12AX7 rusian vs chinese vs.....

[dusanhomer]

Hi all!
Has anyone tried to test,how are differencies between these valves.They are all mesa boogie selected{chinese,rusian,JJ...},but there must be some differencies in sound.I have in my dual recto[2 chanels} rusian,but they need to change{about 3 years old}
Thanks!

 

[dennq45]

Chinese tubes tend to be bright sounding, Russian a little on the dark side. Mix them up and see what sounds best to you.

 

[Russ]

+1 on the descriptions above. I have heard that the JJ can sound dark even for a Russian. Being that perceived gain can be adjusted by brightness you may find that with the chinese in the V1 that you will have a slightly higher gain threshold. I would take care not to go too hot with all your preamp tubes because it will make for an amp that you will have a harder time mellowing out without swapping back to less bright of tubes. I believe the new Tung Sol is russian. There have been many on here raving about its performance for tone. Try one or more. Just remember that your V1 is the most important tube aside from a PI tube though a balanced PI can be debated.