NOS tubes valves help

njkmonty · Post by **njkmonty** » Tue 01/12/10 4:50 am

can anyone advise which tubes have the most impact on tone

i currently have

rect jj
power el84 both jj

v1 tuns
v2 jj
v3 lps

if i get some nos, which ones do i really need?

ie do i really need a nos rectifier?
etc

snoof · Post by **snoof** » Tue 01/12/10 9:48 am

IMO, just buy a few NOS, or pulls that test good, of the usual suspects (12ax7 preamp tubes) and swap away. Once you have a few 12ax7's, you can swap them around in the various positions and see what you like where. As long as the tube is not bad, you'll use it eventually. Tung-Sol, Telefunken, Mullard, Sylvania, GE, RCA, etc. Unfortunately, until you have heard many tubes, you won't really know what you need where. A Mullard that sounds like crap in V1 of amp A can sound wonderful in V1 of amp B. I don't usually buy NOS rectifiers, but to each his own. I really like JJ el84's. NOS el84's can be a bit costly.

njkmonty · Post by **njkmonty** » Wed 01/13/10 7:34 am

thanks, so just go with the 12ax7s?

Post by **zaphod_phil** » Wed 01/13/10 8:25 am

NOS EL84s are also highly recommended. As long as you stay away from the big name ones, like Mullard and Telefunken they won't be too costly. Get in contact with Terry Kilgore aka Sgt Overdrive/ Tube Tramp for some great NOS bargains - http://mhuss.com/sgtoverdrive/ Shipping from the US won't cost much either.

In the preamp V1 usually makes the most difference, so V1 is the position to start with. The Sovtek LPS 12AX7 is also a very nice tube.

sub · Post by **sub** » Wed 01/13/10 3:08 pm

IMHO NOS EL84 is a good thing, i have few (tungsram, polam), but JJ (sorry not NOS) is also good. I think Polam is my favourite but the other two are almost so good.
Accordind to the pretubes: i tried a few (tungsram, RFT...etc.).
My favourites are tungsram (with yellow label > good like a mullard) and (new prod.) Tung-Sol. In a 18W I don't really like the RFT.
If you believe it or not NOS EZ81 is a important thing, because it is the most stressed tube in a 18W (am I wrong?). You need a good well built NOS EZ81 for the reliability

It is just me, your opinion may be vary
Just my 2 (€) cent

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njkmonty · Post by **njkmonty** » Wed 01/13/10 4:50 pm

ive just bought from sgt overdrive/tubetramp
2 saratovs el84
ge 12ax7
rca 12ax7
slyvania 12ax7

anyone familiar with these and recommendations of which to try first in v1?

snoof · Post by **snoof** » Thu 01/14/10 10:30 am

I have a quad of those saratov's from Terry. They sound great to me and are a super bargain. You really have to just try all your preamp tubes in all the positions to find which one is the best. Doesn't matter what we think, it's your amp!

njkmonty · Post by **njkmonty** » Wed 01/20/10 5:06 am

just got my tubes, saratovs made a noticable difference, but im having trouble with the preamps

GE 12AX7A
rca 12ax7a
sylvannia 12ax7

couldnt realy note any difference withe any combination of these?

what i mean , is i thinlk they sounded better to the others i had, butive swapped the nos ones around in different combinations, but couldnt work out which sound different. is there a trick to find the best 12ax7?

for example when i built an octave pedal, it sounded ok, but when i read that it plays best on the neck pickup, it made all the difference!. i think ive got a reasonable ear, its just does anyone have a pointer on how to select the best tubes for each position. does long/short plate make a difference?

slightly confused!!

snoof · Post by **snoof** » Wed 01/20/10 10:02 am

speaking in generalities my ears tell me...

GE's - lots o bass, can be a bit ice-picky.
RCA's - Good Fender tube, not so much for dirty amps. Can seem bloated.
Sylvania - Better for dirty stuff. midrangey.

You have American tubes here, and I think they all have a similar sound to them. If you can locate some British, Holland, and German tubes, you will notice a difference (I do anyway). Mullard, Telefunken, and Amperex is what I'd recommend. You should DEF hear a difference between a Sylvania and a smooth plate Telefunken!

