Mikelamury
New member
I was just wondering if anyone has tried any Ruby tubes and what was your opinion. I'm looking at some Ruby 12ax7cs HG tubes and was just looking for opinions. They seem to be priced pretty well. Thanks for any feedback.
Anyone have experience with Ruby tubes?
- Thread starter Mikelamury
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beaubrummels
Well-known member
Rubys are good. They seem to test and weed out the bad ones before rebranding.
Ascension
Well-known member
For the most part Ruby is a rebrander . Saying that they do seem to test well and weed out most bad tubes. IMO they are far far better than say JJ as they do have fairly high quality control. I have had good luck in particular with Ruby Power tubes and they do have a couple STR ( Special Tube Request) 6L6's in particular I really like.
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Ascension
Well-known member
These are tested high gain Chinese Shunghang 12 AX7's . These are normal Shunghangs that have been specifically graded and tested for gain and microphonics good solid reliable 12AX7's.
misterwhizzy
Well-known member
I had a pair of Ruby EL84s that were rebranded JJs. They're not always Chinese.
NegativeEase
New member
Rubys sourced from China back in the day (I don't know about now) and Slovakia and maybe Russian ones too, they are a rating/matching service and are pulling from the same places Groove Tube and others source from -so no issue at all using them.
Places that sold Peavey used to always also be Ruby resellers -must be from the same distribution company back in the day.
Places that sold Peavey used to always also be Ruby resellers -must be from the same distribution company back in the day.
El Dunco
Sock Supplier to RHCP
My first tube amp, a Crate V30 EL84 combo amp came stock with them. The guy we took our amps for servicing really trashed Ruby’s as a “rip-off” and “overpriced junk” and while I did notice more gain after he switched them for some NOS (I forget the brand) and I was a kid so I really did believe the tone was 10x better, but it really could just come down to the grade (12AX7WA). There were only two so it was never going to have enough gain for anything more than blues/classic rock without an overdrive anyway.
NegativeEase
New member
This comment is lacking some context of course, but I'm guessing he's questioning paying the extra costs for a service like Ruby to rate and match the tubes (as being a ripoff) and not the quality of the tube itself -as Ruby doens't make the tube -nor are their tubes different than any other brand sources from the same factory.
SO -I'd say this -he has a valid point on the "value" of rating/matching companies in general -as mathced tubes do not equate to "better sound" -just slightly less efficient amp operation -which honestly -unless that are horribly mismatched -doesn't often matter.
So a rip off? thats hyperbole -these companies aren't tricking people, it's more the consumer not being educated. but not a good value? yeah, maybe -I think that paying those extra costs as more of paying to know that a set is not way way different (which is not common) and to know the headroom on the tubes so I know if clean or dirty tones are more suitable -there's value in knowing that to many folks, but could be considered unnecessary for many too.
So nobody should feel the need to pay 5 to 15 dollars more for Ruby or Groove tube etc,...for a better tone. You likely cant hear the difference in your amp tubes matching making the amp slightly more efficient -only if they want to be reassured the tube values aren't criminally off or want to know about where in the equation the tube enters break up.. and want to better be able to repeat that breakup or clean tone in an amp at a certain volume from set to set.
Maybe save money on matched and rated tubes and buy an inline tube socket probe and a multimeter to measure tubes yourself and by tubes in bulk if you are curious also.
El Dunco
Sock Supplier to RHCP
Knowing him, that adds up and makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the insight. It was a long, long time ago (2005 I think) but I think he mentioned something about ascertaining matched tubes being something one can easily do themselves and it’s mostly unnecessary.
NegativeEase
New member
Yeah, he's not wrong. Matched and Rated tubes do not equal tone -just predictability if you are swapping tubes often.
Matched/Rated tubes are important for touring amps where they may change tubes several times a year -I think thats probably their best value -and thats for a very limited audience of players.
Ascension
Well-known member
I absolutely believe in buying tubes from a source that tests and grades them. Preferably one who also burns them in. If you don't it's a crap shoot what you will get and for power tubes i will NOT buy a set that are not matched. I have some background in electronics and understand why power tubes must be matched and no you can not randomly match power tubes after the fact in gain and current draw. If a pair of power tubes are not properly matched it will be difficult if not impossible to properly bias them and in extreme cases they can be so far out you can do damage to a power amp circuit.. Preamp tubes are a different story they are plug and play and do not have to be biased. However depending on the app having tubes that are graded and tested for microphonics matters much. The Audio crowd gets really gung ho on this stuff and will pay big money for tubes with specific specs.
