Express Tube

[DaveWell]

Hi !

What brand of tube will you choose for a upgrade Express ?

I have now 3 12AX7 JJ's ECC803s
And 2 JJ's E34L

I'm thinking about Tung-Sol 12AX7.

For the Power tube, I got 2 brand in mind
The SED Winged =C= El34 or the Svetlana El34

What is you opinion ?

Thanks !

[MHProd]

Invest in NOS Mullard EL34s. For the ax7s, I like a mix of GE, Sylvania and Brimar or Bugle Boy.

[Turbojunkie]

Instead of getting new preamp and power tubes, I would concentrate on one or the other...

NOS Tungsram and/or EI 12AX7's are nice and don't cost a fortune.

The Winged "C" EL34's are very good, but for how much they've gone up in cost, a pair of Seimens would be a better choice sonically.

All that said, an Express loaded with the right Amperex & Mullard tubes can be a jaw-dropping experience.

Do you use any type of master volume or attenuation on a regular basis?

[DaveWell]

No i don't use any master volume or attenuation.

I think to go with 3 Tung-sol gold pin and a pair of Svetlana

[Littlewyan]

Every Express likes different valves. In mine I have TAD EL34B-STRs with EH12AX7 V1, JJ 12AX7 V2 and EH12AX7 V3. I've also got some old sylvanias, a Mullard and a Bugle Boy for a rainy day . If I were you I wouldn't swap all 3 at once, buy one of each brand and experiment. Get an EH, Tung Sol and maybe an ECC83S JJ.

[Colossal]

Every Express likes different valves. In mine I have TAD EL34B-STRs with EH12AX7 V1, JJ 12AX7 V2 and EH12AX7 V3. I've also got some old sylvanias, a Mullard and a Bugle Boy for a rainy day . If I were you I wouldn't swap all 3 at once, buy one of each brand and experiment. Get an EH, Tung Sol and maybe an ECC83S JJ.

+1 on all of this ^^^

Mixing valves is the way to go.

[bcmatt]

As the guys are saying, mixing tubes beats arbitrarily picking some brand of tube and saying it's best. While keeping all the rest of the tubes unchanged, try every single (not just every brand) of 12ax7 you have in the 1st position and play the amp (don't be afraid to dial it in each time, until you find the one that best gives you the tones you like. The more variety of 12ax7s you have, the better. (It may even be something slightly different - I ran a 5751 in my Liverpool for a couple years because it gave me the tones I needed). Don't pay any attention to how expensive/cheap/rare/common the tube is AND rob every 12ax7 you have from every amp you own to find the perfect one. You never know what specific tube will give you just the right gain characteristics to bring out what you want from that piece of the circuit in your particular amp.

Then leave it, and move on to the third position (PI) tube and try every tube you have left. If you find a tube that makes a significant improvement, you may want to leave it in and then go back to the 1st tube search all over again to compliment this new situation.

Once you have what you think is best for these two positions, go ahead and try the same for the second position 12ax7.

All this depends on your level of care and patience. I have to admit that I have never been too thorough with this process, but I may try it some day...

You could do the same with sets of power tubes if you are so inclined... but again I must admit, I usually just make one choice and they stay there. My Liverpool just got assigned a quad of JJ EL84s and I deal with it because I am not going to spend hundreds and hundreds all at once on tubes alone. Right now I am babysitting the Express I built for my friend. Perhaps when I build my own, I may steal the English Mullard 6Ca7s in perfect shape from my vintage traynor for it... if it improves the tone a lot.

[Guus]

Hi guys,

if you can't get your hands on some good NOS tubes turn to the newer ones you can buy these days.
Specially when it comes to noise and hiss I prefer:
- V1 new mullard short plate CV 4004/ECC83;
- V2 en V3 : Tung sol ECC83/12AX7.

grt
Guss