff

I'm keeping a sleeve of 5 for myself and selling the rest. 

I figure $7.50 each plus postage is reasonable enough for workin' men like us. 

The dealer I sold half of them to has the 12AX7 version on his website for $25.95 but I expect these will be a little more.

Postage 
$5.80 - USPS Priority One flat rate gets them to you in 2 days with tracking

They are in the Classified section now. 

Minerman - I've set a couple aside for you if you want them.


----------



## minerman

Cool Riff, thanks for remembering me, things have been pretty crazy for me at home lately, but I'm hoping everything will calm down & I can get back to my "normal" schedule with playing/recording......

Thanks again!!!


----------



## RiverRatt

Riffraff said:


> Typical 5751's have a gain factor of 70. With a gain factor of 110 these are definitely something different. I've sent more to guy who is going to measure them to both 5751 & 12AX7 specs and report back (my tester is a POS and really isn't good enough to provide that kind of detail). I figured the more data on them the better right?. Once I have that I will post these in the classified section with the data. I traded some with a dude on the Les Paul forum (mylespaul) for a new pair each of JJ EL34s & JJ ECC803s Gold Pins just to have something different for my Tweaker. He has my 5751's in V1 & V3 of his Tweaker with the 6P3S power tubes and is raving about that combination. What I do know is they are a great tube for waking up a dark amp. 5751's are known for their bright bite & open tone. These are no different in that department but they bring the gain too. Do you like the gain the Tweaker's HOT mode adds but find it too muddy? These will fix that.



Most tube testers, including my Hickok and TV-7, don't discriminate between a 5751 and a 12AX7 and apparently neither do most tube manufacturers. A mutual conductance tester will show pretty much the same score for either tube. I know that a 5751 is listed as having a gain factor of 70 as opposed to the 12AX7's 100, but if you look at the datasheets, there are a few other differences. One notable one is that the 5751 has around 4K5 lower plate resistance than a 12AX7. If you've had any experience with substituting a 12BZ7 for a 12AX7, you know what that lower plate resistance translates to: more apparent gain! 

Most of the misconceptions out there regarding the "gain factor" or "amplification factor" of the similar B9A noval tubes is that those gain factors are dependent on the tube being used in a circuit that it was designed for.


----------



## Riffraff

Thanks RiverRatt, I read about the plate resistance difference while trying to get some specifics. I saw that the 5751 has the closest plate resistance to the 12AX7 as compared to 12AU7, 12AT7, etc. I also tried to find some detail on Shuguang 5751 tubes but couldn't find anything on them anywhere. Then I thought maybe Richardson Electronics was doing their own labeling. I doubt it but who knows. They sold a lot of tubes back in the day.


----------



## RiverRatt

I was really just trying to say that the 5751 is really not that different from the 12AX7 when you factor in all the variables. I didn't mean to sound preachy. I really shouldn't post at work - I'm rushed in explaining what I mean. Hell, I might like to try a couple of the Shuguangs and put them through their paces. The Chinese really can make a decent tube if they try. If I'm using a CP tube in anything where tone and gain are important, I always use Chinese tubes.


----------



## RiverRatt

By the way Riff, I meant to ask what speakers you are running with the Tweaker? I saw the Marshall cab in your sig but I couldn't find where you mentioned what you're using.


----------



## Riffraff

I sold my 2266 half stack a couple of months back so the only cab I have presently is this open back, homemade 212 which I loaded with '74 CTS alnicos.






I built it for use in little wet/dry/wet rigs like above so I put a center baffle in it so it's actually like running through two 112 cabs. It's actually rather nice with the Tweaker too.


----------



## Riffraff

I received the results from latest round of testing. Narrow sampling band since it was only done on one but here they are for discussion. Again the tube was tested as a 12AX7 and again as a 5751.


----------



## RiverRatt

Riffraff said:


> I sold my 2266 half stack a couple of months back so the only cab I have presently is this open back, homemade 212 which I loaded with '74 CTS alnicos.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I built it for use in little wet/dry/wet rigs like above so I put a center baffle in it so it's actually like running through two 112 cabs. It's actually rather nice with the Tweaker too.



That's cool. I looked at a Traynor cab that had the same setup. Those old CTS speakers can sound really, really nice. I have a cheap 2x12 from Seismic Audio in Memphis. I got it off eBay for $125. The cab was a little rough but for that price it's not bad at all. It sounds great. I got a couple of WGS speakers from DirtySteve; a Veteran 30 and an ET65 and they are excellent in it. I think the Tweaker really sounds good with a 2x12 cab.


----------



## Saintjonah

Well I put the 6p3s tubes in and got to try it out last week (I keep the amp at the drummers house as that's where we rehearse and I don't have a cab at home), I think it sounded a bit better. More "awake", I think. I didn't get to fiddle with it too much by myself as everyone was itching to play. I'm going down tonight to spend some non-band time with it. I've it running an old Ampeg 4x12, not sure what speakers are in it. I really love this little amp though. Considering changing the pre-amp tubes...you know....for the hell of it. But I really don't have any issues with the sound. Maybe, to beat a dead horse into the ground, it's a touch on the "dark" side...but only a touch...and it's hardly a turn off.

Thanks again for the info guys. It's great to know people who know things


----------



## Riffraff

Got some fresh glass in trade for 5751's.

EL34's.....only 2 hours on them.....haven't tried them yet.






ECC803S Gold Pins. I'm looking forward to hearing these.


----------



## minerman

Gonna give a public thanks to Riff Raff, he sent me a couple of those 5751 tubes this week free!!!!!

Haven't had time to try 'em out yet, but I will this weekend, dunno if I'm working tomorrow or not, but either way I'll get 'em in in the next day or so......clips to come too (there's your warning....)

Thanks again Riff, very nice of you!!!!!


----------



## Riffraff

minerman said:


> Gonna give a public thanks to Riff Raff, he sent me a couple of those 5751 tubes this week free!!!!!
> 
> Haven't had time to try 'em out yet, but I will this weekend, dunno if I'm working tomorrow or not, but either way I'll get 'em in in the next day or so......clips to come too (there's your warning....)
> 
> Thanks again Riff, very nice of you!!!!!



No problem Sir. It sounded like you needed a little vacuum tube pick me up and I was down to the bottom of the box so you won the grunge rock era Shunguan sweepstakes.


----------



## scat7s

Saintjonah said:


> Well I put the 6p3s tubes in and got to try it out last week (I keep the amp at the drummers house as that's where we rehearse and I don't have a cab at home), I think it sounded a bit better. More "awake", I think. I didn't get to fiddle with it too much by myself as everyone was itching to play. I'm going down tonight to spend some non-band time with it. I've it running an old Ampeg 4x12, not sure what speakers are in it. I really love this little amp though. Considering changing the pre-amp tubes...you know....for the hell of it. But I really don't have any issues with the sound. Maybe, to beat a dead horse into the ground, it's a touch on the "dark" side...but only a touch...and it's hardly a turn off.
> 
> Thanks again for the info guys. It's great to know people who know things



i bought my head used, the guy had it plugged into an old ampeg 4x12, same as you i dont know what it was loaded with but that cab sounded great. 

it is a little dark. i also find it can use a little bump in the 200 to 400hz. +2 or 3 dB on an external eq brings some nice bottom into the mix


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## minerman

Riffraff said:


> No problem Sir. It sounded like you needed a little vacuum tube pick me up and I was down to the bottom of the box so you won the grunge rock era Shunguan sweepstakes.


 

No work tomorrow, so I'll be trying these out in the morning Riff, thanks again, really nice of ya.....


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## Riffraff

Looks like I'll have some tube testing time too...........when I'm not shoveling. Just looked outside.  And it's still coming down sideways. I bet this is going to play hell with my flight out Monday.


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## minerman

The tubes you sent me sound great Riff, better than the stock EH/Egnater tubes that came in the amp....I put one in V1 & V3, left the stock tube in V2....stil running the stock power tubes too (I had to back out on the Russian 6P3S tubes because of my wife's surgery....we have insurance, but with the new year came the new deductible, plus our 20% had to be paid up front which put us in a bind financially to say the least....sorry to go off topic there....), but I can tell a difference with the new tubes......

Seems to have a little more gain than before, & the low end doesn't flub out, which is exactly what you told me the 5751's would do......very happy with 'em Riff, thanks again!!!!!!

I've found my T15 is a better match with my Greenback than it is with my V30 cab, while the V30 does sound good, I think the GB just sounds better all around with this little amp.....

Again, the 5751's sound great, & make a noticable difference in the tone, so thanks again for sending 'em Riff!!!!!


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## Riffraff

You're welcome, glad you like them. I went through a bunch of preamp combinations this weekend too trying to get the sweetest Fender tone I could with a Strat. 

'78 Fender labeled GE 12AX7/7025
'66 Amxperex Bugleboy labeled Mullard 12AT7
60's Ratheon 12AU7
'62 Sylvania 12AX7 long plates
'94 National/Shunguan 5751's
Sovtek 12AX7A
Sovtek 12AX7B
JJ ECC803S Gold Pins

In the end I settled on a Sovtek 12AX7B in V1 and a Sylvania long plate in V3.....go figure. It wasn't a clean test though. I was running a boost & EQ in front and was re-amping the T15H through my little stereo rig. I'm sure I would have gotten different results if I had run straight in. It sounds damn fine so they will stay in for now. One interesting discovery, the JJ ECC803S tubes have a really large glass envelope compared to other tubes. The tube shield barely fits over it.


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## minerman

Here's a few tones I recorded this weeked, nothing special, just some shitty playing through my Tweaker, Greenback cab (ISO box), & '57 mic about an inch from the grill, about where the cap meets the cone.....


Strat neck pickup, going for a SRV/Texas blues crunch thing. Tweaker settings were Vintage, volume: 8-9, USA (fender tonestack), treble: 8, mid: 5, bass: 7, clean, gain: 10, bright, tight. I had the guitar's volume rolled off to around 7-8, & the tone about the same (7-8):

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12161180

Ibanez bridge pickup, rolling the volume knob, the very last part has a Boss Super OD as a clean boost, you can actually hear me step on the pedal. This is the "Clean" channel of the Tweaker with the 5751 tubes:

Modern, volume: 6-7, Brit (marshall tonestack), treble: 9, mid: 5, bass: 10, clean, gain: 10, bright, tight

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12161182


Same thing on this clip, Ibanez volume knob thing, but using the "Hot" channel of the Tweaker, & the very last part has the Boss OD as a clean boost:

Modern, volume: 6-7, Brit (marshall tonestack), treble: 9, mid: 5, bass: 10, hot, gain: 10, bright, tight



http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12161183


With the 5751 tubes, the "clean" channel has enough gain for me, & I can always use a boost pedal if it isn't. The "hot" channel just has too much gain unless you turn it down, it's just too much. It looses clarity & definition with the gain dimed on the "hot" channel......

So, I like the new tubes quite a bit, to me there's a really noticeable difference in the sound, not a whole lot more gain, but enough to where I can notice the difference......

Really happy with my amp/cab setup at the moment, wish I'd bought the T15 to start with instead of the Blackstar, but live & learn......

Lemme know what you guys think......off to work I go......

Thanks again for the tubes Riff!!!!!


----------



## brp

So last night I had my first chance ever to jam the Tweaker with a band (drums, bass, vox).
It performed great, no problem at all with volume. I didn't know where to start at so put both pre and master to 1 o'clock, with my OFA SD-1 boosting.
And right away the drummer was like "oh that's too loud, I can't even hear my drums or the bass at all" He's not super hard hitting though.
So not a prob for volume with this band setting anyway.

After a bit of tweaking, the tone was fantastic. I agree it was a bit dark, more so than I'd noticed playing at home. As soon as the band kicked in I noticed though. A bit of EQ tweaking and it was better.

I should point out that I was using 2 separate 1x12" cabs; the Tweaker 112x made for the Tweaker 15 (G12H-30 70th) and a converted combo cab w/ a Celestion G12M-70 in it. Next time I think I'll take a 2X12 and that might help a bit as the bottom was a bit lacking IMO.
The Les Paul was very Les Paul-ish though and the band seemed very impressed with the sound and were commenting on the Tweaker's impressive tone so I guess they were happy. They asked me to come back anyway.

If this band gig looks like it's going to work out, I might be tempted to get a Tweaker 40 head, as I might need the channel switching and clean headroom, and the bypassable loop switch would be great to have.
Might get a used DSL though, gonna have to think hard about it. Also keeping an eye on DirtySteve's Blades build, might go that way eventually as well.

All in all, the Tweaker passed the band jam test and got better as the night went on. 2 thumbs up!


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## Riffraff

Clip two, clip two!!!

Nice, they sound good. I agree with you, clean with the gain up is where it's at and boosted brings it right thrashland. Nice Midrange bite.  I'm digging that Greenback tone. I really miss my old 425A cab now. I knew that would happen sooner or later. I liked that cab better than the head. If I had room for it I would have kept that.

I got some more vintage glass on the way: a pair of 6K6GT's and another 12AX7A to try. I also grabed a few loctal pre's for my Masco and a spare 6X4 rectifier for my 1482's. I got a deal on them so I figured why not. 

Maybe I shoud stop Tweaking and start playing.


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## scat7s

riffraff, how do you like that old masco? 

a couple models are supposed to be a holy grail of harp amps. i have/had one, a flea market treasure for 30 bucks. its now a JTM45 clone. 

mine was a 35w PA originally.... cant remember the model number, it looked indentical to yours but it was a larger chassis with more knobs on the front. 

yours looks like its in great shape cosmetically.

the 35w had tons of tubes in it, lots of oddball shit. but, it has 6L6 power, and the 5AR4 rectifier, so, a great donor for a vintage marshall copy.


----------



## RiverRatt

Riffraff, I got my 5751's the other day and I've been meaning to post a review. I got a JMP1C last Friday though, and that's been my obsession ever since. I'm looking forward to trying them out and I'll give them a review, hopefully this weekend.

Riffraff has some cool old amps. I got a Silvertone 1483 head awhile back that I haven't had a use for yet. I found an old Gorilla TC amp for like $10 and I think it's going to host the 1483 chassis. The head box was too far gone for salvage. I'm going to have to cram a lot of controls into a single panel to get it working, but it should be a killer amp when I get it done.


