Arjun Menon wrote:
Hi all,
I've got a Laney VC100 loaded with 6 x (no name i think) ECC83 and 4 x Sovtek 5881. It's a 2 channel 2x12 with Celestion 70/80s.
My issue is:
1. The amp is WAY too bright overall (some call it the icepick syndrome). My current fix is to set the treble between 9 (2) and 10'o clock (3) - this just gets me by.
2. I've noticed a massive difference between going into the Hi & Lo inputs. The breakup on Hi is not very musical, and quite harsh at volume past 10' o clock. I'm currently using the Lo input, as it seems to breakup later and when it does, it sounds similar to a Blackface and is quite musical.
3. It sounds very 1D with the gain turned up on the drive channel - The bass lacks punch and definition, the mids aren't creamy, and the highs lack chime and certain roundness/ bell-like quality.
My understanding of valve amps is pretty much non-existent and what i've been reading/researching on the www isn't in ye olde english.
Would changing my preamp tubes (hence the Gold Lion ECC83 reference) and power amp tubes (the Tung Sol 5881 reference) solve some of my problems? Would i also need to change my speakers?
I'm open to cheaper alternatives as well.
Not knowing all that much about the valves you speak of, I can say with some certainty that a speaker change will have a much bigger effect on the sound of the amp than changing valves. However, that opens a whole can of worms because buying new valves is simple, even if they don't change the sound much you'll have spares, not so with speakers. If you want, we can arrange for you to come to my place (or whatever) and you can try your amp on my cab with the G12H30s. That'll give you an idea of how the sound can change with different speakers. I see your amp can take an 8ohm speaker cabinet which is what mine is. So there's one option for you.
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