Exploring The Various Tube Types

Stratoblaster

Fractal Fanatic
I spent a fair bit of time this afternoon cycling through the different power tube types on several different types of amps (Class A/Fender/Marshall/Modern), amps with/without master volumes, tweaking preamp and master volumes for each, and can say the differences between the various tube types is much more pronounced and nuanced in Cygnus...very cool.

It's super revealing in Cygnus to crank/tweak a non-MV amp, say a Deluxe Verb, and hear how differently each tube 'falls apart' when heavily overdriven, their differing clipping thresholds, the clipping character of the tube (harder, softer), and it's overall effect on tone shaping/feel and articulation. There is such a wide range here to discover. Some tubes types sound/clip very similarly when the PA is driven very hard, only revealing individual character when they aren't being hammering to death....some clip faster and are richer with body and harmonics, others less so....it's a dance with many participants and a lot of fun.

You can really vary the tone/feel of an amp quickly, and effectively, by tweaking the tube types, and in a way that may not be possible, or as easy, with other adjustments. Some types suit harder/higher gain tones, some suit single coil, cleaner tones, some are great for rounding everything right off, both in response and attack/articulation. The best one suited for the job depends on the overall tonal objective, type of amp, and punch/compression/feel you're looking for.

I love the 5153 100W Blue/Green/Red amps and they all use the 6L6Gc tube which, I've discovered, is my least favorite tube in the box (that, or the 300B). I change that up to an EL34 now.

My favorites:

6V6

My favorite for single coils, especially for single notes on the neck pickup, for clean-ish, mildly driven/OD bluesy tones.
Punchy, fat, creamy, chewy with a full body and snap which really sings nicely with sweet Fender amp.

EL34
My favorite for punchy, ruder rock tones; it's warm-ish, balanced, with body and an awesome dynamic chewy, harmonic chirp as you dig in more/less.

Other all-around favorites:

6AQ5
6973

I liked these two tubes for their creamy mids, rounded/softer clipping, and how they 'fall apart' just right and 'inoffensively' overall when stressed lol. These are great for a more legato, smoother attack and rounding off higher gain tones nicely and with sweet mids:

6550
KT66

I liked these two for various bluesy/rock/higher gain tones and amps, both with single coils and humbuckers; they are punchy/articulate with body but with a more rounded/compressed tone/feel vs some other types:

Overall, I'm glad I spent some time deep diving into the various types once again and with Cygnus; while the "Pwr Tubes + CF" settings page has a ton of options I'm going to deep dive into over time, simply changing the PA tube type is a very quick and easy way to really fine tune your tone and feel with a given amp. Fun stuff...
 
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I spent a fair bit of time this afternoon cycling through the different power tube types on several different types of amps (Class A/Fender/Marshall/Modern), amps with/without master volumes, tweaking preamp and master volumes for each, and can say the differences between the various tube types is much more pronounced and nuanced in Cygnus...very cool.

It's super revealing in Cygnus to crank/tweak a non-MV amp, say a Deluxe Verb, and hear how differently each tube 'falls apart' when heavily overdriven, their differing clipping thresholds, the clipping character of the tube (harder, softer), and it's overall effect on tone shaping/feel and articulation. There is such a wide range here to discover. Some tubes types sound/clip very similarly when the PA is driven very hard, only revealing individual character when they aren't being hammering to death....some clip faster and are richer with body and harmonics, others less so....it's a dance with many participants and a lot of fun.

You can really vary the tone/feel of an amp quickly, and effectively, by tweaking the tube types, and in a way that may not be possible, or as easy, with other adjustments. Some types suit harder/higher gain tones, some suit single coil, cleaner tones, some are great for rounding everything right off, both in response and attack/articulation. The best one suited for the job depends on the overall tonal objective, type of amp, and punch/compression/feel you're looking for.

I love the 5153 100W Blue/Green/Red amps and they all use the 6L6Gc tube which, I've discovered, is my least favorite tube in the box (that, or the 300B). I change that up to an EL34 now.

My favorites:

6V6

My favorite for single coils, especially for single notes on the neck pickup, for clean-ish, mildly driven/OD bluesy tones.
Punchy, fat, creamy, chewy with a full body and snap which really sings nicely with sweet Fender amp.

EL34
My favorite for punchy, ruder rock tones; it's warm-ish, balanced, with body and an awesome dynamic chewy, harmonic chirp as you dig in more/less.

