SS Rectifier Question...

[obscured]

Hey fellow TGP'ers! Have a question...would replacing my amp's tube rectifier with a solid state rectifier increase the amount of clean headroom my amp has? I have a Roccaforte Custom 30 that sounds great but distorts a little too early for my needs. Thanks!

[phsyconoodler]

It might a little bit,but the Roccaforte 30 is a very raunchy amp and the circuit is what makes it raunchy.It would be better to try a lower gain tube in V1,like a 12AU7 or a 12AY7.That would lower the effective gain.

[tommytomcat]

tubesandmore.com (antique electronics supply) has NOS RCA 12av7's (gain factor= 41.. 12ay7 gf= 45) for $5.50ish. I have one in V1 of my 5e7 tweed and it's very sweet. You could also try a 12at7 in the PI position. I think that amp is EL84 based, cathode biased? What you're describing is nature of the beast for that setup. Great lead tones.. but it ain't gonna do what a BF Fender style amp will do headroom wise at the same wattage.

[obscured]

Thanks for the advice guys! Changing the stock 6V6's to EL34's helped a bit, but this amp wasn't really designed to do loud cleans. Going to experiment with the tubes you have suggested to see if I can squeeze a little more clean volume out of it. Thanks again!