Quote:
Originally Posted by T Prior
ah ha, yes starved plate like Woody mentions. The only real difference that can happen is when you change from a crappy tube to a good one, or as Gordon Ramsey would say, one that belongs in the bin rather than a good one. ART preamps are cheap and about as minimally functionally as you can get and still legally be called a tube preamp. The evidence is that they have a red LED near the tube to make sure we know, or at least we think we know it actually has a tube in it ! It glows RED, it's gotta be good !
T
|
Yea, they send about 50 volts to the tube. A 12ax7 needs about 150v to function properly. Overdriving the input sends more heat to the tube, but it creates more of a tube distortion effect, rather than the clean round sound associated with the likes of Tube Tech or Manley stuff.
One of the Art designs, the MPA Gold, can send 150v to the tube. A switch marked "Normal/High" switched between SP and proper voltage. Probably should read, "Starved Plate/Normal."
Some guys have voiced glee with the GT12ax7c (I think c is for China). It's suppose to run better at lower voltage. I dunno. Also, I've heard of a 5851 tube, that is suppose to be a low-voltage version of a 12ax7, but I think it's a lotta bull.