GENZ BENZ El Diablo 60 Combo tone mod

[cristinelo]

Hello there!

Just like many El Diablo users ,I`d like to find a fix to that Fizziness at lower volumes. Mainly in 60 Watts mode.

I`ve tried many tube swaps in preamp section with very little advancement.

I currently have

 

V1: Mullard 12ax7

V2: JAN 5771

V3: PM 12ax7 HG

Power section is Tung Sol EL34B

The present configuration seem to help only a bit regarding the fizziness.

Does anyone have knowledge of a mod in this regard?

 

[WRGKMC]

The question is weather the fizziness is coming from the speaker, power amp, preamp or whether the input gain from the pickups/pedals are too hot for the amp.

 

The amp is a fairly complex design. It uses additional gain stages so I'd have to guess that's where you would be getting the fizz. Clean tube amps only have two or three gain stages. That thing has 6 stages and a bunch of different wiring schemes so there may not be a simple solution and even a qualified tech may tell you to leave it alone.

 

It may be possible you created this problem when you installed different tubes. Did you buy a matched set of tubes and have them properly biased by a good technician? If not you may not only have caused the fizziness, but you take a chance on damaging the tubes or the amp. Different tubes use different biasing currents and if they aren't set right and balanced its like running a car with a bad spark plug. Its going to have an imbalance and clip half the waveform or not produce the proper sine signal. Bad news if you are jacking with tubes and not know what you're doing. If you read your manual it states. When switching the tube types or brand of tubes, your amp should be re-biased to obtain optimum performance, tone and tube longevity.

 

The manual also states,

 

The GENZ BENZ EL DIABLO 60 contains a unique combination of circuits, including vintage tube circuits, carefully engineered “hot-rod” tube circuits and advanced tone shaping techniques. EL DIABLO 60 delivers unique tone, drive and versatility, which is exemplified by the 10 distinctive tone variations easily accessible through the four button footswitch (included). This flexibility allows endless possibilities to craft your own personal repertoire of tone and expression.

 

The unique PENTODE / TRIODE design of the tube amplifier adds to the versatility of the EL DIABLO 60— essentially 2 different amps in one!! In the 60-watt PENTODE MODE the amp responds with its bold, “spanky”, rich clean tone and classic overdrive sustain, all the way into aggressive Hi Gain brutality and all points in between. With the 30-watt TRIODE MODE the El Diablo 60 produces a more vintage, fuller, fatter tone with a more dynamic response and increased power tube break-up with a darker complexity. Experimentation with all of this flexibility will reward you with a tremendous tonal pallet for your specific playing style or song selection.

 

I haven't seen or heard this amp but by reading the manual I can make enough guesses of how it might be wired. This is what might be considered a modeling amp except its done with various wiring schemes. You should be able to get clean tones on the first channel according to the book. The second channel is designed to break up early at low volumes. Don't know why you'd buy this amp if its not what you want.

There is the possibility the speaker isn't the best match for the tones you want. I'd make sure you didn't cause this problem by swapping the tubes out. Some amps can sound better or at least different with different tubes.

 

That amp comes with Ruby tubes which should be doing the job just fine. Switching to Tung Sol may have made the problem worse. If I were to switch tubes out for something cleaner I'd likely Try JJ's or Electro Harmonix. Both are pretty solid sounding tubes. Again, you should be having this done by a professional. Even if tubes are matched, it doesn't mean the last set was and you're sticking the new tubes into a socket that wasn't calibrated for those tubes. You can have different problems with the bias set too high or too low. In most cases, if its too low, it affects you gain/breakup. If its set too high it generally causes problems when you turn down and the amp never cleans up, sounds muddy or lacks clarity.

 

Best you take it to a tech. If he verifies the bias is right and functioning properly, then you may want to try a different guitar through it. If you have Hot wound pickups, the amp may never produce clean tones with that guitar because the pickup output is to high. If it is the amp, I say sell it and get something that does what you want. When people talk about modding its a sign they either have the wrong gear and they are trying to make it do something it cant, or they are looking for mojo in all the wrong places. That amp should have good resale and then you can find a match for what you need.

[cristinelo]

Wow! Thanks for the extended reply!

 

I`m generally very pleased with how it sounds in Triode mode. The Pentode mode is the one that`s not as docile. :-)

Biasing...I do it myself. It`s very easy to as the probes and the pot are in the back of the amp.

 

I did also a speaker swap with a Celestion G12K-100 that opened it up and the highs are way smoother now.

 

With the present tube configuration sounds better than with the stock ones. Fizz still there in Pentode though.

 

Yeah...I`ll have a closer look at the pickups and gain I`m using.

 

​Cheers again for the reply!

[Steve2112]

Ther may not be anything to do about it. Some amps just are what they are. Some people get around it with boost or equivalent in loop. I would watch gain and hi eq. Also guitar controls can help. If you tried all this...along with tunes and speakers...welp..that's all she wrote. New amp time

[Steve2112]

Should read eq in loop..not equivalent. Won't let me correct.