For experienced old Mark IV owners: Mark IV tube in V4

[Russ]

I have wanted to play into a cave opening too to see what it would sound like. There are some caverns out here in Carlsbad that would be neat to try it at. I would just need a portable generator to bring power.

 

[Shep]

yeah there are some cool tunnels near where i live.. the best Echo/reverb..... it decays in about 20 seconds...lol

 

[Russ]

nice....

 

[Shep]

hey i am bidding on a couple of 12at7's on ebay...tellefunkel...(can't spell it but i sure you know wat i'm talk about ) and tobshiba japan...there NOS...would they suite my mk iv as the 12at7 valve...

 

[Russ]

Yes, a Telefunken would be a fine 12at7 to have in there. Toshiba is known in other circles for their commitment to quality so I am sure that they picked out some nice Matsushita tubes to use. The Japanese tubes were modeled after the Mullard. They don't quite sound the same but they are still a quality tube. Many overlook them. Their flavor isn't exactly what you get from any of the European tubes nor the American tubes. It falls somewhere in the middle. It isn't a Chinese tube but some do not care for them. From what I have heard they are nice tubes. Just don't expect the gain of a Chinese tube nor the stunning musical flavor of a Mullard. In a 12at7 I am not as familiar as I am with the 12ax7s. I have heard that Telefunken 12at7s are not quite what they do for the 12ax7 world. The Mullard 12at7 is supposed to be really killer. I have also heard that the RCA is a nice 12at7. Check out JAN Phillips 12at7. I had one in my Mark IV but I replaced it with an EH unless I want something special. I also had a JAN Phillips 12ax7 but it was half fried. I wish I could have had the tube a little longer before it went south they sound really good. On a side note try Sylvania 12ax7s. They are pretty nice in the Boogie. My GE 12ax7 longplates sound pretty good but I don't have many to spare so again they stay out unless I need something special. For general purposes about any tube will work but you just won't get the most out of them. Some have better color than others. Some have more gain. It is personal preference there.

 

[Shep]

wat about brima i think thats how it's spelled...

 

[Russ]

Brimar made good tubes too.

 

[Shep]

i just bought 3 brimar 12at7 new old stock cv4024's 1950's-1960's $19 AUS..in great cond...and a toshiba 1970's japan$3.25 AUS....hahah..i looked at tubeworld.com and a match pair of the same brimar $85 US...so i am happy...and i am getting the jj high gain for the rest of the board..

 

[Russ]

Sounds like you did well. You'll have to let me know how those tubes sound together. I am constantly playing musical tubes (please excuse the pun- not intentional). I would like to ultimately find the set I stick with. It just seems that everytime I plug in a different guitar and have a mood swing my tastes change thus I am popping tubes in and out all the time. It is just easier than amp shopping because if you already have an amp that you like it is like getting a different amp sometimes with a couple quick swaps. You'll see after you swap your tubes Shep. It kind of gets addicting a little. You might end up with a small library of tubes. The nice thing is that sometimes it only takes changing a single tube to sweeten your tone or add distortion. So the cost to change ratio becomes small if you already have some to play with. Of course some NOS are really expensive but then again they give a more sought after tone than others. NOS pricing is set by the standard supply and demand theory. There are not an unending supply of them nor are they in current production thus they are limited to what is floating around. Then there are more and more people looking for those tubes so the prices keep going up. Better land a good stock while they are relatively available....