should i change anything on my rm100 combo?

[wakeguitar]

Hey. I'm a noob to guitar tubes sorry if this has been addressed already.

I was looking for options to upgrade my sound in a rm100c. I noticed that different models came with different power amp tubes so I'll start with what I got.

Came with 6L6GC's. Everything is stock. I like the tone I'm getting now with my blackface but it's seems slightly compressed kinda.

So without altering the tone too much I'd like to be able to get a bit tighter if possible. What would be the best for me?

I'm running a blackface and have a kh3 coming and playing through a strat with hot/cool rails. I'm liking that big bright sound.

My primary concern however is going to be the signal speakers because I'll mainly be running the signal into daw for using headphones. I'm not sure if this makes a differnence or not.
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Anyways I'm just not really sure how the stock 6l6gc tubes stand up against something else while still being in the same tonal ballpark. Perhaps I will get more clarity or better bass/less compression if I switch?

thanks

mike

 

[Julia]

How long have you had it? It took me a couple months to get everything dialed in right on all the modules.

 

[wakeguitar]

I just got it this weekend! I'm still getting to know it, and it will probably take a while, but so far so good.

So far I'm really happy with the blackface, much more so than I thought I would be.

I'm not going to change anything right away but I will eventually want to do some experimenting.

 

[Rod]

Spend more time with it...These amps take a while to know their personalities...I'm still gettin to know my Lynchbox

 

[bhuard75]

thats good advice, really good advice

 

[wakeguitar]

okay guys, thanks for the input. I think I was initially mis-informed that stock tubes might not be up to par. I'm sure i was quite wrong.

I am now waiting to get several different modules and see how they sound and feel.

I may look into (eventually) changing the bias of the 6L6's as some people like them on the hot side?

I am also going to experiment changing tubes just on the modules to see what that sounds like.

quick question: If i change tubes on a module, do I need to re-bias the power tubes?

thanks again

 

[Rod]

Tubes in the modules are 12AX7's...They don't ever get biased...They always have a constant voltage running through them...They can make a big difference in the tone of these modules...I personally like high gain JJ's in the gold...they're very smooth...Others here like lots of other brands better...

 

[Julia]

The modules typically come stock with JJ high gain ECC83S unless they say otherwise.

Don't be afraid to experiment. Also remember when it comes to gain that sometimes more isn't better. You should not need a noise gate with this amp. I haven't used one in months even with very high output pickups. I do use a noise gate when I'm recording.

And just because you spent all the money on a big tube amp doesn't mean that you can no longer use stuff like overdrives, fuzzes, and other forms of dirt. You just use them differently than you do with a clean amp. It also depends upon your axe. I tend to use extra dirt with singles than I do with HBs.