Just replaced V1 in my JCA50H this afternoon with my new Mullard RI CV4004. It replaced an EHX 12AX7 that sounded good enough, but I really like the smoother mids that I had heard in a now burned-out Mullard ECC83. But man, that thing had a ton of gain--probably because I asked Doug to select it that way.
Anyway, all good news on the tone front. The mids are a bit more forward and less raspy than the EHX (or other new production tubes I've tried), but overall the balance is fairly even. It seems to make the highs sweeter while lowering the noise floor and increasing clarity a touch. I think the bigger change was in the overdrive channel, which I had wanted to be an extension of where the crunch channel taps out.
I played through it with my Les Paul. The crunch channel will clean up very well when switched over to the '59 in the neck and the volume rolled back even with the gain on about 7, then the bridge will thicken it up and add a ton of crunch before we even get to the overdrive channel, which goes easily into Rust In Peace levels of gain with the knob on 4 and enough treble (even set low) to maintain good bite and definition. The bass was noticeably tighter with this tube than with the EHX or the Svetlana I had tried in there beforehand. I also like it better than either new production Tung-Sol I have, and it blows away the short-plate JJs.
All in all, it really sounds like a keeper and a significant tone upgrade. Well worth whatever Tube Depot was selling them for.
Anyway, all good news on the tone front. The mids are a bit more forward and less raspy than the EHX (or other new production tubes I've tried), but overall the balance is fairly even. It seems to make the highs sweeter while lowering the noise floor and increasing clarity a touch. I think the bigger change was in the overdrive channel, which I had wanted to be an extension of where the crunch channel taps out.
I played through it with my Les Paul. The crunch channel will clean up very well when switched over to the '59 in the neck and the volume rolled back even with the gain on about 7, then the bridge will thicken it up and add a ton of crunch before we even get to the overdrive channel, which goes easily into Rust In Peace levels of gain with the knob on 4 and enough treble (even set low) to maintain good bite and definition. The bass was noticeably tighter with this tube than with the EHX or the Svetlana I had tried in there beforehand. I also like it better than either new production Tung-Sol I have, and it blows away the short-plate JJs.
All in all, it really sounds like a keeper and a significant tone upgrade. Well worth whatever Tube Depot was selling them for.
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