THIN AND HARSH SOUND OF THE HT-40 ON OVERDRIVE CHANNEL

[thephantum]

You need to really start with what kind of sound you are going for. One way to answer that is where do you run your ISF? If it's towards the British side then you are going to want a speaker that puts emphasis on the upper mids (like a Celestion). If it's towards the American side, then you want a speaker that has more emphasis on the lower mids (like an Eminence Patriot).

Once you make that determination, do some searches on YouTube. There's all kinds of speaker shootout vids on there.

[Emopunk]

You need to really start with what kind of sound you are going for. One way to answer that is where do you run your ISF? If it's towards the British side then you are going to want a speaker that puts emphasis on the upper mids (like a Celestion). If it's towards the American side, then you want a speaker that has more emphasis on the lower mids (like an Eminence Patriot).

Once you make that determination, do some searches on YouTube. There's all kinds of speaker shootout vids on there.

I normally have my ISF @1 o' clock. I tend to keep it like that even when alternating my Strato with my Les Paul. What do you think about that? I am no speaker expert

One other thing I am considering is swapping my preamp tubes for something better and possibly less noisy. After what I read it seems like an easy job since it doesn't need rebias. I found Electro Harmonix 12AX7EH selling at 13 euro each. It looks like a good price for a good valve. Do you agree? I understood that the valves I am going to replace are the ones without "retention cage" and it seems it would be enough to remove the back panel to do it. Am I right?
Thanks again!

[ffooxx]

If I am not mistaken the original preamp tubes in in the HT are EHX so you might not hear that much of a difference. The power tubes are some Dr. Tube or something. I have experimented with EHX tubes the basics and the gold-pin and didn't find it as nice sounding as the Tung Sols. Buy different brands, swap record and then evaluate Long process but there is no other way to find out what you like

[Emopunk]

If I am not mistaken the original preamp tubes in in the HT are EHX so you might not hear that much of a difference. The power tubes are some Dr. Tube or something. I have experimented with EHX tubes the basics and the gold-pin and didn't find it as nice sounding as the Tung Sols. Buy different brands, swap record and then evaluate Long process but there is no other way to find out what you like

Good advice! I will buy two new Tung Sols. Does it make a difference wheter I go for normal vs gold pinned? And I suppose they don't need to be a matched pair, right?

[thephantum]

+1 on TungSol's. Get normal pins. For 99.9% of us, gold pins are snake oil.

Yes, gold is one of the best conductors of an electrical signal. That's a fact. However, the connectors in the tube sockets are not gold, so nothing is gained by having gold pins. For example, if the socket connectors are made of tungsten and the tube pins are gold, the conductive properties of that connection are going to be that of tungsten...it's the "lowest common denominator". Let's say that the tube sockets are now gold...how is that socket connected into the rest of the circuit? With solder, which is made of of mostly lead and tin.

So gold has to be used everywhere in a given circuit to take advantage of it's benefits. Since almost every guitar amp manufacturer does not use gold in their circuits, gold tube pins have no benefit.

As for tubes you have now, it depends on how old the amp is. They have come with TAD's, EH's, Sovteks and random Chinese tubes in the past. The thing is, it doesn't really matter...TungSol's sound better than all of them.

Finally, on the speaker: Since you keep your ISF fairly neutral, a good place to start is with this vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knjV-PTScZk

It's comparing seven different speakers. The Cannabis Rex, Legend V128 and Red White & Blues are all American voiced (emphasis on lower mids) the rest are British voiced (emphasis on the upper mids). It's a good one to help narrow down where you want your tone to be.

[Emopunk]

+1 on TungSol's. Get normal pins. For 99.9% of us, gold pins are snake oil.

Yes, gold is one of the best conductors of an electrical signal. That's a fact. However, the connectors in the tube sockets are not gold, so nothing is gained by having gold pins. For example, if the socket connectors are made of tungsten and the tube pins are gold, the conductive properties of that connection are going to be that of tungsten...it's the "lowest common denominator". Let's say that the tube sockets are now gold...how is that socket connected into the rest of the circuit? With solder, which is made of of mostly lead and tin.

So gold has to be used everywhere in a given circuit to take advantage of it's benefits. Since almost every guitar amp manufacturer does not use gold in their circuits, gold tube pins have no benefit.

As for tubes you have now, it depends on how old the amp is. They have come with TAD's, EH's, Sovteks and random Chinese tubes in the past. The thing is, it doesn't really matter...TungSol's sound better than all of them.

Finally, on the speaker: Since you keep your ISF fairly neutral, a good place to start is with this vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knjV-PTScZk

It's comparing seven different speakers. The Cannabis Rex, Legend V128 and Red White & Blues are all American voiced (emphasis on lower mids) the rest are British voiced (emphasis on the upper mids). It's a good one to help narrow down where you want your tone to be.

Thank you so much. I love useful posts like this one
I think that before I consider switching speaker, I am going to see how the Tung Sol work! Could you confirm or correct what I was asking before:
" I understood that the valves I am going to replace are the ones without "retention cage" and it seems it would be enough to remove the back panel to do it. Am I right?"
Looking forward to your reply before opening the little beast

[thephantum]

Correct. Remove the back panel and you will see 4 valves total. The preamp valves (12AX7's) are the 2 smaller ones. The larger bottles, with the retention springs, are the (EL34) power valves.

[Emopunk]

Correct. Remove the back panel and you will see 4 valves total. The preamp valves (12AX7's) are the 2 smaller ones. The larger bottles, with the retention springs, are the (EL34) power valves.

Hi mate, just wanted to let you know that this morning I swapped the preamp tubes for a couple of matched Tung-Sol. So fare everything sounds fine (well, actually great). Tomorrow I am going to have a couple of hours of rehearsal with the bands to test it further. I had Sovtek tubes installed by the factory, btw. I am still adapting my EQ, but I think it's normal. It seems I can push my gain harder without things becoming mushy and messed. My factory power tubes are Ruby EL34BHT. Do they have a good reputation? Thanks again for all the help in getting a better tone!

[thephantum]

The preamp tubes will have a bigger impact on how the amp sounds than power tubes will. As you are hearing, Tungsols are much brighter and crisper than Sovteks.

Ruby's are OK, but they are really just Chinese tubes that have been tested and re-branded. The thing is, unless you are pushing the master volume hard (saturating the power tubes), it's more difficult to discern a difference. Since changing the power tubes requires biasing the amp, it's usually better to wait until it needs tubes. In my experience, the Venue Series responds really well to Winged C EL34's and TungSol EL34's.

Having said that, if you are still looking for more improvement, change the speaker next. It will be much more dramatic and noticeable than changing the power tubes.

[Emopunk]

The preamp tubes will have a bigger impact on how the amp sounds than power tubes will. As you are hearing, Tungsols are much brighter and crisper than Sovteks.

Ruby's are OK, but they are really just Chinese tubes that have been tested and re-branded. The thing is, unless you are pushing the master volume hard (saturating the power tubes), it's more difficult to discern a difference. Since changing the power tubes requires biasing the amp, it's usually better to wait until it needs tubes. In my experience, the Venue Series responds really well to Winged C EL34's and TungSol EL34's.

Having said that, if you are still looking for more improvement, change the speaker next. It will be much more dramatic and noticeable than changing the power tubes.

Good advices as always.. I have rehearsal tomorrow and a gig in a club on friday night. I'll try to understand what and if I would ask something different to the speaker.. In the meanwhile, kind regards from Italy!