jazzbo

I don't think that is a ludicrous question at all, it occurred to me that it was an athletic headband as well. . . . Or a prostethic device for the elimination of "howdy doddy" ears?

hey, that trick of us all spelling badly worked!

Yeah, it's interesting isn't it. I find that I can identify a few other guitarists that way, Jimi, B. B. . . . It's got to do with they way the set up their electrics but also just the way their fingers use the strings and fretboard identify them. Producing music is an amazing thing.

Will do!

Hey Soul, thanks for posting this. I let a few people know about it that hadn't heard, so maybe that will help (one is in a position to get the word "out" and will.) Not sure if I'm going to get to go but I might!

I bought five Siemens 6922 input tubes from ebay for a total of 75 dollars a year ago. THAT was a great deal. Excellent tubes too, NOS in the box. I also bought a totally fried EICO amplifier as a parts amp to the EICO that I have that needs some work, and it came with quite lively yet Mullard EL84s and some Sylvania and Mullard 12AU7 and 12AX7s. Paid fifty dollars for the amp and tubes together. Another good deal, that I'll appreciate whenever I have one of these overhauled. If you look around, you should find some bargains. I honestly think that tube choices are as significant as wiring and footer etc. concerns, and clean power. Even in my EICO when it was up and running, which is far from the minimalist circuit and single-ended design of my Decware Select amp, and not too dissimilar in topology from your amp, rolling tubes made significant differences. And I'd invite you to consider rectifiers in the rolling as they always surprise in the differences they make.

All three offered there are great choices, I enjoy them all. I think I reach out for Marchel's Mode just a hair more. . . some great Cedar Walton there.

Gentlemen, thank you all for adding to a very nice day. I had a great evening thanks to Helen and I didn't reflect too hard on the sorry state of affairs that is my life and world! I listened to a lot of Louis and watched some pretty idiotic tv to put me into a mood to sleep and made it through another birthday! I may still continue to celebrate Louis's birthday for a few more days though. I can't get his music out of my head this morning!

I find this French Hendrix site quite interesting: http://hendrix.free.fr/ If you are collecting live shows, this site lists the sets by titles played, and may have a ticket image, poster or photograph from the event. Quite handy for the Hendrix fan making his own artwork for live shows! Lots of interesting photos on the site too, about twenty pages of them, including a number that I have never seen before.

I've forced myself to stay away from there for a long time after their huge stock of Classics made me a poor person for some time! The two Ran Blakes they have are well worth a try.

Just discovered that Billy Bob Thornton and I both share the same birthday and year! Odd. . .not sure how I feel about that!

Tube choice makes a big big difference in my amplifier circuit; differences in input tubes, power tubes and rectifiers really are quite apparent. I've done some judicious shopping and have found that RCA rectifiers and Siemens input tubes are the best combination for me, and compared to the Svetlana and Ruby (Chinese) stock tubes they are no comparison: the NOS are clearly superior and I won't do without them. It really surprised me what a difference rectifier tube rolling has made; the partnership between a rectifier and an input tube is quite important and I've found a really great one in Siemens 6922 and RCA 5V4. The Seimens 6922 also work really well in my Dynaco CD player, and I have a pair of Mullards that also work excellently. I've looked around and really have found bargains for the NOS tubes I prefer and have a supply that will last me a long time. For output tubes, my amp uses the Svetlana SV83 which is a newly developed tube with no real direct replacements in vintage gear. EL84s work, electrically, but the SV83 yields more power, and has a wider bandwidth, it's really no contest. The treble is much better with the SV83, extended and open, and the midrange is very open too; EL84s sound somewhat midrangey and compressed in comparison. So my amp is split between new production Svetlanas and NOS stock tubes. And I'm ecstatically happy with the situation. In your amp I would recommend playing about with NOS power tubes. I find that EL84s by Mullard and Tesla are better than Russian and Chinese tubes, in three different tube amps I've owned. And I also believe that you can really enjoy differences in input tubes and rectifier tubes as well. I would think with your attention to detail in your system that you would explore this avenue to improve and tailor the sound, and enjoy the adventure.

You know, I've been making a big deal of Louis' birthday for myself for some five or six years now, and I realize more and more what he means to the music we love, and just what he means for our American experiece. I listened to about five hours of his music today, and it was a great pleasure. Long live the King! :

Thank you kind folk. I'm gaining weight reading this thread!