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EVH tone on VH '78 bootleg

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4/6/2000 10:36 PM

EVH tone on VH '78 bootleg

I know this has been discussed but I recently picked up a live tape of VH from their '78 tour, before the 2nd album. It's from Paris (Hippodrome?) and Eddies tone is just ungodly. At times its almost like turning a machine on, rather than hitting chords. Never heard so much gain and sustain. Can this really be an unmodded Plexi? And is there any truth to his using 6L6's in that amp?

Dave

4/6/2000 10:46 PM
John Stokes	I heard that EVH was using the old Philips/Sylvania big-bottle 6CA7s in that amp. They look internally more like a 6550 than an EL34, they're beam tetrodes with beam-former plates, not a suppressor grid. Didn't Eddie use a couple stomp boxes back then? Maybe that's where the gain is coming from. don't forget, Eddie was always into the huge volume, so that could help the sustain.

4/6/2000 11:54 PM

quote:
" Philips/Sylvania big-bottle 6CA7s in that amp. They look internally more like a 6550 than an EL34, they're beam tetrodes with beam-former plates, not a suppressor grid"

They look like a 6550 for a good reason.... when they tested the tubes, the 'weak' 6550's were labelled as 6ca7's (Grew up in St. Marys ,Pa, where sylvania used to be located, and abut 10 miles from Emporium, where the last sylvania tubes were made)

4/7/2000 4:51 AM
Ted Breaux	FWIW, 6550s don't sound like 6CA7s, so if anyone is contemplating installing 6550s in hopes of getting the EVH sound, you'll be VERY disappointed.

4/7/2000 5:27 AM
John Stokes	OK, Ted, then how do we resolve what looks like a total contradiction between your and Rebel's post? Were the Syl 6CA7s really weak 6550s or not?

4/7/2000 5:44 AM

quote:
"Were the Syl 6CA7s really weak 6550s or not?"

YES. Remembr, not all el34's soudn the smae (sovtek from mullard etc)... so not all 6550's sound the same... AND remember weak tubes do sound softer than stronger tubes... I have seen in print a few times that Sylvania 6ca7's are 6550s... PLUS a few friends of the family worked in the factory, and confirmed it...

4/7/2000 2:21 PM

Well, I haven't pulled the back off of my Ampeg SVT and '69 plexi Marshall to compare 6550s and 6CA7s, but being that the 6550s are GE, and the 6CA7s are Sylvania, I am obviously at a loss to explain how they could be the same tube. Regardless, this is academic, as if you've ever heard a Marshall with 6550s (yuk), you know that it sounds nothing like EVH (or even a Marshall for that matter). On the other hand if you get a chance to hear 6CA7s, you'll be pleasantly surprised. IMO, the Sylvania 6CA7 is about the best sounding tube you can put in a Marshall, while a 6550 is about the worst. Go figure.

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