Question about replacement tubes

[treyhaislip]

My Fender Hot Rod Deluxe needs some tubes changed so I was looking for replacement tubes. I've heard good things about JJ tubes but was wondering what you guys think. Do you bros recommend a certain brand over the other? I found a set of Tung-Sol but had never used those tubes.

Thoughts?

 

[guitarSQUIRELL]

Re: Question about replacement tubes

Just had our music director order a set of tubes for that VOX i asked you about the other day...Made by JJ...A whole set of 5 preamp and power tubes were $50....www.tubesandmore.com....On sweet water, the EL84 were $50 each and needed 2 along with 3-12AX7-S....Ive heard good things about the JJ tubes from some buddies that used them...

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Question about replacement tubes

Just had our music director order a set of tubes for that VOX i asked you about the other day...Made by JJ...A whole set of 5 preamp and power tubes were $50....www.tubesandmore.com....On sweet water, the EL84 were $50 each and needed 2 along with 3-12AX7-S....Ive heard good things about the JJ tubes from some buddies that used them...

JJ Tubes are what my tech down south used in my Mesa Boogie DC-5. Before buying them I wanted to see what others thought about 'em. lol

 

[guitarSQUIRELL]

Re: Question about replacement tubes

Oh....I didnt understand the question i guess lol....my bad...Its a MONDAy for goodness sake

 

[Demanic]

Re: Question about replacement tubes

I am a big fan of JJ's.

Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: Question about replacement tubes

Depends on what you like, mostly. JJ's are cool, but even then, there are a few models of JJ 12AX7's each with a distinct sound, and a couple of power tubes which could work in your amp as well. Russian tubes (Tung Sol RI, Mullard RI, Electro Harmonix, Sovtek, etc.) are also well-made, and even Chinese tubes can be good as well if you buy from a reputable seller who tests them well. There are a couple of options to choose from. Mixing and matching tubes is fun! Some people have had bad experiences with different brands, but then again, if you buy from a reputable seller who tests them well, that should not be an issue.

You can shoot Doug from Doug's Tubes or Laura from The Valve Queen, and they can recommend you some stuff based on what you're attempting.

http://www.dougstubes.com/

http://www.valvequeen.com/

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Question about replacement tubes

Depends on what you like, mostly. JJ's are cool, but even then, there are a few models of JJ 12AX7's each with a distinct sound, and a couple of power tubes which could work in your amp as well. Russian tubes (Tung Sol RI, Mullard RI, Electro Harmonix, Sovtek, etc.) are also well-made, and even Chinese tubes can be good as well if you buy from a reputable seller who tests them well. There are a couple of options to choose from. Mixing and matching tubes is fun! Some people have had bad experiences with different brands, but then again, if you buy from a reputable seller who tests them well, that should not be an issue.

You can shoot Doug from Doug's Tubes or Laura from The Valve Queen, and they can recommend you some stuff based on what you're attempting.

http://www.dougstubes.com/

http://www.valvequeen.com/

Thanks for the information! I will check those sites out!

I am a big fan of JJ's.

Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk

Good to hear~

Oh....I didnt understand the question i guess lol....my bad...Its a MONDAy for goodness sake

ha! no worries dude! And definitely a Monday! lol

I had no issues with JJ was just curious on what others thought about them/were using and all.

 

[zzmoore]

Re: Question about replacement tubes

The only way YOU will ever know what tubes you like, is to buy and try. Depending on your income, that can be expensive.
IF you can only afford enough tubes to fill the amp, I would (as mentioned above) shoot an email to Doug.....ask him what AX7 (you "should" install an AT7 in that phase inverter) and 6L6 he is having good luck with.....what tubes are giving a decent life span. If you are only buying to fill the amp, you need a set of tubes that will be around for a few years.
good luck

 

[JeffB]

Re: Question about replacement tubes

They are easy to find, fairly reliable, and reasonably priced.

Tonally, there are much better options, IMO.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Question about replacement tubes

preamp tubes come in lots of flavors and you should really only have to replace those if they go bad or you want a different flavor. they will last a long long long time.

the phase inverter (usually the last 12a?7, next to the power tubes) will wear out and should be replaced every so often.

i like jj tubes just fine but their 6l6 varietys seem a little stiff to me. good for metal and rock but not my favorite for rootsy styles

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Question about replacement tubes

The only way YOU will ever know what tubes you like, is to buy and try. Depending on your income, that can be expensive.
IF you can only afford enough tubes to fill the amp, I would (as mentioned above) shoot an email to Doug.....ask him what AX7 (you "should" install an AT7 in that phase inverter) and 6L6 he is having good luck with.....what tubes are giving a decent life span. If you are only buying to fill the amp, you need a set of tubes that will be around for a few years.
good luck

Good advice! And that is going to be on the expensive side for me currently. lol The amp had a tube replaced when I had it last serviced–it is doing the same thing it was then so I know I have to replace at least one tube lol

They are easy to find, fairly reliable, and reasonably priced.

Tonally, there are much better options, IMO.

