Stock tubes in the TH30...decent or should they be replaced?

[JimmyOhio75]

For all you TH30 owners out there. Do the stock tubes seem OK or did you switch them out? If you changed them what worked out for you? I hear that the JJ EL84's are good. Is it worth it to change out the preamp tubes also or mainly just the power tubes?

[a.hun]

The stock valves will probably get you 95%+ of the potential tone of the amp. (Any working valves are way better than non working or noisy ones!)

The remaining few percent you want to work on step-wise so you know which changes helped and which didn't. Replacing all the valves at once will probably get you a slightly different sounding amp, but maybe no closer to 100% of your ideal tone, maybe even further from it!

Preamp valve swaps will make more obvious differences to the sound / feel of most amps than power valve swaps. Just get a few different spares and start swapping one at a time listening carefully for any changes. Different power valves will make a difference too, but differences tonally will probably be less dramatic.

Remember that on average the power valves will only last a fraction of the life of the preamp valves, maybe only 1/4 or 1/5th as long. So if playing a fair bit you'll be able to experiment with different ones when you actually NEED to change them out which will happen a lot mor often. Finding the combination of preamp valves which works best for you is also more important as you'll be able to use them for much longer. It might even be worth you trying some older preamp valves, either used OS (old stock) or unused New Old Stock (NOS) ones. Old production valves were way more robustly built, usually sound better and last around 5 - 10 x as long as current production valves. In fact with good (N)OS valves you can basically expect many years (or even several decades!) use out of them. Either way though you can normally expect preamp valves to last for years and just carry a spare in case one goes.

Try doing a forum search to read what various other members like best with their own TH30 amps. Ultimately that might not be what you like best though...


Andy.

[beckyjc]

Currently the output valves in mine are stock.

Ive got a combination of Rubys, JJs, sylvania 12at7s in there, its a marginal improvement.

Just got some JAN sylvania 5751s in the post i cant wait to try out for the cleans and for lowering the final gain stage a touch.

Ill let you know how they sound.

[brianr0131]

Jimmy...some people get JJs stock with their amps. My DT came with them. The only thing you can do is wait til the amp gets to you and see how you like it.

I can appreciate the position you're in though......the waiting is the hardest part. I think you'll really like the TH30. What was it about the DT you didn't like?

[JimmyOhio75]

Jimmy...some people get JJs stock with their amps. My DT came with them. The only thing you can do is wait til the amp gets to you and see how you like it.

I can appreciate the position you're in though......the waiting is the hardest part. I think you'll really like the TH30. What was it about the DT you didn't like?

Nothing, I loved my Dual Terror. GAS just got the best of me and I flipped it about a year ago to try something else. I am hoping that this TH30 blows my mind and it stays with me for a while.

[brianr0131]

Jimmy...some people get JJs stock with their amps. My DT came with them. The only thing you can do is wait til the amp gets to you and see how you like it.

I can appreciate the position you're in though......the waiting is the hardest part. I think you'll really like the TH30. What was it about the DT you didn't like?

Nothing, I loved my Dual Terror. GAS just got the best of me and I flipped it about a year ago to try something else. I am hoping that this TH30 blows my mind and it stays with me for a while.

I can relate.

I love my DT....best Orange I have had thus far. It's a great amp! you'll love the TH30 I'm pretty sure.

Still have the Twister?

[JimmyOhio75]

Jimmy...some people get JJs stock with their amps. My DT came with them. The only thing you can do is wait til the amp gets to you and see how you like it.

I can appreciate the position you're in though......the waiting is the hardest part. I think you'll really like the TH30. What was it about the DT you didn't like?

Nothing, I loved my Dual Terror. GAS just got the best of me and I flipped it about a year ago to try something else. I am hoping that this TH30 blows my mind and it stays with me for a while.

I can relate.

I love my DT....best Orange I have had thus far. It's a great amp! you'll love the TH30 I'm pretty sure.

Still have the Twister?

Nope, sacrificed both of my Twister's when Jade went out of business. I was concerned that they would lose their resale value knowing that the warranties would not be honored. They were great amps. In hindsight I should have kept them both but I have a bad case of GAS and I'm always flipping stuff in order to upgrade to the "next best thing". I'm hoping the TH30 stays with me a while.