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About the setting of the volume-knob: i noticed it's a very bright amp. If the volume is in the range of 0 to 7, the tone is good at around 3 - 5, but if i turn the volume beyond 8 an go pretty much all out (i never did that with an amp, funny these low wattage amps) the tone gets really dark and the tone needs to be around 7 or 8 in order to sound good.
Thanks for the od suggestions.
What does the tube-swap do for the sound?
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07-05-2020 02:43 AM
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Depends on the tubes.
Originally Posted by Marcel_A
More gain? Earlier breakup? More headroom? Rule of thumb: a 12AX7 is best bet if you want maximum power and if you like to play your guitar at the sweet spot of the amp. A 5751 got reduced power but gives you a bit more transparency and a handful more headroom.
Yup, the cub is a bright amp. Choose the LO-input (with a singlecoil) and you‘ll get less brightness. Volume at 6-7 and it‘s a wonderful balanced vintage american tone (tone knob at 3-4) with superb dynamics (clean but gritty if you dig in). Wonderful overtones.
I put a Tungsol 12AX7 in V1, a warm yet transparent, solid and high quality tube with a touch less brightness.
Electro Harmonix 6V6, but I guess a NOS 6V6 is even better.
Very important is the speaker swap. That Celestion is a more or less linear sounding, british colored speaker. The Warehouse G8C is a high efficient speaker that sounds like a 10“, very woody basses and silky highs, just like an old Jensen. That speaker is a bargain for small 39€!
As said above, I‘ve also swapped the baffle for a real floating plywood baffle so it vibrates in harmony with the speaker at higher volumes. Very nice.
More finetuning: I‘ve also shielded the top of the cab and use the external speaker output with a good cable and Switchcraft plug instead of the tiny internal cable.
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I’ll try it out as it is. If i like it i keep it, if i don’t i buy something else. If a little jazz comes along i’ll give that a try. Not sure i’m going to spent money on the Laney.
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Those mods are cheap but very efficient. 9 of 10 amps got cheap stock tubes, for example. Originally Posted by Marcel_A
I couldn‘t be happier.
Boutique Champ-Tone for next to nothing.
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Well, if i decide to stick to the Laney, maybe i'll check out some upgrades. Don't think the warehouse speakers are available in Holland.
About the OD: i don't want to upset my wife to much, so i'll be going dirt cheap: thinking about a mooer juicer or someting like that.
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You can get Warehouse speakers here in germany: Originally Posted by Marcel_A
Tube-Town Store - WGS G8C 8" / 20 W / 4 Ohm
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For overdrive (as opposed to distortion) the Mooer is a good budget pedal and not expensive. If you want quality OD, then maybe look at the Wampler Tumnus (not the V2 Deluxe, but the one with 3 controls - volume, gain and tone); for me it's the nearest you'll get to a klon without spending a fortune..... Originally Posted by Marcel_A
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Ruby makes quality tubes, some boutique tube amp builders use them OEM. In general, a tube is a tube.... some do have more or less noise than others, but difference between brands are subtle, tonally. Some people enjoy differentiating the subtle differences (I used to), some of us just get on with it and play. But there's nothing wrong with Ruby tubes... but the Tungsol IS my favorite current-production 12AX7. Originally Posted by Stefan Eff
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If i change anything, it would be the speaker first.
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Hi to another Gretsch talker Originally Posted by ruger9
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The Ruby in my cub dies after a week- was my first dead preamp tube...Maybe I‘m corksniffing but (I guess) I‘m hearing more than subtle differences from tube to tube, dunno. Concerning the Tungsol I totally agree, it‘s a very warm, 3-D sounding tube.
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I've had bad tubes from all brands- JJ, EHX, Sovtek, Ruby, etc.... it happens. Ruby aren't "blanket" bad. Nothing wrong with having favorites tho. Lately, for power tubes, I've been preferring TADs (which are just rebranded... but highly tested... tubes from other brands mentioned) Originally Posted by Stefan Eff
Hi to another Gretsch talker!
