Tube Rolling??

[Stevie9]

Hi, I've heard the term tube rolling with regards to tube / valve amps. What is that all about??

 

[eggontoast]

It just refers to changing the valves from one brand to another. Sometimes, depending on the circuit, you can change to a different type of valve with similar electrical specs, some circuits also have little jumpers you can move to accommodate a variety of valve types.

 

[Al ears]

It just refers to changing the valves from one brand to another. Sometimes, depending on the circuit, you can change to a different type of valve with similar electrical specs, some circuits also have little jumpers you can move to accommodate a variety of valve types.

+1

There are valves of a certain type that are produced by a number of different manufacturers around the world. Some prefer to swap out the valves the amp can fitted with for those from another (i.e. Russian, British etc) manufacturer normally for sound quality / price / longevity or some other reason.

 

[Stevie9]

It just refers to changing the valves from one brand to another. Sometimes, depending on the circuit, you can change to a different type of valve with similar electrical specs, some circuits also have little jumpers you can move to accommodate a variety of valve types.

+1

There are valves of a certain type that are produced by a number of different manufacturers around the world. Some prefer to swap out the valves the amp can fitted with for those from another (i.e. Russian, British etc) manufacturer normally for sound quality / price / longevity or some other reason.

I see. Thanks!

 

[Infiniteloop]

The point of tube rolling is the ability to affect the sound of your Amp. Similar spec tubes from different manufacturers and variations of the tube spec sound slightly different and can have subjectively beneficial musical effects on different types of music. For example: my S8 uses 12AU7's in its PreAmp stage but you can also use several variant such as 7316, 5814, 5963 etc. made by companies such as Mullard, Phillips, Telefunken, Siemens etc. They all sound different. - It's all down to personal preference, of course, but it adds to the delight of owning and using a Valve Amp.

 

[Al ears]

It just refers to changing the valves from one brand to another. Sometimes, depending on the circuit, you can change to a different type of valve with similar electrical specs, some circuits also have little jumpers you can move to accommodate a variety of valve types.

+1

There are valves of a certain type that are produced by a number of different manufacturers around the world. Some prefer to swap out the valves the amp can fitted with for those from another (i.e. Russian, British etc) manufacturer normally for sound quality / price / longevity or some other reason.

I see. Thanks!

No problem. Some modern solid-state amps allow for a limited adjustment in a somewhat different way, see Colins' Nord Amps and the ability to change op amps in them, however this is very rare.