What would you say are better options tonally? I'm curious

preamp tubes come in lots of flavors and you should really only have to replace those if they go bad or you want a different flavor. they will last a long long long time.

the phase inverter (usually the last 12a?7, next to the power tubes) will wear out and should be replaced every so often.

i like jj tubes just fine but their 6l6 varietys seem a little stiff to me. good for metal and rock but not my favorite for rootsy styles

I play mainly rock/blues through my HRD. JJ tubes are just the ones in the tube amps I've bought and the ones I've replaced them with.

I had one Pre-Amp tube replaced when it was serviced last...the amp is a '95 and I am not the original owner so I don't know when the tubes were changed last.

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Question about replacement tubes

In my Mesa amps, I prefer the Winged C/SED 6L6 and EL-34 power tubes for tone and reliability, but I also use some Mesa tubes and one amp has some of the Groove Tube 6L6-GE clones. I do like the JJ EL84s, and have these in a couple of amps. With the JJ 6L6 and EL34 in the Mesa combos, I've had problems with mechanical noise and microphonics. The JJs just don't seem to hold up well in these high-powered combos.

For preamp tubes, I use a variety. Some amps have combinations of JJ, E-H, Mesa and Groove Tubes. I found that using all JJs in my Mesa DC-3 amp made it too dark; adding in some other tubes in certain positions brought back the sparkle. It's a concept called Amplifier Blueprinting; finding the right tube for each socket to get exactly the tone you want.

Usually with preamp tubes, I don't replace them unless I'm having problems. Power tubes do wear out, like a tire tread, so under hard usage your tubes might need replacing every six months. And if you're not being hard on them, some will last two years or more. Re-biasing will be necessary in your HRD. The cool thing about the Mesa amps is I don't need to have them re-biased when I change power tubes, as long as I'm using tubes that meet Mesa specs. Saves me a lot of money.

Good Luck!

Bill

 

[misterwhizzy]

Re: Question about replacement tubes

If you're stuck on JJ, (and I don't think you should be,) I like the long-plate ECC 803S tubes much better. If I were you, though, I'd at least buy one Tung-Sol to try in V1. To my ears, there's not a better-sounding new-production tube on the market right now.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Question about replacement tubes

In my Mesa amps, I prefer the Winged C/SED 6L6 and EL-34 power tubes for tone and reliability, but I also use some Mesa tubes and one amp has some of the Groove Tube 6L6-GE clones. I do like the JJ EL84s, and have these in a couple of amps. With the JJ 6L6 and EL34 in the Mesa combos, I've had problems with mechanical noise and microphonics. The JJs just don't seem to hold up well in these high-powered combos.

For preamp tubes, I use a variety. Some amps have combinations of JJ, E-H, Mesa and Groove Tubes. I found that using all JJs in my Mesa DC-3 amp made it too dark; adding in some other tubes in certain positions brought back the sparkle. It's a concept called Amplifier Blueprinting; finding the right tube for each socket to get exactly the tone you want.

Usually with preamp tubes, I don't replace them unless I'm having problems. Power tubes do wear out, like a tire tread, so under hard usage your tubes might need replacing every six months. And if you're not being hard on them, some will last two years or more. Re-biasing will be necessary in your HRD. The cool thing about the Mesa amps is I don't need to have them re-biased when I change power tubes, as long as I'm using tubes that meet Mesa specs. Saves me a lot of money.

Good Luck!

Bill

Thanks for the info! I saw this video on re-biasing the tubes, very interesting stuff!

If you're stuck on JJ, (and I don't think you should be,) I like the long-plate ECC 803S tubes much better. If I were you, though, I'd at least buy one Tung-Sol to try in V1. To my ears, there's not a better-sounding new-production tube on the market right now.

I'm not stuck on JJ, just have had nothing but good experiences with them. I had heard good things about Russian tubes and I saw that Tung-Sol was made in Russia so that got me thinking about other options.

Thanks for the ideas and information!

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: Question about replacement tubes

JJ's are sometimes unpopular becuse their standard 12AX7 model (ECC83S) is a somewhat unique design which is pretty smooth, not as deep in the lows, and squishier than most other current production 12AX7's. I personally think that tube can be a useful fizz/boom tamer when used in stratetic positions some amps, though.

Their ECC803S is not as popular, but it is a brilliant 12AX7 for clean tones and, sometimes, phase inverter positions. More sparkle up top, deeper but still controlled bottom end, and less compression. A little prone to microphonics in high-gain settings, though, because of the long plate structure.

I imagine their ECC83MG must be pretty nice too. Haven't tried it.

Haven't tried many of their power tubes. Their E34L is fairly popular, but I'm not an EL34 kinda guy. Their 6V6 is unique, but it did not fit my 6V6 amp tonally.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Question about replacement tubes

JJ's are sometimes unpopular becuse their standard 12AX7 model (ECC83S) is a somewhat unique design which is pretty smooth, not as deep in the lows, and squishier than most other current production 12AX7's. I personally think that tube can be a useful fizz/boom tamer when used in stratetic positions some amps, though.

