Whats the latest on tung sol ax7 reliability?

[lovedat800]

I finally tried one and i noticed something odd. I've read the mention of issues when it's used as CF, but i stuck it in V1 in my 50 watt high gain M style build and when i engage a pull boost switch i have that just adds a 1uf bypass to the V2 cathode, the sound cuts out. if i back the gain knob down a tad it comes back. But V2 id the CF, so why is that happening?

As for tone, still undecided but i can say right now that i don't feel they are anything to jump up and down about. the difference is too subtle to get a good comparison after the 30 seconds it takes to turn the amp off, replace a tube then restart it. I think i MAY like it better, but not sure yet. i noticed that the difference in V1 and V2 is very obvious. In one position it took away some top, tho in a good way i think, and in the other it didn't. I think i notice a slightly smoother and definataly more articulate distortion tone. i also tried it in the PI and it sounded VERY different. But of the 3 positions i tried it in, tho some were quite different i can't comment on whether or not it is better because it's one of those things where different isn't necassarily better, tho at first your ears want to hear that ! So i need to evaluate these over time. I also tried them in my 18 watt converted to 6v6 and felt in that amp it WAS an improvement, but it too is a high gain pre and nothing like the typical 18.

Oh, and i bought two of them and one was bad, so looks like things haven't changed ! tubesandmore is sending me a replacement. i hope they throw some sort of bonus in with it since i had to pay return postage. maybe a free 3rd tung sol.....

[zaphod_phil]

I A/B'ed some JJ 12AX7s and Tung Sols on Saturday. The TS 12AX7s had very clear, sweet definition, which I immediately liked. They were however, also quite a bit brighter than the JJs. This particular amp was already somewhat bright, so the JJs stayed in.

when i engage a pull boost switch i have, that just adds a 1uf bypass to the V2 cathode, the sound cuts out. if i back the gain knob down a tad it comes back. But V2 is the CF, so why is that happening?

So you say you're shorting the cathode of a CF to ground through a 1uF cap? If so, then that's exactly what you should expect.

[lovedat800]

So you say you're shorting the cathode of a CF to ground through a 1uF cap?

No, typo, sorry. It's V1B with a switched bypass cap. As for the tube, i played around with it today and so far i don't think i care for it in V2 or the PI. I have it in V1 again and that now seems to be the place it *MAY* sound better. I also put a trimmer inline with the switched bypass cap and set it for less gain so when i pull the switch it doesn't cut out. Still wondering why that happened tho.

But anyways, it's hard to be sure w/o being able to instantly A/B, so i'm still evaluating it. There is however one thing i really like about it, and thats exactly what you said Phil....it has a clear sweet defination just as you described. I like that, but i'm trying to determine whether it's at the cost of fatness and whether it sounds better with all pickup settings and volume control settings. I have to play it for a good while them swap the old one back to really get a good idea. But i'm still sure it's no amazing breakthrough like some seem to think. I have never gone the NOS route, but if i ever do i sure hope the improvement is a lot more than this !

[rjgtr]

I really like the Tung Sols in a clean channel, especially one that is Fender-voiced. The extra top end doesn't bother me there. I'm not as happy in a channel I'm creating preamp distortion with. I like a tube with a little more mids for that, so I generally use JJs for that.

I really wish that GT hadn't had such bad reliability problems with their Mullard reproduction, because the reliable ones sounded great. Not as good as a real NOS Mullard, but a lot closer than any other new production.

If only SED would make EL84s and 12ax7s of the quality of their EL34s and 6L6s, I'd be all set.

[lovedat800]

I really like the Tung Sols in a clean channel, especially one that is Fender-voiced. The extra top end doesn't bother me there. I'm not as happy in a channel I'm creating preamp distortion with. I like a tube with a little more mids for that, so I generally use JJs for that.

That makes sense, as it works much better in V1 for me than V2 where the distortion is multiplied in my cascaded pre.

Anyone have a suggestion for a very fat sounding vintage tube that still sparkles nicely and will blow away any current production 12AX7's and not break the bank? something that could do the clear articulate thing the tung sol does but richer and fat.

[lectricman]

ive been using the tung sol reissues in a couple of my amps now for a couple years with no problems at all. i like the extra gain they have but they are a bit noisy.

[whitey]

I was following the cathode - heater breakdown theory but my case might be somewhat different, as far as I can tell my cathode is sitting at 109vdc and my heater voltage is 6.3vdc (extremely small ac ripple) because I don't like all the noise ac heaters make, elevated or not, this adds up to 103 vdc. a silver dragon works fine as a cf and sounds great!