Time to retube what's your favorites.

[blindedbysilence]

I have decided it is time to retube the old Marshall and was wondering what you guys are using and why? It uses 3 12ax7's and 4 el34's I called Doug's tubes and he suggested Ruby EL34BSTR's for the output tubes, and 3 different tubes, a Tung-Sol Reissue, a Chinese Penta Labs, and an Electro Harmonix, in the preamp section. This is my first retube and I want to be sure I get it right the first time.

 

[marvar]

Re: Time to retube what's your favorites.

Doug is one of the best, he knows his stuff-
As for my Marshall, after trying tons of different and combinations of preamp tubes and power tube including KT 77,EL34 and EL34L I've found that I like it just fine/sounds great with all JJ's Ecc83 for the pre, and the EL34L for power. Sounds just like a Marshall!

 

[Fender_Punk]

Re: Time to retube what's your favorites.

I really like Tung Sol 12AX7 preamp tubes.

 

[ACH91332]

Re: Time to retube what's your favorites.

I have a Marshall JVM. In V1 I have a JAN GE 5751, V2 a Tung-Sol 12AX7, and then JJ 12AX7s in the rest. I'm thinking about putting a Mullard 12AT7 in PI though, to clean it up a bit and eliminate PI distortion. In the poweramp I have JJ E34Ls. They sound good and are very tight compared to other EL34 types out there. I'm thinking about going with JJ KT77s now though since it's coming time for me to retube now as well.

But yea I'll explain the tubes a bit.

JAN GE 5751 - I thought my JVM was really harsh the 5751 mellowed it out a lot but didn't make it muffled. It made it a lot smoother than it was with the stock 12AX7.

Tung-Sol reissue - This really took it into JCM800 territory. While it being smoother with the 5751 in V1 when I popped this in V2 I compared it with other 12AX7s and I liked it the most. It had a upper mid spike that I loved. I don't remember what it was like without the 5751 in V1 but with both combined I got that iconic JCM800 upper mid crunch. (very Slash-esque)

The other tube positions don't matter really on the JVM.

PI - Well its hugely overlooked. A lot of your tone is centered around the PI. I had a 5751 in there but it was a bit muffled. I'm thinking of putting a Mullard 12AT7 in there because I heard putting 12AT7s in PI cleans up things a lot, tightens it up, and might increase dynamics so when I get my KT77s I might grab a 12AT7. Most of the time a 12AX7 will clip in PI so you get PI distortion. Some people like this but it decreases dynamics and loses some punch.

JJ E34L - Very tight and has more headroom than most EL34 types. If you crank your amp to get distortion these might not work well but for what I do these work great. Very tight, doesn't get muddy and I just like how they sound I haven't tried many other EL34 types so I can't compare tone much

JJ KT77 - I'm thinking of getting these because they break up smoother and have less mids. They're a bit scooped and bigger sounding so I'm going to give them a shot.

 

[glassman]

Re: Time to retube what's your favorites.

I have a lot of love for the Ruby EL34BSTRs...very dynamic! If your power supply is in good shape they will give you everything a Marshall wants to be. I'm inclined to trust Doug's recommendations for the preamp tubes too, though I haven't had experience with this particular combination.

 

[Hellion]

Re: Time to retube what's your favorites.

Last set of tubes that I bought was a duet of Sovteks. They sounded fine.

 

[marvar]

Re: Time to retube what's your favorites.

On the KT77's- I loved the sound of them-very clean, and clear sounding, almost hi-fi-but they didn't prove to be road worthy for me- 2 sets in less than year, plus one tube was noisy out of the box, and had to be returned , and at that price, I just went with the 34L they seem to be a bit more rugged, and sound pretty good. Bear in mind that my Marshall is a 2x12 combo, which is even harder on tubes.

 

[ACH91332]

Re: Time to retube what's your favorites.

Well how often do you play? I roar my stack almost 5 hours a day I just go ahead and replace them every year. It seems towards the end of the year things sound a little flat which makes sense I guess that's a lot of use but I replace them yearly and like I said I use the E34Ls.

Maybe you got two bad batches? I sure hope so haha or else it looks like I'll be retubing every few months..

