Marshall branded Winged C 12ax7

R_ADKINS80 · Sep 19, 2008

I just went on a whim and purchased this tube off of ebay. What a surprise!!! This tube is sweet! It has a ton of gain, it was tested and rated at 120/120. The distortion and harmonics this thing gets is beautiful. It is alot quieter than the high gain EH's i had in the amp. My current gain stages are now the =C= in v1, tungsol reissue v2, and sovtek LPS v3. All of these tubes have been rated between 115 and 120 for high gain. I am finally starting to get the girth in my tone I have been looking for (i bought this amp new this year and it has about half the low end and gain with the bass/gain dimed as my buddy's '04 triple with the bass/gain on about half. We have very similar set-ups, ab's using same cabs, same power/pre tubes, guitar EVERYTHING..... and his decimates mine in every aspect. I am finally getting my amp to sound alot closer to his. Is there really gunna be that much difference between an '04 and an '08 triple rec? Mesa tells me these amps should be friggin clones but they are totally different animals even switch tubes from one amp to the other.

R_ADKINS80 · Sep 20, 2008

yeah i've looked into the rft's and other nos tubes.....i can never catch them though, and when I do I can't afford them.

212Mavguy · Sep 21, 2008

I think that for the somewhat spendy price and great quality of a Mesa amp the attitude that great tubes being unaffordable is self limiting.

The tone chain is most likely compromised from it's best potential for your ears and others... The tubes in Shredd's suggested setup are not prohibitively expensive. The RFT is going to be the spendiest, 40-50, Mullards commonly go for 30'ish, GE 6201/12at7 teens/ low 20's, Matsushita and GE longplate 15-25-ish. Do it a bit at a time. That's not much more than current issue stuff, and the construction and tonal quality is better with the vintage stuff.

I have some winged C 12ax7's with silver box style plates, they are big on bottom and bright on top, naturally mid scooped like no other 12ax7's I own. They came in my Siegmund when I bought it used. I have no use for them.

If you follow Shredd's suggestion, you will rejoice at the results. Peace.

R_ADKINS80 · Sep 21, 2008

Well I sold a Randall V2 and a few other small things to get this amp. I used what little money I could come up with to get the tubes that i do have. Now i don't have any extra cash until next tax time....that's gunna be when i take the NOS plunge.

BTW I LOVE this winged C in V1....it's my favorite out of the tubes I do have.

R_ADKINS80 · Sep 21, 2008

I have also been hearing about Sylvanias with the long grey ribbed plates. What do you guys think about those?

212Mavguy · Sep 21, 2008

The Sylvania long grayplate 12ax7 have a full fat bottom, strong mids, and a bright, sparkly top. If new they can be among the strongest 12ax7's gain wise. They have a tendency to become microphonic with age, meaning lots of on/off cycles and hours of use, not the number of calendar years since manufacture. They are a good value for the money, especially when compared to new production tubes. I personally prefer the much rarer Sylvania long blackplate 12ax7, and the short grayplate and short blackplate Sylvania 12ax7's. The long blackplate can also get pretty microphonic with use, but they are gorgeous sounding. NOS stands for new old stock, with the accent on the word "new," as in unused. Most vintage tubes are not unused, hence the term VOS (vintage old stock) is more accurate, and is typical of what you will find on ebay. True NOS tubes are much more expensive, and the lightly used ones can frequently sound better because they have been burned in. So when purchasing VOS tubes, realize that you are rolling the dice, and don't be disappointed if the first one you get for a given brand and type isn't wonderfully awesome. There will be others...With that said, I have had good luck with the vast majority of VOS tubes purchased on eBay. Keep the faith, and start methodically saving some cash. Peace.