De-Mystifying Sovtek 12AX7 WA WB WC Variants I thought it worth the time De-Mystifying Sovtek 12AX7 WA WB WC Variants. Why are there three versions of the Sovtek 12AX7 and what use one versus the other? One common characteristic of all three types is that they are very low in microphonics. The “W” in the part number is there to tell us its a ruggedised valve. Ruggedised valves are made to withstand more vibration than a […]
Here are Things learned about Valve Amps in 2018 . They are in no particular order. Perhaps some useful info about your amp. I thought I would share them before they faded out of my head Loudness of your amp Your ears respond to sound like a compressor. So when you ears hear the sound from a 10 watt amp and a 100 watt amp, you don’t hear an amp that is ten times louder.
Another Fender Hot Rod Deluxe arrived . This was one of the early ones in really nice physical condition dating from around 1998. It was made in the USA. Alas, I only ever see sick ones. This one had about 0.2 watts out on full volume and totally distorted. The valves had not been changed in years and the output valves were original Sovtek 5881’s rebranded as Groove tubes. They were still kind of working
A Fender Hot Rod Deluxe arrived that was not well. These 40 watt amps sound pretty good when they are working. However, a number of faults appear as they age. The obvious fault was that the 6L6’s were worn out. They were dull and noisy. However I could only find this out when we got the amp to make some sound ! When the back was removed one of the output valves was not lighting
Its a couple of weeks since I wrote about fixing amps and I had not seen a Fender amp to fix for a few weeks and then along comes four all on the same day ! In the cover picture we proudly present four broken amps -At the Top a Fender Blues Jr III -Underneath is a Fender Supersonic 40 watter -to the left is a Princeton Reverb re-issue -to the right is a Hot
The Howl and the Hum fixing four Fender amps in one day Read More »
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