Korg SV-2 User Manual page 90

82| The Editor
Tube Talk
Brits call 'em valves while their US cousins call 'em tubes... as the saying
goes: England and America are merely two countries divided by a common
language! Anyway, call 'em what you will, these wondrous glass bottles lie
at the tonal heart of each of our models. As all the amps we've modelled
hail from one of the two countries just mentioned, in honour of their heri­
tage, the descriptions of all English amps will employ the words "valve" and
"valves", while the American ones will be tubular!
QUESTION: What's the difference between an ECC83 preamp valve and
a 12AX7 preamp tube?
ANSWER: Nothing! They're the same exact thing – namely the most pop­
ular preamp tube in ampland. ECC83 is the British name, 12AX7 (a.k.a.
7025) is the American.
Power Amp Accuracy
What happens in the power stage of any good tube amp is of paramount
importance to the way the amp sounds, feels and behaves. The way the
power amp operates (Class A or Class AB), the power tubes used (EL84s,
EL34s, 6L6s, 6V6s), the exact nature of the negative feedback loop circuitry
(if one even exists) and how the power stage interacts (a relationship called
damping) with the speaker(s) it is driving – all these things play a vital role in
the creation of tone.
That is why we have fitted your SV­2 with our patented Valve Reactor
Technology – a modeling breakthrough that is unique to VOX (a member
of the KORG family) and infuses our critically acclaimed Valvetronix range
of amps with life and feel. This revolutionary technology emulates a tube
power­amp by using real tubes in a real tube amp circuit and ensures that
all the important bases inherent in a tube amp are faithfully and accurately
covered. For example: if you choose amp model AC30 – an amp with a Class
A power stage, EL84 output tubes and no negative feedback, that's exactly
what your Valve Reactor power amp reconfigures itself to be.
This all said, let's take a look at each of our amp models...