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## Riffraff

scat7s, from what I've seen the MA17 is the holy grail of harp amps. It's got that 50's Chicago blues tone in spades. I sent my Masco to Skip Simmons for the full treatment about a mounth ago so I'll let you know what it's like when I get it back. I was going to do the conversion myself but read so much good stuff about his work with Masco's that I just decided to give it to the master. It's a MA25P so it's 25w, dual 6L6 with a 5U4G rectifier, 7B4 & 7N7 octal pre's. We talked about making one channel clean with big fat bottom compliments of the giant old iron and voicing the other with a more Bassman/JTM45 bite. Skip usually jumpers the channels internally so you can blend or run them seperately by using the volume controls. I asked him to make mine a 4-holer so I can externally jumper it instead if I want like my 1482's. That way I can put time based effects in between channels. I expect it will be awesome.

RiverRatt, Congrats on the little JMP. They look like a blast. You are going to like that 1483 when you get it done. I hear it's a poorman's 18 watt Marshall so it will be a screamer as well. I love my Silvertones. They can be crisp and chimey clean with your guitar's volume low but then turn into absolute fire breathers when you turn it up. They LOVE pedals too.


----------



## scat7s

> scat7s, from what I've seen the MA17 is the holy grail of harp amps. It's got that 50's Chicago blues tone in spades. I sent my Masco to Skip Simmons for the full treatment about a mounth ago so I'll let you know what it's like when I get it back. I was going to do the conversion myself but read so much good stuff about his work with Masco's that I just decided to give it to the master. It's a MA25P so it's 25w, dual 6L6 with a 5U4G rectifier, 7B4 & 7N7 octal pre's. We talked about making one channel clean with big fat bottom compliments of the giant old iron and voicing the other with a more Bassman/JTM45 bite. Skip usually jumpers the channels internally so you can blend or run them seperately by using the volume controls. I asked him to make mine a 4-holer so I can externally jumper it instead if I want like my 1482's. That way I can put time based effects in between channels. I expect it will be awesome.


 
aaaahhh, cool. ive heard of skip when i was looking for info on mine. you also jogged my memory, mine must be the MA-35 model. and yeah, those 7xxx octals....odd stuff. 

cool man, 1950's iron, hells yeah...i hope you like when its done.

oh, ps, i still have all of those tubes from the masco. if you give me a run down of the preamp tubes in yours, i can probably help you out with a couple spares. i have the original tubes that came with it, and NOS replacements that i ordered from tube depot before i decided to just gut it, and build the JTM. i cant envision ever having a need for these oddball tubes, so if you want them, give a shout.


----------



## johnfv

We've kinda morphed this thread into the "Riffraff's Chinese 5751" thread so I figure I'll jump in. I bought 2 of them. I don't notice much of a drop in gain compared to my 12AX7s. I was surprised that the tone is relatively dark - different from any Chinese tube I'd ever heard for sure (although they still have a certain grit and grind I expect from a Chinese tube). I decided to put one in a place where dark tone could do some good - the V1 in my JCA20H. A good improvement over the Sovtek 5751 I had in there for sure. I also tried one in the Bad Cat Cougar 15, didn't like it so much there because it took away some of the top end "sparkle" that amp has. Haven't tried anywhere else yet. Overall, I like them - some interesting tubes to have in the stash. As always, YMMV...


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## pastorkev777

armandodiaz said:


> OK so after 3yrs my T15 is sounding a little muddy. I'm thinking of upgrading all the tubes. The consensus seems to be the 6P3S to replace the 6V6GTA is there any brand thats preferred over the others? How about everything else..... V1, V2, V3.


I am new to this thread and own a Egnater Tweaker 15h I recently put Tungsol 6v6s in it and they are awesome they beat out my vintage GE black plate 6v6s. As a note I use a JJ ecc83s in v1, a RCA black plate 5751 in v2 and a MIT Raytheon in v3. For more crunch I would suggest a JJ6ca7. Have fun tone hunting. -PK


----------



## pastorkev777

johnfv said:


> We've kinda morphed this thread into the "Riffraff's Chinese 5751" thread so I figure I'll jump in. I bought 2 of them. I don't notice much of a drop in gain compared to my 12AX7s. I was surprised that the tone is relatively dark - different from any Chinese tube I'd ever heard for sure (although they still have a certain grit and grind I expect from a Chinese tube). I decided to put one in a place where dark tone could do some good - the V1 in my JCA20H. A good improvement over the Sovtek 5751 I had in there for sure. I also tried one in the Bad Cat Cougar 15, didn't like it so much there because it took away some of the top end "sparkle" that amp has. Haven't tried anywhere else yet. Overall, I like them - some interesting tubes to have in the stash. As always, YMMV...


I use a vintage RCA black plate 5751 in v2 it sounds great in all positions not enough bass and meat in v1 but add smoothness and richness to my sound.

To hear this amp set this way in action check my reverb nation, Kevin Wilder Music, Lyrics, Songs, and Videos


----------



## Riffraff

I ditched the whole load box, low volume re-amping thing and got it up loud. Naturally that changed everything. The Sovtek 12AX7B got kicked to the curb. I kept the Sylvania long plate in V3. The Shunguan 5751 was actually a very strong contender for the V1 slot. It's rather nice when you open the amp up and let it breath a little. It came down to a showdown between the 5751 and a GE long plate. In the end I settled for the long plate because it sounds great in both high and low volume settings. The Shunguan gets a little hairy with the MV set below 5 but sounds fantastic from 6 up so it will certainly be back again. 



pastorkev777 said:


> I use a vintage RCA black plate 5751 in v2 it sounds great in all positions not enough bass and meat in v1 but add smoothness and richness to my sound.
> 
> To hear this amp set this way in action check my reverb nation, Kevin Wilder Music, Lyrics, Songs, and Videos



V2 is just for the loop so you can really use any 12AX7 there. V1 will effect your tone the most, V3 has some tone effect too but in this case is your phase inverter. It passes the signal to the power tubes in your amp. Experimenting with 12AX7, 5751, 12AT7, 12AY7, 12AU7 and so one can change your gain character, provide more or less headroom, smoother spongier drive or tighter harder edge drive. A low gain tube here like a 12AU7 will actually drop your volume.


----------



## pastorkev777

Riffraff said:


> I ditched the whole load box, low volume re-amping thing and got it up loud. Naturally that changed everything. The Sovtek 12AX7B got kicked to the curb. I kept the Sylvania long plate in V3. The Shunguan 5751 was actually a very strong contender for the V1 slot. It's rather nice when you open the amp up and let it breath a little. It came down to a showdown between the 5751 and a GE long plate. In the end I settled for the long plate because it sounds great in both high and low volume settings. The Shunguan gets a little hairy with the MV set below 5 but sounds fantastic from 6 up so it will certainly be back again.
> 
> 
> 
> V2 is just for the loop so you can really use any 12AX7 there. V1 will effect your tone the most, V3 has some tone effect too but in this case is your phase inverter. It passes the signal to the power tubes in your amp. Experimenting with 12AX7, 5751, 12AT7, 12AY7, 12AU7 and so one can change your gain character, provide more or less headroom, smoother spongier drive or tighter harder edge drive. A low gain tube here like a 12AU7 will actually drop your volume.


Yeah the v1 position is the way to make the biggest tone change with the preamp, I at this moment use a JJ ecc83s for even frequency, fairly smooth sound and good low end response. I am considering a jj gold ecc803 or a jj gold 12at7 or 12au7. I want a spongier, smoother gain sound.


----------



## pastorkev777

I have question regarding the 6p3s, how do they sound, are they like 6l6s? -PK


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## Riffraff

pastorkev777 said:


> I have question regarding the 6p3s, how do they sound, are they like 6l6s? -PK



Yes, very similar.


----------



## Riffraff

Just stumbled onto this piece of information from Bruce himself. I didn't know you could do this. It seems plug & play tube swaps with a variety of octal power tubes isn't the only non-advertised feature the T15 has.



bruce egnater said:


> Actually you can connect the Tweaker as you described but with a few caveats. You MUST keep the master volume at '0'. You do not need to connect a load/speaker to the Tweaker because there is some internal protection under those conditions. Failure to have the Master at '0' could possibly damage the amp so you will do this at your own risk/peril. There will be another minor complication. Since the Master volume is after the loop, when you use the send to go to the other amp, you will not have a master volume knob. The way the "big guys" safely slave small amps into big amps is to use a load box on the little amp with a line out to go to the other amp. That way you get the full tone and functions of the small amp from the line out on the load box. In the case of the Tweaker, so much of the cranked tone is contributed by the poweramp/tubes, I'm afraid you will be missing some of the juiciness of the power amp from the effects end out. Because the Tweaker is only 15 watts, you don't need a very high power load box. Check THD, Weber, BadCat etc for a suitable load box.



So if you set your Tweaker's MV at zero you can run from the efx out of Tweaker to the efx in of another amp or a power amp and use it's preamp section without the need to connect a load to the Tweaker. Wow, I didn't know this. I have two attenuators and wouldn't need to do this but it's good information for those that don't and want to try the Tweaker's preamp through another power amp.


----------



## scat7s

that is good to know, but id feel safer with a dummy load connected

btw, sorry riff, i forgot to check those tubes yesterday...i'll get back to you soon, promise!


----------



## brp

Had another jam w/ the Tweaker last night. Used the 2X12 this time (JCA24S+) and it was an improvement in the lows for sure. Had it in sealed back mode, whereas both the 1X12's I was using before are partial open back.

The boys in the rhythm section are mucho impressed with the Tweaker 15h and had many positive comments. I think they're a bit blown away that such a tiny box made such a sound. I don't think they've had much if any exposure or experience w/ the "lunchbox amps".


----------



## Riffraff

scat7s said:


> that is good to know, but id feel safer with a dummy load connected
> 
> btw, sorry riff, i forgot to check those tubes yesterday...i'll get back to you soon, promise!



Dude, don't worry about it. I'm pretty sure your amp was originally loaded with (4) 7C7's and (1) 7N7 anyway unless it was modified or loaded with the wrong tubes. Mine takes (2) 7B4's and (2) 7N7's. The 7B4's are the first gain stage. I bought a spare 7B4, 7N7 & 7F7 off of an antique radio guy two weeks ago just to have in my tube bin as spares. The radio guy had a huge list of vintage tubes he was selling at very reasonable prices so I picked up some loctals with the other stuff I got from him. The 3 of them were less than $10 total so figured why not.  I got a 7F7 to try in place of one of the 7N7's because they are a direct replacement with a little higher gain. It might be interesting in the phase inverter slot. Hopefully I'll be hearing from Skip soon. He said it would be about a month before he got to it. I'm definitely looking forward to the test drive.


----------



## RiverRatt

pastorkev777 said:


> I have question regarding the 6p3s, how do they sound, are they like 6l6s? -PK



I agree with RiffRaff, but I think there's more happening there than just 6L6 tones though. I've run pretty much everything except 6550's in that amp and I keep going back to the 6P3S. It's like if you took the best tone characteristics from all the octal tubes and rolled them into one.

I have another very tweakable amp now that I've been running 12AT7's and similar tubes in the power section of. It's one of the JMP1C 50th Anniversary amps. You can run anything from a 12AU7 to a 12AX7, although it doesn't seem to like those two as much as something that's closer in performance to a 12AT7. It takes two power tubes but they don't even have to match. You could run a 12AU7 and a 12AT7 or any combination of the common B9A preamp tubes. Hell, you can even pull one of the power tubes for super-low volume. I actually tried a 12DW7 alongside a 6201 (ruggedized 12AT7) and it sounded great. Right now I'm running two matched Sylvania 12BH7A power tubes, same as Blackstar uses in their low-watt amps. Oh yes...


----------



## Riffraff

Nice! Even the cream of the crop vintage branded 12AT7's are fairly inexpensive. I picked up this Bugleboy labled Blackburn Mullard for $20 a few months ago. 






I see US made versions going for less than $10 a copy all the time. Hell you can usually grab NIB tubes in groups of 5 or more for $20. They are a very common tube in old organs and they used a boatload of them which is one of the reasons why there are so many out there. I can certainly see how that could lead to a tube swapping obsession.  There's another reason why those little 1 watters are so cool.


----------



## AudioWonderland

Riffraff said:


> Just stumbled onto this piece of information from Bruce himself. I didn't know you could do this. It seems plug & play tube swaps with a variety of octal power tubes isn't the only non-advertised feature the T15 has.
> 
> 
> 
> So if you set your Tweaker's MV at zero you can run from the efx out of Tweaker to the efx in of another amp or a power amp and use it's preamp section without the need to connect a load to the Tweaker. Wow, I didn't know this. I have two attenuators and wouldn't need to do this but it's good information for those that don't and want to try the Tweaker's preamp through another power amp.



Perhaps but that seems dangerous. One band mate trying to "help" and your amp is fried.


----------



## AudioWonderland

What setup/settings are you guys using for Vox type sounds. I have not had much luck dialing those in.


----------



## RiverRatt

Roll the bass & treble completely off and dime the mids, use the Hot gain switch and dial in some raunch.


----------



## scat7s

RiverRatt said:


> Roll the bass & treble completely off and dime the mids, use the Hot gain switch and dial in some raunch.


 

i generally run vox or marshall mode, with the vox i do bump up the mids...but anyway, this is my formula

treble 8-10, mids about 5 to 7, bass 8-10, clean setting, with the gain about 5 or 6, maybe less depending on how hard im driving the power section. but generally, i find the master about 6 to 8 is the "sweet spot" to me. 

im running 75's and v-30s in two 2x12 cabs. 

i find the tone a little light in the 200 to 400Hz range when running in "tight" mode, which i prefer on this amp, so i use a boss ge7 bumping only those freqs about + 2 or 3 dB.


----------



## Riffraff

AudioWonderland said:


> Perhaps but that seems dangerous. One band mate trying to "help" and your amp is fried.



Yeah I hear ya. I was kind of surprised by Bruce's post. I didn't know it was possible. I've got a Hotplate and a Minimass 50 so I won't be attempting the loadless reamp next time I want to run wet/dry/wet.


----------



## brp

AudioWonderland said:


> Perhaps but that seems dangerous. One band mate trying to "help" and your amp is fried.



Ya, in a band or recording (anything with other people around) setting, I'd highly recommend putting a piece of tape over the master with "do not touch ever!" written on it when doing this setup.

Or even when only you are using it and leave it set up that way, so you don't come back in 2 days and out of habit turn up the master while trying to power things up cuz you forgot you're running it as a preamp.


----------



## AudioWonderland

I think I may be putting the 6V6's back in my Tweaker. I switched to EH EL34's to bring out a little more of the "Marshall" in this amp. It does do that but it also seems to bring the low end out even more which this amp does NOT need through closed back cabs IMO at least.


