Tung-Sol 12ax7..are they worth it??

[khabibissell]

I was buying some preamp tubes and I remembered this thread. Those Tung Sols are friggen awesome! I bought two (they were $20 apiece). I put them in V1 and V2 of my Single Rectifier, and a Sovtek LPS I had lying around in V3. I may swap the LPS and the Tung Sol to move it to V3. The V4 and V5 slots have JJ's in them. My amp has never sounded better! More clairty, and the low end is WAY tighter. Also the gain seems to have increased too. All the reviews above are dead on. I've been playing my amp on and off all day. I used to always use an overdrive to tighten the Recto, but I don't think I'll need it anymore. Great stuff!

[horns666]

I was buying some preamp tubes and I remembered this thread. Those Tung Sols are friggen awesome! I bought two (they were $20 apiece). I put them in V1 and V2 of my Single Rectifier, and a Sovtek LPS I had lying around in V3. I may swap the LPS and the Tung Sol to move it to V3. The V4 and V5 slots have JJ's in them. My amp has never sounded better! More clairty, and the low end is WAY tighter. Also the gain seems to have increased too. All the reviews above are dead on. I've been playing my amp on and off all day. I used to always use an overdrive to tighten the Recto, but I don't think I'll need it anymore. Great stuff!

Aint' that right Steve??!!..big time difference, I think!!..one of my preamp tubes taking a dump was a blessing in disguise..

I couldn't be more pleased with the results..I had to set the noise gate a bit harder..much more output than the JJ's!

[khabibissell]

Yeah, JJ's seem dull in comparison. It's funny though... 90% of the preamp tube recommendations I see are for JJ's. IMO, it's not even close (at least in my Boogie).

That's weird... more noise? My amp seems quieter!

I lucked out for sure. There are a couple of stores around here that stock alot of odd/hard to find stuff. This particular store (motorcity guitar) has a ton of different preamp and poweramp tubes. They are more a bit more expensive, but it was worth it. They also had a 16ohm Celestion Classic Lead 80 lying around that I picked up which made a world of difference in my Recto 2x12. I'll have to grab a couple more and throw them in my 4x12 with the V30's that are in there now in an X pattern and see how it sounds.

[horns666]

Yeah, JJ's seem dull in comparison. It's funny though... 90% of the preamp tube recommendations I see are for JJ's. IMO, it's not even close (at least in my Boogie).

That's weird... more noise? My amp seems quieter!

I lucked out for sure. There are a couple of stores around here that stock alot of odd/hard to find stuff. This particular store (motorcity guitar) has a ton of different preamp and poweramp tubes. They are more a bit more expensive, but it was worth it. They also had a 16ohm Celestion Classic Lead 80 lying around that I picked up which made a world of difference in my Recto 2x12. I'll have to grab a couple more and throw them in my 4x12 with the V30's that are in there now in an X pattern and see how it sounds.

well I threw a matched set of 6 in mine..even the FX loop..so maybe that really kicked in the ass..

yeah I had to adjust my gate immediately..there was a very noticable change in the Gain/Volume/Hiss...

I couldn't even tweak my amp in the usual manner sitting in front of it at a moderate level..without backing off my guitar volume knob.. with all the feeback..

one cool thing is I can hold ANY note on the guitar, with the feedback forever..something the JJ's just never did..ever!!!

At first , I just backed off the gain and that remedied it....but I set my G Major's gate from soft to hard and put my gain back to full tilt..so it's better than ever now..

That's the main key to my tone..that gain knob has to be completely dimed..as soon as I back it off, even a tad..it loses some "coolness"..

Believe me with the gain up like that, the amp is as tight as an Amish twat on Sunday!!

[Misanthrope189]

Believe me with the gain up like that, the amp is as tight as an Amish twat on Sunday!!

Jesus Bill, the creativity never ends. I bought the matched set of 5 for my triaxis. It's fucking awesome. I am very pleased with the tone now, especially after being nearly ready to sell it for something different a few weeks ago. The sounds out of this beast are beautiful, and I'm very happy, too, that all the reviews here of the tubes (especially yours, Bill) are dead on with the changes I heard in my amp. The tone roars, and the honk is gone, and the sustain is beautiful, and the harmonics are super-rich. Makes it a joy to play the guitar. I don't know about any of you...but good tone is the best thing to get me to play. If the tone sucks, I'm just not happy playing because it doesn't sound the way I want it to so I can play passionately.

It's so funny, too. I went to this concert to see Kamelot and Epica, the opening band being Division. The one guitarist had a custom shop 7 string Jackson soloist and a Recto. He reminds me of Ron; I'm 6 feet tall, but this guy is a huge, towering man with one of those big grins and really long black hair. His tone was great, and he told me the thing that did it was Tung-Sol tubes. He said it was the key to getting that tone out of the Recto; nothing else he did to it got him the tone he wanted.

Cheers,
Nick

[horns666]

Nick , that is GREAT to hear..I know man. The difference these damn tubes did for my amp far exceeded my expectations..I never would have imagined tghe difference they made..it sounds and feels like a different amp..the Uber's character is still there but it is definitely a big, noticable difference..I wish I knew about these long ago!!