The Ruby in my cub dies after a week- was my first dead preamp tube...Maybe I‘m corksniffing but (I guess) I‘m hearing more than subtle differences from tube to tube, dunno. Concerning the Tungsol I totally agree, it‘s a very warm, 3-D sounding tube.
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A 12AY7 will also clean up the headroom, and the Tung-Sol preamp tubes will definitely help with the brightness. Might be worth considering if you’re going to use it as a pedal platform. They aren’t expensive so trying both might be worth your time, especially if you are ordering, since you can combine shipping.
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Right now i'm not going to 'upgrade' anything on this amp.
I've been playing it for a couple of hours and it is fine as it is. It really comes alive when the guitar volume is at full and the amp at 7 or 8. But since that is too loud . . . So spending money won't improve that is my guess.
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Anyone experience with a soul food into a pretty much clean amp?
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I saw Anthony Palmer (Chicago blues guitarist) do that. He sounded great. Originally Posted by Marcel_A
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Well, the laney is not what i'm looking for. What really annoys me is the lack of proper equalizition. The ton-knob is a joke. It's either off, or somewhere in the middle (witch sounds 'normal') or wide open (which is an ugly sound). There is no way to adjust my tone in a good way.
Tomorrow i'm checking out a little jazz. I can pick it for a nice price used.
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The tone knob on the Laney works similar like the tone knobs on vintage amps- you adjust the "voicing". Originally Posted by Marcel_A
On class A tube amps the equalization works in interaction with the different inputs and, as you've already noticed, with the volume of the amp. It's not a bug (or a joke), it's a feature. That's why small class A amps are so superbly dynamic, responsive and honest.
And you've got knobs on your guitar...
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@stefan
You are probably right. I don’t know. It’s a joke to me. Anyway: the Laney is not for me.
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If you're looking for a nice inexpensive overdrive/distortion pedal I'd suggest this. I used one briefly a few years ago and it was one of the best O.D. pedals I've ever used. Similar to the BOSS Blues Driver with more versatility at half the price. I have no idea if they are still made any more. Of course tone is subjective and this may not be for you.
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Right now i have a Soul food. Not compatible with the Laney. The thing is, the soul food hardly colours the sound, but once i dial in drive the laney turns to mush.
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Picked the dv mark little jazz up today and i am very happy with it. Nice clean sound. Good EQ and a nice reverb.
I'm using the soul food for OD. This is ok, but i'm fairly new to both the amp and the pedal, so we'll see.
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What a great little amp the dv mark is! I'm not sure what is is, but it is a real pleasure to play it. One thing is for sure, it sounds very good on low volumes.
Thanks to all those who suggested it to me.
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After playing a while . . .
The laney cub 8 is not a good amp. The Orange Crush 20 is a better deal on all fronts. The laney just sounds bad. Boxy and a very nasty tone. Not sure why i didn't notice that in the store . . .
The little jazz is by far the best of the three when it comes to a clean tone. Its size is small. It has a reverb (which the other two don't have). The only thing is it doesn't have an OD. This is where i thought a pedal would help, but it's not that easy. Getting a good sound from an OD-pedal and a clean amp is not that simple.
So i switched to the Orange Crush for OD and that produces a more usable od than the LJ with the soul food. The only thing i like soul food for is as a boost with a small touch of drive.
For now the Orange crush stays for those moments i'd like to 'rock'.Last edited by Marcel_A; 07-17-2020 at 08:12 AM.
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Sorry, that’s completely BS. Originally Posted by Marcel_A
Maybe you don‘t like champ-like tones (that’s what you get from the cub8), okay, but the Laney is a solid, real good sounding 5 watter that sounds amazing with a little modding.
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Stefan,
Not to step on your toes, but i do think it is a bad amp. If someone is to spend money on a cheap amp, i would recommend all sorts of small SS amplifiers, but not this laney.
Maybe it sounds good after a change of tubes and a different speaker. Who knows? Who cares, would be my question. I'm not throwing money at an amp i am not happy with.
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