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Topic: Tubes for Sarno preamps question |
Tommy Boswell
From:
Virginia, USA
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Posted 21 Jan 2019 7:42 am |
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A big thumbs up for Brad Sarno products! I've owned a couple of his preamps, a Black Box, a Freeloader, all good!
I have a nice Tonic preamp with 2 tubes, mine has been modified to take a 12AX7 in both slots. One of the slots (or maybe one side of one tube) is used for the "black box" buffer function. Not sure which one. And I assume the other is a "driver" that affects tone.
So here's my question: If I had only one vintage USA-made tube, which slot should I try it in to enhance tone? V1 or V2? Assuming V1 is the slot closest to edge of chassis. |
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Brad Sarno
From:
St. Louis, MO USA
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Posted 22 Jan 2019 6:34 am
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RCA!!!
I'd put it in V2.
V1 is a split-purpose tube. The V1A stage is a simplified input buffer. V1B is the output driver.
Tube V2 is the two gain stages of the preamp which provide the most tone and color.
B |
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Tommy Boswell
From:
Virginia, USA
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Posted 22 Jan 2019 6:38 am
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Thank you Brad!
I know we discussed this before...now I've got it in a thread I can search next time I forget.
Time to sort through my old tube collection. |
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Charlie Thompson
From:
South Carolina, USA
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Posted 30 Sep 2019 6:57 am V8 Tubes
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Brad
Does the tube switch suggested the same for the V8?
I have a vintage RCA in the socket nearest the chassis edge.. is that correct? |
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Brad Sarno
From:
St. Louis, MO USA
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Posted 30 Sep 2019 8:38 am Re: V8 Tubes
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| Charlie Thompson wrote: |
Brad
Does the tube switch suggested the same for the V8?
I have a vintage RCA in the socket nearest the chassis edge.. is that correct? |
Yes, that tube nearest the edge of the chassis is V1. That is the main preamp tube that handles the input and main gain. I'd put the most special tube there. Beware though, older octals can often be microphonic.
B |
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Ronald Ballister
From:
New York, New York, USA
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Posted 11 Oct 2019 7:18 am
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| Brad, a bit off topic (probably not worthy of a new post, apologies) but I need your advice on the sequence of pedals using one of your older Black Boxes. Zum Steel > Goodrich H-10 active volume pedal > Sarno Black Box > Reverb/Delay Pedal > Peavy Amp. ALSO, same question regarding using an older Hilton Pedal: Zum Steel > Hilton volume pedal > Sarno Black Box > Reverb/Delay Pedal > Peavy Amp. Do these hookups look right? Thanks in advance! |
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Danny Letz
From:
Old Glory,Texas, USA 79540
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Posted 12 Oct 2019 7:32 am
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| Not Brad but I think he says the Black Box is the first thing the pickup should see & thru the shortest cord you can use to get there. So it would be Guitar, Black Box, Volume pedal & then Reverb/ delay. Some like the delay ahead of the Volume pedal so they can cut off unwanted repeats at the end of a song, |
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Ronald Ballister
From:
New York, New York, USA
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Posted 12 Oct 2019 7:41 am
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| Danny Letz wrote: |
| Not Brad but I think he says the Black Box is the first thing the pickup should see & thru the shortest cord you can use to get there. So it would be Guitar, Black Box, Volume pedal & then Reverb/ delay. Some like the delay ahead of the Volume pedal so they can cut off unwanted repeats at the end of a song, |
Danny, where would you insert the tuner in this chain? |
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Danny Letz
From:
Old Glory,Texas, USA 79540
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Posted 12 Oct 2019 10:38 am
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| I really don’t know. I also have a later Black Box that has a tuner jack. The early one I use most doesn’t. My guess would be between the Black Box & the volume pedal. Otherwise you have to apply volume with the pedal to make the tuner work. I just put a cord on my Peterson & plug it straight into the guitar as needed, not in the chain. I usually tune before starting a gig & then at the first break before I leave the bandstand & the strings cool off from my hands and that’s about all any of my guitars require. |
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Brad Sarno
From:
St. Louis, MO USA
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Posted 13 Oct 2019 12:32 pm
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| Ronald Ballister wrote: |
| Danny Letz wrote: |
| Not Brad but I think he says the Black Box is the first thing the pickup should see & thru the shortest cord you can use to get there. So it would be Guitar, Black Box, Volume pedal & then Reverb/ delay. Some like the delay ahead of the Volume pedal so they can cut off unwanted repeats at the end of a song, |
Danny, where would you insert the tuner in this chain? |
Ideally, we ALL keep our tuners out of the main signal path. The Black Box offers a tuner jack so you can tune hands-free and silently if you turn the volume pedal off. Many also have offered a little schematic here to add a tuner-out jack from our passive volume pedals. Some active pedals have a tuner out jack.
Brad |
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