favorite tube brand

[shogunlegend]

guitar center seems to carry mostly groove tubes, but i haven't been that impressed with them. i'm thinking the stock electroharmonix 12ax7 that came with my vox just sounds better. do you have a particular brand that you like to use or any reason why one brand is better than another?

 

[Sludgenutz]

Re: favorite tube brand

guitar center seems to carry mostly groove tubes, but i haven't been that impressed with them. i'm thinking the stock electroharmonix 12ax7 that came with my vox just sounds better. do you have a particular brand that you like to use or any reason why one brand is better than another?

The EH 12AX7 has a real forward "in your ear drums" treble-y tone. The Tung Sol 12AX7A is lively from bass to treble, and not as "piercing", with smoother balance, and more bass, as well as defined bass. YMMV.

 

[Binnerscot]

Re: favorite tube brand

I like EH 12AX7s pres and JJ/Tesla for power and rectifier.

 

[sosomething]

Re: favorite tube brand

I can't say I really like any of the EH tubes I've tried either for power or preamp applications. Maybe they'd work well for an amp without enough gain on tap, but all my amps have been pretty high-gain and they really only added undue amounts of compression and buzziness to my ears. YMMV.

I tend to stick with JJs for EL34s and KT88s. I haven't tried their 6L6s. I like the low-mid emphasis they add and the inherent "smoothness" prevalent in both their pre and power tubes.

I did recently put a NOS JAN GE 12ax7 in the V1 position of my Splawn and so far really like it. I'm running the amp around 60-75 watts from two JJ's KT88s and the JJ's 12ax7s in V2 and V3, and combined with the JAN GE in V1 I find the tone to be really open and growelly with just the right amount of cut and high-end chime.

It might be slightly less stop-on-a-dime tight in terms of response (compared to stock all-JJ's @ 120+ watts) but as the lead player in my band I find the added note bloom and personality from this setup to be well, well worth it in trade.

 

[marvar]

Re: favorite tube brand

It depends on which 12ax7 from groove tubes that you use. They all sound different. M, R, R2, R3, C. or the Ecc83. Depends on the tone you are looking for.
Groove tubes gets most of its tubes from JJ, EH, Svetlana, all over the place. but they do a more extensive testing than the normal tube dealers, then re-label themm, plus they have great customer service. At least in my dealings with them.

 

[kneadmomunny]

Re: favorite tube brand

My 5150 combo came with some great ballsy nameless preamp tubes. if anyone knows where to buy these please let me know.

EH are ok, they have a lot of highs and a bit of a scooped sound. the chugga chugga sounds pretty killer.

some amps like 5150s need certain power tubes to prevent crossover distortion and make them warm and tight. bob at eurotubes actually sells sets that he puts together just for whatever kind of amp you have. I'm a fan of eurotubes.com

 

[rashayritto]

Re: favorite tube brand

try chinese 12ax7's!

no seriously i'm not kidding.

 

[samwheat]

Re: favorite tube brand

i use nothing but anos/nos ...... they are much more durable, consistant and musically pleasing to my ears

 

[Red_Label]

Re: favorite tube brand

I just get my preamp and poweramp (EL34) tubes from Eurotubes. They are JJ's and I'm very happy with them.

 

[Virtual Kevorkian]

Re: favorite tube brand

JJ/Tesla, sometimes with 9th Gen Chinese in the pre.

 

[Brewtone]

Re: favorite tube brand

+1 for JJ/Tesla

www.eurotubes.com is the place to go.