Scott Henderson Discussion

[Thumberstrummer]

Hi Scott.
It seems in such a kind of Thesaurus of any gutar-related matters, which this unprizable forum represents (to me, at least), the subject "tubes replacement" is totally missing.... If I'm wrong, and I missed some earlier post on this, hope you don't mind.
Any particular advice on that from your side?
Have you ever considered to swap tubes with that pricey NOS or NIB stuff which seems to be the holy Grail for upgrading Mashall-style amps, in many folks opinion?
My amp buikder, who is a guy whose opinion I respect, says that yes, vintage glasses may actually affect tone, especially in the pre stage. They could bring in that kind of more air which is so much sought after by many, especially with Marshalls (but not only).
I'd like to get your opinion and expecience with that, if any.
Second question is: I love the guitar tone on Calhoun solo, from Vibe Station. Kinda mild distortion, so much touch-sensitive and responsive in the middle/high register which makes me wonder if it's obtained with the SD9, or w something else...
Another amazing tone, which I dig a lot, is the one on Saturn 5. Way much different though. What OD / distortion do you use there?

Many thanks

Fabio
_________________
Germino Club 40 plexi replica + EJ Strat w Suhr ML st. pups. I'm not asking for more so far (but... who knows...?)

[Scott Henderson]

NOS tubes are OK, and could probably improve the tone of vintage amps, because those are the amps they were made for. But, according to John Suhr, modern amp builders use the best tubes they can find from the current market - putting an NOS tube in a modern amp could make it sound worse. I'm sure there are exceptions, but that's the general opinion of most amp experts.

I used my Bandmaster and an R-1 boost pedal on Calhoun.
http://www.rjamps.com/products/r1tube.html

The whole album Rocket Science is amp distortion from an OD-100. The only song with a pedal is Econoline, which is a Tube Screamer through the Bandmaster.

[Thumberstrummer]

Wow....
Fine pedal... Never seen before!
There so much to learn from you, Scott! Allso in the way you manage your live and studio gear, fine tuning this latter to your needs in studio, swapping pedals (it seems you have a bunch of them!) to your liking, but relying on a few trusted ones during gigs.
Thanks a lot Scott!

PS
Never expected to hear that Saturn 5 distorted rich tone comes out from the amp only. I dig it!

Fabio
_________________
Germino Club 40 plexi replica + EJ Strat w Suhr ML st. pups. I'm not asking for more so far (but... who knows...?)

[countandduke]

And don't forget those 12AX7's with the gold pins for optimal tone!!! NOT...

I think there is a bunch of hype and BS about NOS tubes. I've heard that old Mullards do this, or I found this unmarked tube and it sounds great so it MUST be this or that. I'll admit that I am intrigued as to why tubes sound different when theoretically they all have the same components but I've certainly heard it for myself...

I bought a Fuchs amp from Andy probably 10 years ago. It's one of the MANY amps I wish I still had. It was a purple tolex amp that he used as his "bench test" amp. He swapped tubes in and out of various slots until he found what pleased his ears the most. It was a mix and match of this and that, some Chinese tubes, a tube that was so old the markings were no longer legible. Point is, listen for yourself, consult guys that have experience with tubes, Doug, at Dougs tubes has always been great to me and VERY knowledgeable. I myself LOVE Tung-Sol preamp tubes but there are other very good tubes out there. Give them a listen, it will only help your ear in the long run.

Best,
Chris

[peter_heijnen]

Yes that's the one method, try and listen. I know a guy with a whole library of NOS tubes. I went to his place with my own collection tubes and my GT Soul-O-Single and we swapped preamp tubes for about three hours, also interchanging tubes on positions v1/v2 like you and your guy did. I left with the best sounding combination we could come up with and it really made a difference. The world needs good tube boutiques.

[Thumberstrummer]

Thanks a lot guys.
That's for sure where ANY tube amp player would like to get at leats once, in his life!
Kind of a deam come true - to be in front of a collection of tubes and swap them for a couple hours to get the best tone.
Unfortunately where I live there aren't so many opportunities to hit tube boutiques like those you mention.
What I can do eventually is to try to get the best deal for my amp through some friends or other players' references, listening to their opinions, relying on someone else experience, and buy online.
Sometimes it works.
The point is that, most of the times, pro gear like that must be purchased from the US, with heavy tax charge.
That makes me a bit more scary, not encouraging me to run such a blind test.
My amp builder Greg Germino also plays guitar, and I've been told he uses NOS glass in his personal (self built, of course) plexi style amps.
He says it's worth the cost. But all we do know there's a lot of fake mojo out there...
_________________
Germino Club 40 plexi replica + EJ Strat w Suhr ML st. pups. I'm not asking for more so far (but... who knows...?)