Most of us agree that amps built with vacuum tubes have superior tone. Therefore, it’s the tubes that take all the credit for great tone… right?
It is easy to see where one might get that impression. So far, the tube remains the ultimate conductor of musical signals. But in reality the tube is completely dependent on the circuitry connected to it. Consider the perfect tube hooked up to a perfect circuit. The resulting amp would have little to no distortion. Signals would pass through exactly as they came in. Nothing added—nothing subtracted. Amplified, but cold and sterile. The ideal conditions for neutering your guitar tone.
As you can see, blindly seeking design symmetry can work against us when it comes to electric guitar tone. To better understand this concept let’s compare it to rock vocalist style. Imagine in your mind your favorite singers — do they have perfect vocals? Far from it. There’s always at least some grit or grind to their singing styles. The use of unusual vocal techniques is what makes their voices interesting and memorable. Opera is not what we’re looking for here.
On the other hand, the presence of odd harmonics in music is generally annoying. Better-sounding amps work to minimize these odd harmonics. At Mercury we design and build transformers that enable your amp’s circuitry to emphasize even order harmonics between specific frequency ranges. Our methods intentionally showcase the virtues of electric guitar tone.
To get desirable tone from a tube it must be coaxed, bothered or even irritated in some way. This is where the tubes share interdependence with the transformers. Great transformer designs are the key to provoking tubes to behave in a manner that is conducive to getting desirable tone. Having the right transformers has long been one of the fundamental insider secrets behind great tube amp tone!
Remember, your amp’s transformers are the cornerstone of its tone. Whether you’re a player or a builder, using Mercury transformers is unquestionably your best investment in superior tone, reliability and amp value.
Source: https://mercurymagnetics.com/pages/_misc/FAQ.htm#The_Role_of_Transformers_in_Electric_Guitar_Tone_
