Cant get good distortion out of tube amp... suggestions?

I've got a Peavey Vintage 6x8 110 watt single channel combo. It has one great clean channel. I've tried everything to get a good distortion out of my GT-8 pedal but nothing even comes close to decent. Should i try some analog pedals?

Anyone have any suggestions?

Like the guys were saying before when you wanted to swap out the speakers, the GT-8 is gonna suck the tone out of the amp. This is a tube amp and is meant to be cranked. The amp should have a dirty channel. Why not use that and not use any pedals?

I suggest you plug straight into the amp, turn the volume closest to the inputs all the way up, and turn the master volume (next to the on/off switch) up fairly high (if you can handle it). That's about all the distortion you'll get out of that amp. If that's not enough (probably not, going on your previous posts), I suggest you get an overdrive pedal such as a Tubescreamer, Boss SD-1, or an MXR ZW-44. Plug your guitar into the pedal, and then from the pedal to the input of the amp. This is what I do with my Peavey classic 50 when I need more gain. Doing this will give you raw, unadulterated, nonprocessed, in-your-face rawnchyness that no processor can give you.

And for God's sake, whatever you do, don't cut/scoop out all the mids!

My amp is the model that came out before the master volume knobs. It only has ONE volume knob. And yes it only has one channel.

I'm suprised the GT-8 isn't giving you a decent enough tone.
I'm assuming you've messed around and come up with your own patches rather than going with the factory presets.
There's a little box you can get called a Redbox Cabinetulator.

It's mainly meant for using an effects pedal straight into the board, but it also takes that 'digital edge' off rack based effects. It just goes into the effects send/receive.

You could also get an attenuator so you can crank the amp and lower the volume.
Other than that, I agree with the other guys. You should be able to get a decent distortion naturally from the amp with a decent guitar and pickups.

(although I gotta say that I stopped using Peavey many years ago because I ran into the same problem. Great clean sound, but not really built for heavy rock.)

did you use anything other than the amp to try getting a nice distortion? I think i found out what's holding me back. I've got 3 GE 6l6-GC's and one of them isn't glowing nearly as bright as the others. The other isn't a GE and the metal plate on top isn't the same shape. Its a 6l6-GC though. Im guessing a new set of Ruby's and a bias would help out tremendously.

I've go a tube works real tube overdrive pedal and it's as nasty as I need it. This has a 12ax7 (transistor) driven preamp tube which is effectively like adding another preamp stage. More stages, more gain. I've seen em on ebay from 49.00 to 75.00 bucks. I'm a big fan of low wattage tube amps and they're starting to make some good crunchy combos. Like the player above, tubes amps like to be cranked up. If you really want disortion, go to the music store and play through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. I like to play blues and classic rock and this thing was so hot I needed a warehouse to play it in. It had a clean, drive, and this insane thing called MORE drive, all three of which are footswitchable. It also has a bright switch that makes it even cleaner.

Sorry...Didn't mean to ramble on

im starting to regret buying an amp with only 1 channel. This is a badass amp though, just needs a little work. Anyone know where i can get some replacement vacuum tubes?

A local shop that sells guitars and amps probably stocks them. If not, they're all over the internet. Try Eurotubes.com, Torresengineering.com. Or just google 12ax7. If there is a Guitar Center (it's a chain music store) near you they have them.

Good hunting

and im guessing my tube situation is what's making the tone the way it is now. The two closest to the input are glowing brightly at the top and bottom. The next one is glowing just as bright at the top but noticably dim at the other end. The last one is the non GE tube and the top is dim and the bottom can barely be seen. The weird thing is that when i switch standby the third one with the bright top and dim bottom is the only one not turning purple.

Originally Posted by: Bluesman JackA local shop that sells guitars and amps probably stocks them. If not, they're all over the internet. Try Eurotubes.com, Torresengineering.com. Or just google 12ax7. If there is a Guitar Center (it's a chain music store) near you they have them.

Good hunting

these arn't the 12ax7's. These are the Compactron (which arn't made anymore) round vacuum 12 pin tubes in my 72 Peavey.

The tubes filiment heaters are all thats on in standby. If they are all the same tube type, they should probably all being glowwing the same brightness. Diddo on the tubes and bias.

it looks almost identical to this except shorter.



Sorry if i sound crazy... but i cant find a place that sells this tube.

Contact Peavey and see if there is a suitable replacement available. Sorry, I did'nt see your post on the 12 pin tubes before I replied.

I'd say replace all the tubes. Bob at eurotubes.com is a big Peavey buff, so I'm sure he can help you out with your amp. He can probably hook you up with some higher gain preamp tubes that will give you a little more boost too. He only deals JJ tubes, which isn't a bad thing because Peavey amps love them.

I'm not sure how much you know about tube amps, but here are a few things to keep in mind. When changing out the power tubes, you need to change them all out at one time with a matched set, and not just one at a time. The bias will also need to be set, unless it's a non adjustable bias (I'm sure Bob can tell you). It's a good idea to let the amp warm up for a few minutes in standby before playing it, and put it on standby for a minute or two before turning it off. This will help prolong the life of the tubes. Tube amps need to be cranked up to sound their best. Single channel tube amps are more versatile than you think. All you need is an overdrive pedal, and you've basically got a 3 channel amp. Crank the amp so you get some nice crunch to it (crunch channel), roll the volume down a bit on your guitar to clean it up a bit (clean channel), and kick on the overdrive pedal for the heavier stuff (lead/distortion channel).

It's possible you could do this with your GT-8. Set the amp to where you get a little break up when you really dig down on your guitar. Set one channel of the GT-8 to have no effects whatsoever, no amp model, no cab, no nothing (this will be your clean channel). Then set the next channel just like the previous one, but only turn on one of the overdrive/distortion pedal models. This will be your dirty channel. This wont sound as good as using an actuall pedal, but it might work for your needs. But, whatever you do, don't use any of the amp or cabinet models in the GT-8 with your amp.

I would defanately get some new tubes for the amp before playing it too much more. You don't want to damage it. Playing with a failed tube could cause damage.

I hope some of that helps. ;)

thanks for all that info! This is my first tube amp so i am slowly learning. I dont see any preamp tubes. Could it be that i have a solid state preamp with tube power amps and vacuum tubes? Does this make sense?

Originally Posted by: Letchworth40.... Could it be that i have a solid state preamp with tube power amps and vacuum tubes? Does this make sense?

[font=trebuchet ms]Uhh, no...

Your power tubes are 6L6GC's IIRC, and the Compactron is probably a 6K11 or 6Q11. There may be one or more 12AX7 or 12AY7 or 12AU7 preamp tubes as well. There may be a 5U4 rectifier tube instead of solid-state diodes.

You should write the tube numbers on the chassis next to each tube, so you know which tube goes in each socket.

There are potentially deadly voltages present inside a tube amp chassis, even after it's turned off. Don't go there. Contact Bob at >Eurotubes< and get the straight goods from an expert.[/font]

I'm sure this amp is all tube, but Peavey did make an amp with a "solid state" preamp and tube power amp. It was the Mace I believe. If you've ever heard any Lynyrd Skynyrd, you've heard this amp.

Originally Posted by: PRSplayaI'm sure this amp is all tube, but Peavey did make an amp with a "solid state" preamp and tube power amp. It was the Mace I believe. If you've ever heard any Lynyrd Skynyrd, you've heard this amp.

[font=trebuchet ms]Did it look like this?[/font]

Nope. The Mace uses 6 6L6's, and comes in either a 2x12 or head version.