I missed Kamelot last week..wasn't feelin' that great and I blew it off..pissed that I did, they are a great band..but I just can't stand for hours on end these days without major discomfort..sucks.

Hey Jeff Loomis used a Triaxis on his first two albums..it sounds heavy as hell and he always does..so those TS really gave it balls huh..Nice.

I think they would be too dark soundimn for some folks who really like that classic Marshall-like midrange..but if your want your amp to have much more low end and much less mids..especially for a more brutal modern metal tones..the Tung Sols are the ticket!!!

It's more of a scooped sound..more bottom end and my highs really "sing" now with a lot of sustain..the JJ's never did that..in fact they are quite "dead" in comparison..The JJ's are all mids and lack in low end and sustain..with much less output, I know this now. I'll never go back to JJ's again!!

Nick, I'm glad they worked out for you too man!!!

I called the Tube store and expressed my complaint with my amp and the guy knew exactly what I was talking about..he gets these calls all the time..so it wasn't just a sales pitch just to sell me an expensive tube..they delivered exactly what he described and I'm just conveying my enthusiasm to you guys..

I can't praise these tubes enough..they truly rock!!

They really made me love my Uber that much more..

[Misanthrope189]

Now I'm curious to see what khabibissell has to say about the Lead 80s. I have a cab with 4 V30s, which sounds great, but I've also heard great things about speaker combos with V30s and the G-75s and Lead 80s.

Cheers,
Nick

[RacerX]

the opening band being Division. The one guitarist had a custom shop 7 string Jackson soloist and a Recto. He reminds me of Ron; I'm 6 feet tall, but this guy is a huge, towering man with one of those big grins and really long black hair. His tone was great, and he told me the thing that did it was Tung-Sol tubes.

Well, that makes sense, the Division guys are long-time JCFers!

Here's Mike (eaeolian):




Here's Dave (noodlesatf):



Pretty sure I got the names right!

[Misanthrope189]

That's hilarious, I had no idea

Cheers,
Nick

[Chad]

I bought the matched set of 5 for my triaxis.

Did you get any info about the benefits of going with a matched set? As I said earlier in the thread, as far as I know, it doesn't matter if preamp tubes are matched or not except for the phase inverter tube (and that's debatable). I don't think it will "hurt" anything other than a person's wallet, but I'm not sure it will help either. But I'm interested in hearing more reasoning behind matched preamp tubes. Thanks.

[Misanthrope189]

http://www.thetubestore.com/triodematching.html#q3

It does mention that audiophiles should use matched sets. It mentions it isn't really necessary for anything but the phase inverter tube, but I'm just the kind of person that feels if there's anything that could make it better, why not do it? It just feels kind of nice to think of the tube sections matching to a higher standard than the normal tolerance range. I guess the idea that what will suffice is nice, but having more than what's needed is like cushion, or extra security. *shrugs* It's a little bit philosophical.

Cheers,
Nick

[horns666]

I was advised that I should go with a matched set..I was already over a 100 bucks..whats another 17 bucks more..fuggit..

All I know is,..just maybe..my amp wouldn't sound as good as it does if I didn't follow the dude's advice..he certainly didn't steer me wrong with my choice of tube..so no need for me to second guess him at all..certainly not in hindsight..no buyers remorse here..in fact I put more than 17 bucks in my gas tank today..and I enjoy these tubes much more than the gas I already burned up..so.

Oh Yeah, Division Rocks..I got their cd.. it's great..also got them on a Savatage tribute cd..very good band indeed..

Jeez, Mike could pass for Ron's bro..and Dave and I are doing the battle of the beards, we could be bookends as well!!!

If I were to do it again..I'd get the matched set..because , well..they kicked my ass..and that's all I know..

[eaeolian]

Well, that makes sense, the Division guys are long-time JCFers!

Here's Mike (eaeolian):

Here's Dave (noodlesatf):

Pretty sure I got the names right!

You did. Ron, could you NOT pick the pic where it looks like I'm taking a crap next time?

That's hilarious that you saw us - and I remember talking to you about the Tung-Sols, too. Since I've been using one in V1, my amp sounds even better than it did!

[horns666]

You did. Ron, could you NOT pick the pic where it looks like I'm taking a crap next time?

That's hilarious that you saw us - and I remember talking to you about the Tung-Sols, too. Since I've been using one in V1, my amp sounds even better than it did!

Cool..Hey, Krusty says hello..

That fucker calls me everytime he's hammered..which is every Friday night..

[noodlesatf]

Jeez, Mike could pass for Ron's bro..and Dave and I are doing the battle of the beards, we could be bookends as well!!!

Bookends! Too funny, Bill.

I remember the night Mike put that Tung-sol in V1. We just sort of stared at each other for a couple of minutes. The slightly buzzy top end that cause people to complain about Rectos was completely gone. I ordered mine the next day.

And got a damn dud. It was too tall, and when I put the tube cover on, it cracked the stem at the top of the tube.

I'm still waiting for the replacement to come in. Musician's Fiend says it got lost in transit. Dammit.