I must say....MTS is getting better for me still...

[Mattfig]

Finally getting my rigs in proper order has been fabulous...The Rack of Delight was fun but had way too many components to be useful in the end...There was always a cable loose somewhere...And, with limited workspace, and multiple people climbing around...Disaster often ensued...

Anyway, I now have a Lynch Box pretty modded up with Mercurys and Orange Dropss with some fun toggles to play with...Anyway, in there resides Gold Lion KT77s and EH6CA7s...Me likey....through Celestion Neo 412...

RM100 #2 has SED Winged C 6L6s and SED Winged C 34s through 412 w/v30s

RM100 #3 has SED EH6CA7s and Mullard EL34 through Celestion Hammett what avers (can't think of it off hand and don't wanna pull that back)

RM50 has Mullard EL34 and 2x12 with Celestion Greenbacks...

All amps have a Gold Lion Ecc83 in V1 an EH12AX7 in the buffer and a matched/balanced Jan 5751 in the PI...Wonderous...

Here's my big love of RM100s...Individual bias pots on the tubes!!! I have a box of power tubes that aren't matched well enough to serve as proper matched pairs but will do perfect in the RM100...I have really been able to experiment...

All rigs have specific mods that I have given much though to...I will show it all in the upcoming Salvation Density/Presence Mod video...At this point, I'm not sure there are many better sounding rigs to my ear...Let alone four! It's taken a long time but I think I am (almost) happy...

 

[Jaymzrock]

The 412 KHX has V30's and T75's. there is another one...not sure what's in it though.

 

[Mattfig]

The 412 KHX has V30's and T75's. there is another one...not sure what's in it though.

OK, it was bugging me so I peeked....G12H-100s...

 

[ncsouthpaw]

I took a couple days off from playing (sprained my wrist falling on the ice) and when I came back I simply couldn't believe how good my rig sounds now.

It sounds so good it shames me into practicing more, so I feel like I deserve it.

If I had it all to do over again the only thing I would change would be getting into MTS sooner than I did.

 

[JayDA]

I'm rocking the multiple RM100 approach as well, I'm currently setup:

Lynchbox with Ruby 6L6s through 4x12 w/V30s

RM100 SI with "Winged C" EL34s through the matching 412 with Heritage 30s

RM100 with various tube combos (still deciding) through 2x12 with Greenbacks

RM50 with EH KT88s though 2 1x12s that I keep swapping speakers in and out of ...right now it's a G12H30 and an Emi Wizard.

Loving the versatility!

 

[kc2eeb]

About this "matched output tube thing."
Fender NEVER used matched output tubes and NEVER measured bias current.
I used to service their amps as a dealer in the late '60s into the '70s.
The only spec they had was bias voltage and that was +/- 10%.
Or, look at it this way. If you have a pair of tubes that are 5 or even 10 ma
unmatched at idle (no signal) and then you measure the current when you're actually playing and get 90 ma from one and 95 ma from the other, that's
a 5% difference in the total swing of the signal. Do you think you'd hear it?
As long as you're not "red plating" (and I can't tell you how many Marshals red plated) plug 'em in and see if they sound good. That's really all that matters.

 

[Mattfig]

About this "matched output tube thing."
Fender NEVER used matched output tubes and NEVER measured bias current.
I used to service their amps as a dealer in the late '60s into the '70s.
The only spec they had was bias voltage and that was +/- 10%.
Or, look at it this way. If you have a pair of tubes that are 5 or even 10 ma
unmatched at idle (no signal) and then you measure the current when you're actually playing and get 90 ma from one and 95 ma from the other, that's
a 5% difference in the total swing of the signal. Do you think you'd hear it?
As long as you're not "red plating" (and I can't tell you how many Marshals red plated) plug 'em in and see if they sound good. That's really all that matters.

Agreed...It's splitting hairs and I barely notice (if at all anyway) but it's just another obsession...I watch the meter while playing and know the erratic life of a tube is different from measuring it at idle speed but you gotta start somewhere...In the end, you're right...

 

[kc2eeb]

:wink:

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

Fig, how does the LB with mods and diff trannies compare to standard RM100.?

EDIT: nevermind, you answered this in my thread! thanks!

 

[JKD]

I just recently picked up an LB100 for what is probably the 3rd or 4th time since being addicted to the crack.

I didn't really have much in the way of modded modules the last times I had an RM100 or LB so it was a bit of an eye opener to hear some of these with the 100W power section.

I've disliked RM100s in the past for sounding sterile, fizzy and overly muddy in the low end but for whatever reason I'm really enjoying this one....is it the Mesa E34s in the power section, is it the 57551 in the PI, is it one with the right values in the presence/density, is it about to blow up? Who knows?

I've been a fan of the JAN5751 in the PI for a long time in my RM50s....

Whatever is going on, I'm enjoying it...I really wish I'd held on to the Camerock long enough..oddly enough this amp cost about the same price as I bought that for.....no value in the S/H MTS head market anymore.

I'm tempted to add a Salvo RM100 Presence/Density board to my RM50 order but then why mess with it..if it ain't broken?

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

Just as a side topic, I got a few NOS RFT ECC83's from Russis (great price ebay!) and i use those in V1 of most Marshall sounding amps. Put one in my LB and it does get me closer to where i want to be for sure. Unlike many people, Tung Sol RI were just not doing it for me. More brittle.

 

[Jaded Faith]

Just as a side topic, I got a few NOS RFT ECC83's from Russis (great price ebay!) and i use those in V1 of most Marshall sounding amps. Put one in my LB and it does get me closer to where i want to be for sure. Unlike many people, Tung Sol RI were just not doing it for me. More brittle.

You are not alone, the new Tung Sol 12AX7's might be one of my least favorite preamp tubes by far. I have never used them in a single mid/high gain amp and liked the results, regardless of the amp.

 

[Mattfig]

Just as a side topic, I got a few NOS RFT ECC83's from Russis (great price ebay!) and i use those in V1 of most Marshall sounding amps. Put one in my LB and it does get me closer to where i want to be for sure. Unlike many people, Tung Sol RI were just not doing it for me. More brittle.

You are not alone, the new Tung Sol 12AX7's might be one of my least favorite preamp tubes by far. I have never used them in a single mid/high gain amp and liked the results, regardless of the amp.

For me JJ and Tung-Sol represent opposite ends of the spectrum...JJ is dark and smooth....Tung-Sol is bright and hot...I use others for this reason...I still use a JJ when a mod is too bright and a Tung Sol when a mod is too dark but there are better options...The Tung Sol Ecc803 is great and only 10 bucks more with gold pins...They all have their place...Get a bunch of tubes over time and you'll see...The combos are endless....

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

I use JJ in the PI. For a while i thought it was my imagination but I just seem to like it there..I might try one of those gold pins next time round fig.

 

[needtopractice]

So Matt, are you saying that you'd put your rig against a high end boutique rig like say, a deizel?

 

[Mattfig]

So Matt, are you saying that you'd put your rig against a high end boutique rig like say, a deizel?

I'm not saying my rigs sound specifically better than any one amp but I am more than comfortable saying that in a room full of quality amps, my MTS setups will sound as good as most anything and better than most...I've already had a couple 5150s, Mesas, Marshalls, and Bogners here recently and would not even consider trading one RM100 for any of them...

 

[needtopractice]

those are my thoughts exactly.