tsp17

Third party validation is good. Last night at the gig, someone who had seen us play before asked me if the guitar was new. She said it sounded different and really good. Nice to hear that the improvement wasn't just in my head. It feels like a fuller tone with more gravity, if that makes sense. Definitely no bends though. It is limiting in that way. Slides, hammer-ons, and pull-offs only.

When i wanted to experiment with a heavier gauge to get a bigger sound on my SKB, i intended to go from 12s to 13s. But Thomastik doesn’t make a 13 in the GB line. So i skipped to 14s. Had them on my SKB now for a few years. I would have stuck with 12s on the 550 but didn’t have any left in the house. It was an adjustment at first- definitely, but once i got used to it, it was not a big deal. Going from one guitar strung with 12 to another with 14 you can feel it for sure, but it just takes a minute to remind yourself to give it a little extra oomph all around. On the other side- i tried heavier gauges on my Martin 000-18 and didn’t really like it. I found it much harder to get what i wanted out of heavy gauge on acoustic.

Since we are sharing H550 pics....My 550.

Right. Very little bending in my playing. Slides, and hammer on, yes, but almost no bends.

I’ve had 14s on my Super KB for years. No problem. But, your point is well taken.

Nope. Plays like a dream.

For years I’ve strung my H550 with Thomastik GB Flatwound 12s. They are expensive but last 3-4 times other strings and sound great, always. Very easy playing, consistent and great tone. I use 14s on my Super KB, but have never tried 14s on the 550 because the 12s sound so good, warm, round but also a little sweet. Very 60’-70’s jazz archtop. The band digs it. I went to change out the old 12s for a new set today….But…i was out of the 12s. Never thought to put 14s on the 550; that was all i had and the old strings were already half off. So….14s went on the 550. Wow. What a difference! The guitar sounds bigger in every way. A little darker, fuller and just more. I was really surprised that it made that big a change in fullness and voice of the guitar. Not as effortless to play, but not a huge change in fretting or picking force required, just takes a little more oomph all around. 14s will stay on and maybe be the norm for this 550 from now on. Gig on Friday, so we’ll see…

Nice!

ANOS? Almost NOS?

good thinking. lots of good folks on this forum ready to help…it has always been a good place that way.

yeah, the Tube Shop was solid. So far I have had very limited success with NOS tubes. maybe it is user error but I find they fail at a much higher rate than my experience with new production tubes - both preamp and power sections. I've not liked JJs at all until they came in this 3rd Power amp. they sound great in this amp. they sound a little different but as good as TAD 6L6GC and Telefunken 6L6GC.

didn't measure, but manual says 395 plate voltage. ended up with TAD 6L6gc. surprisingly the OEM JJs were just as good. I might put them back in. happy about that as they are cheaper and easier to get. I did also like the Telefunken 6L6GC a lot. really good. Most high-def of the bunch.

Really nice! A lot like the ones you used to spec @skydog52,

well- the JAN 6L6wgb were disappointing. kind of dull and lifeless even after rebias. then when removing them the center plug with the notch on it snapped off of one. Fortunately it did not get stuck in the socket. So, I put in some telefunken 6L6gcs. really good. very hi-def. TAD6L6WGC-STRs also very very good. I'll leave the TADs in for a while. They came as a matched pair but are a good 5 mv apart. Sounding good so far. I might go back to the JJs. They sounded great, so if its not broke, don't fix it.