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YOUR experiences with low noise tubes

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  • #1

    YOUR experiences with low noise tubes

    I love tube amps but man they can be difficult sometimes, especially when you play High gain stuff. Yeah I could turn the gain back down but then I won't have the fluid feel anymore, i gets so dry and thin. I don't like fighting the guitar and the amp. I want them to do the work! Am I lazy for saying that? Turning the gain down is nice for playing rythem or in the studio but with a loud drummer in the room I need all the power I can get.

    Tonight I will do the big test on my amp: I bought a Mesa SPAX 12AX7 for V1 and a TAD special C selected for V2. They cost me about €50. I could buy 5 JJ's for that amount of money!
    I am really curious if this will make my amp (Mesa F50) stop feedbacking. Don't get me wrong but I am hoping that this test will fail for my wallet's sake I am very curious if these more expensive tubes will deliver.

    I also read about those cryogenic russian valves from Watford that are supposed to be even more quiet due to the way they are designed. (military spec and all) Anyone used those yet?

    What are your experiences with tubes and noise while playing high gain? How do other players do it? Am I pushing the amp too much? ( I do keep contour on all the time and use an OD with the classic settings for metal)
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  • #2
    Re: YOUR experiences with low noise tubes

    The good news they be quieter than before, the bad News is they will become noisy over the time as well. Playing hours, high voltage, inrush current, vibrations, Heat, transportation and so in will stress them too.
    I get the feeling the A8 will blow your skirt up more so - Edgecrusher

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    • #3
      Re: YOUR experiences with low noise tubes

      EH tubes have been low noise, and every Mesa tube I've tried has been, too. I know those are just branded, but there is something to them.
      Administrator of the SDUGF

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      • #4
        Re: YOUR experiences with low noise tubes

        IME there's a limit to what can be done to reduce noise in tube amps. The cryogenic stuff sounds like snake oil, but haven't compared them to know. Sometimes the techniques that reduce noise in tubes (smaller plates) don't sound so good tone-wise. If it's intolerable but need that sound, then I get pushed toward modeling or other amp designs that can get that sound.

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        • #5
          Re: YOUR experiences with low noise tubes

          Feedback and noise are 2 different things. Noise is a hum when you aren't playing, that's what the low noise tubes will help. If you had a microphonic tube, it may have been more prone to feedback, or if you running lots of gain and standing near the speakers. To prevent feedback when not playing, you will notice that most high gain players roll their volume knob off on the guitar, otherwise they will squeal like uncomfortable pigs.

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          • #6
            Re: YOUR experiences with low noise tubes

            You’d probably be better off running a noise gate in the fox loop.

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            • #7
              Re: YOUR experiences with low noise tubes

              I've owned most classic tube amps in the book and never really had issues with tube noise.

              When I was gigging a ton in the 90s and 00s, I used a lot of Svetlanas (EHX now owns them) and OEM Mullards and Sylvanias in the pre section.

              I mean occasionally you'd have a noisy one, but overall it wasn't an issue.
              “For me, when everything goes wrong – that’s when adventure starts.” Yvonne Chouinard

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              • #8
                Re: YOUR experiences with low noise tubes

                Ehx give a warmth and quietness that I prefer over others.
                I use tons of gain, and I don't really like hiss.... Wierd I know.

                Also I had to get a 7025 for V1 in a Marshall DSL I had because every single tube I put there was microphonic. It worked perfectly.
                Go buy my book. https://www.amazon.com/dp/198405564X

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                • #9
                  Re: YOUR experiences with low noise tubes

                  Whether you pick a $10 or $100 tube for V1 is a topic between you and your vendor but low microphonics first stage is a good idea for high gain.

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                  • #10
                    Re: YOUR experiences with low noise tubes

                    Originally posted by Gtrjunior View Post
                    You’d probably be better off running a noise gate in the fox loop.
                    Gates are tricky . . . but a decent gate with a loop is likely going to solve hiss and noise from tubes a lot cheaper than buying low noise tubes. That said, noise from your tubes shouldn't be loud enough to make much of a difference either live or while recording . . . unless you're maybe running a ton of gain?
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                    • #11
                      Re: YOUR experiences with low noise tubes

                      Originally posted by GuitarStv View Post
                      Gates are tricky . . . but a decent gate with a loop is likely going to solve hiss and noise from tubes a lot cheaper than buying low noise tubes. That said, noise from your tubes shouldn't be loud enough to make much of a difference either live or while recording . . . unless you're maybe running a ton of gain?
                      It does if you jam a mic right up to the cabinet, then noise that your ears don't normally hear in the room gets amplified to the house, or into the preamps and onto the recording.

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                      • #12
                        Re: YOUR experiences with low noise tubes

                        Originally posted by 80's_Metal View Post
                        Ehx give a warmth and quietness that I prefer over others.
                        I use tons of gain, and I don't really like hiss.... Wierd I know.

                        Also I had to get a 7025 for V1 in a Marshall DSL I had because every single tube I put there was microphonic. It worked perfectly.
                        EHX owns 3 or 4 different manufacturers making different tubes with with different sounds. Do you know which of the Russian companies you are buying to correlate that experience?
                        “For me, when everything goes wrong – that’s when adventure starts.” Yvonne Chouinard

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                        • #13
                          Re: YOUR experiences with low noise tubes

                          Nope, no idea.... just the ehx12ax7 tubes I got from tubedepot.com and Vivatubes.com loved them tremendously.
                          Go buy my book. https://www.amazon.com/dp/198405564X

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                          • #14
                            Re: YOUR experiences with low noise tubes

                            Apparently everyone else missed the part where he asked if a Mesa SP 12AX7 would stop his amp from feedbacking, sounds like we are talking about 2 different things.

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                            • #15
                              Re: YOUR experiences with low noise tubes

                              Originally posted by devastone View Post
                              Apparently everyone else missed the part where he asked if a Mesa SP 12AX7 would stop his amp from feedbacking, sounds like we are talking about 2 different things.
                              He could have a microphonic tube ...?

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