What Tubes do you Use in your 18Watter?

[rjgtr]

I use a NOS Mullard in V1 and V3 and a NOS Brimar in V2. I've been using Ei EL84s in the output, but also like JJ EL84s Ok. I'm not sure about the EZ81...it's just whatever NOS I found at the time.

[WesKuhnley]

I just got 12AX7M's from CE last week. Very, very large improvement in the sound over the chinese tubes the kit came with. I think my amp with it's cheap xfrmrs, caps, and groove tubes compared favorably when compared to someones (sorry, forgot whos!) GDS or Trinity kit with nice xfrmrs and NOS tubes at Ampfest on Saturday. Their cab was much nicer though...

[LooseChange]

Power tubes: JJ El84's - They make great power tubes.
Preamp tubes: NOS Sylvania or RCA's both warm it up nice (12AX7).

I've got the octal Rectifier in mine (GZ34). I tried a 5U4 and liked it too. The coolest thing with the 5U4 was cranking it to 10 and really noticing the sag.

(footnote: I gave JJ preamp tubes a lot of chances because their power tubes are so good... Never heard one I liked)

[lbet]

V1 - Mullard 12AX7
V2 - EI 12AX7
V3 - RCA Gray Plate 12AX7
V4/5 - JJ's
Recto - EH

[zaphod_phil]

Mullards all the way through, except for the recto. I prefer SS rectos with sag resistors. No point in wasting bottles just to rectify AC, IMO...

[dartanion]

Mullards all the way through, except for the recto. I prefer SS rectos with sag resistors. No point in wasting bottles just to rectify AC, IMO...

BLASPHEMY

You shall be excommunicated!!!

[Mooreamps]

V1 - V4 Telefunken ECC83
V5 EH EL34
V6 EH 6L6

-g

[Alexo]

I had a blackburn mullard in V1 in my TMB, noticed some microphonics while jamming and swapped it out with the cathode follower tube, a smooth plate Telefunken and man! I guess I like the Tele better, milky and sweet, just really nice with good touch response, noticed the same character with an Amperex Bugle Boy in another amp. I was lucky enough to have scored an old stereo for cheap packed with a good supply of both Tfk's and Mullards, but I really like the sound of old GE's in the preamp too, very tight and rocky.

[doctornorbert]

I just pilfered a Mullard ecc83 out of my old Vox and put it in V3 of my TMB. That is my tube of choice in that channel at the moment.

[Brewmaster]

In my 18 watt TMB Combo Currently I have:

V1 - Tung Sol 12ax7
V2, V3 - EH 12ax7
Rectifier - EH EZ81

El 84 - NOS Tesla (Not JJ)

I have no intention of changing anything. This combination helped tame the overactive bass response on the TMB side. It's not perfect but it is a lot better.

[vicenzajay]

Another old thread it might be cool to bring back to see what everyone's using this year?

The 18 watt I have coming sports:

V1 - Amperex
V2/V3 - Tesla
Rectifier - Mullard EZ81

RCA Black plates for the power tubes....with a set of Siemens E84Ls as well as spares.

Jay

[Brewmaster]

I still have the same tubes in mine. I got smarter a few months after that post and tweaked the cathode cap and two coupling caps to tighten up the bass response.

[tidalweapon]

Mine will have:
V1, V2, V3 - EH 12AX7
V4, V5 - EH EL84
V6 - EH 6CA4 (EZ81)

It will be a tremolo 18 watt, based on Ian's schematic.
What do you think of this tubes for an 18watt?

[megatom]

I don't know squat about squat, but can you use 6550's insted El-34. I'm thinking it will work, I just need need to bias

[leslie]

18W tremolo
v1.RCA
v2.GE
v3.Amperex Holland
EZ81-RFT
El84: Tungsram,Ei,GE,Tesla Hex,Matsush*ita,Mullard they all sound very similar in my amp
If I must pick one it would be *.

[highway1]

For new stock, I like the JJ's best. I was very happy with the sound of my TMB with JJ's and honestly didn't know it could get any better. Recently I found a couple of GE grey plates with the GE # 188 on them and stuck them in V1 & V2.... Wow!!! I am truly amazed... I looked them up on the web and based on other nos types, they're still a bargin. If ya get a chance to try them, go for it...