Their ECC803S is not as popular, but it is a brilliant 12AX7 for clean tones and, sometimes, phase inverter positions. More sparkle up top, deeper but still controlled bottom end, and less compression. A little prone to microphonics in high-gain settings, though, because of the long plate structure.

I imagine their ECC83MG must be pretty nice too. Haven't tried it.

Haven't tried many of their power tubes. Their E34L is fairly popular, but I'm not an EL34 kinda guy. Their 6V6 is unique, but it did not fit my 6V6 amp tonally.

Unfortunately I don't know which tubes I bought (just remember JJ Reds from my tech back then) for my Mesa DC-5 but I didn't have any problems with the low end nor any squishyness. lol BUT this is a completely different amp than the DC5 so I will do some more research.

Thanks!

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: Question about replacement tubes

Chances are they were probably ECC83S's.

I don't mean to say they sound bad! I like them better than most, especially for high-gain, and they have been solidly reliably to me, but not everyone agrees. Tubes tend to be a topic that people are pretty radical about. I don't think replacing the tubes completely changes the way an amp sound. If it's an open-sounding amp to begin with, no amount of ECC83S's can change that, lol. You will notice a varying amount of "open-sounding" as well bassy, trebly, distorted, clean, etc. if you try different brands and models, though.

I tend to like plain-jane tubes, personally, but my amps are pretty far from being Fender HRD's, so I don't know what to recommend for that. I think experimenting with tubes is your best bet. Doug at Doug tubes sells a set so that you can swap a couple of the most popular tubes in a few different spots to see which you like best. I'm sure other people sell these "tube cocktails" as well.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: Question about replacement tubes

FWIW, my personal favorite 12AX7's are:

Ruby 12AX7AC5 - Standard rebranded Chinese tube. Relatively balanced EQ with a touch of grainy upper-mid emphasis. Lots of cool grindy saturation. Good wildcard kinda tube.

Sovtek 12AX7LPS - Really fat, smooth, and warm with lots of headroom. Slightly dark. Great phase inverter tube, kinda bland in other positions, IMO. Supposedly cannot handle being in a cathode follower position.

Tung Sol 12AX7 - Open-sounding. Slightly midscooped. Big, yet controlled bottom-end with chimey highs. Supposedly cannot handle being in a cathode follower position.

JJ ECC83S - Slightly squishy and gainy with smooth high-end. Slightly restrained, tight bottom-end with juiciy lower mid emphasis. Good wildcard kinda tube.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Question about replacement tubes

Chances are they were probably ECC83S's.

I don't mean to say they sound bad! I like them better than most, especially for high-gain, and they have been solidly reliably to me, but not everyone agrees. Tubes tend to be a topic that people are pretty radical about. I don't think replacing the tubes completely changes the way an amp sound. If it's an open-sounding amp to begin with, no amount of ECC83S's can change that, lol. You will notice a varying amount of "open-sounding" as well bassy, trebly, distorted, clean, etc. if you try different brands and models, though.

I tend to like plain-jane tubes, personally, but my amps are pretty far from being Fender HRD's, so I don't know what to recommend for that. I think experimenting with tubes is your best bet. Doug at Doug tubes sells a set so that you can swap a couple of the most popular tubes in a few different spots to see which you like best. I'm sure other people sell these "tube cocktails" as well.

FWIW, my personal favorite 12AX7's are:

Ruby 12AX7AC5 - Standard rebranded Chinese tube. Relatively balanced EQ with a touch of grainy upper-mid emphasis. Lots of cool grindy saturation. Good wildcard kinda tube.

Sovtek 12AX7LPS - Really fat, smooth, and warm with lots of headroom. Slightly dark. Great phase inverter tube, kinda bland in other positions, IMO. Supposedly cannot handle being in a cathode follower position.

Tung Sol 12AX7 - Open-sounding. Slightly midscooped. Big, yet controlled bottom-end with chimey highs. Supposedly cannot handle being in a cathode follower position.

JJ ECC83S - Slightly squishy and gainy with smooth high-end. Slightly restrained, tight bottom-end with juiciy lower mid emphasis. Good wildcard kinda tube.

I was always under the impression that the speaker and tubes add flavor to the tone...like you can't change the tubes and speakers of a Fender Deluxe and voilà you have a Mesa Rectifier.

Cool info and thanks for sharing!

 

[Hank-]

Re: Question about replacement tubes

With jjs try to get the relabelled ones from ruby tubes, maybe tad relabels them too.

For two reasons:
1)they are picked from a bunch that have tested to be working.
2)they are checked again by a tube vendor that tests them again before shipping.

I have gotten a few jjs before, they are reliable if you get good ones to begin with, thy can dull the amp up if used everywhere in the preamp, unless its a really bright amp. Those were the ecc83s i'm speaking of. Their power tubes have slimmer pins compared to the chinese stuff, i haven't tried russian stuff in the power section so not sure if the pins the same thickness as jjs or chinese. Their 6ca7s have slightly fatter pins than their el34s but i've only tried one set & the posts online about those have been mixed. I wont be going for their power tubes again.