Bottom line buying from a vendor who grades and tests tubes is just smart. It takes time to test balance and grade tubes plus you will have a number of tubes that will be rejected and discarded. The extra expense within reason is absolutely worth it in the long run.
devastone
Well-known member
I definitely recommend buying matched power tubes, it is worth it for the reasons Rich listed above and since they are a bigger investment a litte extra for matching isn't a big deal. Preamp tubes, not a bit a deal. Some people believe the sides of the PI should always be matched, and it makes sense, I just don't think they are ever that far out.
NegativeEase
New member
So here's my caution.
As you know, all tubes of course are mismatched -as they can never be perfect -only within a tolerance selected by the rating company (which differs) -so my point is -at what point does this mismatch which always exist become a problem? -either in tone or amp stress? And does anyone here know when a mismatch becomes audible? I doubt it
I always recommend matched tubes for older vintage amps to be on the safe side and for touring amps -especially to match the headroom -but a newer casual amp for jamming, gigs, recording, etc etc -I just don't think matched is a big deal at all.
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Ascension
Well-known member
Most tube vendors sell matched power tubes in pairs or quads. Where this really becomes a problem is when you buy bulk untested tubes and there is a serious mismatch.This is because it becomes impossible to properly bias the amp.as there can be quite large variations in power tubes in the current required to bias them. If the difference is large enough you can smoke some components. It's not an issue with most vendors to just buy a matched set but if you buy bulk and unmatched power tubes it can become a major issue.
Pre amp tubes are a different story as they are normally plug and play if you get the same tube type say a 12 AX7. It's the gain levels and micro-phonics that in particular a high gain amp can make huge differences. Really the only place you need a balanced pre amp tube is maybe the phase inverter slot that sends the signal to the power amp. Some however like the tone with a slight imballance in the PI tube as it adds a little distortion for a guitar amp. The Hi Fi Purist on the other hand go nuts with the slightest imbalance in a PI because of the distortion it can add.
Bottom line most reputable tube vendors with test match and grade tubes so if you buy your tubes from a reputable vendor who stands behind what they sell all this is a non issue.
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devastone
Well-known member
For preamp tubes, no, not a big deal at all, even for the PI tubes. But I still recommend matching for power tubes, I've never heard of damage from mismatched tubes alone (tube failure, yes), and while asymmetry is one of the reasons tube amps sound so good, again, as Rich mentioned, too much mismatch in the power section of an AB amp can be bad and make it hard or impossible to bias correctly. And yeah, as you mentioned, tubes will never be perfectly balanced, but "matching" makes sure they are in the same ballpark.
And, at the price of a decent pair, quad, or if you are insane, sextuplet of power tubes, isn't it worth a little more for matching, although come to think of it, I'm not even sure where to buy random mismatched tubes, pretty much any pair or quad of tubes for sale has gone through some matching process. I guess if you are buying a box of random old tubes maybe, but I don't think I would be using amp as the tube tester.
I have two sets of Ruby tubes in different amps, great tubes. Absolutely nothing wrong with them.
As mentioned they are a rebrander, so they get their tubes from the big three. Which one is not relevant really, as Ruby matches or rates the tubes they get. The tube you get will be tested to be of known quality.
And for that matter, even China-made tubes are GREAT. Hate to say it, but they make good tubes in comparison to the other two major factories. Where I think the difference comes in is QC. JJ and the EH New Sensor factory have a higher level of QC and have fewer duds in the marketplace. When someone says they don't like X tube, there is almost a 33% chance it came from one of three factors. If someone says they hate JJ then they prefer Shaguang tubes and EH-made tubes over JJ. Etc. etc.
That said, Ruby tubes are great tubes, because they are tubes that work.
As mentioned they are a rebrander, so they get their tubes from the big three. Which one is not relevant really, as Ruby matches or rates the tubes they get. The tube you get will be tested to be of known quality.
And for that matter, even China-made tubes are GREAT. Hate to say it, but they make good tubes in comparison to the other two major factories. Where I think the difference comes in is QC. JJ and the EH New Sensor factory have a higher level of QC and have fewer duds in the marketplace. When someone says they don't like X tube, there is almost a 33% chance it came from one of three factors. If someone says they hate JJ then they prefer Shaguang tubes and EH-made tubes over JJ. Etc. etc.
That said, Ruby tubes are great tubes, because they are tubes that work.