----------



## scat7s

AudioWonderland said:


> I think I may be putting the 6V6's back in my Tweaker. I switched to EH EL34's to bring out a little more of the "Marshall" in this amp. It does do that but it also seems to bring the low end out even more which this amp does NOT need through closed back cabs IMO at least.


 
i like the 6v6/ 6L6 types in this amp too. 

give her a little boost in the 200-400Hz to get that full lower midrange audible.

once you hear it, you'll go "oh yeah, there it is"


----------



## RiverRatt

AudioWonderland said:


> I think I may be putting the 6V6's back in my Tweaker. I switched to EH EL34's to bring out a little more of the "Marshall" in this amp. It does do that but it also seems to bring the low end out even more which this amp does NOT need through closed back cabs IMO at least.



I don't know why it is, but IMO EL34's work better with single-coils than humbuckers. However, I've not found any EL34 that really sounds good in the T15 no matter what the pickups. If you have access to a pair of old Tung-Sol 5881's, they are about as close as you can get to a Brit EL34 sound.


----------



## RiverRatt

Check out what my Tweaker can do!


----------



## pastorkev777

Are those 6l6ga's or kt66's? I want a cleaner, sbigger and richer sound so I am between RCA metal 6l6's, Vintage 6l6g, ga or gb and a 6p3s. I just bought a NOS RCA black plate long plate 12au7 for v1 and will probably buy a set of RCA blackplate 12av7s also, I am bidding on a GE longplate blackplate 12ax7 right now.


----------



## scat7s

i just dumped some 5881's in mine. 

i like.


----------



## pastorkev777

Anyone familar with Saratov 6p6s tubes, a 6v6 sub? I am probably going to buy some metal RCA 6l6 tubes for my Egnater Tweaker 15h.


----------



## RiverRatt

I've been wanting to try the 6P6S, but I don't want to buy a lot of them. I've heard it said that the Russians never built a good-sounding 6V6 but that may have been the more recent production tubes. I don't think that you're going to find anything that is a big improvement over the 6P3S. They do everything well. 

The older RCA 6L6 varieties will clip earlier and sound warm and a bit compressed. I've used the G/GA/GB versions and the G's were my favorites. The GB's are good but don't really do anything that a GC doesn't do better. I agree with scat, 5881's are one of my favorite tubes in my Tweaker. I actually have a NOS pair of ceramic (metal) 6L6's but I don't want to get rid of them. They are kinda creepy - I like to see what's going on in there. KT66's are good, but they change the character of the amp more than any other tubes I've tried except for this one pair (see below).

BTW, those are 6550's in that photo above. They were interesting but ultimately one of those experiments that just didn't go anywhere. The tone was somewhere between a pile driver and a chainsaw.


----------



## AudioWonderland

Have any of you tried removing the 4 snubber caps? Found an old thread on TGP about this mod. Its supposed to open up and brighten up the sound when Hot mode is engaged.

Egnater tweaker 15 mods.....if any... - The Gear Page


----------



## scat7s

one of these days im going to map out the schematic on this amp. ive been saying that for a while, but there are a couple of things i think id like to do. 

for instance, i like the "tight" mode, but it lacks bottom end response. in "loose" mode, it can get flabby. id like to find a better balance. big and bottomy without getting too flabby. 

those snubbers are probably only necessary if your running with the gain pegged out. i think they install those to eliminate oscillation and parasitic feedback.


----------



## minerman

Finally had a day off work to actually try out the Mullard I won in the "Big Fat A" contest, & I realize now what I've been missing all along...I put it in V1, left V2 with a stock EH/Egnater, & one of the 5751's that Riff Raff sent me....the highs are still there, to me more "rounded", but still has the "bite" that I like. Seems to have a little more bass, and overall, it just sounds better, more "musical" & less "stiff" to me...Haven't tried it through my 1x12 Greenback cab yet, but through the Orange PPC112 (V30), it just sounds great!!!!!

Thanks to Alan, Marty, & Riff Raff for helping me out with the different tubes!!!!!

And, I think it's safe to say, this is only the beginning of my tube rolling adventures....


----------



## RiverRatt

I've got you a good package ready to go out tomorrow. I'll send you the tracking number. You should have them by mid-week. You can go ahead and start making preparations to be blown away if you want.


----------



## minerman

Thanks Alan,
I appreciate you sending the power tubes instead of the 12ax7, & I hope it might've saved you a little $$$ by doing so, as I know all too well how rough it can be financially sometimes....

Had a few more hours with the amp today, & I'm still amazed a simple tube swap can alter the tone so much, but, that's what everyone here has been telling me all this time....

Pretty stoked about the tubes Alan, & I already know I'm off this coming weekend too (Easter), so, I'll have another full weekend to play around with the tubes to find a combo that I like the best........

Thanks again for all your help Alan, if it weren't for you, I might not have even bought the T15, so thanks!!!!!


----------



## scat7s

> And, I think it's safe to say, this is only the beginning of my tube rolling adventures....


----------



## Riffraff

So true. I've gotten 3 tube shipments in the last week alone. My wife is beginning to think i've lost my mind. Hey, they were all deals i just couldn' pass up.


----------



## RiverRatt

Riffraff, you sound like you're about to be in the same boat as me. Have you started combing the local antique and junk stores yet for old electronics? I keep an ad in my newspaper for tubes, tube amplifiers and tube testers. It pays off big sometimes. There are more tubes still around in old audio equipment or grandpa's workshop. It's hard to explain to some of those antique mall people why their old hi-fi console is only worth the wholesale value of the tubes in it.

I have a friend who talks about this huge swap meet that he's gone to before. They would take all those pretty maple and birch consoles and rip all the speakers, tubes, transformers, chassis, knobs, anything useful out of them; then they'd pile up all the wood and have a huge bonfire.


----------



## Riffraff

RiverRatt said:


> They would take all those pretty maple and birch consoles and rip all the speakers, tubes, transformers, chassis, knobs, anything useful out of them; then they'd pile up all the wood and have a huge bonfire.



I completely understand this.  I haven't gotten to the ad in the paper status yet but I do scan Craigslist for old amps, tubes, testers, old radio equipment, and anything that might have my bounty in them. That's how I wound up with my Silvertone's and my Masco. I've got a nice big burn pit that can easily handle an organ stripped of it's amp, tubes and speakers and would have no problem torching one. Most of my recent tube scores have been coming from the boat anchor guys. I would probably try selling off any decent radios to them first since they are as rabid over them as we are over amps.....it's only right. It's hard to look away when someone is thinning the herd at $2 - $5 a tube. The Valvecaster boost I recently built was something I stumbled over while searching for justification for buying a pile of 12AU7 & 12BH7's that someone was selling off at $1.25 a copy. I just couldn't look away. Just the other night, as I was huddled over the coffee table with a soldering iron in hand....picking through components that I had spread everywhere and breathing in the stink of solder smoke while spouting off about how cool this was, my wife told me that she didn't know she had married Poindexter. I told her "We all have our obsessions. You have dog rescue, I have tube rescue." When I came home last night she said "no packages for you today". I laughed a guilty laugh thinking about three more that are on the way.


----------



## minerman

Got a bunch of goodies from Alan today, can't say enough about him, very, very nice guy, that has sent me a butt-load of tubes to play around with. He told me to "be prepared to be blown away", but I never expected all this.....

So, I know what I'll be doing for the next few days!!!!!!!!

Thanks Alan!!!!!!


----------



## brp

Riffraff said:


> So true. I've gotten 3 tube shipments in the last week alone. My wife is beginning to think i've lost my mind. Hey, they were all deals i just couldn' pass up.



My wife actually asks me "how many tubes does each amp take? And how many amps do you have? So that's more tubes you have there than the amps even need wtf is that about?"

You guys get me.


----------



## minerman

I had a little while to try out the tubes Alan & Marty sent, & I have to say, I'm impressed with this setup...

Mullard-V1, GE-V2, Sylvania-V3, with the 6P3S power tubes are what I have running right now, & it's definitely made a difference in the sound & feel.....

With the stock power tubes, the amp just "flubs" out the higher I cranked the master volume, once I got it to a certain point, nothing really changed tone wise, but with the 6P3S's, to me, it's like a completely different amp. 

Dunno if the stock power tubes are crap or what, but those Russian tubes are a big, big difference to my ears.....

I haven't had time to try the other power tubes, but I'll get around to it probably this weekend, & I'll try to make some clips with 'em......

Wanna tell Alan & Marty a big, big thank you for sending me these tubes, as they've made a huge difference in my little setup.....

I know the tone-chase is a never ending thing, but for now, I'm really happy with the tones I'm getting from my amp, & I've really only had time to mess around with it.....

Thanks again to Alan & Marty, you guys rock!!!


----------



## Riffraff

Minerman, great to hear you are gettin' tube fever like the rest of us. See the trouble the Tweaker has started. 

That sounds like a damn fine cocktail you have in there. I just pulled my big bottle Ruskie's and stuck in an old Sylvania 6V6 set in mine. I've got a GE 5 star in V1, a Fender labeled RCA in V2 and the same Baldwin labeled long plate Sylvania in V3 as you. I just got a set of Delco labeld 6V6GT's and want to give them a shot next. I've turned my tube swappin' attention to something else for the moment.

Puttin' some recently acquired tubes to work.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_0vt802HYo]Valvecaster Boost with 12BH7 tube - YouTube[/ame]

My Tweaker loves this pedal. I think I just built my new #1. That was in USA mode because I'm hooked on that glassy, crisp tone but it kills in Brit mode too. The pedal gives my Tweaker a *HUGE* kick square in the ass. I've been locked in on the Strat. I've gotta break out the Lester and take it for a spin. This thing kicks ass! Now even my pedals have to have tubz.


----------



## scat7s

dude, mine hasnt come off my board since i finished it. always on type of pedal. i can dial in just as much hair as i want.


----------



## Riffraff

Tell me about it, I love this thing. I need MORE!!!  Got tubes o'plenty standing by.


----------



## scat7s

i almost think ive found that place where its clean and dirty at the same time. 


ive thought this before though. some elusive tone or balance you only catch glimpses of....


----------



## Riffraff

*YES*, it's definitely like that. It's excellent at the edge of break up thing with my Tweaker. I actually set the gain higher in my clip than I normally do so you could hear the difference when I engaged the pedal in the video. I did it because even though I was getting a huge difference there in the room it didn't transfer so well on the video. I made a clip I actually liked better tone wise but didn't upload it because you could barely tell the difference in the video. In the room the difference was massive. Normally I set mine so it's clean and chimey if I play lightly but get's that shimmering light gain when I dig in a little. The Tweaker itself is pretty dynamic this way and the Valvecaster makes it even more so. I've tried a lot of pedals with my T15 to get this and my favorite up until now has been my Route 66. I even bought a used BD2 and a Monte Allums kit hoping to get closer but this pedal nails it dead on.


----------



## minerman

Been changing out the pre-amp tubes today, & love what I'm hearing. I swapped the GE & Mullard (put the GE in V1/Mullard in V3) just to try 'em out, & holy hell it sounds great!!! I still have the 6P3S power tubes in, & haven't even tried the other yet. With this setup, I think it's got kind of a plexi-ish sound, but it's probably mostly the power tubes, as I've got the master at about 8-9, & the gain on about 3 on the "hot" channel.....

I've been recording some short, simple little clips with different tubes in different slots, I'll post 'em up in a little while.....

Wanna say thanks again to Alan & Marty for sending the tubes!!!!! 

I'm having a blast over here!!!!!


----------



## RiverRatt

The 6P3S were made for the Tweaker 15. I'm digging mine with the 5992 in it but there's some indefinable mojo with a nice pair of 6P3S. Sounds like you've figured that out, too!


----------



## minerman

Thanks Alan, I'm lovin' the tubes so far, but you've been right all along, the 6P3S tubes are a perfect match for the T15.....

I did try the RCA 6V6GT's & while they do sound good, I still think the 6P3S's top 'em.....


I can't decide which one to leave in V1 though, they all sound great....
Thanks again man, really happy with all the tubes!!!!


----------



## minerman

Thanks again to Alan & Marty for sending the tubes, I've really gave 'em a workout today, & the 6P3S's aren't going anywhere. The 6V6GT & 6K6's are really nice too, but they just don't compare to the 6P3S's, especially for the style of music I play....

I think I've settled on this:
V1: Mullard
V2: GE
V3: Sylvania
6P3S power tubes

With these settings:
Modern
Master: 7-8
Brit
Treble: 8-9
Mid: 4-5
Bass: 10
Clean
Bright
Tight

Give the amp a little push with my Strat (H-S-S, bridge p'up) > SD-1 as a clean boost, through the Orange PPC112 (V30), & it sounds great!!!


I did try the different 12ax7's in each different slot, & they all sound great, but I think the Mullard has just a chunkier bottom compared to the other 2 in V1.....

Anyone tried the JOYO pedals with their Tweaker??? I've read mixed reviews about 'em, how close are they to the Carl Martin Plexitone pedal??? There's almost $150 difference in the price, does the price reflect the difference in the pedals????

Thanks again guys, having a blast over here, the weekend's winding down, but I'm trying to keep it going as long as I can over here.......


----------



## minerman

Here's short clip of what I've been up to this weekend, it's not finished yet, but just wanted to let you guys hear my little Tweaker in action...

Look over the playing, as it's just scratch leads, I'll do the "real" tracks when I get the vocals recorded.....

Lemme know what you guys think....


*http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12249949*

And, again, thanks to Alan & Marty for the tubes, you guys have created a tube monster over here....


----------



## scat7s

miner, your V2 slot is the loop. i dont think you'll find any diff tonally no matter what tube you throw in that slot. 

that is unless you are ultilizing the loop, and even then, its probably quite subtle. you may want to consider that slot for your less valuable preamp tubes. ymmv


----------



## solarburn

minerman said:


> Here's short clip of what I've been up to this weekend, it's not finished yet, but just wanted to let you guys hear my little Tweaker in action...
> 
> Look over the playing, as it's just scratch leads, I'll do the "real" tracks when I get the vocals recorded.....
> 
> Lemme know what you guys think....
> 
> 
> *http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12249949*
> 
> And, again, thanks to Alan & Marty for the tubes, you guys have created a tube monster over here....



I think I like it a lot!


----------



## minerman

Thanks for the heads-up scat, but I already knew V2 was for the loop. Alan suggested the GE there, as I still have & use my X3Live's modulation, delay, & reverb fx in the loop from time to time, but I may stick one of the stock EH/Egnater pre's back in there to save wear/tear on the better tube(s)....

Thanks for the listen Solar, I actually have the daw running right now trying some new/different sounds before I head off to work (what a damn dirty word)....


