Valve World

[stewblack]

I've had those amps with the little valve in the preamp stage, and prior to that just good old fashioned ornery heads.

On Sunday I officially join the world of the all valve head owners. 

With this in mind, what do you have to say? What do I need to know? I am a bundle of barely suppressed anticipatory excitement. Help me wile away the long hours by talking valves to me.

Edited January 24, 2019 by stewblack

[Reggaebass]

I’ve had many amps and heads over the years and I’m verging on a all valve head , which one did you get 🙂

[warwickhunt]

Following! 

 

[stewblack]

42 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

I’ve had many amps and heads over the years and I’m verging on a all valve head , which one did you get 🙂

Ampeg. 300 watts. Bought here.

[stewblack]

42 minutes ago, warwickhunt said:

Following! 

 

Stalker...

[thodrik]

Trace Elliot V6 owner here. 

Pros: tone for days, loud as hell, heft by the buckets. 

Cons: re-valve costs which can run into the hundreds, needing to be careful with speaker inputs (mine works 4 ohms and 2 ohms, so I'm not risking an 8 ohm loud), the fear for something just going wrong at a gig, heavy (mine isn't SVT heavy but it is too heavy for the one carry handle it has!), limited EQ (on this Trace, the passive EQ takes a while to operate, particularly with an active bass).

An Ampeg SVT though is an absolute classic of an amp. What model did you get?

At the moment I am torn between getting another all valve head or going the 'modern' route of getting either the new Mesa WD800 or a Darkglass Alpha Omega 900. My concern though is that now matter how clever modern designs are, nothing beats just waiting for your valve amp to heat up, flicking the standby switch and just playing a low E (or better, a low B) at high volume. 

[stewblack]

5 minutes ago, thodrik said:

An Ampeg SVT though is an absolute classic of an amp. What model did you get?

. 

The svt classic I believe.

[aitkenaudio]

1 hour ago, thodrik said:

Trace Elliot V6 owner here. 

Pros: tone for days, loud as hell, heft by the buckets. 

Cons: re-valve costs which can run into the hundreds, needing to be careful with speaker inputs (mine works 4 ohms and 2 ohms, so I'm not risking an 8 ohm loud), the fear for something just going wrong at a gig, heavy (mine isn't SVT heavy but it is too heavy for the one carry handle it has!), limited EQ (on this Trace, the passive EQ takes a while to operate, particularly with an active bass).

An Ampeg SVT though is an absolute classic of an amp. What model did you get?

At the moment I am torn between getting another all valve head or going the 'modern' route of getting either the new Mesa WD800 or a Darkglass Alpha Omega 900. My concern though is that now matter how clever modern designs are, nothing beats just waiting for your valve amp to heat up, flicking the standby switch and just playing a low E (or better, a low B) at high volume. 

i wish i still had my v6

[aitkenaudio]

basically make sure you plug it in the right load and make sure you have a speaker plugged in. Treat it care as well. Valves are more robust than people say they are haha.

[ped]

One of my favourite sounds was from my 400+

I also love the sound of the tubes ticking as they cool down. 

Also it smelled nice

[xgsjx]

Tubes cooling down is a great end of set sound.  👌

One big downside of valve amps is the weight.  Mine has 2 handles, but I still use a sack trolley to move it to & from the car.

Looks is another great thing about valve amps.  They just look so danm awesome.  

[Steve Browning]

What will you be running it through? Hopefully your speaker set up will do it justice.

[EliasMooseblaster]

14 hours ago, aitkenaudio said:

basically make sure you plug it in the right load and make sure you have a speaker plugged in. Treat it care as well. Valves are more robust than people say they are haha.

I'll second this - been using a couple of Ashdown all-valve heads for a few years now and - touch wood - no valves or fuses blown to date!

Doesn't stop me worrying, of course, but it's worth it for the tone.

[stewblack]

8 hours ago, Steve Browning said:

What will you be running it through? Hopefully your speaker set up will do it justice.