 

[Uk Ant]

Re: Time to retube what's your favorites.

I'll give my vote to tung-sol and/or JJ's in the pre-amp. Nice tubes and not too pricey.
I use JJ's in the power amp on my Ashdown which also work fine.

 

[marvar]

Re: Time to retube what's your favorites.

Well how often do you play? I roar my stack almost 5 hours a day I just go ahead and replace them every year. It seems towards the end of the year things sound a little flat which makes sense I guess that's a lot of use but I replace them yearly and like I said I use the E34Ls.

Maybe you got two bad batches? I sure hope so haha or else it looks like I'll be retubing every few months..

we gig 4-8 times a month- I don't use my Marshall at practice, only at gigs, but it does get moved around quite a bit- and as I said, it's a combo 2x12, which is even harder on the tubes.
THe KT77 sounded great- they just seemed to be a bit delicate.
I retube yearly also, not the preamp tubes unless they are mirco

 

[Rowan]

Re: Time to retube what's your favorites.

I'd highly recommend SOVTEK LPS for your pre-amp section.

 

[Simon_F]

Re: Time to retube what's your favorites.

JJs sound great in my Marshalls.

 

[metlking]

Re: Time to retube what's your favorites.

I like Dougs suggestion. I've bought alot of tubes off him over the years and I trust his opnion. I like the Ruby El34B, they are Chinese and sound great. The Tung-Sol reissue sounds great also, in my opinion.

If you want to go with JJ's I like the E34L......I never cared for their preamp tubes but it depends on the amp, they sound pretty sweet in my Bogner Ecstasy.

 

[Brown Note]

Re: Time to retube what's your favorites.

ruby tubes are mostly(i'm 99% sure about this) just re-labeled jj's or sovtek's, so buying these is waste of money. Tung-sol reissues are imho the best el34's avaible at the moment. They near the original *very* expensive tung sols in every way, so get these! JJ's are rather good but they are a bit constrained in the upper register. The sound does not "flow" as freely as it does in tung-sols, if that makes any sense.

 

[Fresh_Start]

Re: Time to retube what's your favorites.

First off, Doug does a good job recommending tubes. Those Pentas are "just" selected Shuguangs, but I've had good luck with them. I like the new Tung Sols a lot, although they tend to run a bit hot in terms of gain. (You can ask Doug for hi/med/lo gain if you want.) I've also liked Electro Harmonics 12AX7s in some spots of some amps. They don't color the tone much, and that may be a good thing in your PI.

All that said, no two tubes sound exactly the same IME. I recently delivered a Super Reverb clone with a Penta in the V1 spot. I'd bought several ANOS 12AX7s and tried them there, but that particular Penta just sounded so sweet there.

12AX7s aren't that expensive, so if you're placing an order why not throw in a couple of extras to experiment with? Personally, I find JJs to be dark and a bit muddy but you might like them in your amp. A white box Shuguang 9th gen. Chinese is a cheap addition which might just make you smile, or a second Penta. Having a hi-gain and a lo-gain Tung Sol to experiment with would be good too.

Just a couple of thoughts. Can't say anything about EL-34s though.

Chip

 

[Johtosotku]

Re: Time to retube what's your favorites.

I'm a big fan of Tung-Sol and winged C Svetlanas. I'd rather not look at any other new production tubes.

 

[BloodRose]

Re: Time to retube what's your favorites.

Well how often do you play? I roar my stack almost 5 hours a day I just go ahead and replace them every year. It seems towards the end of the year things sound a little flat which makes sense I guess that's a lot of use but I replace them yearly and like I said I use the E34Ls.

Maybe you got two bad batches? I sure hope so haha or else it looks like I'll be retubing every few months..

Dang bro! Im lucky if my Marshall gets 2 hours a week.. Guess that is why my playing never seems to progress...

My PV Ultra plus is still running the stock bottles and Ive had it probably 5 yrs.. Ive only ever done one retube. I retubed my PV Classic 30 with JJs. I did it only to improve the sound.. The JJs did great for enhancing the sound..
I prob should retube my Jcm 800. I always figured on using JJs, but Dougs seems to be getting alot of kudos..