----------



## johnfv

Good rockin clip Minerman! I agree the 63PS is the best tube I've tried in the Tweaker, they also work great in my JCA Pico Valve. Alan achieved hero status when he found those


----------



## brp

I've used 2 Joyo drives (Vintage Overdrive & British Sound) w/ the Tweaker 15h and they're both quite tasty. I prefer the British Sound for it's high level of tweakability but the V.O. IS a lot more straight forward and idiot proof.
Can't compare it to the plexidrive for you though.

The OFA SD-1 is best though, as one might expect.


----------



## RiverRatt

James, you're getting some killer tones outta that Tweaker! 

If anybody runs across a single 5992 power tube, I'm looking for one to (hopefully) match the one I have. Running alongside a regular 6V6GT in the Tweaker, it sounds really good!


----------



## shooto

minerman said:


> Here's short clip of what I've been up to this weekend, it's not finished yet, but just wanted to let you guys hear my little Tweaker in action...
> 
> Look over the playing, as it's just scratch leads, I'll do the "real" tracks when I get the vocals recorded.....
> 
> Lemme know what you guys think....
> 
> 
> *http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12249949*
> 
> And, again, thanks to Alan & Marty for the tubes, you guys have created a tube monster over here....


 
^ that was a really great clip


----------



## shooto

hey Alan, I got some 63PSs from you a long time ago when I had a 15...couldn't get them to be balanced bias-wise so I never used them in the 15...have you tried them in a 40?


----------



## RiverRatt

No, but from the people on here who have owned a 40, you _have_ to bias them. The 15 doesn't have to be biased. I got the word straight from Egnater; you can run any common octal power tube in the Tweaker 15, and they don't have to be matched. I've tried running very unmatched tubes and comparing them against a matched pair of the same tubes. There's absolutely no difference that I can detect. You should have put thoe 6P3S in there and rocked out.


----------



## shooto

yes, I know you have to bias the 40...I've tried the original 6l6s, El34s, 6CA7s, KT77s and now have E34Ls in it...I don't know, I'd like to, but the drift between then bothers me...you know?...I feel like the amp is trying to lift a barbell with a strong arm and a weak arm...compensation is awkward and doesn't translate well into great tone-

thanks for letting me know if you've tried them in a 40


----------



## Riffraff

RiverRatt said:


> The 15 doesn't have to be biased. I got the word straight from Egnater; you can run any common octal power tube in the Tweaker 15, and they don't have to be matched. I've tried running very unmatched tubes and comparing them against a matched pair of the same tubes. There's absolutely no difference that I can detect. You should have put thoe 6P3S in there and rocked out.



That's what I love most about these. I'm constantly digging through my tube bin and slapping something different in there. I mostly stick with my 6P3S set but when I'm in the mood I've got a pile of Sylvania, RCA, Delco, Silvertone and other labeled 6V6GT, 6V6G & 6K6GT tubes that make the rounds. I got a new pair of JJ EL34's I got on a trade that I haven't tried yet but they will eventually find their way in there if I don't trade them for something else first. I'm going to wear those sockets out.


----------



## minerman

Riffraff said:


> That's what I love most about these. I'm constantly digging through my tube bin and slapping something different in there. I mostly stick with my 6P3S set but when I'm in the mood I've got a pile of Sylvania, RCA, Delco, Silvertone and other labeled 6V6GT, 6V6G & 6K6GT tubes that make the rounds. I got a new pair of JJ EL34's I got on a trade that I haven't tried yet but they will eventually find their way in there if I don't trade them for something else first. I'm going to wear those sockets out.


 
This is a big reason why I bought the Tweaker a few months ago, so I could do the tube rolling thing, without having to re-bias the amp. Now thanks to Alan & Marty, I have a few different tube flavors that I can choose from whenever I want the amp to have a different vibe/sound, with no worries....

The 6P3S have become my main set of power tubes though, while all the others sound good, the Russian tubes just have something different/special to my ears......

Thanks for the compliments on the last clip too guys, maybe someday I'll finish up a song instead of just posting clips....


----------



## RiverRatt

shooto said:


> yes, I know you have to bias the 40...I've tried the original 6l6s, El34s, 6CA7s, KT77s and now have E34Ls in it...I don't know, I'd like to, but the drift between then bothers me...you know?...I feel like the amp is trying to lift a barbell with a strong arm and a weak arm...compensation is awkward and doesn't translate well into great tone-
> 
> thanks for letting me know if you've tried them in a 40



Moose Lewis was the only person I know of on here who had a 15 and a 40. You can probably find his comments further back in the thread - I'm pretty sure he specifically discussed the 6P3S in that amp. I don't think he's been on here in a long time.


----------



## pastorkev777

I am between a set or 6p3s either 1970 or 1973 reflektor tubes or a quad of 6p3c's, what is your take? I will probably buy a set of RCA 6l6 metal tubes for the heck of it along with a mullard (old and new) 12ax7, Ei silver 12ax7, a Russian 12ax7vka and some speacial Ruby 12ax7s. I am running 2 Tungsol (new) 6v6s, v1 RCA blackplate longplate 12ax7, v2 jj 12ax7, v3 RCA blackplate longplate 12au7.


----------



## RiverRatt

I'm not sure what you mean with the 6P3C quad. I'm assuming they are 6P3S - there's not a 6P3C tube AFAIK, but the Cyrillic S is written as C. Sometimes you find sellers who will list their tubes as 6P3C or 6n3C. It's all the same. There is a 6P3S-E that isn't the same tube at all. They may sound wonderful, I've just never gotten around to trying them. Anyway, I think buying the four tubes is a good idea just so you'll have a spare set. 

How is that 12AU7 working for you in V3? I never did like running them in a guitar amp. I'm pretty much the opposite; I put a really high-gain 12AX7 in V3 (phase inverter). V2 is the FX loop driver and I don't think it matters much what you use there. 

A black plate RCA is a decent V1 tube, but there are better choices for the money IMO. We were just talking about that in the preamp thread. The NOS Mullard is always a solid performer and will sound better than anything on the list. I wouldn't bother with any Russian or Chinese 12AX7's if you already have a few to try. Don't believe the snake oil - they are all pretty much the same tube. The older Ei tubes are fine sounding and I've been running one in my Tweaker. I don't think the silver plate Ei are anywhere close to as good as the older ones with dark gray plates.

Don't expect anything earth-shattering with the metal 6L6. They aren't bad, but they don't have a lot of punch. There's no excuse for running JJ 6V6's in a Tweaker. They are probably the worst 6V6GT you can get. PM me your address and I'll be glad to send you a nice-sounding older pair of 6V6's. They are VERY common and I have a pretty good supply.


----------



## minerman

Listen to this guy pastorkev777, he knows what he's talking about with the Tweaker & the tubes......

Finally got around to using my Greenback cab with the new tube setup, & I have to say, it's a match made in heaven. Sure, the V30 sounds great, but the GB is better "matched" to the Tweaker, as it's more on the vintage sounding side (to my ears anyway......)...

Yet another thanks to Alan & Marty for the tubes, they're definitely getting used over here, thanks a bunch guys!!!!


----------



## pastorkev777

I am using the Tungsol 6v6 which sounds like my GE 6v6s I use a set of blackplate ge 6v6s with my Fender Excelsior and I may try my grey plate ge 6v6s in the tweaker again but I think they are low testers. I wouldn't mind a decent set. I like what the 12au7 does to the amps character, it softens the gain and allow the power tubes to work more. I really want to try a mullard 12ax7, I love the RCA 12ax7, I have a RCA blackplate longplate 5751 I like also. I like the chinese 12ax7s they work in some amps and sound ok in most amps.


----------



## RiverRatt

Yeah, the Chinese 12AX7's are my go-to current production tube as well. I was afraid the JJ's were the only 6V6's that you had. The offer still stands though... I can send you a nice 6V6 pair... they are doing me no good at all. I can't remember what I'm running in my DRRI; I think it may be a pair of RCA black plates. I was using a couple of "silver top" Sylvanias that tested way high. 

If you like the 12AU7 in your amp, that's fine. I've not had good luck running them as a PI tube. It is much cleaner but I like that growl that you get with a hot PI tube.


----------



## pastorkev777

RiverRatt said:


> Yeah, the Chinese 12AX7's are my go-to current production tube as well. I was afraid the JJ's were the only 6V6's that you had. The offer still stands though... I can send you a nice 6V6 pair... they are doing me no good at all. I can't remember what I'm running in my DRRI; I think it may be a pair of RCA black plates. I was using a couple of "silver top" Sylvanias that tested way high.
> 
> If you like the 12AU7 in your amp, that's fine. I've not had good luck running them as a PI tube. It is much cleaner but I like that growl that you get with a hot PI tube.



I like alot of the current production tubes, they are a different beast. I like the new tungsol in some amps, not the Tweaker, JJ ec83s are good tubes, sovtek lps and 5751 are alright, I want to try the new mullards, EH 12ax7s are ok, I do believe that chinese tubes do vary but only when one is very selective, but I am a guy that shoots out multiples of the same tube to find the best one. I am trying to score a Mullard 12ax7 on ebay, considering a Tungsol grey plates and a RFT 12ax7. As a side note i had a Raytheon Made in Taiwan tube that sounded great that just died, it sounded like the jj ecc83 but with more life, a little less gain and low end and extra presence.


----------



## pastorkev777

I have tried some 6p3s tubes and they are outstanding, I bought 2 reissue mullard 12ax7s for my Fender Excelsior and tested them in the Egnater first, they are the best current production tube. I don't know how the gold lion 12ax7 or Northern Electric 12ax7 sound but they are very expensive so mullard wins. I want less gain so my tube setup is 2 6p3s matched at 25, v1 RCA black shiny long plate 12ax7, v2 JJ ecc83s, v3 RCA blackplate 12au7 and the speaker is a vintage Heppner 12" alnico smooth cone in a big 1x12 cab.


----------



## Woody_in_MN

OK - I am pretty new here. I am having a Tweaker 15 Head shipped to me - should see it later this week.

Anywho - What are the best settings for a Marshall tone? British Stack of course - but what about the other toggle switches?


----------



## minerman

First, welcome to the forum!!!!! Great place here with some great people that will help you along on your quest.....

Tone is subjective as you probably already know, & what settings work for one person might not work for another, but these are the settings I've been using lately:

Modern
Master: 5-6
Brit
Treble: 6-7
Mid: 2
Bass: 7-8
Clean
Gain: 10
Bright
Tight

I'm using a MIM Fender H-S-S strat (bridge p'up) into a stock Boss SD-1 as a clean boost (Vol: 10, Gain: 0, Tone: 5-6) for a nice sustained, od sound.....

I've also been using the same settings but backing off the gain on the amp (around 5-6), & bumping the gain on the SD-1 up a little (2-3)....

This is running the amp through a 1x12 Greenback cab (Chinese made GB btw...) & I've found the speaker make a pretty big difference in the settings I use (IE: If I use my V30 cab, I'd most likely back off the treble and/or tone on the SD-1).....

One thing I can suggest is to find a set of 6p3s power tubes for this amp, while it sounds pretty good with the stock tubes, it's a whole different amp with these power tubes....

Good luck!!!


----------



## Woody_in_MN

Thanks. Yes BRP told me about the 6P3S tubes. I already have a order in for some 1970 Russians (that were really cheap BTW).


----------



## minerman

Yeah, those 6p3s tubes are really cheap, especially compared to other tubes. Mine were even better, forum member RiverRatt sent me mine, plus a couple more sets of power tubes, & a couple really, really nice NOS 12ax7's for free....they picked me for a contest I entered, & I came out with quite a few killer tubes.....

This is a great forum, like no other I've ever been a part of, has become "home" for me.....

What cab/speaker are you going to be using with your Tweaker?


----------



## pastorkev777

Woody_in_MN said:


> OK - I am pretty new here. I am having a Tweaker 15 Head shipped to me - should see it later this week.
> 
> Anywho - What are the best settings for a Marshall tone? British Stack of course - but what about the other toggle switches?



Like miner said, tone is subjective, what your going to hear from this amp is greatly affected by speaker choice. I like warmer speakers. I use special vintage alnico speakers but a Jensen mod 12-35, WGS reaper (all varieties), WGS Invader, WGS ET65, WGS g12c/s, Weber signature 12s, 12, or 12b. Options gallore, I would use a Jensen mod 12-35 or Weber signature 12b for a 1x12 cab for a Marshall sound on a budget. 

Tubes make a difference, if you want a hot plexi, 800, jtm, jmp sound tubes can help you get there. Many people like high gain tubes so the amp has extra gain on hand, I wanted to soften the amp up so I am more at the jtm mixed with a Princeton sound. For hot preamp tubes that are new production buy the Mullard 12ax7s, for a little less gain buy JJecc803s for even less gain buy a JJ 5751 this is all v1. For power tubes that are new production, i would suggest, JJ 6ca7 (jmp), Tungsol 5881 (jtm), Mullard el34 (best new production el34). If you want to buy vintage and NOS that is a different road that is worthwhile but not necessary. The 6p3s tube is amazing and can help get a marshall tone but a new production Mullard el34 is better for a marshall tone. I would use Mullard el34 power tubes, v1 Mullard 12ax7, v2 JJ ecc803 and v3 Mullard 12ax7 for a marshall tone. 

Finally some possibly settings: Full Range JMP- vintage, Master Full, Brit, Treble 10 to 11 o'clock, Mid 1:30-2:00, Bass 8:00, clean, Gain 2:00, bright, deep. Good marshall tone at any volume- vintage, master any, brit, treble 1:00, mids 1:20, bass 12:00, clean, gain 2:00, normal and deep. Odd but British- vintage, master 2:30, us, treble 10:00, mids 9:00, bass 2:00, clean, gain 1:30, bright and tight. I have plenty of others, but messing with the amp is always fun.

Hope this helps, I know have given you alot of info but it is all good and usable. Enjoy the amp stock when you first get, mess around and if you are not happy experiment, you can get almost any tone from this amp. 

-PastorKev777


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## Woody_in_MN

Minerman - I will probably use this with a WGS Rero 30. But I do have a Celestion Cab as well.


----------



## minerman

The Tweaker should sound good with just about any speaker/cab you run it through....

Good luck, & keep us posted on your tone quest!!!


----------



## Woody_in_MN

Could someone tell me how to identify V1, V2, V3 in the Tweaker?


----------



## pastorkev777

Woody_in_MN said:


> Could someone tell me how to identify V1, V2, V3 in the Tweaker?



V1 is the furthest back tube, V2 is the mid left and V3 is the front most tube, this is when looking at the amp from the back. Believe it or not my the Tweaker 15h was original designed to only have 2 12ax7s, my owners manual even only has a v1 and v2 layout. I have one of the first Tweakers 15h's.