A little experimentation here. I have a Barefaced set up comprising two cabs both 8ohm 1 X 15 and 1 X 10 and I have two MB 1 X 15s.  They both have their own excellent characteristics. I lean towards the MBs because for whatever reason they always sound so damn good with old amps like my Trace gear, or valve pre amps like my Orange Terror. I have a stand for the amp so no overhang issues - can't bear the thought of that!

If I could still lift the old 8 X 10 I would probably go with it but that's a no no. I'm not wedded to either cab set up. Toying with two lightweight 4 X 10s to replace them but don't want a step down in quality. Be fun finding out.

(410s just cos I'm old and like a big slab of speaker behind me. It's illogical (to some) irrational (to others) but hey this is my choice right?)

Edited January 25, 2019 by stewblack

[Japhet]

As already stated - make sure you have a speaker plugged in before you fire it up, otherwise blue smoke will eminate from your lovely new amp.

[Lozz196]

3 hours ago, stewblack said:

(410s just cos I'm old and like a big slab of speaker behind me. It's illogical (to some) irrational (to others) but hey this is my choice right?)

I know exactly what you mean, for me a 410 is the bass cab, something about multiple speakers all going together that just makes a much nicer sound - irrespective of volume I should add.

[stewblack]

Got it, played it, love it.

[skidder652003]

On 24/01/2019 at 22:22, stewblack said:

The svt classic I believe.

The beast!

Always remember to fire it up (standby on) when you first get to the gig, it takes a while to warm up and switch it off (via the standby switch of course) straight after the gig as you want it to cool down before you start shifting it. And for Gods sake use your legs, not your back! ALWAYS have it plugged into the cab before you switch it on, get a good quality cable from Obbm (they are amazing), and finally get it serviced once a year, enjoy, they are incredible, don't be afraid to turn the mid range right up otherwise you won't hear much difference in the 4 way mids selector switch, only took me 5 years to figure that out!

[stewblack]

20 minutes ago, skidder652003 said:

The beast!

Always remember to fire it up (standby on) when you first get to the gig, it takes a while to warm up and switch it off (via the standby switch of course) straight after the gig as you want it to cool down before you start shifting it. And for Gods sake use your legs, not your back! ALWAYS have it plugged into the cab before you switch it on, get a good quality cable from Obbm (they are amazing), and finally get it serviced once a year, enjoy, they are incredible, don't be afraid to turn the mid range right up otherwise you won't hear much difference in the 4 way mids selector switch, only took me 5 years to figure that out!

Thank you!

[stewblack]

Quick question. I'm a bit scared of forking up this amp as I'm a hamfisted klutz. In a gig situation once it's warmed up and been turned on and sound checked, what then? Do you power the whole thing down until 20 minutes before going on? Leave it on standby? Some gigs soundcheck is only half hour before kick off, others can be hours.

[skidder652003]

leave it on standby if you have to wait anymore than 10/15 minutes before playing. If its literally hours then switch it off. I'll soundcheck then go into standby, grab a drink, take a p1ss, then one two three...forgot to switch it back out of standby!

Edited January 30, 2019 by skidder652003

[stewblack]

5 hours ago, skidder652003 said:

leave it on standby if you have to wait anymore than 10/15 minutes before playing. If its literally hours then switch it off. I'll soundcheck then go into standby, grab a drink, take a p1ss, then one two three...forgot to switch it back out of standby!

Ha ha - that sounds just the kind of thing I would do. Thanks for indulging me.

[spencer.b]

A really good tech once told me that it's a bad idea to move a valve amp while the valves are still warm, anyone else heard this?

[BreadBin]

8 minutes ago, spencer.b said:

A really good tech once told me that it's a bad idea to move a valve amp while the valves are still warm, anyone else heard this?

Yes. The best thing is to switch off as soon as you finish and then wait as long as possible before moving the amp.

[skidder652003]

1 hour ago, BreadBin said:

Yes. The best thing is to switch off as soon as you finish and then wait as long as possible before moving the amp.

exactly what I do, ampeg is the last thing into the van after all the pa has been stowed, also first thing to come out when i get home ( if I can be @rsed)