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  • #16
    Re: Tubes

    Ok, so Ill ignore the fact one preamp tube isnt as bright as the other two. Still may buy a few for spares and to swap around a bit. Was happy to see the bias was still in a good place.

    But all thimgs considered for 28 yr old tubes the old Groove Tubes are chugging along quite well.

    Thanks for a the help guys appreciate it
    1994 Ibanez IC500 Iceman reissue
    Jackson Soloist 7 string
    ESP LTD M-400
    Original Marshall Silver Jubilee 2553

    Comment


    • #17
      So pulling back up my old dead thread, finally got around to ordering new tubes and wanted to see what you guys thought of my selection. I ordered 2 Mullard EL34 power tubes, 1 Tung-Sol 12AX7 new production, 1 Mullard 12AX7 new production and 1 Sovtek 12AX7LPS, should arrive on Friday. I also requested the 2 EL34s to be matched.

      Ended up ordering them from Tube Depot, found a 5% off coupon and with upgraded shipping still came in just over $100, seems TD has pretty decent prices compared to other vendors.
      Last edited by Hsb; 12-15-2020, 10:49 AM.
      1994 Ibanez IC500 Iceman reissue
      Jackson Soloist 7 string
      ESP LTD M-400
      Original Marshall Silver Jubilee 2553

      Comment


      • #18
        I like Tube depot as well. They are my go to.
        As far as the tube selection, tough to say....you’ll have to be the final judge once you get them installed and biased.
        I find the Mullard EL34 to have a LOT of midrange. Not necessarily a bad thing.
        The Sovtek is a common choice for the PI and the other 2 routinely get good reviews.

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        • #19
          Im off from after Friday till the first of the year, so Ill have time to put them in and get it biased as needed. Id read a few posts about the LPS, think it was even mentioned in here as a good choice for the PI.

          Def can hear my poor old tubes starting to get tired esp as of recently. Starts getting muffled esp going from clean channel with a pedal back to the dirty channel.
          1994 Ibanez IC500 Iceman reissue
          Jackson Soloist 7 string
          ESP LTD M-400
          Original Marshall Silver Jubilee 2553

          Comment


          • #20
            After watching quite a few of the Tone Talk youtube videos....Dave Friedman mentions that the EH EL34s have been the most reliable. He said because he deals with many tubes,he needs something that will be reliable...Having owned many tube amps(still do) there is not as much tonal change we hear in the output section compared to the heart of the overall tone via the preamp.These days I also go for reliable and Friedman and some of the other amp guru guys mentioned that the JJ EL34s have been a problem.So my next set of Marshall EL34s will probably be the EH based on their recommendation.
            Amps: 66 Fender BF Pro Reverb Combo,1973 50 Watt Marshall Head,Marshall 4x12 A/V Cab,Vox ToneLab LE,Vox VTH Valvetronix 120 Head,Vox AD 2x12 Cab,Roland Cube 20X

            Guitars: Several Stratocasters,2 Fender Telecasters,Gibson SG Standard,Tokai Love Rock Les Paul,Dean Acoustic.

            Pickups: SD SSL2,SSL5,Twangbanger,Antiquity Surfers,59N,Seth Lover N/B,Dimarzio Fred,Dimarzio VPAF N,Fender Fat 50s,Fralin SP43 Bridge,Brobucker,Antiquity Texas Hot.

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            • #21
              Originally posted by Hsb View Post
              So pulling back up my old dead thread, finally got around to ordering new tubes and wanted to see what you guys thought of my selection. I ordered 2 Mullard EL34 power tubes, 1 Tung-Sol 12AX7 new production, 1 Mullard 12AX7 new production and 1 Sovtek 12AX7LPS, should arrive on Friday. I also requested the 2 EL34s to be matched.

              Ended up ordering them from Tube Depot, found a 5% off coupon and with upgraded shipping still came in just over $100, seems TD has pretty decent prices compared to other vendors.
              I've used all those tubes and that selection seems perfectly fine. I'd put the Tung-Sol in V1.

              Comment


              • #22
                Originally posted by beaubrummels View Post

                I've used all those tubes and that selection seems perfectly fine. I'd put the Tung-Sol in V1.
                Love the 12AX7 Tung Sols...They have good gain,are full sounding and have been very reliable tubes since day 1.
                Amps: 66 Fender BF Pro Reverb Combo,1973 50 Watt Marshall Head,Marshall 4x12 A/V Cab,Vox ToneLab LE,Vox VTH Valvetronix 120 Head,Vox AD 2x12 Cab,Roland Cube 20X

                Guitars: Several Stratocasters,2 Fender Telecasters,Gibson SG Standard,Tokai Love Rock Les Paul,Dean Acoustic.

                Pickups: SD SSL2,SSL5,Twangbanger,Antiquity Surfers,59N,Seth Lover N/B,Dimarzio Fred,Dimarzio VPAF N,Fender Fat 50s,Fralin SP43 Bridge,Brobucker,Antiquity Texas Hot.

                Comment


                • #23
                  Originally posted by beaubrummels View Post

                  I've used all those tubes and that selection seems perfectly fine. I'd put the Tung-Sol in V1.
                  Ha!
                  I would have suggested the TS in V2.
                  I find it to be very bright. Too bright for me.
                  The Mullard 12ax7 seems smoother and less high end-y to me.
                  Of course, it depends on the amp, guitar, speakers etc too.