[Mr_dB]

In my 18W trem amp I've got smooth plate Telefunkens in all three 12AX7 slots, and I don't remember what the outputs are. I got a selection of '80s NOS stuff from Sgt. Overdrive -- Russkis, Philips, Tesla, and I don't remember what else, I'd have to look in the box. I imagine I've got either the Russians or the Teslas in there, I think I put one of the more "expendable" sets in when I fired up the amp, and liked it enough to leave well enough alone until something happens. I think the EZ81 is a Sylvania, also from TG.

[Brucer]

I have a rebuild of a Bogen CHB-14 going on right now into a "13 Watt Lite" (18 watt jr? ).

I'm replacing the 6AU6A septal pre-amp tube with a 12AX7 but keeping the two ECL86 tubes and wiring the amp like a single channel 18 Watt with no tremolo (hence the 13 Watt Lite moniker).

I'm keeping the original EZ80 recto tube since the CHB14 iron won't support the EZ81's heater current demands (I don't think) and I don't think the Bogen PT put's out more power than the EZ80 can handle. So, I'm sticking with that.

I'm building this in a new chassis instead of the rather ugly (and full of unnecessary holes) Bogen chassis. I'm using a Hammond 12x8x2 aluminum chassis. I think it will hold the Bogen iron okay. I may end up having to get a chassis from Watts Tube Audio (their 12.5x6.5x2.5 chassis).

Just getting it up and working is my main concern right now. I'm laying out the chassis to begin cutting my holes for the PT, OT wires, tubes, jacks, pots and power. A pre-punched/drilled chassis is definitely the way to go if you can. I have a friend who can get the holes drilled and milled for me so I at least don't have to do that part. But I still have to lay it all out and give him either a template or DXF/DWG files for it.

I'm hoping this will turn out well. I can't wait to start installing parts and soldering things up. I love it when a new amp comes to life. (or even an old one comes back from the dead...

So, I'm using an EZ80 rectifier, 12AX7 pre-amp tube and 2 ECL-86 tubes as combination PI and power tubes. Adapting the 18 Watt Lite circuit to those tubes will be fun. I just realized I don't know if they're a matched set. The Bogen amp was working, barely, when I took it apart. It didn't work at all when I first got it. I had to replace the EZ80 and the 6AU6 to get any life out of it and it sounded rather crusty and harsh probably from the old, dried out and drifted components.

All new caps, resistors and revoicing it should make for an interesting amp when I'm done. I'm looking forward to it.

[zaphod_phil]

Adapting the 18 Watt Lite circuit to those tubes will be fun. I just realized I don't know if they're a matched set.

There's no need for them to be matched, and the amp may even sound nicer if they aren't. The rules for guitar amps are different than for hi-fi amps.

[dotfret]

Perhaps I'm getting callous and bitter in my old age, but I'm fed up of seeing threads like this one. An 18watt amp has 3 x 12AX7, 2 xEL84, and 1 x EZ81 - anything else is outside the box, or similar.

Feeding a valve into a "set" environment and seeing if it will adjust to it is not a fair test. Some valves are flexible - some require kind treatment before they will give their best results.

V1 is critical in an 18 watt - but replace it with two 6AQ4, and see if it sounds better (usually sounds like SRV if your heater supply can cope).

V2 and V3 can be almost anything, Russki 6n2p are reliable things that will fit in the sockets (with a little rewiring).

Put a pair of adequate output pentodes past this - and you have an effective amp. But is it an 18watt?

Call me a lot of cruel names if you must, but there are a lot of "subs" for the 18watt valve set. No thoughts or conversations, the way the thing is designed, V1 is the tone source. Beyond those considerations, too often we allow the amp to be severely "mucked about" and still call it an 18watt.

If you use a GZ34 in your 18 watt, it is something else, not an 18watt. I have a few amps like that, they don't say Marshall on the front.

The valve set is immutable = stop mucking about, or I will reveal the version with ECC804 + 2 x ECC807 preamp and EL86 output, and call it kosher.