Which Pre-Amp tubes?

matt_transition

matt_transition

New member
I am to go in the studio in a few weeks time, and realised my pre-amp tubes are almost 2 years old, guess i need to replace them. I recently changed the power tubes to Electro Harmonix-EL34's (what a difference from stock!)
What pre-amp tubes do you guys think would be a good match, and what tubes are good in general.

My amp is a Laney GH100TI 100w, mostly, if not all the time in the distortion setting, so not too bothered about good clean sounding tubes.

Cheers :fing2:
 
Re: Which Pre-Amp tubes?

Not to try to talk you out of buying new preamp tubes but they typically last 5-10 times longer than power tubes.

If you still have your heart set on replacing the preamp tubes, it would be helpful if you elaborate a bit on what sort of distortion you prefer. Without that info, folks are just gonna give you their preferred preamp tube.






Okay, I lied. Most folks are gonna recommend their favorite tube whether or not you give us info about what you're looking for. ;)
 
Re: Which Pre-Amp tubes?

So that being said, here we go: I've had good results with the new Mullard 12AX7 reissues. The new Tung-Sol reissues are reported to be pretty nice as well. IMO, the hell with N.O.S. ; unless you can score them cheaply.
 
Re: Which Pre-Amp tubes?

Well, i not a fan of high gain scooped distortion, but also i don't like the old classic distortion sounds of the 70's. I am sort of goin for a early van halen, GNR sound but with more of a modern edge (not that raw and gritty sound, as its been done to death) with good sustain and not too brittle sounding. I know thats still not being quite specific, but smooth without loosing the responsive higher end.
 
Re: Which Pre-Amp tubes?

casblah said:
So that being said, here we go: I've had good results with the new Mullard 12AX7 reissues. The new Tung-Sol reissues are reported to be pretty nice as well.
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I have too. In fact, I've had good results with just about every preamp tube I've ever tried. The problem is that it took a bit of trial and error to figure out the right application for the tube so saying "<insert tube name here> sounds good" might be true but is not necessarily a useful suggestion.
 
Re: Which Pre-Amp tubes?

Yeah i think i agree too, almost every tube i've used (not many) has subtle good points compared to others. I was really tryin to get others opinions on good tubes the've used.
 
Re: Which Pre-Amp tubes?

matt_transition said:
Well, i not a fan of high gain scooped distortion, but also i don't like the old classic distortion sounds of the 70's. I am sort of goin for a early van halen, GNR sound but with more of a modern edge (not that raw and gritty sound, as its been done to death) with good sustain and not too brittle sounding. I know thats still not being quite specific, but smooth without loosing the responsive higher end.
Click to expand...
I like the Tung Sols for smoother overdrive. I've had some good experience getting smooth tones out of the EH 12AX7 but that experience varied from amp to amp.

The JJ ECC83 is good for smoothing things out, too, though they can be a bit dark. I've heard raves about the JJ ECC803 but haven't gotten to try it yet.

As for the GT 12AX7M (Mullard clone) suggested above, I prefer it for clean tones. In my experience, it generally wasn't worth the money for use in a dirty channel. The GT 12AX7C does wonderful cleans and is good for aggressive tones but it wouldn't be my choice given your described tonal goal.

Next time you replace the power tubes, consider using EH 6CA7s instead of EL34s. They have less of that EL34 upper-mid honk which leads to a smoother tone IMO.

Finally, I wouldn't recommend replacing all the preamp tubes. First, as I mentioned earlier, they probably still have plenty of life in them. Secondly, different tube positions in your amp tend to "prefer" different tubes. Putting a 12AX7M in V1 can make a big difference in clean tone. Using one as the phase inverter can improve the amp's crunch tone but in other positions, you might not hear a big difference from your current tubes. Since the optimal set of preamp tubes is probably a mishmash of different brands and models and trial and error is pretty much the only way to find what works for you, you'd probably be better off buying a couple tubes and trying 'em in all the different positions to see what works best. After a while, get a one or two tubes of another make and see where they fit in. Evenutally, you'll have a stockpile of tubes :D and an idea of what works where in your gear without having to drop a large wad of cash at any point along the way.

