THD Yellowjackets YJSD

Simple tube swapping devices, really easy to install.

ESP with SD designed stock HB pickups. I put these in a Peavy Triple X. It took about 4 minutes to take the back cover off, pull the four 6L6 tubes and put the two yellow jackets in place. The center pin has a small tab at 12:00 oclock, and at first I couldn't get them to seat, until I realized you had to turn them to get the tab to line up with the groove in the recepticle. I've never changed a tube in my life, so, this may be old hat to everone else. I had to stop for a minute and look at the tubes I pulled, because at first I thought I had gotten the wrong one's, but then I noticed the little tab....no problem after that. If it hadn't been for that, you could install these in less than 2 minutes. These are the shorty version of the yellow jackets and they fit fine. I still have about 3/4's of an inch of space above the tubes so the long ones might be a tight fit or might not fit at all.

For about 5 minutes, when I first turned them on, they gave off that burnt/blown tube smell, but after that, no issues or problems.

Now for the sounds...

I was concerned after reading other reviews here before I bought them that they might not sound good in a high gain amp, as reports have been that they really sound good in some amps and not so good in others.

I was pleasently surprised. The clean channel sounds warmer and thicker and I can turn the master volume to 10 without ear splitting volume. With everything at 10, the clean channel has taken on a little bit of a bluesy tone. The Triple X is known for a very clean clean channel. The change in tone is very acceptable. Chords sound better and single note runs sound way better than before.

The crunch channel has lost a little "grit", but it has been exchanged for a smoother tone, which is very nice. In the original configuration, if you get the crunch channel where you want it and then back off the gain, you get kind of a crappy overdrive sound. With the yellow jackets, when you back off the gain, it gives you a nice overdrive sound that is better than stock. I did not lose the bottom end with this amp, as some have reported with others.

I have never been a fan of the "ultra" channel and don't use it much.
These things seem to have improved it and I am going to experiment with it more.

If I were to have two amps side by side, one configured with yellow jackets and one stock, I would take the yellow jacket model.

I think with a little e.q. you could get the grit back that is lost.
Let me be clear though, they sound really good.

It does what it suppose to do.

I installed a pair in two of my amps. A 70's Fender Vibrolux and a 90's Fender Super-Amp. I owen Strats, Teles, Les Pauls, 335s and been playing for about 30 years.
The Vibrolux did not sound good with the Yellowjackets, I did not like any of my guitars through it, It broke-up very early and had no headroom at all. I took them out and put them in the 60W 2 channel Fender Super. Well, this amp came alive, it's overdrive channel has doubled the dirt and now I get that "almost feedback" tone when I need it. The clean channel still has good headroom and had goten somewhat brighter, (great for a Strat with a TubeScreamer). I thought of getting a new amp before installing the Yellowjackets, but now I'm a happy Blues player.

4 weeks, So far so good.

i called them once before I got the product, they were very helpful.

It will not turn your Fender into a Vox, but if you need more drive out of your amp the Yellowjackets will do it, and will give your amp an edgier sound. I did not notice a segnificant drop in volume, I know that class A is louder than A/B, that may be the reason. They were well worth the $100, I'm not looking for a new amp (for now).

they're fine, easy to use and do what they're supposed to.

i couldn't agree more with bob the fireman before me.
first i had a similar product called "tonebones" distributed by rubytubes and i didn't like them at all. so i thought "well, maybe i should try the thd's instead" - but just like the tonebones, they turned any 6L6-amp i tried them in into a whimpy-sounding i dunno what. they did sound quite good in my '72 50watt marshall w/4x12" - perhaps because the el84's are closer in tone to the original el34's and the HUGE bottom made up for the whimpy sound. but they still left me with no headroom/dynamics at all.
these are my observations in full band scenario - if you're using them at home or in the studio, i'm sure they'll sound nice and beefy.

no problems here

they were "incredibly and helpful"

playing for 20 years. own loads of amps and stuff. the description seemed intriguing but they didn't do it for me tonewise. they're not a bad product at all and they do what they're supposed to (mainly lower your amp's output), but i wasn't happy with nothing but a thin, flat overdriven tone all night.

I put these in two amps. An early 70s Fender Vibrolux and a mid 90s Fender Super Amp. The Vibrolux did not like them, it broke-up too soon when plaid with a LesPaul, did not sound good on "10" and did not have enough gig volume. However, the Super amp just loves them. The clean channel has enough headroom and sounds as good as it does with the original 6L6s. The overdrive channel got twice as hot and produced the sweetest sound this amp has ever known. I highly recommend it.

don't know yet.

Two converters that takes your class A/B amp to Class A and uses EL84s instead of your EL34/6L6/6V6/etc. your amp originally came with. With the plug in and play design, this makes installation a snap.

Not particularly versatile and will definitely drop the volume and output of your amp. (at least for me it did) As advertised, this takes a 50 watt amp down to about 20 watts and is supposed to offer a voxy-type vibe to your amps sound.

