Crayon Sky Music

What Pre-amp tube should I get?

So I have a Fender Roc Pro 1000 guitar head and I want to replace the pre-amp tube with something more “heavy” or with better high gain, but I don’t know what to get. Right now it has a classic AC DC rock sound…but I want something with more spice. So…anyone recommend anything out there? I’ve read that different tubes produce different dynamics and stuff. Help me!

You’ve got a 12AX7 tube in the preamp. There are several tubes in that family that are interchangeable. The primary difference between them is their transconductance, or amplification factor. The higher the amplification factor, the more gain the stage will have.

To give you some idea:

12AU7 20x
12AY7 40x
12AT7 70x
12AX7 100x

So, unfortunately, you’ve already got the highest gain tube in the family in your amp.

Your amp could be “hot-rodded”. In other words, the component values around the tube could be changed to increase the total gain of the preamp. But, that can get kind of expensive.

My recommendation is to add and external pedal to give you more gain in your sound. If you like the fundamental tone of your amp, then look at getting a clean boost pedal that will hit the front end of your amp harder.

Good luck.

Ken

Micro Tube Head Buyers Guide -Award to the Peavey Classic 30