Suggestions on tubes to try in Blues Master...

[Tonegeek]

Anyone tried the Mullard reissue 12ax7 from New Sensor or the Tung-Sol EL34? I need to retube my BM. I really would like to find a tube that sounds like an old RCA 12ax7. I have a mix of those and EH 12ax7's (which are OK sounding) in my BM. I was thinking of maybe trying a JJ ECC83s, a Mullard and the Tung-Sols for power.

BTW it seems the JJ El34's I have been using only last about 12- 16 months. I use the amp 3-4 hours a week and bias conservatively.

[dogears]

I bought a bunch of ANOS RCA 12AX7 tubes from rockon1 at TGP. He gets 4 for $70.

Why bother with the current crap.

He also has stuff like long plate GEs for the same deal.

Individually he gets $20 per tube.

[talbany]

BTW it seems the JJ El34's I have been using only last about 12- 16 months. I use the amp 3-4 hours a week and bias conservatively.

I get about the same as well..If it makes it a year I am happy..(4-5 hours a week) current production 34's... Compared to most other tubes.. 34's a cheap pentode with a wimpy screen supply and run the filaments hotter..You would figure a tube that can handle 800v and a screen dissipation of 8 watts would have more longevity.. Nada!!.. I get more failures right out of the box w/34's (most brands) than any other tube.. what does that tell you..You may get more life out of a KT-77


Tony

[mojotom]

Old Svetlana wingled C hold fine, I've got a pair running for two years.

New ones I don't know but one 6l6 was bad on the quad for my Dumble after a few hours. The sound is very good with clear bass response.

So far for the amp I play the most (a Bruno Pony 50) I use groove tubes 34 and change once a year, the amp is on everyday.

JJ are crap and the last set burn the screen resistor.
Tung sol very average, maybe the Mullard 34 are ok.

For me Svetlana for the power tubes and JJ803s and tung sol
for the preamp.
NOS tubes are great but I had to change them too often lately (noise and gain issues) for me to have consistency.

[Ed de Jager]

May i suggest ebay.de(that`s germany)for tubes?
You might be pleasingly surprised at what you can find there and at what prices.

greetings,Ed

[Structo]

Yes, but the shipping to USA makes that prohibitive.

I see a lot of these Russian 6N2PEV on Ebay now.
Anybody try any of these?

[Tonegeek]

Today I tried a used JJ ECC83s and a used Fender branded Sovtek 12ax7wa. The existing tubes in my amp are GT 7025 in V1, V2 (2 different manufacturers it appears) V3 (loop) and PI are EH. I just swapped each tube I was testing with the tube in each position and put the original tube back when done. I skipped the loop tube.

JJ- Thick, hi gain. Best in PI but full OD is too middy. Not too bad with OD and no boost. Too full in v1, v2

Fender Sovtek WA- low gain, reduced low end, sparkly top. Best in PI. OK in V2. Good scooped clean channel tone in V1 (breaks up real Fender-like), but thin when going to OD channel.

I still like my current setup better although if I was doing a clean track, I would use the Sovtek tube in V1.


The best setup I have had though is 3 GT and an old grey plate RCA in the PI.

I went to a local hamfest today and met a guy with a bunch of audio tubes he has been collecting for years. He is going to bring a box of 12ax7's over sometime in a next few weeks and we are just going to spend the day trying them out. He is a hifi guy mostly, but is interested in guitar amps too. He apparently has a big stash of Bugle Boys, Mullards, Telefunkens, etc.

I met another guy that claims to have 100,000 tubes! He recently acquired them and is in the process of cataloging them. Hopefully in a few weeks he will have made enough progress so that I can take a peek at what he has. Can't wait...