After playing through several Class A amps and nearly buying (and still wishing I had done so) a Vox AC-15, I was excited about getting these converters, as many reviews suggest a positive experience in sound from their existing amp. I also usually like the sound of EL84 amps, and thought this would be a win/win situation for me. I could have the EL84/Class A sound with the features of my amp. Well, I have to say, I was a bit dissappointed. It dropped the volume alright (which was no big deal) but it created a buzzy sound, lots of hiss and seemed to make my amp sound processed. I compair the sound from the yellow jackets to that similar to a cheesy Digitech Valve F/X I had in the 90s. Needless to say, after trying to sleep on it for several weeks and then trying to adjust to the sound and have an acquired taste, I replaced my good 'ol EL84s and now enjoy the smooth, clear punchy sound the original tubes provide. The old saying "if it's not broke, don't fix it" really rings true here. At least for me anyway.

Overall, I was not impressed with the sound and was sorry I spent $100.00 (plus an additional $20.00 on better EL84s) and will probably sell them on ebay. To sum it up, they didn't sound completely terrible, but they won't turn water into wine either.

Seem well built and I understand THD has a reputation for high-quality components. Despite the unpleasant sound, they are constructed nicely and work every time I use them.

Never had to use them, but also hear they are great. I won't comment as I've had no personal dealings with them, but if you look at the reviews here, the webpages describing their products and just about anything else with THD on it, you will see these guys are top notch.

I've been playing long enough to know what I like. (20 years) Just because I don't like these (at all!) doesn't mean you won't. I'm just telling you as I hear it. No, I didn't go to Guitar Center and play through it for 10 minutes and determine these aren't for me. I actually own them and have tried to let them grow on me for quite some time. I have a variety of guitars (strats, teles, les pauls, 335s) and feel I made a qualified judgement on the different guitars I've used with the amp tweaks on a very versatile amp (Rivera). I'm not an expert in sonic technology and don't profess to be. I will say, be careful of the hype and don't settle for anything until you try it for yourself. I, personally, don't care for THD amp head either, which puts me in a small minority. I'm sure it's the tubes sent with the amps, but my life is too short to have to try thousands of dollars in tubes for something to sound good. I like to plug it in and go. Tweaking is fun, and I thought these jackets would be a fun way to get a different sound out of my amp, but I think I've learned my lesson. If I want a Class A sound (and a specific one at that) I will go out and buy a specific Class A amp and leave my great sounding Rivera alone!

Again, I'm not trying to bash THD, nor do I have anything at all against that company. For the most part, they make incredible products, have great customer support, and make it easy for tone tweakers to have lots of fun recording, gigging, whatever. These are just not for me, and I encourage anybody considering these, to try and test them first (which is hard to do as most stores won't let you take a new amp and stick an aftermarket converter in it).

Once more, this is not a slam against THD and I'm sure the right application would sound great with these. I will just advise, if you like the sound of your amp as it is, I wouldn't recommend these at all. And if you want a Class A amp, there are many affordable versions of Class A on the market today.

Good luck,

yellowjackets in mesa boogie rectoverb: good cleans, made gain channel harsh and un-usable, still very loud--don't expect low

volume breakup, just loss of headroom. would like to try these in a fender (or similar) combo. WILL NOT FIT IN MOST

HEADS...REQUIRES A HAIR OVER 5 INCHES OF CLEARANCE for the regular model (short model is only about half an inch shorter)

********** If you want some serious volume reduction and low volume power tube distortion, I highly suggest some TADs by

www.smicz-amplification.com ... these are 1-2 watt tube adapters (6AK6, sounds similar to a 6V6) and at only 4 inches tall,

will fit in heads too. ************

fine

Bought as a replacement/experiment for two EL34's. Very simple, pull out old valves insert these little puppies and off you rock !

I use a Musicman Luke, A Fender strat USA series with Bareknuckle trilogy Suite pickups and a PRS McCarty Soapbar. These go through a Fulltone fulldrive 2 into a VHT Pittbull 50CL Head and Marshall 4x12 with V30's. The amp was too loud to hit THAT sweet spot with the EL34's in the venues we play so I thought I would give these a try.I play rock/blues but with more of a rock sound than blues, more Gary Moore than SRV if you know what I mean.
In short amazing, beautifull compression no real loss in headroom but the sweet spot is at the volume I need now.
They have made the amp sound a lot sweeter than it did and the sound for solos is much fuller, the PRS sustains forever.
I now have the perfect sound for me, I was looking to sell the VHT and tried just about everything on the market over a three month period, nothing was as good as the VHT but now that is even better.
Try them they are amazing !

Giged with no problems, they run class A so I would think the EL84 valves will need to be replaced more frequently that the old EL34's but for this sound I would chnge them every month if need be !

Not had to use it yet, but spoke to the owner of the company at the music live show, very nice.

I have played this kind of music in three piece bands for 12 years now and havew been playing guitar for 20. I have owned just about everything oner the years and now I am 31 I have got old enough to realise a 100 watt head is not what you need for playing pubs and clubs( it doesn't make your dick any longer !). The VHT 50 head was the warmest sounding amp I ever tried, still abit to loud to get THE sound in a pub. The yellowjackets have sorted that and made the amp sweeter as an added bonus. So many amps these days are voiced with too much treble. I recently tried a boogie mk4 and had to have all my filling replaced, horrid for live work anyway.
Whatever head/cab combination you use try these and unleash the true potential in your amp at realistic stage volumes.

