Tube test Sunday

[JMP/HBE]

Went thru about 50 preamp tubes. Some ive had since 2005.
There were about 8 bad one's and a whole lotta good one's.

[jeremy]

i did the same thing a few months back, with similar results. most were good, and i tossed a few that were shot

[JMP/HBE]

i did the same thing a few months back, with similar results. most were good, and i tossed a few that were shot

Last time i went thru my preamp tubes was 2020.
Ive had issues in amps since then some i just pulled and swapped with known good one's.
I went thru alot of the pulls today and most were good but weeded out some bad.
I came across some Chinese 12AX7B's like 7 of them that test the strongest of all. I had gotten them out of an amp in 2005 and forgot all about them.

[jeremy]

i have some older chinese tubes that were really strong too. sounded really good in some amps. kinda ratty/harsh in others

[NegativeEase]

i have some older chinese tubes that were really strong too. sounded really good in some amps. kinda ratty/harsh in others

When I was buying a lot of Chinese tubes (1994-1999) I remember them to have a slight top end growl -like turning a P90 pickup up or something

I mean most people would not notice it, but especially recording they were a tad brighter in a narrow band, whereas Svetlanas were rounder and smoother, I remember the smaller number of EHX brands then being a little darker

[JMP/HBE]

When I was buying a lot of Chinese tubes (1994-1999) I remember them to have a slight top end growl -like turning a P90 pickup up or something

I mean most people would not notice it, but especially recording they were a tad brighter in a narrow band, whereas Svetlanas were rounder and smoother, I remember the smaller number of EHX brands then being a little darker

Oh i would notice totally.
Most my Pre's are made in Holland Amperex or Blackburn Mullard. Ive not found better for the midrange kerrang in JMP Marshalls.
Sound great in my JCM-DSL too.

[NegativeEase]

Oh i would notice totally.
Most my Pre's are made in Holland Amperex or Blackburn Mullard. Ive not found better for the midrange kerrang in JMP Marshalls.
Sound great in my JCM-DSL too.

Yeah, I like OG Mullards and have lots of Amperex unopened, but of course general brand characteristics are only part of the story, tube wear, circuit type and speaker type play a huge part in how the characteristics of a tube present themselves. Of course I know you are aware....

A good example is my V30 cab roll off a more brighter or brittle tube whereas my G70 cab would pronounce the same tube, so someone not aware of their speaker idiosyncracies might make conclusions on a tube brand because of other factors if they didnt have a lot of experience with other speakers and sources etc etc.... which is a common mistake.

[JMP/HBE]

Yeah, I like OG Mullards and have lots of Amperex unopened, but of course general brand characteristics are only part of the story, tube wear, circuit type and speaker type play a huge part in how the characteristics of a tube present themselves. Of course I know you are aware....

A good example is my V30 cab roll off a more brighter or brittle tube whereas my G70 cab would pronounce the same tube, so someone not aware of their speaker idiosyncracies might make conclusions on a tube brand because of other factors if they didnt have a lot of experience with other speakers and sources etc etc.... which is a common mistake.

Ive come to love this 78' G12M 25 watt 75hz Blackback cab. Its the perfect combo of pleasure & pain with brite Marshall amps both young and old.
Pete Thorn prefer's his old Blackback cab too so at least we can agree on that.
Id say most my ANOS Preamp tubes are somewhere in the middle as far as tube life and most my tube stash will outlive me.
But they sure got those tubes right in the 60's & 70's. Got us to the Moon and back multiple times. Analog baby.

[Open lane]

[QUOTE=JMP/HBE;n6215604]




Cool looking rig!

[NegativeEase]

Dude came up to me after my show last Saturday night and said I had one of the best guitar sounds he had heard in a long while and said -it's because of the tube amp right?

I didnt have the heart to tell him it's a stereo rig with 1/2 solid state preamp and power amplification driving the second cabinet.

That said, the tube head is one mixed more in FOH, but he was right up at the front of stage so.....

[jeremy]

always nice to hear someone compliment your tone. even if that suggests they are a creepy guitar nerd

[NegativeEase]

always nice to hear someone compliment your tone. even if that suggests they are a creepy guitar nerd

yeah, Ive been getting compliments a lot lately -so maybe Ive done something good (Went back to my Deluxe Reverb Combo in stereo with Origin Revival Drive feeding SD Powerstage feeding v30 cab, also new custom Fralin P90s sound pretty incredible.,

But I had a couple years where I was getting less comments like 2018-2020

When I used to play a Gretsch with Filtertrons into an AC15 -I used to get comments all the time like 2015 -2017 -people really responded to that sound.

[jeremy]

your rig sounds awesome! i really gotta try a revival drive at some point