Other all-around favorites:

6AQ5
6973

I liked these two tubes for their creamy mids, rounded/softer clipping, and how they 'fall apart' just right and 'inoffensively' overall when stressed lol. These are great for a more legato, smoother attack and rounding off higher gain tones nicely and with sweet mids:

6550
KT66

I liked these two for various bluesy/rock/higher gain tones and amps, both with single coils and humbuckers; they are punchy/articulate with body but with a more rounded/compressed tone/feel vs some other types:

Overall, I'm glad I spent some time deep diving into the various types once again and with Cygnus; while the "Pwr Tubes + CF" settings page has a ton of options I'm going to deep dive into over time, simply changing the PA tube type is a very quick and easy way to really fine tune your tone and feel with a given amp. Fun stuff...
Try the 6CA7 nice mid ground of El34 and 6l6 IMO
 
I'd love to hear more about your experience as you play with different models! I mostly play Triptik Clean with a Tone of Kings out front and I've been loving the EF86-->6CA7 for that setup.
 
I once spent a good bit of time playing with tubes in the JTM45 sim, I found that I really like KT66 (or was it 88) with that one. This was many firmwares ago. I should give it another go with Cygnus.
 
The difference is very subtle . Works more in clean, small gain settings

With my Mesa Mark III with 4 6L6 power tubes ...I can change out the 2 outside tubes to EL34s with drastic differences in sound....both clean and driven sounds.

I would think it should be no different in the Axe but it’s a very subtle difference ...this is pre-Cygnus I’m referring too.

I’ve yet to test these out with Cygnus though 👍🏻
 
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With my Mesa Mark III with 4 6L6 power tubes ...I can change out the 2 outside tubes to EL34s with drastic differences in sound....both clean and driven sounds.

I would think it should be no different in the Axe but it’s a very subtle difference ...this is pre-Cygnus I’m referring too.

I’ve yet to test these out with Cygnus though 👍🏻
If I am not wrong, they are recording tests with the same head (in high gain) with different tubes and the sound don’t change a lot (to not say the difference is ridiculous) . Same for humbucker guitar pickups .

i hoped they were more sound change while changing tubes, as some guys spend their life swapping tubes and talking about tubes but …

don’t know what to think really . Cliff said clearly that the difference is poor . In the axe when you change the tube you don’t hear any big differences, something yes.. but …
And that’s the same for most of the advanced settings in the axe. Nothing radical. In the end the eq’s and basic setting are most of the thing

i owned a roadking. When I changed el34 to 6l6, yes they was a difference . The el34 were slightly more tight. it’s cool to have this feature in the amp cause you have the result immediately . But it don’t change your amp that much in the end
 
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Anyone else notice that the power amp settings don't change with a tube change? I could be wrong, but I thought they should change like they do with a preamp tube swap?
 
This post is why I don't understand why the various tube types are even changeable parameters. If changing them doesn't change the sound, why include them at all?
The difference “in real life” exists because, when you change tubes in a real amp, you don’t redesign the circuitry for the new tubes. You can simulate this change with the deeper parameters. But it doesn’t happen just by changing tube type. The options are there partly because folks would holller if it wasn’t.
 
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The difference “in real life” exists because, when you change tubes in a real amp, you don’t redesign the circuitry for the new tubes. You can simulate this change with the deeper parameters. But it doesn’t happen just by changing tube type. The options there partly because folks would holller if it wasn’t.
Why would they holler when Cliff has made it clear it doesn't make any difference? If people want the sound that changing tubes in real amps make, he could provide guidance on the advanced parameters to replicate various types. Or better yet, have changing the tube type automatically set those parameters.
 

Cliff notes changing LF & HF resonance can simulate changing tubes.

This from you is definitively in the ballpark as well!

Rex:
“A big part of the tube's interaction with the circuit has to do with the tube's impedance, which varies from tube to tube. Play around with XFMR MATCH to simulate that interaction.”

I’m curious if adjusting those parameters would simulate adding tubes to say the JC120 amp sim which has no tubes. Or would adding tubes abd increasing sag be necessary.
 
Why would they holler when Cliff has made it clear it doesn't make any difference? If people want the sound that changing tubes in real amps make, he could provide guidance on the advanced parameters to replicate various types. Or better yet, have changing the tube type automatically set those parameters.

I’m somewhat of the same mindset.

Tubes don’t sound...but they change the sound lol....

I’d simply take it with a “grain of salt” then when players would allude to “tube sounds”...since they do “change and alter” the sound.
 
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