So you have a Tungsram (or is it Tung-Sol)? Maybe use that for the PI.
I'd use the GE and Sylvania for the other two spots. Swap and see.

I'd also try a 12at7 for the PI slot. It can make quite a difference.

njkmonty · Post by **njkmonty** » Wed 01/20/10 5:00 pm

(new st0ck)Tung-Sol is what i have ,

do i want to chase after a mullard?

ive got a celest blue, g12h30 tmb

vintage sozos riken resistors all high quality parts
(ie ive put a bit of $$ into this amp)

will a mullard in v1 make a difference?
if so how do i buy a good specimen, what do you look for?

or just stick with the sgt overdrive specimens?

cheers

nyazzip · Post by **nyazzip** » Wed 01/20/10 5:42 pm

the only good reason to seek out NOS tubes in guitar amps is that some of the current production tubes can't handle the high(out of spec) voltages that modern/modded circuits call for. as far as sound, in my opinion there is very little difference between tube "vintages", especially before saturation; most of it is superstitious cork-sniffing hype. if you suspect your amp sounds bad, there are dozens of better places to place blame first....
NOS makes slightly bigger difference in hifi, with ultra linear transformers and transparent circuitry....
flame away

kleuck · Post by **kleuck** » Wed 01/20/10 6:43 pm

nyazzip wrote:the only good reason to seek out NOS tubes in guitar amps is that some of the current production tubes can't handle the high(out of spec) voltages that modern/modded circuits call for. as far as sound, in my opinion there is very little difference between tube "vintages", especially before saturation; most of it is superstitious cork-sniffing hype. if you suspect your amp sounds bad, there are dozens of better places to place blame first....
NOS makes slightly bigger difference in hifi, with ultra linear transformers and transparent circuitry....
flame away

Did you ever hear a Mullard 12AX7, a 50's Long Plate tung-Sol or a 50's Sylvania ?
The difference with modern tubes is not thin at all

njkmonty · Post by **njkmonty** » Wed 01/20/10 7:34 pm

my amp sounds great, but just trying to make it sound the best i can.

what do you look for in a mullard/telefunken nos 12ax7?

kleuck · Post by **kleuck** » Wed 01/20/10 7:47 pm

Singing mids, space between notes, tight lows.
But actually i prefer some of your US tubes

like Tung-sol long plates or Sylvania, 12AY7 ones are my love.
In the current production, i found JJ ECC803S to be good, very very good as a phase inverter, Sovtek LPS are good too, 12AY7 EH, 12AX7 EH, and that's all would consider using in "vintage style" guitar amps.
And except for the JJ ECC803S wich is a really unique tube on his own i think, i can find better sounding tubes in the nos range.

njkmonty · Post by **njkmonty** » Wed 01/20/10 7:51 pm

lesson for begginers! ie me!

v1 = most influence

v2 = is this the phase inverter?

v3 = wouldn t have a clue

can you help

kleuck · Post by **kleuck** » Wed 01/20/10 7:59 pm

V1 does not always have the more influence, depending on, the design.V3 is the phase inverter.

jgab · Post by **jgab** » Wed 02/24/10 5:32 pm

To me, vintage tubes make a difference. I always bought new prod. tubes because I never had to work hard to get them. I searched around the internet and pulled in a few big hauls of vintage tubes for next to nothing.

With all my tubes, I then did a blind sound test keeping things as consistent as possible including what I played and how I played it.

In conclusion I found that the V1 posistion made the most difference; with vintage tubes sounding hands down better to me than new production. Keep in mind that I never knew which tube I had sampled until after I rated all of them.

I agree that certain tubes will sound better in certain amps. No one tube will sound the best in every amp.

snoof · Post by **snoof** » Thu 02/25/10 10:17 am

It does take a while to "develop" your ear for listening to tubes. It's not that the changes are super subtle, it's that you need to have experience in what to listen for and how to listen. Kinda like those 3-D pictures that you stare at and then "pow", you see the image. Your buddy is like, "it's right there, can't you see it", and you say, "no man, what are you talking about?".

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NOS tubes valves help

NOS tubes valves help