How to cook a tube amp. Options

[David Barber]

Here is a tone recipe that works well with most tube amps, this will help improve both clean and overdriven tones and is just in time for the season...your family and friends will love it!

You will need a Barber Launch Pad or other extremely high headroom and uncolored clean boost and a tube amp that has a preamp tube right after the input (nearly all tube amps work this way).

In this case we are going to use the LP as a input trim (ala mixing desk) or as a "tube cooker" to get the most out of your guitars output and maximize gain staging at the input. Plug in your effects chain as normal, with the exception of placing the LP last in the chain. Set the LP Vol + on maximum, set your amp to a fairly low volume clean sound (as in "dead clean") , now footswitch your LP to "on" and start playing clean rhythm on your guitar, use your ear to set the sensitivity of your LP as you play, the idea here is to listen for the amp starting to break up as you are playing your standard rhythm style, when you find the "break up point" back off slightly on the sensitivity until you have the desired clean sound.

Congratulations, you have just set your guitars output for maximized gain staging with your amplifier. After you have the first preamp tube better matched to your guitar, you will need to set your amps volume control a bit lower in most cases and simply set any other effects that come before your LP to their unity gain output position. If your amp has a bright cap permanently attached (deluxe reverb), you could experience some extra top end because of your relatively lower volume settings, the best option here is to “clip out” that offensive bright cap, and most amps will have a bright switch which means you can simply turn that cap off.

Happy Holidays

Enjoy!

This post has been edited by David Barber: Dec 24 2004, 11:00 AM

[Sir Real]

Thanks, David. Gonna sizzle a tube w/ the Launch Pad tonight.

[Randy Combs]

Most excellent sir. Thank you.

[BFC]

How disappointing. I thought I was going to get to see a photo of an amp that had melted down in the Barber laboratory while David was testing a 48 volt version of the Launch Pad.

[Sternobob]

I guess that I'll be ordering a Launch Pad. :-)

How will this recipe work if a player generally uses OD/Boost pedals above unity gain to switch from rhythm to lead volumes?

I haven't messed with the Launch Pad as yet, so I don't have a feel for how it works. Is it possible to use it as an A/B box in this configuration?

If so, is it possible to have the outputs of the Launch Pad in-phase for use with 2 amps?


Thanks, Sternobob.

[cr8z4life]

Thats how I have my pedal board set up.....I have the RC Booster last in the chain....havent tried it at maximum though...will have to experiment with that!

[BFC]

Everyone on this board that does not own one already needs to call Bob up immediately after reading this and order a Launch Pad to use as David Barber describes above. I have tested this procedure extensively. It makes the straight, bypassed tone sound downright anemic compared to gain staging with the Launch Pad. This is absolutely flat out rediculous considering the level of gear I use.



Ever heard the old saying that a tube amp needs to be turned up some to sound good? No. A tube amp needs a super high headroom, 24 volt operation Launch Pad pedal in front of it doing this trick. WOW!!!

This post has been edited by BFC: Jan 26 2005, 09:44 PM

[Sternobob]

We had to do a very low volume gig last night. I tried the Barber gain-staging suggestions with the Launch Pad into a Deluxe Reverb with the volume on 3. It was very impressive. The amp sounded better than it had a right to at that volume. The clean tones were surprisingly full and I was also able to keep the pedal boosts very low and still have them sound yummy.

Thanks again, David.

[j4gitr]

How does this strategy work with an amp with master volume? Seems you would have to be very careful or you could go through alot of tubes.

[BFC]

How does this strategy work with an amp with master volume?  Seems you would have to be very careful or you could go through alot of tubes.

I'll have to try it with my Flexi 50 since it has a master. I would imagine it would work very well since it is directly related to the input preamp tube.

As far as tube wear and tear, not sure. Been doing this tube cooking thing for a little while now and haven't heard anything weird yet. I use current production tubes these days though. They're cheap! Ten JJs for the price of a good NOS Mullard ECC83.

I sold all of my NOS stash and laughed all the way to the bank. They sounded incredible but not that incredible unless I was doing side by side tests.

I had a phenomenal NOS tube collection but they were just worth too much to have sitting around in a tube caddy. Used the money to buy the Flexi!

Welcome to TPN btw!

[bradb]

hi.
I am curious how this would work with my twin reverb, using an RC Booster. I don't have a launch pad - yet.

Would the high headroom in the twin make this trick useless?

How could I incorporate my LTD into the equation?

thank you,

brad

[David Barber]

The headroom of the Twin would be no issue at all, the LP better interfaces the guitar to the first preamp stage, and help create better gain stageing throughout your amp. I don't really know much about the RC booster, but this really works best with a very high headroom dead flat and dead clean booster like the Launch Pad.

This post has been edited by David Barber: Apr 17 2005, 10:38 PM

[fluxion]

I picked up a Launch Pad and have been trying this gain staging thing. With the volume turned up I have to keep the Sensitivity down all the way or I get some brakeup. Is this normal? What are your settings?

Thanx

[BFC]

I picked up a Launch Pad and have been trying this gain staging thing. With the volume turned up I have to keep the Sensitivity down all the way or I get some brakeup. Is this normal? What are your settings?

Thanx

With your Echelon? You might try a different tube in the first stage. With the Launch Pad volume maxed, I have the sensitivity set around 10 o'clock but could go just a little higher before the first preamp stage starts to distort.

[David Barber]

I picked up a Launch Pad and have been trying this gain staging thing. With the volume turned up I have to keep the Sensitivity down all the way or I get some brakeup. Is this normal? What are your settings?

Thanx

Tell us about your pickups, gauge of strings, pick gauge and how you attack the strings.

What speakers are you using?