Re: Screaming Demons of ECC83s/12AX7
I disagree about EH's being tight. They're clear and bright with LOTS of highs and upper mids (kinda harsh), very scooped low mids, a big (to the point of boomy IMO) low-end, and a slightly smeared pick attack. Honestly, for high-gain, they're my least favorite.
Tung Sols are tighter/drier and also less harsh while still maintaining the bright/clear footprint, but they're pretty high-gain. Not overly compressed, IMO, but still pretty fierce. Kinda scoopy but "complex" too. I'm thinking these are maybe close to what you want?
Shuguang 9th gens are grainy with a cool upper-mid rasp and a relatively big but controlled bottom-end. Pretty gainy/fierce, though.
Mullard CV4004's (the short plate ones) are to me like a cross between the Chinese 9th Gens and the Tung-Sol. It's in the same bright/clear family as the EH and Tung Sol, but it's got a hint of that Chinese mid grind. Very cool tube, my personal favorite. Take a look into those as well.
The Shuguang Mullard-style (same as Ruby C7's and Genalex standard-pin) are fat, round, and mid-focused. Not as grindy or grainy as the more popular 9th Gens.
JJ's I wouldn't say are dark, but they're definitely slightly scooped in the high-mids and with juicy low mids that don't extend into the deepest lows. They're smooth but focused, tight, and squishy with a hint of rasp. So not those either.
That's ECC83S's, though. ECC803S's are kinda like the opposite with a very open frequency response and not as compressed. Maybe look into those as well.
JMO.
