Anyone tried RFT ECC83s?

[eudaimonia02912]

They are described as higher-than-normal gain, early break-up, and dark. They're expensive, but I think I might pick a couple up just to see how I like them. (On the other hand, I am am using all Mesa pre-amp tubes right now, despite experimenting with lots of other tubes. So maybe I shouldn't bother.)

Timbre Wolf and other users seem to love these in their amps, but I haven't read about anyone using these with the Mark V.

 

[phyrexia]

you gotta head or a combo? I like the RFT but I think i grenaded one in my combo.

 

[eudaimonia02912]

I have a combo. Do you mean yours broke apart (I head some are fragile) because it was hard to install, or that you just didn't like it?

 

[phyrexia]

no no i think it went microphonic.

I can't seem to find it now, though, which means it may have worked and I may have accidentally gave it away in a Mark III.

 

[eudaimonia02912]

I got a high gain one from KCA NOS Tubes today. I think I'm going to try the following combination:

V1: NOS RFT
V2: NOS EI
V3: Tung Sol Reissue
V4-6: Stock
V7: SPAX7

I haven't liked the Tung Sol in the past on this amp--it alway felt too bright to me. But perhaps it will sound good in combination with the reputed-to-be-dark RFT. I might also try this:

V1: SPAX7
V2: NOS RFT
V3: NOS EI or SPAX7
V4-6: Stock
V7: SPAX7 or Tung Sol RI.

In this set-up, the RFT's magic (if it indeed has any) gets dedicated to channel 2.

 

[eudaimonia02912]

Well, I tried a bunch of combinations tonight using the RFT, EI, and Tung Sol in V1, V2, and V3. Nothing really suited me, and I went back to using Mesa SPAX7s or stock tubes. Maybe I'm just too used to dialing it in those tubes.

The RFT in V1 seemed to give the amp a bit of a nasally sound, with some rolled off highs. I tried putting it in V2 and got the same effect, but just on channel 2. I think it would be a good tube to match with bright 6L6s, but given that I've got the already smooth and midrange-focused SED EL34s, it's not the right combo. I still hate the Tung Sol in this amp, despite loving those in my last amp. The EI added some harmonic richness, but it seems to have less gain than the Mesa tubes, much to my surprise.

Oh well. Now I've got another expensive NOS tube I'm not using. I think I'll just hang onto it. Chances are I'll have a use for it with a different amp in the future.

 

[eudaimonia02912]

I'm sort of puzzled at how pre-amp tubes sound in this amp, at least to my ears. In previous amps, I've liked a variety of tubes. And I do admittedly prefer dark amps (though I also like to have harmonics). Still, I keep coming back to Mesa pre-amp tubes over others.

Since the Mesa tubes are JJs, I decided to try some higher gain JJs in a few spots to see how they sound. I just ordered a super high-gain, balanced JJ ECC83 (rated 120/120) from Eurotubes along with another random high gain tube. I'm going to try those in V2 and V3, and I'll probably keep the SPAX7 in V1. I'd like to add more intrinsic dirt to crunch mode on channel 2, and so V2 will probably get the higher gain tube to start. Maybe I'll try this in V1 as well, though I hate getting in there.

 

[eudaimonia02912]

Here's another update, in case anyone's interested:

I asked Bob from Eurotubes to send me the craziest, highest rated 12AX7 he had. He sent me a JJ rated at 120/120, about 20% higher than a typical 12AX7. (Of course, actually tubes vary greatly--many don't actually have a gain factor of 100.) I put it in V2 to add more gain to channel 2. The difference was actually noticeable.

I think I'm going to stick with a high gain Tung Sol in V2, though. The JJ makes the channel (in crunch mode) more metallish, but I like the harmonics of the Tung Sol better. Maybe I'll use the JJ in my MP1.