6L6 and 12AX7 Tubes - Does replacing them all improve tone???

[@korydorynory3713]

What a great lead tone. I've never heard 6505 sound so thick, tight and smooth at the same time. Could you please upload somewhere all tracks unmixed?

[@dawsondavidable]

Cheers, Adam! In my casual listening, I heard noticeable, not drastic, increases in treble and volume with the new tubes. Thanks for this test!

Awesome Comparison! THAT made a huge difference imo!

[@adamsteelproducer]

It’s funny, on good monitors it seemed quite subtle to me- but then listening on my iPad after upload the new tubes seemed to make the whole thing a lot clearer, it’s hard to describe but it would fit better in a mix with no effort

@@adamsteelproducer The new ones seem to be more lively, upfront and fuller ... I have listened to it on my monitors though they are hopefully not bad :D (Genelec 8050 and 7070 sub) ^^ At least on this system the difference is pretty audible ... On the clean sound i expected the new ones to be more bright but they also just were fuller and warmer. Could that be also from the different brand maybe ?

[@zyxwfish]

On the clean channel there was more punch. Did the tubes fix the high gain channel?

[@adamsteelproducer]

Yes they did! It must have been a failing pre valve

[@NoCantsAllowed]

So... did it fix the volume drop-out problem, or not? ...nevermind. I just saw your earlier reply to the question. Thanks

[@presentelaw]

The old valves sound like old Mullards, Brimars, Philips etc!!! Hilarous! I've been paying top dollars for "worn" valves. Actually, I recently replaced all my NOS with cheap old Sovteks. They sounded better than my NOS. Just like your video. The new valves were clearer and louder. Thanks for the video.

[@denshi-oji494]

Nice comparisons. Big difference for sure. But, ultimately it is more about how some tubes may shift with age, not new versus new. If you match tubes, you can have great results with old tubes and new tubes, and even mixed sets of tubes! It does help to buy matched sets when you can. But after some use and aging, they may no longer be matched. It is not hard to do the testing of valves, and I would really suggest anyone serious on the topic learn about it and do it themselves. One more thing, some amps also have adjustments that are also needed from time to time, and when tubes are replaced. (look up biasing and balancing a tube amplifier)

[@Dogmatikos]

Does changing the tubes fixes the problem with the hi gain input?

[@adamsteelproducer]

It did for me, because I think the tube in V1 was old and faulty. For anyone else it might not be as simple

[@xttocx]

Bags more bottom end and a punch in the mid, with a cleaner top end... Entire sonic improvement in my headphones 👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼

[@Shadowsreach1]

Very cool video ! I did hear a lot of difference in the mid range between the old and new, lows were tighter with the new tubes also in my opinion Thanks!

[@JustAdude291]

Wait, so is this the exact same replacement set or is that one new phase inverter tube different than the old one? With the exception of the brand

[@MatthewHopkinsWitchfinder]

The new tubes to me had a slight increase in volume and maybe a slightly more tighter/together sound. The differences were subtle at best and wouldn't be noticeable outside of a studio context. I think the advantage of high end tubes is mostly in reliability. Beyond that I don't think there is a big difference from one to the next. I have a 6505+ with a bunch of preamp tubes from different companies and the amp sounds good and I haven't had any problems since I got it a couple of years ago. It's my go to for a metal sound.

[@adrienlatouffe3236]

there is no increase of volume at all.Just more bass with the new tube. hear again.

[@denshi-oji494]

perhaps a better topic would be: Does it make a difference to use a good balanced set of tubes compared with bad and unbalanced tubes?

[@adamsteelproducer]

That’s not a better topic, it’s a different one. What is good, what is bad is very subjective and I also don’t want to damage my equipment

[@erhanmusician]

New ones give more output. That may be just because they're newer. Also they are low mid heavy and have less presence than the old ones. I think if you level match their output, the older ones will cut through better in a dense mix because of their higher presence.

[@DavidSJ_DAP]

Definitely not an earth shattering difference, but I feel like I heard a much more pronounced lower midrange and more body with the new tubes...

[@BillHesse]

Adam, if it’s not pristine 1950’s single coils wound with unobtainium into a totally clean fender it’s too compressed to tell anything. Can of bees I tell you!

[@cookieman876]

Nobody who listened to this through phone speakers will notice much difference. How ever there is a noticeable difference in presence and mid range when comparing. I tend to actually like the sound of the old tubes better.

[@owendowling5639]

The new tubes sounded slightly warmer and with less noise

[@kyleboren7372]

Slight difference in the clean channel but very noticeable difference in the lead channel

[@mattrussell5098]

It's was sharper sounding after the change.

[@BillHesse]

A little more attack on the high end with the new tubes.

[@tubeaddicted485]

Main difference with new and properly biased tubes is the response you get while playing.

[@SebastianMaruntiel]

not that much difference after all. not anything worth mentioning anyway. thanks for the great video.

[@adrienlatouffe3236]

with a beyerdynamic dt-770 on my ears, i hear... nothing really useful. It's not better with new valve. it doesn't transform you in satriani. It's just more bassy.Low frequencies seems to be more hearable with new tubes. is it worth? clearly no to me. No decibel difference, it's in your mind. My guitar teacher always told me "give to billy gibbons a 50 bucks guitar and a poor transistor vox, he will make Zztop sound with it. the rest is for youtube viewerz to make money with it"