Damn it. (12AX& content)

[Lazarus1140]

Re: Damn it. (12AX& content)

Janet






I apologize for the Rocky Horror flashback.

[St_Genesius]

Re: Damn it. (12AX& content)

Has anyone tried the Preferred Series from The Tube Store? Unsuprisingly, they give their own tubes a rave review (:eyeroll). Their description of the Gold Lion 12AX7 sounds nice, but I'm not sure I want to spend $50 per tube.

[St_Genesius]

Re: Damn it. (12AX& content)

FTR, the Night Train has Sovteks stock. The Raytheons that I got from AniML are a little lower gain, a LOT smoother, and a little hissier. I think I'm gonna leave them in for now, but now that I've heard the difference a preamp tube can make, I've definitely been bitten by the experimentation bug.

[Dr.Mavashi]

Re: Damn it. (12AX& content)

Joneser, WhahWhah,

How are matsush!tas in terms of voicings vs. JJ EC83SS gold pins or standard? How do you think would they sound in V1 in my rig (see my sig). Where is the best place to look for them ? Thanks.

[Surgeon]

Re: Damn it. (12AX& content)

I do believe that NOS tubes can sound amazing. However, I don't own any vintage amp. I always thought that finding a current production tube(s) that could give me the best possible tone added to easy availability would be a good bet on the medium term.

I love the tung-sols... they're all I use in my Genz Benz.

[Chickenwings]

Re: Damn it. (12AX& content)

I love how Matsu****a gets automatically censored! lol

I personally like current tungsols cos they are easy to get, sound lovely, clear and rich - and are reliable. You never know for sure what you gonna get with NOS stuff...

I like EH too for a bit more grunt in the mids for marshalls.

[misterwhizzy]

Re: Damn it. (12AX& content)

I agree with the title. I may just have to go buy more EHX 12AX7s to see what all the hubbub's about. The couple I've tried have been a little thin and a lot crunchy and a little more noisy than I'd like. I kind of prefer the bigger, fuller tone of the Tung-Sols, but I may have just gotten a tube or two that weren't the greatest.

[wahwah]

Re: Damn it. (12AX& content)

It should be noted that Sovtek, Electro-Harmonix, 'Mullard reissue', 'Tung Sol reissue' and 'Genelex reissue' are all made in exactly the same factory, on the same equipment, using the same materials. These new brandings using references to Golden Era manufacturers are only the result of New Sensor buying the rights to use the names of long ago defunct companies. There may be design differences, and they may produce variations in perceived tone, but they bear little resemblance to the original tubes they are pretending to emulate, in the same way that a '63 reissue Strat is not the same as an L series Strat. Aside from the subjective matter of tone, the best representation of the difference is that many Golden Era tubes are still fully functional 50 or 60 years after their date of manufacture. I feel quite confident that nothing from the Russian Xpo-Pul factory will produce the same results.

While we can be thankful that there are factories still producing tubes, it has to be said that the manufacturing standards, quality of materials and quality control standards in modern day Russia, China and the Slovak Republic do not match those of the legendary tube manufacturers of Europe, Britain and the US from the 50's and 60's. These current production tubes will work, sometimes, but they don't sound the same, and they won't last the same. It's true that the tube dealers have pushed up the prices of vintage tubes into the stratosphere, their prices are ridiculous and verging on unethical, especially when you see first hand what many of the sweet old tubes can be procured for on eBay in a good used state. Rather than paying a premium for current production tubes that have actually been tested, (which was once standard practice before a tube left the factory) the good eBay resellers will quote actual test results, the falsifying of which would jeopardise their feedback rating. It's not for everybody, because not everybody is prepared to educate themselves on the differences between tubes, or develop the ability to immediately spot a fake. I have only ever seen fakes of Mullards and Telefunkens, and there is always something that gives them away.

But to each their own of course, as always. Personally, I would love to see vintage tubes in the amps of working guitar players, rather than in the glass cases of tube collectors, but in my experience, very few players are really that interested. Their amp works, it sounds ok, end of story. As stated in a previous post, in some amps these vintage tubes will make very little difference. But when they do make a difference, the difference is remarkable. I have 5 amps loaded up with Golden Era tubes, with the exception of EL34s and 6L6GCs, where I have had to opt for SED's current production, because reliable vintage power tubes of those types are near impossible to find. But in the case of 12AX7s and 6V6GTs, there's still plenty around. Whether or not it's worth the trouble to experiment is up to the individual.




Cheers........................................ wahwah