At least that's what my experience has taught me.
 
Re: Which Pre-Amp tubes?

I've done my own shootouts with lots of preamp tubes, and a consistent winner in channel switching highgain heads is the Sovtek 12AX7LPS, which is the only Sovtek to get. They're only around $12, but honestly they sound just as good as my prized hand selected Telefunken. In a shootout, I went back and forth between those tubes in the #1 position of my Jubilee and Ecstasy, and the LPS edged out a whole drawer of popular 12AX7's. It just had the perfect blend of gain, girth, EQ, and tightness.
 
Re: Which Pre-Amp tubes?

I also like the Sovtek LPS. The new Tung Sol is also good. EH's and Chinese always work well for crunch too. They rock pretty hard. I found the Mullard reissues were not a good mix with my Budda at all. I've found the Budda seems to actually like new production tubes better than NOS. Although the RFT sounds pretty good.
 
Re: Which Pre-Amp tubes?

aleclee said:
I like the Tung Sols for smoother overdrive. I've had some good experience getting smooth tones out of the EH 12AX7 but that experience varied from amp to amp.

The JJ ECC83 is good for smoothing things out, too, though they can be a bit dark. I've heard raves about the JJ ECC803 but haven't gotten to try it yet.

As for the GT 12AX7M (Mullard clone) suggested above, I prefer it for clean tones. In my experience, it generally wasn't worth the money for use in a dirty channel. The GT 12AX7C does wonderful cleans and is good for aggressive tones but it wouldn't be my choice given your described tonal goal.

Next time you replace the power tubes, consider using EH 6CA7s instead of EL34s. They have less of that EL34 upper-mid honk which leads to a smoother tone IMO.

Finally, I wouldn't recommend replacing all the preamp tubes. First, as I mentioned earlier, they probably still have plenty of life in them. Secondly, different tube positions in your amp tend to "prefer" different tubes. Putting a 12AX7M in V1 can make a big difference in clean tone. Using one as the phase inverter can improve the amp's crunch tone but in other positions, you might not hear a big difference from your current tubes. Since the optimal set of preamp tubes is probably a mishmash of different brands and models and trial and error is pretty much the only way to find what works for you, you'd probably be better off buying a couple tubes and trying 'em in all the different positions to see what works best. After a while, get a one or two tubes of another make and see where they fit in. Evenutally, you'll have a stockpile of tubes :D and an idea of what works where in your gear without having to drop a large wad of cash at any point along the way.

At least that's what my experience has taught me.
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Nice reply Alec. I love this forum. :dance:
Where do you recommend getting some of the tubes? TungSol 12ax7, Sovtek 12ax7LPS, and GT12ax7C.
 
Re: Which Pre-Amp tubes?

Faraday said:
Nice reply Alec. I love this forum. :dance:
Where do you recommend getting some of the tubes? TungSol 12ax7, Sovtek 12ax7LPS, and GT12ax7C.
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I get most of my current production tubes from Lord Valve. He doesn't do too much NOS stuff these days though he did sell me a killer Mullard 12AT7 for my Two Rock's reverb driver. Lord Valve (a.k.a., "Fat Willy" or simply "Willy") tests everything he sells so the probability of getting a bad tube is pretty slim. He has a great selection, fair prices, and doesn't sell crap.

He doesn't have a whole lot on his web site besides contact info but I've uploaded his "catalog" if you want to browse. He doesn't seem to stock the GT 12AX7C but it's really just a rebranded Chinese "C-9", which he does sell.
 
Re: Which Pre-Amp tubes?

I like keeping a drawer full of 12AX7's, and every once in awhile, I'll throw a different set of preamp tubes in an amp I'm playing, just to see what difference it makes, with the amp set right on the edge of breakup.

I set aside the pre tubes that are excellent, then put all my so-so tubes away, and I should probably just sell them off. The current prod. tubes that I really recommend are these...

Sovtek 12AX7LPS Perfect gain, tightness, and tone.

GT12AX7C 'C' is highgain, tight, and singing. 'M' sounds murky in highgain, but sounds good in clean amps, to lower the percieved headroom

Tungsol Another reissue tube that lives up to it's reputation. Good gain and fatness.
 
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