where tone comes first
Which Valves in which Amplifiers
I mentioned that I thought of the Peavey Classic range as being a poor man's Fender (it's cheaper, but still good for blues and funk) and also saying that they have their own great tone. Then it occurred to me that they have different tubes inside them. I've always auditioned amplifiers rather than just buying based on specifications, but it raised an interesting question: Just how much can the choice of tubes in the amp tell you about its tone?
So a quick excursion to a few manufacturer sites and I produced the following table of which valves are which amplifiers. It's not a complete list, I just wanted to get an idea of the major groupings. I'm treating all 6L6 tubes as being the same whether 6L6WGB, 6L6GC, etc. They're not the same but it's good enough for this discussion.
|
Amplifier |
Pre-amp Valves/Tubes |
Power-amp Valves/Tubes |
Rectifier Valve |
Reverb Valve |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Amps with 12AX7 and 6L6 |
12AX7 |
6L6 |
|
|
|
Fender Hot Rod DeVille 410 |
12AX7 |
6L6 |
|
|
|
Fender '59 Bassman |
12AX7 |
6L6 |
5AR4 |
|
|
Fender '65 Twin Reverb |
12AX7 & 12AT7 |
6L6 |
|
|
|
Fender '57 Twin Amp |
12AX7 |
6L6 |
5U4 |
|
|
Engl Thunder |
ECC83/12AX7 |
5881 6L6GC |
|
|
|
Engl Screamer |
ECC83/12AX7 |
5881 6L6GC |
|
|
|
Engl Powerball |
ECC83/12AX7 |
5881 6L6GC |
|
|
|
Fender Hot Rod Deluxe |
12AX |
6L6 |
|
|
|
Hughes and Kettner Statesman Dual 6L6 |
12AX7 |
6L6 |
|
|
|
Engl Special Edition E670 EL34 |
ECC83 |
6L6GC |
|
|
|
Fuchs Triple Drive Supreme (TDS) 50W |
12AX7 |
6L6 |
|
|
|
Fuchs Triple Drive Supreme (TDS) 100W |
12AX7 |
6L6 |
|
|
|
Marshall 1962 Bluesbreaker |
ECC83 |
5881 |
GZ34 |
|
|
Mesa Boogie Roadking Series 2 |
12AX7 |
6L6 & EL34 |
5U4 |
? |
|
Mesa Boogie Lone Star |
12AX7 |
6L6 |
5U4 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Amps with 12AX7 and 6V6 |
12AX7 |
6V6 |
|
|
|
Matamp Minimat II |
ECC83 |
6V6 |
|
|
|
Fuchs Triple Drive Supreme (TDS) Custom 50 |
12AX7 |
6V6 |
|
|
|
Matamp 1224 |
ECC83/12AX7 |
6V6 |
|
6V6 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Amps with 12AX7 and EL34 |
12AX7 |
EL34 |
|
|
|
Mesa Boogie Stiletto Deuce |
12AX7 |
EL34 |
5U4 |
|
|
Hughes and Kettner Triamp MkII Alex Lifeson |
12AX7 |
EL34 |
|
|
|
Engl Special Edition E670 EL34 |
ECC83 |
EL34 |
|
|
|
Engl Steve Morse Signature 100 E656 |
ECC83/12AX7 |
EL34 |
|
|
|
Hughes and Kettner Statesman Dual EL34 |
12AX7 |
EL34 |
|
|
|
Hughes and Kettner Switchblade |
12AX7 |
EL34 |
|
|
|
Koch Multitone II |
12AX7 |
EL34 |
|
|
|
Marshall JVM410C |
ECC83/12AX7 |
EL34 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Amps with 12AX7 and EL84 |
12AX7 |
EL84 |
|
|
|
Laney Lionheart L5T-112 |
12AX7 |
EL84 |
|
|
|
Hughes and Kettner Statesman Dual EL84 |
12AX7 |
EL84 |
|
|
|
Budda Superdrive 18 |
12AX7 |
EL84 |
5U4 |
|
|
Blackheart BH5-112 5W Little Giant |
12AX7 |
EL84 |
|
|
|
Laney VC15-110 |
12AX7 |
EL84 |
|
|
|
Blackstar Artisan Series 15 |
EF86 & ECC83 |
EL84 |
|
|
|
Peavey Classic 50/410 |
12AX7 |
EL84 |
|
|
|
Orange Tiny Terror Combo |
ECC83/12AX7 |
EL84 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Amps with 12AX7 and KT88 |
12AX7 |
KT88 |
|
|
|
Fuchs Triple Drive Supreme (TDS) 150W |
12AX7 |
6550 |
|
|
|
Orange Thunderverb 200W |
ECC83 |
6550/KT88 |
|
ECC81 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Some Other Amplifiers |
|
|
|
|
|
Vox Valvetronix VT50 |
none |
12AX7 for tube sound |
|
|
|
Blackstar HT-5 |
ECC83 |
12BH7 |
|
|
What I hadn't realised is that almost every amplifier I could think of used the same preamp valve (I'm treating 12AX7 and ECC83 as being the same). There are a few that use others in the 12A?7 family, such as Blackstar's use of the additional EF86 and Fender with an 12AT7 in Fender '65 Twin Reverb. Note that ECC83 is the European version of 12AX7, similarly 5881 is the European version of the 6L6.
The main differences lie in the power amp valves. I can see how using lower-power valves will make a guitar amplifier sound different (as well as affecting its overall capacity for volume). There are a lot of people who suggest that different valves sound different. As well as looking into this more, I think I'll have to backtrack on grouping all the 6L6 valves together.
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