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OK, I have looked all over and searched under several headings. Does anyone know where the post regarding the differant tube brand tones and characteristics may be?This was a post from one of our members who operated a tube store and had a lot of info regarding sound and manufacturers.
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Re: tube characteristics
Been so many, I don't remember that one. But, maybe you could look this link over a bit if it might give you some input while youre searching for the thread.
http://www.watfordvalves.com/testreports.htm -
Re: tube characteristics
Great Link Cleve, Thanks this is exactly what I'm looking for.
Does anyone know what brand groove tubes is useing for their 12ax7R currently?. I had to retube my pre amps yesterday and just went to G.C. for a quick fix.They work fairly well but I may want to change them for better ones.Comment
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Re: tube characteristics
Dunno, I'm not a GT fan at all. Mainly as they are rebranders and you could get the same for less elsewhere. But, in a pinch and at the GC, they have to be used sometimes. JJ/teslas are "ok" but a bit dark.
I find the most happiness in mixing old NOS tubes like RCA, Telefunkin etc... Mullards of course(if I ever get to buying some)Comment
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Re: tube characteristics
G.T. catches more shit, and I honestly don't get why.
Yes, they are a "re-brander". What they do is buy thousands of a paticular tube, test them all for various things, and sell tubes for specific applications, or group identical tubes together as sets.
Yes you pay for that, and yes you can by the same tubes "pre-G.T." for less, but they won't be a throughly tested and matched. THAT'S why they cost more.Comment
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Re: tube characteristics
Cleve while checking the Groove tube website I saw a new product of theirs that is built to the old original Mullard specs, you might want to take a look.Comment
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Re: tube characteristics
I've heard bad stuff about those 'mullard' GT preamp tubes. I know several guys who had them go microphonically prematurely. I'd buy used 'real' mullards over those, personally.
PeteComment
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Re: tube characteristics
Yep... what Pete said.Comment
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And when i can get a tube for 5 bucks ebay and 20+ GT for the same thing, I'll take my chances i guess.Comment
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Re: tube characteristics
Years ago when Groove Tubes first came out, I used to get my amps serviced at a place where the real guru's were the fix it guys that would fix any and every musical product that plugged in which came into their shop-The Good Guys as their biz was called. They still exist in the same small corner location in St Paul on Grand Ave..its been 30 years now?
They religiously discouraged anyone from using Groove Tube products simply because they said they used the cheapest parts of Chinese construction relabeled as 'quality'. Then it became eastern bloc and the russian tube boom. Back in the 80's you used to be able to get plenty of USA made 60-70's stock tubes and euro brands were still quite available..'matching' was not a marketing factor for anyone in the repair business in those days but they did it if they were of repute. Which Good Guys were and still are in my book.
I've tested more than a few of the so called 'matched' sets I've bought at Guitar Center surplus sales and they ain't that close. I was quite surprised as I've gotten matched quads off eBay from places that pre match and they were alot closer. Given the fact that Aspen Pittman used to manage a Cali Guitar Center..it doesn't surprise me he found an outlet for pushing his product en-masse and a means of turning a quite buck via some silkscreening.
I wonder how many sets of tubes thier laborers have to match per day?
When your in a pinch, yeah...a pre boxed set of groove tubes will get you by for the warranty..which brings me to the next.
My recent dealings with the customer service at Groove Tubes has shown these guys are not in the business to help you. You know that Groove Tubes warranty for 'complete satisfaction' they put on every box? ..at this time I consider it a crock of crap. I'll try to let you know how I come next week after I chew on these bozo's asses for awhile.
I'm having a little issue with my 928PR tube coverters, so far the customer service responses I've received have been nothing to write praise about. I will say the 928PR kills the yellow jacket in the tone dept tho..the THD yellow jackets I have put up against the Groove tube product have sounded very bad in comparison.Comment
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Re: tube characteristics
Thanks guys for the great feedback. I put GT 12AX7R (russian) in my MP1 and SGX2000. They seem to work OK but are a bit edgier than what was in there before. They also seem a bit noisy. I was hoping to get rid of some of the hum in my rack system.Previously there were Sovtek 7025/12AX7WB's in the ADA and a ART labeled 12AX7A made in china in the SGX.I realize both of these units are inherently noisy. Is there something I can use that would help lower the noise floor w/out sacrificing tone and sustain.I've heard the EH's might be good for this or maybe JJ's.Can anyone recomend one over the other or even any other recomendations.
I realize hum is part of the tube world I'm just trying to lower it if I can w/out using a denoiser.Comment
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Re: tube characteristics
The JJ ecc803s and ecc83s I put in my JSX are way quieter than the EH 12ax7's they replaced. They do sound darker but I like it that way. A big improvement in my opinion.Comment
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Re: tube characteristics
ecc803s is typically a 'select' tube, in fact the "s" basically stood for select in the past when tube manufacturers used to offer Ecc803s as a premium selection for audio applications. They often came with gold plated pins. Mullard & Telefunken used to offer 'red tip', the tips of the tubes were red... they look like nipples [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]..they were selected as the most premium of hundreds if not thousands made & tested during the time they did this.
Anyways..JJ took the concept of reproducing the 'premium selection' tube and didn't plate the pins probably to keep cost overhead down & also likely for more profit.
These particular JJ's are also long plate, they sound darker I assume because of this as long plates usually have better bass response. They would probbaly be very well suited to the ADA.
EH 12AX7's are very well rated, the gold pins are rated above alot of currently manufactured tubes. The new Tung Sol made by New Sensor are also well spoken of.
If you want really lower noise option; 7025's are the next best choice as they are produced as a low noise version of the 12AX7.
5751's are the military version of 12ax7's, they have 70% of the gain compared to a normal 12ax7 so they are not as loud but they are also very rugged, have a long rated life and are also very low noise.
RCA makes some very nice black plate 5 star version of the 5751. If you find some older versions of these tubes and they are NOS, that is the best way to go IMO outside of newly manufactured options available.
Do a google search for 12Ax7 test..I'm sure you'll find some more interesting results. All I can say is all tubes will get noisy after a while, some are more prone than others. They do make variations to have lower microphonic possibility but you have to hunt for them. In some of my amps (the Marshall Artist 3203 in particular) I run a Mullard Ecc82 in like the phase inverter because I want a lower noise response when I crank the gain. I have been using the Ecc82 or a 5751 in a tube driver type pedal as well where I don't need so much gain but still want a musically voiced tube to make a difference.
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Re: tube characteristics
The JJ ecc803s sounds slightly brighter than the 83s and has slighty thicker mids. A little less gain too. It really made the amp sound much better when I put one in the V1 position. I'd like to get a balanced one for the PI slot and see how that sounds.Comment
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Re: tube characteristics
I have yet to see an actual 'bad review' test situation on the JJ's.Comment
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