Tung-sol 12AX7...

tarzanalog · Post by **tarzanalog** » Thu 04/03/08 3:23 pm

FWIW, I have a Fender XII and it sounds great with my EF86 channel... just beautiful, in fact. The TMB channel when run clean with a TS RI ECC803S at the input is also very good.

morcey2 · Post by **morcey2** » Thu 04/03/08 4:23 pm

I haven't tried the Gold Tung-Sol ECC803s. I plan on getting another set of 6V6s for the 6V6 18-watt (probably a superlite TMB). I'll probably have to buy spares too. One of the guys I have built a few things for heard the TS 6V6s in my 6G3/5E3 hybrid last night. The GE 6V6s sound pretty good, but the tung-sols just growl wonderfully.

I know that the JJ's seem to be almost a lower powered 6L6 than a true 6V6(not that that's a bad thing; they sound awesome) and seem to really like fixed biased amps. The Tung-Sol's are real 6V6s and seem to like cathode-biased amps more. I don't know if that has any basis in reality, but that seems to be what I've heard. Not that the Tung-Sol's sound bad in my Plexi6V6, but just not as good as the JJ's.

Matt

kinmike · Post by **kinmike** » Thu 04/03/08 7:22 pm

RJGTR wrote:

The GT12ax7M (Mullard repro) is a great sounding tube, if a little pricey. It's the closest to the original Mullards in new production I've heard, but if you get them, buy from a reputable reseller who does quality checks. There's been reports of some bad tubes.

I thought the whole idea behind Groove Tubes is that they did an extensive quality check?

Mike

tarzanalog · Post by **tarzanalog** » Fri 04/04/08 8:45 am

Like I said, I like the gold-pin TS ECC803S in certain applicatons. I think it would be terrific as a cascoded tube or even in a paralleled input preamp. For the $$$ though... the regular TS RI 12AX7 is a good all around tube and more than adequate for most applications.

Anyone see JB's performance at the last Crossroads festival? Was that his daughter on bass?!? Whoever it was, she was wicked.

dartanion · Post by **dartanion** » Fri 04/04/08 5:47 pm

kinmike wrote:RJGTR wrote:

The GT12ax7M (Mullard repro) is a great sounding tube, if a little pricey. It's the closest to the original Mullards in new production I've heard, but if you get them, buy from a reputable reseller who does quality checks. There's been reports of some bad tubes.
I thought the whole idea behind Groove Tubes is that they did an extensive quality check?

Mike

You can't polish a turd...

BTW- New Sensor seems to be getting their act together as the reject rate on tubes that I have gotten from them has decreased significantly in the past year. Their EH EF86 sounds pretty decent, but still has microphonic issues.

Oldschooltone · Post by **Oldschooltone** » Fri 04/04/08 6:58 pm

(((has anyone tried the Amperex 12ax7?)))

BBQLS1 · Post by **BBQLS1** » Fri 04/04/08 8:05 pm

Good tube. It sounds and look the most like a Mullard I have.

dartanion · Post by **dartanion** » Sat 04/05/08 12:06 pm

I just delivered a Liverpool (4xEL84) to a client that used all new TS 12AX7s and Sovtek EL84Ms. Sounds pretty darn good fresh with really no time on the amp. No microphonics, no noise, so I was pretty happy and the client was more so. The TS 12AX7 is less microphonic than the new Mullard 12AX7s, however I would suspect this with the difference in design though.

RCA 7025s are my favorite. Real Blackburn Mullards are fantastic. Expensive, but worth it.

Oldschooltone · Post by **Oldschooltone** » Sat 04/05/08 4:41 pm

>>>dartanion<<<
so what is it you like about th RCA 7025 $150??? and if I where to only use one in the V-1 socket would it still have the magic?

dartanion · Post by **dartanion** » Sat 04/05/08 11:31 pm

I have a few RCA 7025s that I did not pay much for at all, and they are a super tube. These are the lowest noise 12AX7 around. Very rich sounding clean and crunchy. Also a very robust tube. Never had a microphonic one ever. Even some schwaggy looking used ones.

