Recommend a bright, low-noise 12AX7

[misterwhizzy]

Thread title kind of says it all. My amp used to be a Jet City JCA50H until I modded the crunch channel to JCM800 specs. Now the overdrive channel is fairly noisy and dark. I have a Tung-Sol in V2 now, and I’ve found those bright in the past, but the noise is too much. Suggestions?

 

[80's_Metal]

Re: Recommend a bright, low-noise 12AX7

Ehx 12ax7 really float my boat. Smooth but not overly bright. Very quiet in my high gain amps. Matched quads

Also, I like the Mullard, but it can be hissy in certain amps, and perfect in others.

I know other guys know alot more about tubes than I do.

I like to use this as a reference:
https://www.tubesandmore.com/tech-corner/12ax7-comparison-current-made-tubes

 

[Ascension]

Re: Recommend a bright, low-noise 12AX7

Thread title kind of says it all. My amp used to be a Jet City JCA50H until I modded the crunch channel to JCM800 specs. Now the overdrive channel is fairly noisy and dark. I have a Tung-Sol in V2 now, and I’ve found those bright in the past, but the noise is too much. Suggestions?

In new production tubes for a high gain amp right now my favorite 12AX7 is the new Mullard short plate CV 4004's. Very quiet with a clear balanced tone and a lot of gain. I'm running them in both my PRS MT 15 and my Boogie DC 5 heads. Going from the stock JJ's to them in the little MT 15 in particular was like taking a blanket off the amp and also dramatically dropped the noise floor. Bought 4 at first to try liked them so well bought 5 more.

 

[FuseG4]

Re: Recommend a bright, low-noise 12AX7

Electro Harmonix have been good for me, bright and low noise, and good in v1 of combo amps. but I've wanted to try those cv4004s

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Recommend a bright, low-noise 12AX7

Try putting a 12AT7 in your PI slot. The AT7 brightens amps up quite a bit, and doesn't seem to drop gain at all. The tube store carries JAN 12at7 for about 20$ each.

 

[misterwhizzy]

Re: Recommend a bright, low-noise 12AX7

Try putting a 12AT7 in your PI slot. The AT7 brightens amps up quite a bit, and doesn't seem to drop gain at all. The tube store carries JAN 12at7 for about 20$ each.

The crunch channel is perfect, and I don't want to mess with it. I just ordered a pair of EHXes. I've already got a Mullard CV4004 in V1, and I'm a big fan of these too, but I think they're a bit warmer than I need for the overdrive channel.

 

[Erlend_G]

Re: Recommend a bright, low-noise 12AX7

Not to hijack the thread-

But what pair of 12ax/'s would be good, for my Blackstar Ht-20mkII- when the stock ones wear out?

-Erl

 

[misterwhizzy]

Re: Recommend a bright, low-noise 12AX7

Not to hijack the thread-

But what pair of 12ax/'s would be good, for my Blackstar Ht-20mkII- when the stock ones wear out?

-Erl

Let me say this before I recommend anything. Beware of going down this road, because it's expensive and sometimes hard to tell a huge difference. But it's a lot of fun. And preamp tubes can go for years without ever wearing out. But every time I've replaced stock tubes, I've been happier than before.

I had an HT-5, and I liked the Tung-Sol a lot in it. For more low-mid emphasis, I like Ruby 12AX7AC5 HG+ or Mullard Reissues. The only tubes I did not like in the Blackstar were the short-plate JJs, which I found way too dark.

 

[BenPerkins]

Re: Recommend a bright, low-noise 12AX7

Mullard or Genalex


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Recommend a bright, low-noise 12AX7

I find the mullards to be similar to tung-sols but with less noise.

 

[Gtrjunior]

Re: Recommend a bright, low-noise 12AX7

Mullard or Genalex


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I’m dying to try a Genelex, I just wont pay the high price.....yes, I’m frugal (cheap...lol)

 

[Gtrjunior]

Re: Recommend a bright, low-noise 12AX7

The crunch channel is perfect, and I don't want to mess with it. I just ordered a pair of EHXes. I've already got a Mullard CV4004 in V1, and I'm a big fan of these too, but I think they're a bit warmer than I need for the overdrive channel.

Try swapping V1 and V2. I’m betting that will brighten it up nicely.

 

[LLL]

Re: Recommend a bright, low-noise 12AX7

Bright and detailed (almost "clinically" detailed) current-production:

Sovtek 12AX7LPS - the only Sovtek worth a toss

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: Recommend a bright, low-noise 12AX7

Sovteks are bright and not noisy. Typically harsh in most amps I've tried, but might solve the issue described here. He's already trying EHX, but Sovtek is a solid suggestion for this particular problem.

 

[Gtrjunior]

Re: Recommend a bright, low-noise 12AX7

EHX, Tung-Sol, Sovtek...
All bright tubes to my ears.

 

[LLL]

Re: Recommend a bright, low-noise 12AX7

The Sovtek 12AX7WA is the harsh one... worst preamp tube I've ever tried, by a mile. Harsh, grainy distortion.

The LPS is just very detailed. In some amps, that's not good. In others, it's great.

 

[NegativeEase]

Re: Recommend a bright, low-noise 12AX7

I don't have this individual brand experience at all -and I have lots of tubes -from Vintage ,Sylvanias, RCAS, and Mullards to Chinese, EHX/Sovtek/Svetlana/Tung Sol etc blah blah and post manufacturer classified and rated ones like Groove and RUby.

my experience is that EVERY manufacturer has a range of tube results from noisy to quiet, to early break up to late etc etc -AND it's really more about trying many tube brands regardless of brand to get the tube sounds you really want -not aligning yourself with emotional attachment to one brand you believe is delivering the same anneal temperature, the same plate resistance, the same vacuum pressure, the same glass thickness etc etc -because it AINT happening.

The variation is there in every brand until you compare metrics and match them or pick them for the qualities you prioritize.

BTW -my father was a tube specifier for manufacturing ultra high end tubes in the 60s for diagnostic equipment needing consistency orders of magnitude better than guitar amplifiers -and he still concures with this notion (posted this in a different thread last year)

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: Recommend a bright, low-noise 12AX7

yeah..tubes are different ..often even within the same model/brand.

The Sovtek 12AX7WB's are pretty cool tubes. My Cicognani Brutus Live came with those installed and they sounded better than anything else I tried in that amp...really awesome. They're more gainy/darker/bassier than the WA's (& it's much smoother gain..)

The WC's are the brightest of the lot, but also a lot smoother/richer sounding than the WA's which are often pretty harsh as LLL said...

 

[Mincer]

Re: Recommend a bright, low-noise 12AX7

The JJs I've used were bright...too bright for me. There wasn't much noise from them that I remember at all.

 

[Gtrjunior]

Recommend a bright, low-noise 12AX7

The JJs I've used were bright...too bright for me. There wasn't much noise from them that I remember at all.

Funny....I have always heard JJ’s as dark.