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Originally posted by Gtrjunior View Post

                    Ha!
                    I would have suggested the TS in V2.
                    I find it to be very bright. Too bright for me.
                    The Mullard 12ax7 seems smoother and less high end-y to me.
                    Of course, it depends on the amp, guitar, speakers etc too.
                    Yeah I had the opposite with mine. Depends on the amp, I suppose. The new production Mullard was bright and plain, no character. My Tung-Sol was a bit smoother on the top end. But they were very close to each other - it was really nit-pickin. My old Mullard 10M is definitely smoother and less high-endy to me.

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Originally posted by beaubrummels View Post

                      Yeah I had the opposite with mine. Depends on the amp, I suppose. The new production Mullard was bright and plain, no character. My Tung-Sol was a bit smoother on the top end. But they were very close to each other - it was really nit-pickin. My old Mullard 10M is definitely smoother and less high-endy to me.
                      Oh....you have a 10M, do you. Lol. I’m jealous. A few years back I was on the hunt for one but I just couldn’t spend the money.
                      I’ve got a pretty good collection of NOS tubes of all brands including a handful of Blackburn Mullards.
                      My JCM 800 loves the NOS tubes but my Splawn seem to prefer the new production. Go figure...

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Originally posted by Gtrjunior View Post

                        Oh....you have a 10M, do you. Lol. I’m jealous. A few years back I was on the hunt for one but I just couldn’t spend the money.
                        I’ve got a pretty good collection of NOS tubes of all brands including a handful of Blackburn Mullards.
                        My JCM 800 loves the NOS tubes but my Splawn seem to prefer the new production. Go figure...
                        I got super lucky - I was at Radio Shack buying replacement tubes for a stereo in 1978 and they ran out of RS-branded 12AX7s and there happened to be an International-branded 10M in their display (they don't even know why - wasn't on their price list). At the time, I had no idea what was the difference, but now it's my holy grail. I keep moving it from amp to amp!

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Originally posted by Hsb View Post
                          So pulling back up my old dead thread, finally got around to ordering new tubes and wanted to see what you guys thought of my selection. I ordered 2 Mullard EL34 power tubes, 1 Tung-Sol 12AX7 new production, 1 Mullard 12AX7 new production and 1 Sovtek 12AX7LPS, should arrive on Friday. I also requested the 2 EL34s to be matched.

                          Ended up ordering them from Tube Depot, found a 5% off coupon and with upgraded shipping still came in just over $100, seems TD has pretty decent prices compared to other vendors.
                          I'm not familiar with the Mullards, but my Jubilees love the Tung-Sol in V1 and Sovtek LPS in V3. I've tried a ton of different tubes in V2, but if there's any difference in tone I can't hear it. I'm currently using JJ EL-34s in both of mine after running EHs for years. Ironically enough the change was prompted by a few tube issues, and Savage Audio recommended the JJs as more reliable. This was back in 2017, so things may be different now.
                          Originally posted by crusty philtrum
                          And that's probably because most people with electric guitars seem more interested in their own performance rather than the effect on the listener ... in fact i don't think many people who own electric guitars even give a poop about the effect on a listener. Which is why many people play electric guitars but very very few of them are actually musicians.

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                          • #28
                            The original responses here definitely shaped my tube purchase. Think it was Dytrust that suggested the Sovtek, Tung Sol and maybe it was a Shuguang, but TD didnt have any of the Chinese Sino/ Shuguang tubes in 12ax7s, so went with Mullard instead.

                            Ill keep the GTs around too, just for chits and giggles. Cant hurt once I figure out if its just one or a cpl of the tubes that are getting weak.

                            Id read some recent posts that some were statinf they were having issues with of the JJ EL34s, kinda sounding like a blanket over thr amp. Ordered the Mullards and then read some good reviews of the EHX, Ill give these a try and if I dont care for the Mullard 34s, the EHX are relatively inexpensive
                            Last edited by Hsb; 12-15-2020, 06:09 PM.
                            1994 Ibanez IC500 Iceman reissue
                            Jackson Soloist 7 string
                            ESP LTD M-400
                            Original Marshall Silver Jubilee 2553

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Originally posted by Hsb View Post
                              The original responses here definitely shaped my tube purchase. Think it was Dytrust that suggested the Sovtek, Tung Sol and maybe it was a Shuguang, but TD didnt have any of the Chinese Sino/ Shuguang tubes in 12ax7s, so went with Mullard instead.

                              Ill keep the GTs around too, just for chits and giggles. Cant hurt once I figure out if its just one or a cpl of the tubes that are getting weak.

                              Id read some recent posts that some were statinf they were having issues with of the JJ EL34s, kinda sounding like a blanket over thr amp. Ordered the Mullards and then read some good reviews of the EHX, Ill give these a try and if I dont care for the Mullard 34s, the EHX are relatively inexpensive
                              Compared to JJs the Tung-Sol EL-34s are REALLY bright, so I could see the blanket analogy. In my 2555 at least I found the JJs and EHs virtually identical in overall tone, though power tubes don't influence the sound of that amp very much unless you're playing loud enough to rearrange furniture.

                              The only EL-34s I've tried in the 2525H are JJ & Tung-Sol; liked the former and hated the latter.

                              Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk

                              Originally posted by crusty philtrum
                              And that's probably because most people with electric guitars seem more interested in their own performance rather than the effect on the listener ... in fact i don't think many people who own electric guitars even give a poop about the effect on a listener. Which is why many people play electric guitars but very very few of them are actually musicians.

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                I have a set of JJ 6CA7 in my Blackstar and they sound phenomenal.
                                But yes, overall JJ’s are darker than most other brands.

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