----------



## pastorkev777

minerman said:


> The Tweaker should sound good with just about any speaker/cab you run it through....
> 
> Good luck, & keep us posted on your tone quest!!!



I don't like the Tweakers sound with my WGS Veteran 30, too bright, ice pick highs, raspy, and harsh. I like rich tone, not thin sterile tone. This is my experience. The Vet 30 is one of the first made, so it may be different then the current made ones. The vet 30 sound alright with my Fender Excelsior, it sounds good with my vintage Regal re105 solid state amp, but that amp is showing signs of death. Tone is subjective.


----------



## Woody_in_MN

I have been really happy w/ the Retro 30 in general. Great do it all speaker from chimey clean to tight modern metal, with a tight bass. We shall see. The WGS Retro 30 is probably the brightest speaker WGS makes. But I like bright. It will be good for Fender tone. I actually have not seen shipment notice on the Tweaker yet - so I called the Retail Store to see what was going on. They had no record but was going to track down the salesman. Arghhh...


----------



## Woody_in_MN

Update: The retail store called back. They said one of the power tubes was broken and they are sending along 2 Groove Tubes. That was the reason it had not shipped. With luck I will see it later this week.


----------



## RiverRatt

pastorkev777 said:


> V1 is the furthest back tube, V2 is the mid left and V3 is the front most tube, this is when looking at the amp from the back. Believe it or not my the Tweaker 15h was original designed to only have 2 12ax7s, my owners manual even only has a v1 and v2 layout. I have one of the first Tweakers 15h's.



They probably were planning to use a solid-state effects loop and switched over to a tube driver/recovery circuit.


----------



## Woody_in_MN

I thought delivery from Nashville would be 2 days - looks like it is 3. Should see the Tweaker Monday.


----------



## Woody_in_MN

Update: Got the used Tweaked today. Only had about 15 minutes to play w/ it, but way useable. How close it gets to Marshall tone remains to be seen. BTW - a JCM2000 DSL 50 head was available locally. I checked it out. I gotta say the footprint on the thing was HUGE. Much bigger unit than I expected. Probably not going to work for me.


----------



## RiverRatt

minerman said:


> The Tweaker should sound good with just about any speaker/cab you run it through....
> 
> Good luck, & keep us posted on your tone quest!!!



I missed this the first time, but you're right. I haven't found anything that makes the amp sound bad. I've had four different cabs/speakers with a Tweaker on top and it sounded great no matter what. I'm currently using a 2x12 with two Jensen C12R speakers from the 1960's and they are a little more vintage-sounding than the WGS pair I did have in that cabinet. If you're going for more of a MESA tone, the WGS speakers have more bottom than the Jensens but they are surprisingly deep-sounding for such a shallow basket/small magnet speaker.

I've said it several times here; you'd have to work really hard to make the Tweaker 15 sound bad.


----------



## armandodiaz

I'm new to tube upgrades, so please excuse the dumb questions. I've been doing my research on the forums....

I picked up a box of (4) NOS 6P3S off of ebay, from Russia (took about a month to get here), they were dated from the mid 70's. So I replace the 2 6V6GTA. Now I'm trying to understand what to do with V1-3. 
I see minerman replaced them with different manufactors, but are they still the same 12AX7 ??? Are there any alternatives or are the 12AX7 the way to go?

Thanks for the replies,
Armando


----------



## Woody_in_MN

So I got the Tweaker 15 last night. I had about 10 minutes to play it last night - but had about 30 minutes to play it today. Wonderful amp. Extremely useable.

I have been working on some Marshall tones, and I guess I prefer more of the hot rodded Marshall tone. I am using modern or vintage - brit - hot - bright - tight. I find with the hot gain on I only need to have the gain on about 1 or 2 o clock - and the tone gets very saturated if I go past that.

Speaking of tubes - this one must be pretty new. Had all "Egnater" tubes. Someone suggested Mullard Reissue for V1. I ordered one and plugged that in. All I can say is it sounds really nice in V1.

Interesting I was having a discussion over in the Peavey forum (yes - I like Peavey's too.) And I was asking about the hotest pre amp tube I could use in a Classic 50. A member sent me this link of tube comparison done by Tubes and More. I had never seen this before. Now this shows the Mullard with most gain - but also high noise. Now I have so say I did not find the Mullard noisey - at least not while the amp was just "idling" anyway. But I thought it was a great resource to know about.

12AX7 Comparison of Current Made Tubes | Antique Electronic Supply

Arman - if you are looking for higher gain (don't kow if you are) then Mullard reissue, or Tung sol in V1. I have often read that Sovteck LPS is THE pi tube to use (V3) - V3 is closest to you when viewing from the back of the Tweaker.


----------



## RiverRatt

armandodiaz said:


> I'm new to tube upgrades, so please excuse the dumb questions. I've been doing my research on the forums....
> 
> I picked up a box of (4) NOS 6P3S off of ebay, from Russia (took about a month to get here), they were dated from the mid 70's. So I replace the 2 6V6GTA. Now I'm trying to understand what to do with V1-3.
> I see minerman replaced them with different manufactors, but are they still the same 12AX7 ??? Are there any alternatives or are the 12AX7 the way to go?
> 
> Thanks for the replies,
> Armando



Armando, you can use any 12AX7 or equivalent in V1, V2 and V3. When you try many different tubes in each of V1 - V3 and select the best-sounding tube for each socket, that's what we call "Tube Rolling". Some people like current-production tubes, while others prefer old tubes from the 1950's and 1960's. 

There's really no right or wrong way to go about selecting your tubes, but you do need to know the function of each tube position. In the Tweaker 15, V1 is the two gain stages so this is where you'd use your best-sounding tube. V2 is the effects-loop driver and really doesn't seem to have any effect on the overall tone. 

V3 is the phase inverter, which is considered part of the power section. Basically, its job is to take the output from your preamp and split it into two signals that are out of phase with each other and feed those signals one to each power tube. 

There are lots of opinions as to what makes a good phase inverter tube. It doesn't contribute much to the tone, although you will hear some clipping from it when it's driven hard. I prefer a high-gain tube as a phase inverter because IMO it makes the amp more dynamic and responsive. Others like to use a lower-gain tube for a more vintage or "Fender" tone. Some people use tubes that are similar to the 12AX7, such as the 12AT7 or 12AU7 to reduce the output of the amp and have more clean headroom. You can try this if you want and it _probably_ won't cause any problems, but be aware that the circuit was designed for a 12AX7 and the other tubes may not work as well under the parameters for a 12AX7.

The only real way to know what you like is to try as many 12AX7s as possible. There are several old USA-made 12AX7's that don't cost any more than a new current-production tube. Check with MartyStrat if you're interested in trying old tubes. He's been a member here almost as long as I have wave and is a reputable tube dealer.


----------



## brp

I have a (NOS) 12AT7 in the Loop, put it in just to help make sure I wasn't getting more gain from the loop. It's one of the ones I got from you, Alan, not sure what it is as there was a couple different AT7's in my last tubes deal from you.

But I can't say I've noticed any difference. It sounds good though so I left it in there.


----------



## pastorkev777

Thanks riverratt aka Alan for the silver top black plate sylvania 6v6s, I have not tried them in my Excelsior yet, but I have high expectations for them to beat out my old ge 6v6s. Tubes are as subjective as tone. I am not biased to new or vintage, USA, British, Holland, German, Russian, Japanese and Chinese tubes, I like tone and each amp has a certain combination that gives the sound we personally want, tone. There are though good starting points tubes that sound at least goo in everything, New and Old Mullards and Tungsols are the best examples. RCA tubes sound good in anything also. It has been, pricey, but fun testing out all the variaties of tubes i can get my hands on. The most disturbing thing I've, come across is that some tubes of the same make and model sound different than one another, besides gain rating, matched and life, this is obvious for tonal differences. Have fun.


----------



## RiverRatt

Yeah, you'll get some variation but there are always generalizations that do apply tone-wise. A lot of the discrepancy in tone inside a particular brand is caused by the relative strength of the tubes vs. new, and also the year they were made. You'll see this as you get more and more octal power tubes. Most companies were constantly revising their product, so you can end up with a pair of RCA or whatever tubes that were probably sold as a matched pair but have different construction.

I'm a firm believer in well-broken-in power tubes. Any of the big USA companies; RCA, Sylvania, GE, etc. have a general tonal footprint, but IMO they seem to lose about 10 to 15% of their power output rather quickly and then settle in the 85-90% range and stay there for decades. These are the tubes I like to use. That pair of Sylvanias came straight out of my DRRI so I know they are excellent sounding tubes, and they are some of the highest-testing 6V6GT's that I had. I'm not really trying to prove anything about them, you just seemed like you were a little short on nice old tubes. 

Another thing to keep you up at night; as long as octal power tubes match up electrically, you can mix and match just like you do with preamp tubes. You can do a rudimentary matching with a decent tube tester, but you really need to test both tubes in the circuit to make sure they are running pretty close to the same bias current. I'm not talking about mixing different tube numbers, just different members of the same family; like a Sylvania and an RCA 6L6GC. The Tweaker is more accomodating - it really doesn't even care if your 6V6GT's or whatever are matched. I have to be a little more picky with my DRRI. I've had tubes that sound great in the Tweaker but red-plated after a few minutes in the Deluxe.


----------



## armandodiaz

RiverRatt said:


> Armando, you can use any 12AX7 or equivalent in V1, V2 and V3. When you try many different tubes in each of V1 - V3 and select the best-sounding tube for each socket, that's what we call "Tube Rolling". Some people like current-production tubes, while others prefer old tubes from the 1950's and 1960's.
> 
> There's really no right or wrong way to go about selecting your tubes, but you do need to know the function of each tube position. In the Tweaker 15, V1 is the two gain stages so this is where you'd use your best-sounding tube. V2 is the effects-loop driver and really doesn't seem to have any effect on the overall tone.
> 
> V3 is the phase inverter, which is considered part of the power section. Basically, its job is to take the output from your preamp and split it into two signals that are out of phase with each other and feed those signals one to each power tube.
> 
> There are lots of opinions as to what makes a good phase inverter tube. It doesn't contribute much to the tone, although you will hear some clipping from it when it's driven hard. I prefer a high-gain tube as a phase inverter because IMO it makes the amp more dynamic and responsive. Others like to use a lower-gain tube for a more vintage or "Fender" tone. Some people use tubes that are similar to the 12AX7, such as the 12AT7 or 12AU7 to reduce the output of the amp and have more clean headroom. You can try this if you want and it _probably_ won't cause any problems, but be aware that the circuit was designed for a 12AX7 and the other tubes may not work as well under the parameters for a 12AX7.
> 
> The only real way to know what you like is to try as many 12AX7s as possible. There are several old USA-made 12AX7's that don't cost any more than a new current-production tube. Check with MartyStrat if you're interested in trying old tubes. He's been a member here almost as long as I have wave and is a reputable tube dealer.


 
Thanks for the great info. I'm going to start with the NOS 6P3S and reissued Mullard 12AX7. Then take it from there.....


Thanks,
Armando


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## minerman

You're getting some great advice from Alan/RiverRatt, to me, he's the guy to ask about tubes around here, along with Marty & a few more (sorry guys, can't remember all of you right now, scatterbrain here...)...

Alan is a really good, stand-up guy too, he sent me his only set of those Russian 6p3s tubes awhile back, along with a bunch of others....Marty sent me a Mullard 12ax7, so we'll both have about the same tube setup in our amps...

I do feel a little guilty though, I haven't even fired my Tweaker up since I got the 1w DSL last week, but it's not going anywhere, super little amp with really good tones to be had IMHO....but, I'm gonna try a stereo setup, with the DSL on one side, & the T15 on the other, running L/R out of my POD X3Live....just haven't gotten around to trying it out.....

Let us know how you get along with the tube rolling, armando.....


----------



## armandodiaz

Hmmm, I was also thinking of a stereo amp setup. I have a custom speaker cabinet with 2X12 Vintage 30s, which I wired with seporate inputs. I just might get another amp a split the speakers. Any suggestions on an amp selector box?


Armando


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## Woody_in_MN

I have a Morely A/B/Y box. I don't use it much but it seems to work fine. Fairly low noise.


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## pastorkev777

I use a behringer ab200 but the ab100 is good also. That is the cheap one, works great. I sometimes spoil myself and run the Tweaker and Excelsior at the same time, these amps mixed will blow your mind. The Tweaker is tight with no sag and the Excelsior has sag and tons of low end. I also swapped the speaker out of my Excelsior with a vintage Univox pro mag, aluminum dust cone speaker. Stereo setups are another thing in themselves. I am considering a Kustom Defender 5h in the near future. Have fun, I am.


----------



## RiverRatt

armandodiaz said:


> Hmmm, I was also thinking of a stereo amp setup. I have a custom speaker cabinet with 2X12 Vintage 30s, which I wired with seporate inputs. I just might get another amp a split the speakers. Any suggestions on an amp selector box?
> 
> 
> Armando



You know, I've thought about doing that same setup with two Tweaker heads. I have a Seismic 2x12 cab that I bought unloaded off ebay for $125. Its construction shows why it's priced so low; 1/2 inch butt-jointed plywood, poorly cut Tolex on the back, T nuts in the wrong place for a standard 12" guitar speaker cab, and a few general "oops" spots. Surprisingly it's very resonant without being boomy, no matter what speakers I'm running. 

I was thinking at one time that I'd pick up the second head and just use my old DOD stereo chorus pedal to split the signal into each amp. I doubt I would ever use a setup like that live, but for home recording and noodling around it would be killer.


----------



## armandodiaz

Bought my cabinet custom made from EBay. My setup....


----------



## armandodiaz

I'm thinking of going with a Blackstar HT-5H or a Fender Super Champ X2 Head for a second head.


----------



## brp

I can't wait to try the Detroit 18.



Also, I do a stereo setup w/ the Tweaker and a Vox Night Train. It's great and the Tweaker being a bit dark w/ the Vox being a bit bright, they work together well. No loop for the NT though, the only drawback but I just use it as the dry.


----------



## pastorkev777

I think the Jet City JCA20h would complement the tweaker, a Marshall Class 5 also, Blackheart Handsome devil and others too.


----------



## armandodiaz

I went with the Fender Super Champ X2. I figured the Blackstar, Jet City and Vox were too close to the Tweaker, so why would I want 2 of the same amps? So now I have something to play my Led Zep (Tweaker) and something for my SRV (Fender). Now I'm wondering if I should get a 2nd cabinet for the Fender, instead of splitting my 2X12. What's a good speaker for blues?


