Blues Deluxe with 12AT7s?

[jordiesaenz]

Will swapping out one or more of the 12AX7s in the Blues Deluxe with AT7s affect the tone drastically? Will it allow me to play at lower volumes, or at least have more control over volume?

 

[Doug's Tubes]

Generally speaking, a 12AT7 sub for a 12AX7 might not be the best solution since both tubes and circuits are very different.

 

[jordiesaenz]

Thanks Doug, what do you recommend?

 

[phsyconoodler]

Use a volume box in the effects loop or a volume pedal or a 12AY7 in V1

 

[Doug's Tubes]

Well, a 5751 which is pretty much electrically identical to a 12AX7 but lower in gain will yield more desireable results. Or even a lower gain 12AX7, some 12AX7's are just over the top in gain.

 

[Billm]

A 12AY7 is also a good choice. It has the higher impedance that you want in a preamp tube, but less than half the gain of a 12AX7. It will still be a loud amp, but more adjustment range in the clean headroom and less distortion if you open it up.

V1 is the best location for it. There's not much point in putting a lower-gain tube in V2, since that's the tone stack recovery stage--you don't want to dull the tone and less gain in that stage is essentially the same as turning down the master volume.

If you want to play the Blues Deluxe quietly at home, the easiest solution is a volume box, which goes into the effects loop. They're readily available on eBay.

 

[phsyconoodler]

Must be an echo in here?

 

[Doug's Tubes]

You can also give the 12AY7/6072 some consideration....

 

[phsyconoodler]

Hello,hello,hello............

 

[Doug's Tubes]

Hello,hello,hello............

Lol, I just had to do that.....

 

[TimmyP]

I think those amps may have linear pots in them instead of audio taper. An audio taper at 1/2 would be about 20dB less loud than at full. A linear taper at 1/2 would be only about 6dB less loud than at full. If going from full to 1/2 doesn't do a lot, it's a linear - have it replaced with an audio.