I should have done mine a while ago, simply judging from the noise floor. I have since swapped the compressor tube for a NOS Telefunken that subjectively feels a little weightier, which I love for vocals, but probably won’t look to re-tubing again for some time unless the noise comes up or one starts to go microphonic. I think they last quite a while in this unit!
Right? As I’ve used the unit more, it’s clear the old tubes badly needed replacing. I love what the fresh set, and especially the gold pin clarity and low noise floor, has done for material I’ve recorded since this video was made.
@@vektacular Agreed, and thanks for stopping by! Though, I have had a noise issue reappear with the high-gain circuit since the re-tube, which now needs chasing down. DI bass with high-gain slamming the tubes is a gorgeously angry sound but I’m having to IZotope the bejeesus out of the track every time.
@@TannerCundy I have an Avalon as well, only for vocals….i do love it but I find it’s very touchy sometimes….ive never done a tube change. I think if I ever have to do one I will go vintage again just because I’m familiar with how to do my settings to sound pretty good on it. It’s a great piece of gear though….in 2013 lil Wayne came to Buffalo and had studio time and the studio hunted me down so lil Wayne could use it to record his vocals through it….pretty cool. I think as long as you can fix it in post I wouldn’t worry too much about the bass sound until it’s time to change the tubes again. Maybe record the bass in a different way? Enjoy.
Hello are you using a normal screwdriver to open up the top of the avalon? Also is it bad to use a different tube like the JJ E88CC vs the original Avalon ST4 tubes?
Hey, thanks for stopping by! The unit’s top screws are Phillips head; I’m pretty sure I used a regular issue screwdriver from my toolkit. I actually swapped to JJ gold-pin E88CC in this video versus the original Sovtek that Avalon sells, and have been very pleased with the results. The measurably lower noise floor and gain characteristics are a great match for what I do with the 737. Hope that helps!
I’ve used 3 of these units to record a vintage RCA 77 ribbon microphone. They were in three different recording studios. All three were intolerably noisy in a very similar way. The preamp stage had unusable hiss. In each scenario, I used a different solid state preamp. A Yamaha unit in one instance and the in-console mic pres in the other two. All had no issue whatsoever with the RCA77’s low output. I have no use for Avalon’s incredible good looks and delightfully machined controls. I mean, it’s a mic pre!!
VT737SP hiss is a pretty hot topic, especially if the high-gain circuit gets engaged. As someone with an ear for noise level and monitors that'll absolutely notify you if there's a floor present, I do notice it with the R-121 on high-gain with no Cloudlifter or inline +48 powered boost - especially compared to my BAE preamps, which love delivering more clean gain than I could possibly use. It's not there if I'm using my FleA 47 (which has such hot output, I have to inline attenuate going into some preamps lest I drive the input stage) or line-in bass, which is where this unit has seen the most work here. It does seem that if you're relying on the 737 high gain to get you into useable gain territory like with a vintage ribbon, the noise floor isn't great on some (many?) units, though you'll find strong opinions out there that state otherwise. Whether that's user bias (haha) because it looks nice, or the person isn't as noise sensitive as others, or the unit is actually super clean, or they've figured out the magic mic/preamp match that works flawlessly - I've no idea.
@@TannerCundy I appreciate this additional info very much. I feel the need to add that the noise was miles from subtle, and perceived as identical in three sessions a day apart from each other. I’d love to tell you I can hear the sound of the earth spinning on its axis but no such discernment was needed. Everyone in the session had a look on their face that spoke volumes, a bit like stepping into a fart-filled elevator. I made apologies all around, played the psych game to the best of my ability, and finished the session. Don’t misunderstand me, I appreciate your video here very much, Tanner. Thanks. 👍🏽
@artysanmobile I totally understand, and respect the professionalism in that situation! I feel that if a piece of equipment is disrupting a session to that extent, for any reason, no amount of prestige or sunk-cost should take priority - which can be a tough sell to clients who *have* to use a particular brand/unit, or even us engineers who are sometimes super excited for our own reasons. It's a mistake I've made and the work to un-do that mistake in post is tenfold over just rotating to something that actually does the job. As for the video, I appreciate you stopping by! If anything else, it won't solve an inherent noise issue but re-tubing a unit - especially one that runs HOT in Class A config - is one of those maintenance things that will get progressively more impactful the longer it's put off. The noise floor on the 'before' part of this video is just horrid and that's my fault :).
I buy through Eurotubes (fantastic local-to-me shop that stringently tests their tubes) for JJ and Tube Depot for anything I can’t get there. At the time of the video, I paid about $180 for the set of four 88CC gold pin, with tax and shipping. Hope that helps!
@@littlepacificstudios Glad to be of help! It is a...complex unit, that's for sure. I find the high-gain circuit to still be a little noisy for super detailed work (like solo acoustic with a ribbon) and am using an inline booster instead, which gets it into the sweet spot and sounds glorious without as much hiss. The exception is DI bass, where I'm perfectly happy with a higher noise floor in order to get into that Avalon U5-type crunch-and-saturate mode. I've also swapped in a NOS Telefunken in the compressor stage which gives it a little more gloss and character when engaged, especially on vocals. As I called out in the video, this one likely ran on the original tubes for many years and the difference has been pretty striking as the tubes before were very old, very noisy, and probably should have been swapped out years ago :)
Tests like this should be done double-blind. Otherwise, people will hear what they expect to hear. Many won't be convinced that the difference they perceive is not really there. The hallucinations are so real. I speak from experience.
While I agree, this is less of a clinical test and more of documenting a necessary maintenance process. I do lean into hoping for some subjective changes based on tube selection, but the difference in noise floor alone is objectively and measurably different. I couldn’t truly double-blind this if there’s a 10dB difference in noise due to replacing a bad tube.
I’m not in the business of testing gear. I use it under the red hot pressure cooker of a recording session costing me thousands of dollars a day with a skittish artist losing confidence in the process by the minute because three Avalon preamps failed in a span of three days with the very same microphone, that went on to function perfectly with stock, low-cost preamps. That is a far more compelling test than anything you could possibly dream up.
@@chansetwo You created the topic of testing in response to a video with an entirely different perspective. I can see now you are doing a fine job debating yourself. Carry on..