----------



## pastorkev777

I have not used the fender super champ x2, so I don't know how it sounds, a Weber signature 12 or 12s is a outstanding low price speaker the 12s alnico will be the most bell tone educing speaker, a WGS g12c is a great speaker, vintage heppner alnico 12" is a great speaker, Jensen c12n, mod 12-35 to 50, Jensen falcon 12" and a low price celestion that will work is a Rocket 50. I would use the Weber signature 12s alnico and music123.com has free shipping on everything. Tone is subjective but music is universal. Have fun.


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## armandodiaz

Thanks I will look into those. So far I'm leaning towards the Eminence Patriot Texas Heat 12". 



Eminence Patriot Texas Heat 12"


----------



## pastorkev777

armandodiaz said:


> Thanks I will look into those. So far I'm leaning towards the Eminence Patriot Texas Heat 12".
> 
> 
> 
> Eminence Patriot Texas Heat 12"



That is a great higly efficient speaker but rated at 150watts the Fender is 15watts running on a good day at 35 watts max. The speaker will be underpowered greatly. Don't take me wrong the speak will move some but the signal will be almost complete distortion (the amp cranked). This speaker would be ok with a 50watt tube amp but with the Super Champ x2 I think it is the wrong choice. If you want lots of versatility from the fender the Jensens will work great the Falcon is awesome, WGS reaper and even the g12c. The webers will be versatile one trick ponies, they lack deep low end and are very vintage sounding. I would stay around 25 to 50 watts for speakers, stretching to about 75 watts is the max. If you want an eminence the gb128 which is a great speaker in it own right not a celestion green back copy, that is more what a private jack is.


----------



## armandodiaz

You got a good point, I'll stick to around the 50W arena. 

The Super Champ speaker cab, houses a G12P-80 (80W)

Lots of good info.... Thanks.


----------



## pastorkev777

armandodiaz said:


> You got a good point, I'll stick to around the 50W arena.
> 
> The Super Champ speaker cab, houses a G12P-80 (80W)
> 
> Lots of good info.... Thanks.



Good luck. Fender uses the seventy 80 (g12p-80) in most of their amps, they can toss it at almost all of their amps and not worry about a lack of handling power. The seventy 80 sounds ok, but does nothing great, the Rocket 50 at least has a good unique voice. Fender used to use eminence 70 watt speakers in the same way, but celestion to some is a deal maker. Before celestion seventy 80s, Eminence 70 watts they used Jensen special design 50 watts (c12n modified for smoother tone and round low end), before that they used almost everything Jensen, Magnavox, GE, Altec, JBL, Oxford, Utah, Rola, University, Hammond, Heppner, Cleveland, CTS, RCA, Goodman, etc. Fender has been around the block.


----------



## armandodiaz

Finally got all the tubes and installed them, I went with the NOS 6P3S and reissued Mullard 12AX7. First thing I noticed was a dirtier sound (but in a good way). I actually looked to see if my fuzz box was on. I would almost compare it to an Orange sound. I'm very impressed, I feel as if I went out and bought 2 new heads 
Haven't had much time to mess with my Fender Super Champ, but it looks as if I can spend a whole week discovering all the possiblities.


----------



## RiverRatt

pastorkev777 said:


> Good luck. Fender uses the seventy 80 (g12p-80) in most of their amps, they can toss it at almost all of their amps and not worry about a lack of handling power. The seventy 80 sounds ok, but does nothing great, the Rocket 50 at least has a good unique voice. Fender used to use eminence 70 watt speakers in the same way, but celestion to some is a deal maker. Before celestion seventy 80s, Eminence 70 watts they used Jensen special design 50 watts (c12n modified for smoother tone and round low end), before that they used almost everything Jensen, Magnavox, GE, Altec, JBL, Oxford, Utah, Rola, University, Hammond, Heppner, Cleveland, CTS, RCA, Goodman, etc. Fender has been around the block.



I'm using a scavenged plywood sub-woofer box that I got from an old Motorola console stereo from the early 1960's with my Tweaker. The speaker I'm using in it is labeled as a Motorola Golden Voice. It's a 10" speaker that I got from another Motorola console, probably in the 15-25 watt range. It kicks ass with my little Orange head or the Tweaker. According to the EIA code, it was made by Russell Speaker Co. There's absolutely no info about these on the internet so they must not have been a big company. 

I was throwing away some old stuff the other day, and scavenged a 25-year-old Peavey Backstage. The speaker in it was a 10" CTS (EIA #137). It had the classic CTS square magnet. On the back of the speaker, it says "Backstage", then the EIA number and date code, then the words "Made in Mexico". That was a new one on me. I didn't know CTS imported speakers. It needs a re-cone. The glue around the leads and the dustcap appears to have warped the cone, causing extreme nastiness of tone. I don't know if it's even worth considering a repair. 

I have a few nice old Vintage speakers that I'm saving for the right amp. I have a Jensen P12R with the cheesy silver paint job on it. I have a couple of Jensen C12R's from the early 1960's, and one 1970'ish Utah with a red frame and a big red bell housing. I can't remember the model number, but it's 85 watts and sounds pretty good. The bass is a little flabby. It has binder posts instead of spade connectors.

For you guys who are looking for a stereo setup that compliments the Tweaker, try out an Orange Micro Terror. I know it looks like a toy but you won't believe the tone this amp puts out, especially with a good preamp tube.


----------



## minerman

RiverRatt said:


> For you guys who are looking for a stereo setup that compliments the Tweaker, try out an Orange Micro Terror.


 
The Tweaker sounds great in stereo with my DSL-1 too Alan. I use my Greenback 1x12 with the T15, & the V30 1x12 with the DSL, & it sounds amazing (to me anyway)....


----------



## Badmonkey

only JCM complement the tweaker


----------



## pastorkev777

Hello everyone, I just want to bumb the thread. I ditched the 12au7 in v3 for now I am using a RCA mil spec short plate black plate 5751. Also I am going to be doing a power and preamp tube shootout with my Fender Excelsior. I will probably do a video of the shootout and post it here.


----------



## aussiebluesville

aussiebluesville said:


> hey guys i got the 4 x 6P3S tubes (coded 9107), 2 for spares!, the 70's pair is still coming!  these 9107 codes may relate to 91 tubes, well anyway they sound absolutely fantastic !
> 
> Lovin this amp  and thanks to RR(alan) , i have a few 6K6 tubes on their way to try as well!



well i have just put a celestion v30 into my blackstar 1x12 cab and this tweaker is amasing, still got the 70's 6P3S tubes in it and all thanks to RR(alan) for all his input in this amp, it truly is a fantastic head

It all goes real nice with my new fender 2011 usa tele and a gibson les paul studio i just got as well....NGD come twice lol


----------



## Robertoa1a

I read this whole thread because I wanted an amp that isn't a one trick pony but a all tube amp. I used a Peavey tube Vypyr for a while but for me it is too much power an no preamp tube stage.

You guys are great. You offer every bit of knowledge that one could ask for. 

I took 20 years off playing while I was in the NAVY as an electronics tech. My playing suffered but I dig the tone and I haven't destroyed my ears (I hope not working so close to jet engines).

Any way thank you for all your advice and taking time to record clips.


----------



## Robertoa1a

I dig Minermans clips. He is articulate. It seems like he has very little time to record but works two shifts to keep his family happy.

I know having a perfect recording like his takes a lot of time.

You guys sold me and mine comes tomorrow. I got it used for 250.

Anxious as hell!!!


----------



## scat7s

> You guys sold me and mine comes tomorrow. I got it used for 250.


 
nice!

thats what i paid for mine, worth every penny. the only trouble ive had has been operator error.


----------



## Robertoa1a

Mine had bad 6v6 tubes, so I don't know what they sound like. I tried some Ruby 6L6's to get it working. The only NOS tubes I have right now are a pair of Sylvania 6k6gt's. I like them better than the new Ruby 6L6's.

I don't recall anyone commenting on the 6k6's. I ordered some 6p3s based on all of your advice.

The only preamp tubes I currently have are two RCA 12bz7's. They sound better than stock and with more gain. I will probably keep this one in the phase splitter position for a while. I ordered a RCA 12ax7a for the v1 position.

Running the amp through a 4x12 v-30 cab, and the tone sounds really organic. I'm digging it I did notice that the amp doesn't thumb squeal much on high gain. We'll see what happens when the new tubes come.

I read this thread while waiting for the amp. It has been a huge help and you all have saved me a lot of money with your advice on glassware.

Can anyone recommend a distortion pedal or reverb? I haven't purchased FX in decades.


----------



## RiverRatt

Robertoa1a said:


> Mine had bad 6v6 tubes, so I don't know what they sound like. I tried some Ruby 6L6's to get it working. The only NOS tubes I have right now are a pair of Sylvania 6k6gt's. I like them better than the new Ruby 6L6's.
> 
> I don't recall anyone commenting on the 6k6's. I ordered some 6p3s based on all of your advice.
> 
> The only preamp tubes I currently have are two RCA 12bz7's. They sound better than stock and with more gain. I will probably keep this one in the phase splitter position for a while. I ordered a RCA 12ax7a for the v1 position.
> 
> Running the amp through a 4x12 v-30 cab, and the tone sounds really organic. I'm digging it I did notice that the amp doesn't thumb squeal much on high gain. We'll see what happens when the new tubes come.
> 
> I read this thread while waiting for the amp. It has been a huge help and you all have saved me a lot of money with your advice on glassware.
> 
> Can anyone recommend a distortion pedal or reverb? I haven't purchased FX in decades.



I like the 6K6's in the Tweaker 15. They are not for everyone though. You can basically think of them as a low output 6V6. They seem to have more grit and less headroom than a 6V6; more like what you'd expect in a 2xEL84 amp.

Personally I would stay away from the 12BZ7. They are a close match to a 12AX7 but guitar amps usually burn them up quickly. If you're not getting pinch harmonics (thumb squeals as you said) out of that amp on high gain, something is definitely wrong and I'd bet it's the 12BZ7's. 

The RCA will make a good starting point since you don't have any old 12AX7's. Be on the lookout for a nice European 12AX7. My personal favorite V1 tube is a Tungsram, mainly for their strong mids and consistency from tube to tube. I don't think you need anything special in V2 (FX loop driver). I never use the loop so I just leave the stock Egnater tube in there. 

For V3 (phase inverter) look for a high gain Sylvania 12AX7. After you've been away from the BZ7 for awhile, you'll see why the rest of us quit using them. I'd recommend sending a PM to MartyStrat54 and see what he has for V1 and V3. You're definitely on the right track with the 6P3S. If you want a pair of old 6V6GT's, shoot me a PM. I have a big box of them and they are *cheap.*


----------



## scat7s

RiverRatt said:


> I'm using a scavenged plywood sub-woofer box that I got from an old Motorola console stereo from the early 1960's with my Tweaker. The speaker I'm using in it is labeled as a Motorola Golden Voice. It's a 10" speaker that I got from another Motorola console, probably in the 15-25 watt range. It kicks ass with my little Orange head or the Tweaker. According to the EIA code, it was made by Russell Speaker Co. There's absolutely no info about these on the internet so they must not have been a big company.
> 
> I was throwing away some old stuff the other day, and scavenged a 25-year-old Peavey Backstage. The speaker in it was a 10" CTS (EIA #137). It had the classic CTS square magnet. On the back of the speaker, it says "Backstage", then the EIA number and date code, then the words "Made in Mexico". That was a new one on me. I didn't know CTS imported speakers. It needs a re-cone. The glue around the leads and the dustcap appears to have warped the cone, causing extreme nastiness of tone. I don't know if it's even worth considering a repair.
> 
> I have a few nice old Vintage speakers that I'm saving for the right amp. I have a Jensen P12R with the cheesy silver paint job on it. I have a couple of Jensen C12R's from the early 1960's, and one 1970'ish Utah with a red frame and a big red bell housing. I can't remember the model number, but it's 85 watts and sounds pretty good. The bass is a little flabby. It has binder posts instead of spade connectors.
> 
> For you guys who are looking for a stereo setup that compliments the Tweaker, try out an Orange Micro Terror. I know it looks like a toy but you won't believe the tone this amp puts out, especially with a good preamp tube.


 
i have two early 70's mexican CTS 10's and four 8's. not sure about the 8's, havent really found any use for them yet, but the 10's sound excellent. and can handle a little bit of power.


----------



## brp

RiverRatt said:


> For you guys who are looking for a stereo setup that compliments the Tweaker, try out an Orange Micro Terror. I know it looks like a toy but you won't believe the tone this amp puts out, especially with a good preamp tube.




So you'd say the volume of the M. Terror is comparable to the Tweaker?
Kinda been thinking about picking up one of those Micros...


----------



## mott555

brp said:


> So you'd say the volume of the M. Terror is comparable to the Tweaker?
> Kinda been thinking about picking up one of those Micros...



I don't know anything about the Tweaker but I have a Micro Terror and it's got very good tone, much better than you'd expect given its price and toyish appearance. And it's quite loud. The only downside is no FX loop.


----------



## Mike_LA

brp said:


> So you'd say the volume of the M. Terror is comparable to the Tweaker?
> ...




I was curious about the same thing and put the micro terror against the Tiny terror. They were about about as loud as each other but the TT had more low end growl, so I would say the same for an Egnater ​


----------



## brp

Mike_LA said:


> I was curious about the same thing and put the micro terror against the Tiny terror. They were about about as loud as each other but the TT had more low end growl, so I would say the same for an Egnater ​



Yes I would expect the Tweaker to be about the same volume as the TT, maybe a bit more out of the Tweaker.

Alan, what say you?


----------



## Robertoa1a

Thanks River Rat. 

I live in Jacksonville and I like a lot of mid range, like some of the southern rock bands of this area (Allman Bros, Skynyrd, 38, Blackfoot, etc...).

Looking forward to getting the bottles you recommended. PM me if you have any good deals.

Skimming by on the BZ tubes for now. They sound way better than the stock ones. Really high output but I heard they are unreliable in guitar amps and not the best choice.


----------



## RiverRatt

This is bedroom watts, Bill. I have no idea which would win in a catfight, I just thought they were both great recording amps. I'd rather crank a tube amp than a solid-state regardless. I've never played through a Tiny Terror. I've wanted to try the Jim Root Terror but I'm afraid I'll like it and it's way above my budget.

Robertoa1a, I'm not a tube dealer - if I get several of one kind I'll sell a few just to fund my habit or pay the bills. Marty is the dude you want to hook up with. If I have anything to sell it'll be in the member classifieds.


