Best 12ax7 choice for Mark IV?

[holdsworth]

Ok, so I've done quite an extensive search on the forums and I haven't come across a clear topic for this subject...

Just which 12ax7 tubes do you people recommend for use in the lovely Mark IV combo?

Cheers in advance!

 

[rippingrudy]

I was just talking to a guy from thetubestore.com yesterday and he highly recommended the Tung Sol 12AX7 on the higher side and the Electro Harmonix on the lower side (price wise).

 

[cesjr]

I've read and heard many great things about the Tung-Sol reissues. They're definitely next on my list to try.

 

[Blueracer]

I have a set of Tung Sol in my studio pre and they are very nice tubes. In my Mark 4 I have a set of NOS Tesla (not JJs). They are pricey and hard to find but very smooth sounding. They took all the harshness out of the Mark. BTW V1 is the most critical tube with V3 being the next most critical, at least in my mind. Hope this helps.

 

[ytse_jam]

I have a set of Tung Sol in my studio pre and they are very nice tubes. In my Mark 4 I have a set of NOS Tesla (not JJs). They are pricey and hard to find but very smooth sounding. They took all the harshness out of the Mark. BTW V1 is the most critical tube with V3 being the next most critical, at least in my mind. Hope this helps.

hi blueracer, i've got a studio pre too and i'm gonna retubing it, what type of Tung Sol tubes do you suggest me? i saw there are different models, like gold pins, etc...

 

[Antoine]

On my MarkIV i have the new generation 12ax7 Chinese tubes, they are the Ruby ones, i find them to be my favorites !

 

[Blueracer]

Ciao ytse_jam,

The Tung Sol tubes I used were the reissue and not the gold. As I posted before I liked them very much however I cannot compare them with the reissue golds. Price difference is about 2x ($15 each for the "regular" and $30 for the gold in single quantity). If you try the golds post back and let us know what you think.

Off topic. I have been to Italy a few times and love the place. Been to Rome, Sardina and Napoli. Great country and people. Hope to get back there soon and try some new places like the Tuscan region.

Gary

 

[ytse_jam]

Off topic. I have been to Italy a few times and love the place. Been to Rome, Sardina and Napoli. Great country and people. Hope to get back there soon and try some new places like the Tuscan region.

Gary

i'm glad you liked italy! Oh yes, the tuscan region is very beatiful, there are also great wines there if you're interested... next time you'll visit italy take the time to visit Venice, i think it's a wonderful city. The only thing about my Country which i really dislike is politics!

 

[guitarmaster]

:!:

 

[ytse_jam]

Politica ? Ti riferisci a Romano Prodi? L'incapace????
Politics ? Do you speak about Romano Prodi ? The incompetent?????

eh eh, è così che lo conoscete all'estero?
comunque, che siano di destra o sinistra non importa, non vedo di buon occhio il sistema in generale...

ha ha! so, do you call him with that name abroad?
however, they can be of the one or of the other politic side, the fact is i don't like the whole system in general...

 

[guitarmaster]

:!:

 

[ytse_jam]

The Tung Sol tubes I used were the reissue and not the gold.

i've seen that there are also two versions of the reissue 12ax7: the standard one (goes for about $16) and the balanced triodes one (goes for about $19)... could you explain what are the differences (also in terms of tone, if you know)? is it worth to spend a little extra to get the balanced triodes 12ax7?

 

[zeppman]

The only time where a balanced pre-amp tube is important is when you are using it for the phase inverter. That's because the internal gain of both sides of the tube needs to be as close to equal as possible. It isn't all that important in any other stage of your amp.

 

[ytse_jam]

The only time where a balanced pre-amp tube is important is when you are using it for the phase inverter. That's because the internal gain of both sides of the tube needs to be as close to equal as possible. It isn't all that important in any other stage of your amp.

thanks for the clear explanation zeppman...so, sorry for my ignorance, but does every amp have a phase inverter stage?

 

[Aart]

Off topic. I have been to Italy a few times and love the place. Been to Rome, Sardina and Napoli. Great country and people. Hope to get back there soon and try some new places like the Tuscan region.

Gary

i'm glad you liked italy! Oh yes, the tuscan region is very beatiful, there are also great wines there if you're interested... next time you'll visit italy take the time to visit Venice, i think it's a wonderful city. The only thing about my Country which i really dislike is politics!

I like italy too.
Rome is a nice city, good weather, except the traffic everything is ok.
And Napoli, don't go into the hoods, everyone looks so strange at you :lol:

 

[Blueracer]

The only time where a balanced pre-amp tube is important is when you are using it for the phase inverter. That's because the internal gain of both sides of the tube needs to be as close to equal as possible. It isn't all that important in any other stage of your amp.

thanks for the clear explanation zeppman...so, sorry for my ignorance, but does every amp have a phase inverter stage?

Ciao ytse_jam,

Most amplifiers that have a push-pull power stage have a phase inverter. A push-pull power stage has an even number of power tubes (2, 4, 6, ...). Examples of power tubes would be 6L6, EL34, 6V6 and EL84. Your studio preamp will not have a phase inverter since there is not a power stage. There are amplifiers that have only one power tube, such as some of the older tweed amplifiers, that run in a mode called class A. These amplifiers do not have phase inverters and do not have a need for balanced preamp tubes.

As an aside I have a Marshall 6005 power amplifier that has a 12AX7 between the phase inverter and the EL34s. While this tube is not a phase inverter I did use a balanced tube at this location.

I will keep Venice in mind. I have heard it is a beautiful city and would be a great place to visit.

Gary

 

[ytse_jam]

thanks for the explanation one more time, gary

 

[Blueracer]

My pleasure ytse_jam. I hope it was helpful.

Gary

 

[Anonymous]

i have tri axis so i don't know how much i can be but i did a side by side test of E.H., JJ, mesa stcok, chinese 9th gen, and tung sol and the tung was the best of the bunch.
but if money is an issue dougstubes has the jj's unmarked for $7 and though out of the bunch they were a close 2nd and if you just play metal you might actually like them better. the only i say might is because i play metal i still liked the tungs better.
but they are not night and day i think. the real change in sound was when i changed the power tubes.

 

[ytse_jam]

i have tri axis so i don't know how much i can be but i did a side by side test of E.H., JJ, mesa stcok, chinese 9th gen, and tung sol and the tung was the best of the bunch.
but if money is an issue dougstubes has the jj's unmarked for $7 and though out of the bunch they were a close 2nd and if you just play metal you might actually like them better. the only i say might is because i play metal i still liked the tungs better.
but they are not night and day i think. the real change in sound was when i changed the power tubes.

what power tubes did you choose? Tung Sol 6L6 too?