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I received a pair of THD Yellowjackets yesterday. For those who didn't follow my
earlier
thread, these are used to substitute EL84 tubes for either 6X6 or 6550 types.
They also
convert a Class AB amp into a Class A and cut power by about 30 percent.
I first tried these in my Aims Dual 12, which uses a pair of 6550 tubes; after
about 10
minutes, I started smelling some plastic melting. Not good. I quickly shut down
the beast,
vowing not to do that again!
I then took all my 6L6 tubes out of my Fender Twin Custom 15 and replaced them
with a
single pair of the EL84s. Success! Whereas the amp used to be clean up to about
"9" on the
volume, now it is a fire-breathing distortion machine from about 5 upward. It's
sort of a
cross between Marshall and Vox AC30 tone. Hard to describe, but really smooth
and
creamy. Of course, I have cut the power-production of the Twin from 85-watts to
about
20; it's a really nice distortion, much better than any pedal I've used. It
really is like having
a new amp. I also plan on trying the amp with a pair of 6L6 tubes and the EL84s,
for a
mixed Class A and Class AB power stage and to restore some clean headroom.
My plan on stage is to use the Aims as my "clean" amp, then use an A/B switch to
drive
both the Aims and Fender simultaneously when I want to introduce distortion, or
to switch
to the Fender solely for distortion.
I know everyone is gonna wonder, why, Gavin, why? Why ruin that beautiful Fender
clean
tone? All I can say is, I like to tweak and experiment, and I am quite pleased
with my
wicked Fender Twin right now. And, in only a minute, I can restore the Fender to
its
original sound.