----------



## brp

RiverRatt said:


> This is bedroom watts, Bill. I have no idea which would win in a catfight, I just thought they were both great recording amps. I'd rather crank a tube amp than a solid-state regardless.



Well, I play my Tweaker with a moderately loud drummer and bass player and another guitarist, and I keep the master around 5-6, preamp around the same, with a clean boost through a 2x12 and there's no problem hearing it.
So it kinda sounds like the M. Terror would keep with it ok.
Kinda thinking about getting one to run stereo with the Tweaker for that band practice/jam situation.
Might try it and return it if not appropriate for that, since I really don't need another bedroom amp...

and I'm seriously considering getting the Detroit when it comes out in the next month or 2....


----------



## scat7s

im not familiar w/the micro-terror and its wattage rating, but i will sometimes use my 5 watt combo (with the CTS 10" coincidentally) as a wet/stereo counterpart to my tweak and 2x12 dry rig. 

for me, it keeps up fine and is easier to travel with than another higher power amp/ rack and a 1x12 cab.

i run my tweaker on virtually the same master and gain settings as you do brp.


----------



## Robertoa1a

RiverRat. 

I know your not a dealer but, very few guitar guys enjoy vintage tubes. I thank you for your kind advice. I am sure people will be reading this for years.

It is not necessarily a bedroom amp, A v-30 Marshall cab is soo efficient (like 104db/w). Incredibly loud per watt! I cant go past 4:00 with out drowning out my drummer.


If you are using a single speaker that has an SPL of 95db/w then I can see how it would sound like a practice amp.

Thanks again guys!!!


----------



## RiverRatt

Did you get your 6P3S tubes? We need a tone report!


----------



## Riffraff

Robertoa1a said:


> It is not necessarily a bedroom amp, A v-30 Marshall cab is soo efficient (like 104db/w). Incredibly loud per watt! I cant go past 4:00 with out drowning out my drummer.



Indeed 





Especially with the volume up around 6 - 7 and 40db of boost in front.


----------



## RiverRatt

Damn, those 12BH7A's are everywhere all of a sudden! I need to test a bunch of them while I'm not doing much else. I think they may fetch as much as $3 each for NOS.

Seriously, the 12BH7A is a sweet-sounding tube.


----------



## brp

In your opinion guys, Are the 6P3S typically darker than your average EL34?
Or is that too generalized to say?


----------



## johnfv

The 63PS I have tried accentuate the low mids a bit (so yes, essentially darker). I really like it, have them in my Tweaker and my Picovalve


----------



## RiverRatt

I think the 6P3S tubes are like having the best features of several different tubes. They can be crunchy like an EL34, they can do Fender-ish cleans and overdrive, and on the Vox setting they do a passable job. If you scoop the mids on the Vox channel and turn up the gain, they do that Rectifier sound really well. They are incredible tubes in the Tweaker 15. The next closest tube IMO is a set of NOS 5881's. 6V6's would probably be my 3rd choice. I have a pair of 6P3S-E tubes, but I got them right before the medical people f'ed up my arm, so I haven't had much time with them. My first impression was that they sounded like a good 6L6GC (this doesn't mean those two are interchangeable in any other amp).


----------



## Robertoa1a

I had a chance to try new old Russian 63ps, and "how sweet"!!!

I play hard rock and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

These tubes do the "Simple Man." thing out well.

Every note rings out well with less distortion

Thank you guys!!!


----------



## Robertoa1a

Against most peoples advice I still am using a 12bz7 in the t-3 stage. It's high gain and I have two of them.


I did score an RCA for 12ax7a. and I put in the t-1 position. Everything sounds milky and rich.

The hammer'ons, pitch bends, and pulloff's seem to ring out crisply!

Thank you guys! I believe in what you are saying!!!!!!


----------



## Robertoa1a

I have been dealing with sciatica. My legs are numb. You guys are a true blessing! 

I love playing guitar!

You all have awesome advice!!!


----------



## mott555

So we went to GC this morning and my sister bought a Tweaker 15. It really rocks! Lots of options. It can approximate Marshall, Vox, and Mesa, I think the Marshall and Vox settings are the best though the Vox setting doesn't really sound like I'd expect from a Vox. Still, it's a very good amp. The only thing I don't like about it is if you use the Boss NS-2 4-cable method you get a ton of treble loss and it sounds really distant and muddy. I'm not sure why that is.


----------



## brp

Can't look through this whole thread lol:

Anyone here done the snubber cap removal mod on their Tweaker?


----------



## minerman

I'd be interested in this mod too, as long as it isn't too complicated, or there's a chance I'll screw something up...in other words, I'd like to try this mod as long as "its so easy, even a caveman could do it"...

I did read the posts/threads today in the other forums, but there's really not much info (not enough for me anyway), & would have to be explained like you're talking to a 5 year old....

While I do love my Tweaker, it still doesn't have the clarity/high end my DSL-1 H has, these mods sound like it may help the T15 along to where I'd like it even more....


----------



## tom310

brp said:


> Can't look through this whole thread lol:
> 
> Anyone here done the snubber cap removal mod on their Tweaker?



Try looking here: Egnater tweaker 15 mods.....if any... - Page 3 - The Gear Page

I haven't actually done this mod, but knew it had been discussed on The Gear Page's Tweaker Mod thread. Hope this helps!


----------



## pepeteus

tom310 said:


> Try looking here: Egnater tweaker 15 mods.....if any... - Page 3 - The Gear Page
> 
> I haven't actually done this mod, but knew it had been discussed on The Gear Page's Tweaker Mod thread. Hope this helps!


 
Yeah, that's the thread with quite detailed instructions to do the mod. For some time now I've been contemplating doing the mod to get a little bit more air and presence to the sound, but my lack of courage has been holding me back...I don't want to ruin this amp.
It only involves desoldering few components and I'm sure I will do it someday.

I've had the 15W head for year and a half. The thing is, my Tweaker hasn't had very much playing time this year after I got The Valve 2/50 head.

I have played the head through a couple of home made pine cabs, but last week I ordered the matching 112x cab. I'm still waiting it to arrive.

Another mod I'd like to do is the fx loop mod 'cause my reverb (FRV-1) and delay (Echo Park) pedals are both instrument level and they only work in the loop if the gain is kept below 1 o'clock or so. Stock the Tweaker loop is happier with line level effects.


----------



## mott555

pepeteus said:


> Another mod I'd like to do is the fx loop mod 'cause my reverb (FRV-1) and delay (Echo Park) pedals are both instrument level and they only work in the loop if the gain is kept below 1 o'clock or so. Stock the Tweaker loop is happier with line level effects.



That explains why I couldn't use my reverb with it. Had a massive volume and treble drop with anything in the loop, just makes everything sound dull and far away.


----------



## Riffraff

pepeteus said:


> Another mod I'd like to do is the fx loop mod 'cause my reverb (FRV-1) and delay (Echo Park) pedals are both instrument level and they only work in the loop if the gain is kept below 1 o'clock or so. Stock the Tweaker loop is happier with line level effects.



This is interesting. I haven't noticed an issue with the loop. I've used DE7 & Echo Park delays as well as a Hall of Fame reverb pedal in my loop and never had a problem. I wonder if using a lower gain tube in V2 like a 12AU7 would help you with that.


----------



## brp

I have a 12AT7 in the loop and don't have a problem.
I do use a Boss LS-2 though that handles the routing of other pedals in the loop and of course has it's own level control for each loop.

Before putting in the AT7 and using the LS-2 though I did notice volume drop when using the loop but I was able to sort that out with levels adjustment. I think I mentioned that back in this thread somewhere.


I did see the gear page thread about the snubber cap mod but was hoping someone here had tried it to get their impressions.
I'm not super interested in doing it but I might give it a go if a few people here had good results with it (or at least one person I really trust knows what they're talking about in this thread)


----------



## minerman

The fx loop issue is likely why there's a pretty big difference between using my X3Live in the loop of my T15 & the DSL-1H, I suppose...Even after playing with the levels, the X3L just sucks the tone so bad, I stopped using it with the Tweaker...Most likely it's a combination of the T15 loop thing, & the X3L being a "tone sucker", it's just worse with the T15 than the DSL-1...

I'd be interested in doing the snubber cap thing myself, to see if it opens the amp up/makes it brighter, as long as it'd be easily reversed by someone (like me) with shitty soldering skills...


----------



## johnfv

Robertoa1a said:


> I had a chance to try new old Russian 63ps, and "how sweet"!!! ... Every note rings out well with less distortion...


Yes, there does seem to be some pleasing natural compression (that is relatively clean) in the 6P3S tubes I've used. It may be they simply have more headroom than the 6V6, I'm not sure. I just know I like 'em...


----------



## tom310

mott555 said:


> That explains why I couldn't use my reverb with it. Had a massive volume and treble drop with anything in the loop, just makes everything sound dull and far away.



Yeah, I've never been able to run any of my pedals in the loop because they sounded terrible. Now I'm running a Zoom G3 in front of the amp and getting some pretty decent sounds.


----------



## pepeteus

Riffraff said:


> This is interesting. I haven't noticed an issue with the loop. I've used DE7 & Echo Park delays as well as a Hall of Fame reverb pedal in my loop and never had a problem. I wonder if using a lower gain tube in V2 like a 12AU7 would help you with that.


 
Boss FRV-1 is definately worse in the loop. It gets muddy and distorted with too much gain. Very ugly sound. Echo Park works with little bit gainier sounds. The delay repeats get gradually lower and lower in volume and quality when the gain of the preamp is increased. 

So, the loop is very picky about the pedals. I've heard that the Hall of fame works, but there are many who say that FRV-1 doesn't.

Both work great in the loop with clean sounds.

Maybe the biggest reason why I haven't played much with the Tweaker lately is that I'm not able to use my reverb or delay pedals with a lot of gain.

I remember reading somewhere that a lower gain tube in V2 doesn't help with this problem, but I haven't tried it myself. Thanks for the reminder! I will do that this week.


----------



## scat7s

has anyone tried the clipped snubber mod?

i did it tonight, but havent had a chance to test it out yet...this amp is a rats nest inside...


----------



## mott555

scat7s said:


> has anyone tried the clipped snubber mod?
> 
> i did it tonight, but havent had a chance to test it out yet...this amp is a rats nest inside...



Please make a clip when you do, I'm curious how it sounds. My sister wants to get Megadeth tones out of her Tweaker and I think opening it up and adding some brightness will get her pretty dang close.


----------



## scat7s

i got a chance to record some stuff today. it def sounds brighter probably better too. my treble which is usually on the high side i now have set around 3 or 4. im not tottaly sure, but i think the mid range is a little less sensitive, or thats how im percieving it. not a bad thing, just a thing. overall, i think i like it. i'll keep it like this for now. 

mott, im not sure any clips i could provide will be representative of what you would want to hear. i go for kind of a squishy cleanish/crunch tone.


----------



## minerman

Post the clips scat, I'm really interested in hearing the results...I'm on the fence about the mod, mainly because I don't wanna screw my amp up, & not be able to fix it myself if I don't like what it does...

It does seem like it'd be pretty simple to solder the caps back in place though, but, my soldering skills aren't great to say the least....


----------



## scat7s

i'll try to get a clip for you. 

it may be a couple days...without an A/B comparision, im not sure how much it will tell you, but i'll try to get something up by the wkend.

edit: actually i might have a recent clip b4 the mods i can incorporate...otherwise it would be basically the identical setup.


----------



## RiverRatt

I'm finally able to play a little, and since the Tweaker is the only guitar amp I have right now I've treated it to a new pair of speakers and some primo tubes and it still impresses me after all this time. I bought a Hammond L series organ at a Goodwill store this week and got a couple of Amperex and a Mullard 12AX7. I've got the Mullard in V1 and an Amperex in V3. There's a pair of NOS Tung-Sol 5881's in the power section. They have a different character from the 6P3S tubes - they give the amp a more old-school vintage tone and IMO make the amp's three tone stacks sound a little more true to the originals. The speakers were from the Hammond as well. They were made by a company called Heppner and are low-watt AlNiCo's. They come as a matched pair; one with a ribbed cone and one smooth. One speaker emphasizes the high frequencies and the other emphasizes lows. It's a cool setup.

I don't think I'll be doing any mods to mine. I'm really happy with the tone I'm getting and it's well-balanced. If I need more treble, there are a couple of V1 choices that will handle that. I'm looking at that new Jet City JCA20HV head as a second amp. That's still a ways down the road but if I'm able to really get back to playing condition I'm going to have to get something crunchy that takes pedals well. The amp from that Hammond is supposed to be a great for a Marshall 1974 18-watt conversion. I may give that a try since I probably have all the components I need.


----------



## Riffraff

Great to hear you are beating up the 'ol 6 string again Alan. I've used a pair of low watt organ pull alnico's in a 212 before and they do sound sweet. I've heard of Heppner speakers, they were common equipment in a lot of Hammond's. I'm not sure what brand my first set are because I got them off of Ebay some years ago. Same deal, matched set, one smooth cone and one ribbed. I actually used them in this clip where I slaved a 1482 with a MosValve power amp through a really poorly constructed 212 box loaded with those. It looked like shit but it sounded pretty damn good. 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYIqtnMru1g]Silvertone 1482 - Reamped through MiniMass.wmv - YouTube[/ame]

I originally threw that cab together to use with a small rack rig for a low volume practice amp and it worked quite well for that. I later pulled it apart and put it back together the right way. That's the one I have CTS alnico's in now and use with my Masco. I have another pair of Rola's I pulled out of that trashed M-111 I stripped this past summer. I've yet to try them but they look to be much better quality than my Ebay no name speakers.


----------



## minerman

I still haven't done the mods, & honestly, I'm not sure I'm going to....I'd really hate to screw up a great little amp....Gonna give my Tweaker a good workout this weekend, as I'm gonna track/record some different guitar parts on some songs I'm (still...) working on....

*scat7s*:I'd love to hear the before/after clips, as again, I'm really not sure I'd benefit anything from the snubber mods, the clips may help me...

*Alan*: Good to hear you're playing, I've been wondering about ya, & hope everything works out for you man, I know we all have our ups/downs (trust me, I know too...), but it seems you've had it really rough for a long time, hang in there man, hopefully it'll get better for you.....I'm reminded of what a good guy you are everytime I turn either of my amps on btw....


----------



## RiverRatt

Thanks guys. Things are a little better with my right hand. I still don't have any real control over it, but the physical therapy people made me a splint that keeps my hand in playing position and I use a thumb pick and have to play from my elbow. No palm mutes or pinch harmonics and especially no up strokes - that usually sends the pick flying across the room. I'm most comfortable with my Strat but I can't keep from hitting the switch and the volume control.