Oldschooltone · Post by **Oldschooltone** » Fri 04/11/08 2:30 pm

(((dartanion)))
Did you want to sell (1) of those 7025's??? one of my other personalities made me ask.

There has to be more options for 12ax7's other than NOS.

kinmike · Post by **kinmike** » Fri 04/11/08 2:50 pm

RCA 12AX7s are great sounding tubes but they are notoriously microphonic. I have a question: is an RCA 7025 a different construction than an RCA 12AX7 or is it just a tube that passed a higher quality control standard for noise?

Mike

dartanion · Post by **dartanion** » Sat 04/12/08 8:26 pm

It's a low noise Military version of the 12AX7. Pretty rugged and sound great. I have a few, and they are staying put in my stash.

The reality folks is that ANY tube can be microphonic, ANY tube CAN sound great, ANY tube can be low noise...it just depends. I have some new tubes that sound better than some NOS tubes. I have used pulls that sound better than high buck new prod. With any tube amp, I swap tubes around until I find a set that sounds good in that amp. It takes time and patience; well and some cash to find the right tubes.

I never expect anything magical from a set of tubes. If they are, then YEEHAW CUZ! If not, move on to other tubes.

novosibir · Post by **novosibir** » Thu 05/08/08 5:02 pm

Without any doubt the TungSol Reissue is the best sounding 12AX7 from current production and IMO comes very close soundwise to NOS Tungsram's, just a tad slender sounding.

Although I've had hum issues again and again with this tube and have noticed, that sometimes it's quickly dying in CF stages.

Larry

Alexo · Post by **Alexo** » Fri 05/09/08 9:05 am

novosibir wrote:... and have noticed, that sometimes it's quickly dying in CF stages.

Have you tried the CF safety feature on www.valvewizard.co.uk?

novosibir · Post by **novosibir** » Fri 05/09/08 9:23 am

No, haven't tried it yet. I can't believe, that this isn't sound influencing!

Larry

pylet2000 · Post by **pylet2000** » Wed 06/18/08 11:45 am

pylet2000 wrote:The Tung Sol RI is a great tube, new production or NOS aside. And coming from New Sensor, I found it to be a shock. I was really skeptical, as the RI Mullard from them was a dissapointment to me and the only other tube they put out worth a hoot is the Sovtek 12AX7LPS (maybe only worth 3/4 hoot).

I would suggest ordering more than you actually need, as I've bought about a dozen and had problems with 2 or 3 of them. One was DOA, one burned out VERY quickly (10-15 hours tops), and one was hopelessly microphonic/noisy. Another problem I've had with these is the diameter of the tube is a little bit larger than standard. Usually not a problem, but I couldn't use these in a VibroChamp because the tube shield base was too small. I guess the VibroChamp has a relatively small tube shield base, but it was a real disappointment.

As an update, 3 failures has turned into a solid 4 gone dead!

The latest fatality was on a gig

in my bass players Mesa 400+. Not like that amp is hard on it's preamp tubes. The tube has seen maybe 50 hours use, tops.

So my verdict on these is, decent tone, among the best for new tubes. But yikes, look out for failures. 1 out of 3 going dead is far too much.

A tube that I think sounds every bit as good, and has been quite a bit more durable (to date) has been the JJ long plate, ECC803S I think it is. And I'm hoping Ei starts cranking out those excellent Telefunken copies soon...

Alexo · Post by **Alexo** » Wed 06/18/08 12:42 pm

Those Ei's do sound good, but side by side with an actual Tele long plate, there is no comparison, but I haven't found any tubes that compare with those!

Sorry about your Tungs!

Post by **rjgtr** » Wed 06/18/08 9:42 pm

If Ei could just lick the microphonics issues, they'd be one of my top picks.

The 12ax7EH also dies when used for the CF. I like the Tungsol 12ax7 and use it quite a bit now, but I also use JJs with them. I find that by mixing them you get a better balance and the JJs are very reliable. If the amp is darker sounding chinese 12ax7s are also a good choice for a PI or CF.

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Tung-sol 12AX7...

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