Class A, works for ALL of the big valve types. EL84, blah blah blah.

I gots an alder mexican strat w/ texas specials in all spots. Strings are 10-46 D'darios. (Tiny ass frets. 10-53s farted out.)Into a hot rod d'luxe
I like stuff like Bad Brains, Radiohead, hendrix, dead kennedys, and this gets those (all those) sounds great-or good enough. you just dime the mids and bass, kill the presence, and put the treble at 4. This gives you great clean that reminds me much of hendrix's axis playing. C-c-c-o-l-o-r.
Crank the amp and it becomes Cream/ Duane Allman-like. So sweet...Not like honey, with that bitter, albeit satisfying hint of bitterness. It is more of the flavor of table sugar-very refined and pure, which i love.
Then you put on a boss os-2 on the distortion side-yes, mids full on- and have the grittiest, most obnoxious grind youve never heard. Bad brains or queens of stone age crunch(friggin EVIL). This thing feeds back so easily, and so purely. I had to bust out the Van Halen, and im utterly sick of them.
dont use the other channels, though. Fender, being the penny-pinching corporate bastards that they are, made these channels bull$hit. don't bother.
I'll expound more on the total assholery of FMIC (fudge mashing industry crooks). This amp stock is FAR inferior to my marshall practice amp (MG-30RCD) and that thing lists a headphone jack as a primary feature. It was the bass equavalent of crack coke. Total BS. I had it for a year stock and hated it every time, which was at least fifty times. I never even gigged with that POS, Although if you feel differently, I can respect that. That either gets you off, which is the entire point of music, or you know ho to manipulate it differently. The clean had a mesmerising quality to at the time, so I bought it.

I got this for Christmas, so idunno

dunno. good product though

I've been playing for 4 years give or take. I'm 15 own a bunch of other effects boxes that I never use.
I know what you think, glowing review from a full-of-crap adolescent. Well, youre absolutely right, but to my credit i dont have dread locques.
And all the people reading this review are crackbaby POD fans who want their amp to sound like a mesa, yet they invariably sound like crap NO MATTER HOW GOOD THEIR EQUIPMENT IS. Play, dont but stuff-its more fun that way, if you really love music
Play these things first somewhere. They may sound like nails-on-chalkboard to you. Or a premature baby(ha ha ha ha)
10 bacause thetubestore.com has dirt cheap shipping, since their psychotic canadians. Im not gonna put anything to identify myself with this posting, because Bush's homeland security gestapo may hold it against me.

What features? It's a tube adapter... you plug it in and go.

OK, these adapters work, but they won't make a Fender amp sound like a good EL84 amp. There is no chime, just a grungey, mushy overdrive/distortion. If you are expecting these to turn your amp into a Vox AC-15 clone, it's not gonna happen. They work OK but are not very versatile and not quite what I expected. I used them in a vintage Fender bassman for a recording session and it sounded pretty good on the project but it was just kind of a one-sound thing. After trying them, personally I'd prefer to use a pedal than the Yellowjackets, I think you'd have a tighter sound and more control. I sold mine after using them a few of times in various situations. I also tried them in a BF Princeton reverb, where to my ears they sounded worse than in the bassman.

I'm sure they are reliable however the tubes seem to run really hot in them, just like in a class A amp so I would always carry extra tubes if I was using them regularly.

I never dealt with it but I'm sure support is fine. There isn't much that can break on these except for the tubes which can be replaced.

I've been playing as a pro since the early 70s. To get an EL-84 sound thru a Fender amp I prefer the sound of the Crowther Hotcake pedal over the Yellow Jackets. They are a good idea on paper but the sound was pretty disappointing to me.

They do what they're supposed to: cut your amp's wattage and convert it into a class A amp using EL84 tubes. I bought the "Shorty" version, which is 4 3/16" long.

They would give any class A/B amp a tone that breaks up more easily at lower volumes and contains rich harmonic overtones.

In a Fender Blues Deluxe, the amp became tame enough to crank full blast without ear plugs. The clean tone became much richer with harmonic chime. When cranked, it took on a smooth crunch that remains clear even with six note chords. The crunch channel became much smoother with more harmonics and great feedback. It did best with the master on full and the drive no more than half way.

On a 65' Deluxe Reverb reissue, the amp's high end improved dramatically, with great harmonic highs that aren't at all harsh, even with treble at 10. Low end was tightend a good deal when compared to the stock 6v6 tubes. With the normal channel dimed, the amp sounded amazing. Not unlike a cranked jtm 45, but at a relatively comfortable listening level.

I own a few THD products and this company has a reputation for rock solid equipment.

I e-mailed them several times and have always received a timely, friendly, and knowledgable response.

These things basically give you a brand new amp for about a hundred bucks. Any tone purist will appreciate the rich sound of a tube operating in class A. There is no comparison as far as richness and character. If your bored with your current amp, these could be a cheap ticket into uncharted tonal territory. I highly recomend them.