Hi everybody
I was in a Guitar shop some days ago to buy a present to a cousin to to my kids.
But it ended up wih me going home with a small Tube Amp (Ibanez ValBee).
http://www.ibanez.co.jp/world/product_news/pages/valbee/index.html
It was demo unit sold for price a fair bit lower than the price for a new one.
The Valbee is a bit different to other small tube amps as it has an active EQ circuitry with the IC RJC 4558 and a "Boost" channel with an integrated "Tube Screamer" circuitry based around the IC RJC 4558 and one part of the pre-amp tube 12AX7. The headphone/line output is connected after the power amplifier transformer wich gives you exactly same sound at line output as in the speaker wich is very good for recording or connecting to a PA system.
I found this sound sample on You Tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMWnBepurKA&feature=related
Even if at a test of a guitar it also shows some of the sounds (clean and "boosted") from the Valbee.
Here are some sound samples with my Yamaha RGX 320 humbucker guitar.
3 verses of a song with pickup switch in 3 positions; neck , mid and bridge
Valbee settings; volume max, presence min, tone controls in mid, gain at 3 of 10
Guitar settings; volume max , tone max.
Recorded trough the line output of ValBee.
ValBee Clean with a small amount of tube overdrive sound
http://www.box.net/shared/ga99lednoo
ValBee Boosted to minimum , Tube Screamer sound
http://www.box.net/shared/38cr6ilyqy
/Kalle
Tanglewood TW28STE (Shadow P7 EQ) acoustic
Yamaha RGX 320FZ electric guitar/Egnater Tweaker 15 amp.
Yamaha RBX 270 bass/Laney DB 150 amp.
http://www.soundclick.com/kalleinsweden
That's a nice sounding little amp.
Built-in Tubscreamer. What a great idea.
Now, has anyone seen one on the shelf in Canada?
The "usual suspects" online don't seem to list them...
I wrapped a newspaper ’round my head
So I looked like I was deep
The Crate VC508 I got back in 2001 pretty much has a built in Tube Screamer ahead of the tubes. That's why I don't like it. Too much gain. Can't turn it off, you can only turn it down.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
I was trying the ValBee when I bought my Fender Champ 600. I also liked it but it had a very different tone. I didn't know that it has an "integrated" tube screamer.
Enjoy! :D
