Thinking of re-tubing my Archon

[Toolmaster Of Brainerd]

I got my 100W Archon used a year ago. I haven't had any problems with the tubes, but I haven't touched them either. I'm thinking about re-tubing if I can get good black friday deals on tubes. Currently has JJ tubes in the preamp and I think ruby in the power section, could be original

Should I replace the preamp tubes, power tubes, or both? I almost never turn the master volume above 9:00, so I have not worked the power tubes hard at all.

What kind (brand) of tubes should I put in each spot? NOS is out of budget.

I like the clean channel, but I would like it more if it was a little brighter. I've found that with single coils I like the sound best if the bright switch is off but the treble is turned up as high as it can be while staying musical. About 1:30. Past that and it's harsh bad treble, rather than nice sparkle. With humbuckers I leave the EQ the same but turn the bright switch on. With 0 tube swapping experience, I am under the impression that a brighter tube will be more naturally and musically bright, unlike cranking the treble knob.

I like the lead channel pretty much however I set it. I like a smooth warm distortion. I wouldn't mind reducing the overall gain of the lead channel (maybe a 5751 in V3?), but it's fine as it is.

And please shamelessly plug your favorite tube dealer! I'm in the US. If you know of dealers with black friday deals, even better. Thanks in advance!

 

[László]

For new tubes, I find the JJs sound closest to NOS. If the preamp tubes aren't making noise, I wouldn't change them. Preamp tubes last nearly forever.

You might get a different tone with the recent Telefunken output tubes, that are simply cryogenically treated and select JJs. I find them excellent for new tubes, and they added some sparkle, with a richer upper midrange and less flab than the Chinese tubes that were Mesa-branded in my Lone Star. You definitely pay a premium for them, however.

Unfortunately, all of my other amps have NOS, so I can't say how they'd work in your amp.

Whether the extra stiffening cryogenics adds to the metal parts inside the tube improves them in any way is open to debate, but they're the first new output tubes I've bought that didn't have tube rattle. To me, that's a big deal, but I use this combo at recording volume, which around here turns out to be pretty loud.

My favorite tube dealer is Tube Depot. I also buy from The Tube Store, Brent Jesse and Tubes Unlimited.

 

[HANGAR18]

I got my 100W Archon used a year ago. I haven't had any problems with the tubes, but I haven't touched them either. I'm thinking about re-tubing if I can get good black friday deals on tubes. Currently has JJ tubes in the preamp and I think ruby in the power section, could be original

Should I replace the preamp tubes, power tubes, or both? I almost never turn the master volume above 9:00, so I have not worked the power tubes hard at all.

What kind (brand) of tubes should I put in each spot? NOS is out of budget.

I like the clean channel, but I would like it more if it was a little brighter. I've found that with single coils I like the sound best if the bright switch is off but the treble is turned up as high as it can be while staying musical. About 1:30. Past that and it's harsh bad treble, rather than nice sparkle. With humbuckers I leave the EQ the same but turn the bright switch on. With 0 tube swapping experience, I am under the impression that a brighter tube will be more naturally and musically bright, unlike cranking the treble knob.

I like the lead channel pretty much however I set it. I like a smooth warm distortion. I wouldn't mind reducing the overall gain of the lead channel (maybe a 5751 in V3?), but it's fine as it is.

And please shamelessly plug your favorite tube dealer! I'm in the US. If you know of dealers with black friday deals, even better. Thanks in advance!

Ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[boardn10]

Hands down favorite for me is JJ preamp tubes and JJ 6CA7 power tubes.

 

[RickP]

As mentioned, preamp tubes last a long, long time. Changing out a 12AX7 for a 12AT7, or a 5751, can give you a cleaner clean, but you’ll also lose some grind from your drive channel. Some of that can be compensated for, and some is just tube character. It’s fun to test, relatively inexpensive, and easily reversible if you’d like to try it.

All of the tubes I have in my amps are NOS, but some are still available at a reasonable cost. Short of that, I recently tried some of the Electric-Harmonix EL34s and they were musical. JJ is the most consistent maker still producing tubes, though some amps (my Alessandro Deluxe Reverb is one) does not get along with their preamp tubes. Everything else I’ve used them in worked great.

I’m not sure what an Archon uses, but whatever they are it is always good to have spares. So even if you decide you like the originals better, you’ll have a decent spares set from your efforts!