----------



## brp

RiverRatt said:


> I'm most comfortable with my Strat but I can't keep from hitting the switch and the volume control.



So, totally normal then lol


----------



## RiverRatt

LOL! Actually, I NEVER used to hit the switch or volume control. I switched the tone pot from the middle pickup to the bridge pickup. That doesn't really affect which knobs I hit, but at least I can roll the tone back a little on the bridge pickup so that when I do hit the switch it's not as thin and bright-sounding. One of the guys who works at Egnater said he likes to run EL34's in his Tweaker 15 with a strat. I'm not picky about power tubes but I do like a Dyna Comp in front of the amp with a strat.


----------



## Riffraff

I pulled the Jensen from the Orpheum and discovered it has a bunch of small tears around the outside edge of the cone . The CTS set are 8 ohm speakers so I had to pull one from the cab to put in the amp. Perfect time to try the Rola's so I put them in the 212 cab. They are pretty nice sounding speakers with clean settings. I'm not sure how much they would like getting beat on with a cranked and boosted Tweaker......or anything for that matter. I don't think a Jensen Concert DP Alnico 5 is worth the expense of a recone. I guess it's time to do a little speaker shopping.


----------



## minerman

Did a little re-amping with my Tweaker today before work, & I have to say, it's a great little amp....To be honest, I have a hard time telling which track is the Tweaker & which is the Marshall DSL-1....Of course, both were ran through the same speaker, using the same guitar, but it does a Marshall-y sound quite well IMO....

*brp*: You ever get around to recording those clips with the snubber mod??? Just wondering dude, still can't bring myself to mod the T15 as of yet, thinking just some eq in the loop might be all I'd need....


----------



## brp

minerman said:


> *brp*: You ever get around to recording those clips with the snubber mod??? Just wondering dude, still can't bring myself to mod the T15 as of yet, thinking just some eq in the loop might be all I'd need....



I have not done the mod and may never end up doing it. I'm not unhappy with the Tweaker as-is, although I am interested in hearing the opinions of people here who have done the mod.


----------



## scat7s

that was me miner. 

im currently absorbed in something else. but should be able to get something for you within days...i know... i said that last time haha.


----------



## minerman

*brp*: Sorry about the confusion between you & scat7s dude, there's so much going on here, it's not even funny...

*scat7s*: No hurry on the clips dude, I don't know if I'd even attempt the mod or not, it looks like it'd be pretty simple (& easily reversed), but I don't have time lately for much at all (Dad's health, wife's health, work...you know, life in general...)...Just post the clips if/when you get time...


----------



## Riffraff

Sorry to hear you are going through some crap minerman. I hope things turn around soon. I've been following the mod discussion but there is no way I'm touching mine. It's great as is. This kind of makes me laugh because it's such a low cost amp and the first thing I did to my Plexi when I got it was clip the bright cap and rip out the MV someone else put in it.


----------



## scat7s

its a stupid easy mod. 

you dont even have to remove the board, but to put it back to original you would probably have to. to get access to the pads on the underside.

its fairly subtle, but i think noticable...the tonal change.


----------



## scat7s

ok minerman, this isnt the clip i was thinking of, with the stock vs modded. 

its basically the only thing i have recorded after the mods. 

guitar to amp, mics to preamps, direct to ADAT. there is no post eq or effects, save for a light ambient reverb on the rhythm guitars. its not what i promised, but it is an accurate representation of the tones i get. 

the amp is set to vintage/AC/treble 7/mids 7/bass 5/ bright off/deep on. gain about 4.5. 


DR0000 0437 by spaceship mechanic on SoundCloud - Hear the world


----------



## minerman

Thanks scat7, I appreciate you uploading the clip....Not sure I'm gonna do the mod, as I've "found" a plexi-ish setting/sound after all this time...While it's not a 100% accurate plexi-tone, I think it's still pretty damn good for a $400 (new, what I paid about a year ago) amp.....Here's a clip of a re-amped di track, with a Univibe emulation & SD-1 (clean boost) hitting the front of the amp, & some phase/flange/delay/'verb added in the daw....

Signal chain:
Ibanez (Custom Custom p'up) > interface > Amplitube 3's Univibe > re-amp box > SD-1 > Tweaker > Greenback > SM57 > Guitar Rig's phaser > flanger > tape delay > eq (high/low pass filter) > reverb send...

Amp settings:
Vintage
Volume: 8
Brit tonestack
Treble: 9
Mid: 4-ish
Bass: 5
Hot
Gain: 2-3
Bright
Tight


[SC]http://soundcloud.com/minerman1970/univibe-tweaker-greenback[/SC]


----------



## scat7s

sounds plenty bright to me ^  i kinda _go_ for a darkish tone anyway i think..

shifting gears, ive been using the sovtek 5881, which i read from alan in another thread that this is the same tube as the 6p3 type tube everyone has been enjoying? do i have that right?

that would be interesting if i _was_ reading that right, b/c these tubes sounded great in that amp to me (sov 5881/6L6 type). better headroom. its funny that i completely by accident found the same thing...

with that said, the other day i plugged in a pair of sylvania kt66. i tried this briefly once before, but i want to give it another try. even more headroom perhaps? theyre known as a clean-ish sounding tube right?

only problem is they stick out of the top. so i cant really travel like that. i could build another cage, but im not sure its worth it yet.


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## tom310

minerman said:


> Thanks scat7, I appreciate you uploading the clip....Not sure I'm gonna do the mod, as I've "found" a plexi-ish setting/sound after all this time...While it's not a 100% accurate plexi-tone, I think it's still pretty damn good for a $400 (new, what I paid about a year ago) amp.....Here's a clip of a re-amped di track, with a Univibe emulation & SD-1 (clean boost) hitting the front of the amp, & some phase/flange/delay/'verb added in the daw....
> 
> Signal chain:
> Ibanez (Custom Custom p'up) > interface > Amplitube 3's Univibe > re-amp box > SD-1 > Tweaker > Greenback > SM57 > Guitar Rig's phaser > flanger > tape delay > eq (high/low pass filter) > reverb send...
> 
> Amp settings:
> Vintage
> Volume: 8
> Brit tonestack
> Treble: 9
> Mid: 4-ish
> Bass: 5
> Hot
> Gain: 2-3
> Bright
> Tight
> 
> 
> [SC]http://soundcloud.com/minerman1970/univibe-tweaker-greenback[/SC]



minerman, are your setting values 1 - 10 values or "o'clock" values? I want to see how this sounds with my Les Paul. Thanks!


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## minerman

The settings are 1-10 values Tom.....Mic placement has a lot to do with the brightness, as does the p'up in my Ibanez (Duncan Custom Custom)....Another thing, my Boss SD-1 is modified, I clipped C6 (IIRC, it's a high pass filter) awhile back, & it can get harsh if I turn the knob past 5 or so...

Good luck, & post some clips if you can!!!!!


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## minerman

scat7s said:


> ive been using the sovtek 5881, which i read from alan in another thread that this is the same tube as the 6p3 type tube everyone has been enjoying? do i have that right?
> 
> that would be interesting if i _was_ reading that right, b/c these tubes sounded great in that amp to me (sov 5881/6L6 type). better headroom. its funny that i completely by accident found the same thing...
> 
> with that said, the other day i plugged in a pair of sylvania kt66. i tried this briefly once before, but i want to give it another try. even more headroom perhaps? theyre known as a clean-ish sounding tube right?
> 
> only problem is they stick out of the top. so i cant really travel like that. i could build another cage, but im not sure its worth it yet.


 
Not sure on the tube type scat7s, maybe Alan will post & let us know, him & Marty seem to be the tube "guru's" here....


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## RiverRatt

No, I'm not a tube guru but thanks for the vote of confidence. When I joined the forum way back when, I had one RCA 12AX7 and didn't know it from Shinola.

The "magic" Tweaker tube is the plain ol' 6P3S (looks like 6n3C in Cyrillic).






The 6P3S-E is a bigger bottle and has a coin base, although I was recently made aware that this tube was sometimes fitted with a regular base and despite its low ratings as per the data sheet, it can be subbed for a 6L6GC.






The Sovtek 5881/6L6WGC looks a lot like the 6P3S-E and may actually be the same tube.


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## RiverRatt

Scat, what did you think of the KT66 in the Tweaker? I tried that myself back when I had the Vintage Modern head and it completely changed the character of the amp.

If you run across a pair of Tung-Sol 5881's, give them a try. They aren't just terribly expensive and they are short. You don't have to take off the top grille to get them in. They are probably my second-favorite output tube in the Tweaker. Since I'm sitting around with nothing to do, I'd like to make a pair of adapters and run a pair of 6AQ5 tubes just for the hell of it.


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## scat7s

honestly, i havent had a chance to really let her loose w/the KT66 if you know what i mean, hopefully this weekend. 
ive tried them before and thought...meh...wanted to give em another try. but now, i realize what i actually have is a pair of GEC kt66 with a sylvania stamp. i see some pairs going for pretty big bucks on ebay...i might try to unload them. 

i had a pair of CP tung sol 5881's, (b4 i had the tweaker) and one of them flamed out prematurely. i did like how they sounded though in other amps. i;ll keep an eye out for a pair. 

thanks for the reply


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## RiverRatt

The old Tung Sol 5881 is the one you want. I have a pair or two with broken guide pins that you can try out. It's pretty easy to align them. The guide pin keyway is between pins 1 and 8. Make a mark with a Sharpie on the outside of the tube base and the socket and line those up. Just don't come looking for me if you screw up your amp!!


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## scat7s

haha

thanks for the offer, i appreciate it.


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## RiverRatt

If anyone wants a good, strong 6P3S pair, I have one in the classifieds. I'd like for them to go to a good home.


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## armandodiaz

Don't mean to get off the subject but..... has anyone come up with a mod to add a footswitch for clean/dirty channel? I've owned my Tweaker for about 3 yrs and I've always felt that to be it biggest short fall.


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## speyfly

armandodiaz said:


> Don't mean to get off the subject but..... has anyone come up with a mod to add a footswitch for clean/dirty channel? I've owned my Tweaker for about 3 yrs and I've always felt that to be it biggest short fall.



It's been discusses for some time now and the last I heard, it can't be done. Who know, lets hope someone will come up with something, I hope so cause I love mine and the would be the icing on the cake...


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## shooto

it's been done- my amp tech has done it for someone-

http://www.skipzcircuits.com/

but really, there is no "clean" channel...it's just a gain stage cut


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## Mike_LA

speyfly said:


> the last I heard, it can't be done.


Ok, I guess the thread needs to be searched because there is nothing special about the switch on the front of the amp. 
It can be replaced with any matching type of switch (SPST, SPDT, DPST, DPDT, ETC.)
Now you may need to add an additional switch to choose between foot on panel.
It's too simple of a switch to not be able to set it remotely, I'll do a search if I get time.


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## Riffraff

Mike_LA said:


> Ok, I guess the thread needs to be searched because there is nothing special about the switch on the front of the amp.
> It can be replaced with any matching type of switch (SPST, SPDT, DPST, DPDT, ETC.)
> Now you may need to add an additional switch to choose between foot on panel.
> It's too simple of a switch to not be able to set it remotely, I'll do a search if I get time.



Shooto already posted a link to the fix. That can be installed in the amp and does the switching function. A simple remote footswitch triggers the relay.


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## speyfly

Riffraff said:


> Shooto already posted a link to the fix. That can be installed in the amp and does the switching function. A simple remote footswitch triggers the relay.



Cool, I thought I had read that it couldn't be done here on this forum but it must have been on another site. 

How much and where can I get this done?

Thx...


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## shooto

speyfly said:


> Cool, I thought I had read that it couldn't be done here on this forum but it must have been on another site.
> 
> How much and where can I get this done?
> 
> Thx...


 
uhhh, look above...I posted his link....Skip is a wizard on amps 'n stuff, tell him Mark sent you-


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## speyfly

Thx shooto, I'll be placing the order in the next couple of days but I need a little more info. Will the instructions address the Tweaker 15 specifically step by step or will I have to know how to read a schematic diagram? How to's are not tuff for me as long as I have pictures, lots of pictures (smile). Great price IMHO!

Thx again...


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## shooto

speyfly said:


> Thx shooto, I'll be placing the order in the next couple of days but I need a little more info. Will the instructions address the Tweaker 15 specifically step by step or will I have to know how to read a schematic diagram? How to's are not tuff for me as long as I have pictures, lots of pictures (smile). Great price IMHO!
> 
> Thx again...


 
no, it's not specifically for the Tweaker...actually, he developed that switching jack after he and I were talking about getting a Sovtek MIG50H of mine to be able to switch between the Bassman and JCM parts of the amp (the two inputs...also like the JMPs high and low inputs)- 

I would just email him and tell him what you want, he's a very cool cat- I have him do all my work so I never ordered a kit from him but I'm positive he'll give you whatever you need to help you through it-


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## speyfly

Awesome, I'll email him and get this done.

Many thx...

D


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## Riffraff

In theory the installation is pretty straight forward, replace the HOT/CLEAN switch with the relay board. The switch is DPDT and you move the circuit from the switch to the contacts on one of the board mounted relays. You power the board by taping your 6.3v tube filiment circuit. The challange is doing this on a modern amp with board mounted components and little internal space to fit an additional board. It's not impossible just really tight. Fortunately the relay board is very small.





The switch is also PCB mounted which make this even more difficult. I would clip the switch leaving some portion of it's terminals soldered to the PCB and use them as your soldering point for your wires to run to the board. Cover the termination with shrink tubing once you have the wires soldered to them to make it a neat installation. The tube sockets are also PCB mounted so gaining access to the filiment power is another headache. Look for the leads coming from the PT under the board running to the flilment traces of the tubes. There should be a connection point somewhere for you to tap into. This would be a difficult installation for someone without a lot of technical skills. It's definitely doable and not too hard for a tech but really intimidating for a novice.


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## speyfly

^ Oh man, that does not look like a mod that I want to take on. Think I'll need a tech to do this one, damn...


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## Riffraff

At least that kit makes it possible. It's a bit of a pain in the ass but really only because there is very little spare room under a Tweaker 15 chassis. That kit looks like a handy solution for all kinds of applications.


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## speyfly

Riffraff said:


> At least that kit makes it possible. It's a bit of a pain in the ass but really only because there is very little spare room under a Tweaker 15 chassis. That kit looks like a handy solution for all kinds of applications.



I agree that it offers a lot of promise. I'm thinking that I might give it a go with my Night Train 15 to see how it works plus the effects loop, looks like it will work on my NT 15, the NT has a bit more room in the chassis to work with.


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