Orange Rockerverb 50 MkII with EL34, KT77, 6550 and KT88 tubes

[KevinCube]

KT88s for the win.

[StephenAnthonyMusic]

I like EL34 best

[cyphervox]

Hi, I'm ordering up a set of KT88's for mine after watching this! What did you bias yours to? How did the voltage and current read? I want to start it up colder and then adjust it to about 60%. Do you have any suggestions for this? I see you kept it on the EL34 side, great to know! I have a set of JJ KT88's also, but I'm ordering Gold Lions or better to try in this beast first. Thanks for any info, and for being awesome in general. Keep the videos coming!

[SorizonMann]

@cyphervox I'm really glad this video helped you. I love how KT88s sound in this amp! I biased mine to about 60%. That sounded best to me. I kept it on the EL34 side because I couldn't reach the right bias range on the KT88 side, I asked Orange tech support and they said that this is fine. Let me know how Gold Lions or other KT88s compare to the JJ's, I'm curious about that. Have fun!

[cyphervox]

Great, thanks! Did you use a bias meter or another method? When I contacted Orange last week they said to look for 38-42 mA per valve. That should put the voltage somewhere over 500VDC. Does that sound about right from your experience? So if I run it on the KT88 side and crank the adjustment it will still be pretty cold for them? That's kinda weird that Orange would make that side too low for the tubes it's meant for. Thanks for your help!

[chorisia25]

I've tried the EL34s and disliked the sound I was getting so I popped in some 6L6, and I'm still unhappy. So far I love what I've heard with the KT88s in. They'll be my next tubes to pop in.

Can you tell me what settings you have the clean channel? To me the mkii is a little too harsh/distorted sounding compared to the mki model. I ended up swapping the preamp 12ax7's for 12au7's but I'm still not satisfied. I'm hoping the KT88's will increase headroom/clarity. Any suggestions are appreciated.

[SorizonMann]

@chorisia25 My clean sound never distorted at all even at high volumes with the stock tubes. So there may be a different issue with your amp, maybe a preamp tube in your clean channel is bad? You are rebiasing with power tube changes right? If you usually like 6L6 tubes I'd recommend 6550s for a really crystal clean sound.

[chorisia25]

SorizonMann I guess I shouldn't call my clean tone distorted, but it did break up early on compared to my MKI head. I did get it rebiased when I got the EL34 switched out to 6L6. Just curious, but why didn't you do a 6L6 sound test on here? From your comparisons, I like the sound of the KT88s over the 6550s. I play post-rock/experimental/indie type stuff. Do the KT88s handle a ton of gain without hissing too much? Thanks again for input.

[SorizonMann]

@chorisia25 I didn't do a 6L6 test just because it seemed that these tube types would be more of what I was looking for. The KT88s haven't really made the amp hiss less than el34s, I don't think the power tubes affect that much.

[whiteyanderson]

@chorisia25 Hey guys it's me from the Orange forum. I tried the 6L6 and cannot get them biased correctly. After I flip the switch to the 6L6 side my bias pot will only take me 22. My calculations tell me I should be biasing to around 44 with the plate voltage of 395. Am I missing something really obvious here?

[SorizonMann]

@whiteyanderson For me, the 6L6 side of the bias switch was also more limited in its range but I still got up to about 47 on that side. For the KT88s I needed to go higher so I just kept the bias switch on the EL34 side. I emailed Orange tech support about this and they said that whatever side of the switch gets you in the right bias range is fine.

[whiteyanderson]

@SorizonMann Thanks for that info. Kind of weird though huh? I guess I'll try out the 6L6's then. I have a feeling I'm just going to come back the to JJ EL34's or E34L's. I HATED the stock Ruby's. The JJ's realy smoothed the tone out in my MK II. Just wanted to see if the 6L6 might tame a bit of the extra graininess. I play a style sort of like chorisia only heavier. post-metal if you will. I will say that my clean channel is REALLY pretty clean though. But I need it a bit looser.

[whiteyanderson]

@whiteyanderson A bit looser on the gain side I meant to say. I like a looser feel. Seems like the KT88 are a bit tighter.

[chorisia25]

@whiteyanderson Hey, I don't know anything about biasing so I can't be of much help.

[SEBANO1974]

Maybe the KT77 can sound boring, but it seems to me the most clear together the KT88 (which is also most mid-bloateds).I want to change EL34 for the KT77 in my Marshall TSL, I have to change bias?

[SorizonMann]

@SEBANO1974 Yes, bias should be adjusted for any power tube swap even of the same kind. Hope you like the KT77s, they just weren't for me

[SorizonMann]

Unfortunately, at this resolution the differences between tubes are a little less obvious than a higher quality export. If you can, listen in monitors. In any case, this still give you at least a sense of these power tubes.

[sleepside]

my fu***ing Rockerverb 100 Mk1 eat the preamp Tubes (JJ)...

very very short endurance..then the sound becomes muddy and slightly distorted... why? any suggestions??

[SorizonMann]

@sleepside Sorry, but I don't know why that would be happening. Try asking an amp tech

[sleepside]

@SorizonMann

thx! ;)

[JerkyChid]

Orange sent me via twitter; the KT88s sounded the best to me. That great great chime and lots of body. What do you run?

[SorizonMann]

@JerkyChid I love the KT88s! That's what I'm using now.

[cbertram11]

@SorizonMann hey man i own a rockverb aswell i play everthying from jazz fusion to in your face metal what would you recomend?? the KT88s ??

[SorizonMann]

@cbertram11 I personally love the KT88s and think they rule for any settings with this amp. 6550s are great too, but there is a less prominent and sweet midrange than the KT88s.

[sheishei1986]

@SorizonMann Thanks a lot ! When i've get my amp retubed i will post a video on youtube and i give you my impressions.

[sheishei1986]

@SorizonMann

Thanks a lot for this test i would like to change my tubes on my Rockerverb 100 and i think i will put :

4 x GenalexKT88 GOLD LION Platinum Matched power tubes V1-V4

1 x JJ ECC83s Gold custom balanced phase inverter tube V5

2 x JJ ECC81 Gold tubes V6-V7

3 x JJ ECC83S Gold tubes V8-V10

What do you tink about this tube selectio n ?

Ps I play Doom

[SorizonMann]

@sheishei1986 I don't have any experience with the Gold Lion KT88s, but I've read great things about them. As for the JJ's in the preamp, my experience is they tend to make your sound a little darker and smoother. This may be good for playing doom, but for me I had to carefully place mine because in certain slots I felt like it made the sound a little muddy. I'd recommend trying the preamp tubes first, seeing what you like, then changing the power tubes so you know how each affects your tone.