Official Blackstaramps Forum

Hmmm... thanks. I've been reading more and it seems that they CAN be biased hotter than EL34, but don't have to be. I found some sound comparisons on youtube and they sound surprisingly different - think I probably prefer the normal EL34. I'll probably see if they'll swap them for me (Watford Valves...

I was buying a couple of different preamp tubes to try in my HT20, and thought I may as well get a pair of spare power tubes while I was at it. They arrived today, and I've just noticed I've ordered JJ E34L instead of the EL34/6CA7 type. Oops. A quick bit of research seems to show that they need dif...

id also say that when i turn the gain knob up and down it doesnt change the sound of the gain just the volume goes up or down I'd agree with that past a point - For me, the useful range on the drive channel of my HT20 is up to around 12 o'clock with my guitars (humbuckers, but passive and not parti...

Tone is personal, but I find it hard to believe anybody could want MORE GAIN than the HT20 has :shock: I don't play metal, but I'd say the available gain on the drive channel is pretty huge (in fact, I'm going to swap the preamp tube for a lower gain one). Regarding cabs, when I was looking for a ne...

FWIW, I've had a Marshall amp with "PC" type connector on its footswitch for ten years with no problems. The screw posts on d-sub sockets do have a habit of coming undone if people do the screws in the plug up too tightly or cross-thread them, but there's no need to do them up tight (if at all). Per...

OK, thanks. When I said I couldn't be bothered to bias new power tubes, I meant I'll probably just leave the originals in until they break, or at least for a bit longer - not that I was just going to swap the tubes and ignore the bias settings. I may buy a pair though while I'm getting the preamp tu...

Cool - thanks folks. I'd rather pay a couple of quid more rather than have the hassle of having to return stuff. Watford it is then :) Not sure whether to get any power valves or not while I'm at it - some people say they make an improvement, others say the stock TADs are fine. TBH I don't know if I...

On the subject of buying valves, it seems like the quality can vary quite a bit. Are there any particular suppliers in the UK that are known to be more reliable/careful, or is is just a case of pot luck (i.e. just look for the cheapest supplier and hope for the best)? I'm after a 12AY7 for the drive...

Thanks for that. So the channel volumes actually affect the GAIN of the preamp stage do they? On my hybrid Marshall the channel volumes just seemed to be a way to balance the volume of the channels after setting the gains for the desired sound, but on the HT20 they certainly seem to change the sound...

I couldn't find this in a search, so sorry if it's been covered before: I'm wondering about the difference between the master volume and the channel volumes on the HT amps (specifically HT20). Fiddling with the controls it's obvious that high channel volume and low master sounds different from low c...