phil_the_bassist Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 Mornin Gals&Gents! So, I've got the HA5500 with the hybrid Solid State/Valve preamp, and I've never really paid it much attn as I couldn't really notice much of a difference when dialling in the valve section...so I just leave both dials at 1 o'clock and have at it. Is there any way to swap out the valve with something a bit ballsier (wow, the spellcheck didn't fire off! Ballsier is a REAL WORD!! )? I'm not expecting a TE V8 or SVT tone, but if you guys think theres a way to get a bit of tube growl then I'm willing to give it a shot Whatcha recon? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peted Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 I think that you might have to somehow change the voltage or current going to the valve to get it to distort but I'm not expert! Perhaps there's a valve that is naturally a higher gain which will overdrive without any mods to the amp itself. I swapped the stock Sovtek which came with my Hartke 3500 out for a Groove Tubes Mullard and can at least tell you that there is no tube growl, but the sound is lovely and clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 EHX valves are gainy and grindy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badass Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 [quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='529470' date='Jul 1 2009, 12:06 PM']EHX valves are gainy and grindy.[/quote] Really would like to try this out on my 3500, just to see how it affects things. Anyone know what the valve is? A 12AX7? So a EHX equivalent would be? Can any damage be done when changing preamp valves like this? Thanks and sorry for the hijack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_the_bassist Posted July 1, 2009 Author Share Posted July 1, 2009 No worries, Mr Hijack Thanks for the tips guys, I'd also like to know the answers to Badass' ?tions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 I don't know the answers to your questions sorry but.. Have you tried overdriving it by boosting the input, with an EQ pedal or a boost pedal? Would putting a higher gain input valve in risk overdriving the poweramp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 I had a chat with these chaps:[url="http://www.watfordvalves.com/"]Watford Valves[/url] when I changed the valve in my LH-500. 12ax7's IIRC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 I was about to point you at Brycebites very handy [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=42"]Preamp Valve Comparison[/url] thread, which was a sticky at one point. Obviously it's not as useful as it once was, but there's probably still some useful info there before you need to look elsewhere. If I remember rightly he was at the time using a Hartke as his test bed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 [quote name='Musky' post='529916' date='Jul 1 2009, 08:15 PM']I was about to point you at Brycebites very handy [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=42"]Preamp Valve Comparison[/url] thread, which was a sticky at one point. Obviously it's not as useful as it once was, but there's probably still some useful info there before you need to look elsewhere. If I remember rightly he was at the time using a Hartke as his test bed.[/quote] +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzz Posted July 2, 2009 Share Posted July 2, 2009 (edited) Another +1 for Bryceee's Preamp valve thread. Good bit of information that is. Finnbass has the maintained version on it (like said in Bryceee's BC post). You'll probably want to stick with a 12AX7 (ECC83) for it's gain factor of 100. Edited July 2, 2009 by Buzz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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