Time for a re-tube

[Triple Cheeseburger]

i am aware of the amount of re-tubing a recto threads there are, i have searched through alot of them, thee only reason i am making a new thread is that where i am located seems to limit me on my options (australia - not as good as its cracked up to be), and i have never replaced pre-amp tubes before so i am after a few opinions. I have a 2009 Dual Rectifier 3ch and i am looking to just improve overall performance (especially the clean channel). i mosly use the modern gain settings however i have been using raw a little as of late.

Throughout my reading i have found that most prefer a low gain 12AT7 in the phase inverter position. i managed to find a NOS Phillips 12AT7 for a good price ($18) Good idea?

I am most curious as to the V1 position, my other choices are gold pin versions of the Tung-Sol and Electro Harmonix for around $30ea and JJ regular ecc83s for $18 (im sure the EHX and Tung-Sol are available non-gold pin but i just assume the gold pin are of a much higher quality)
Basically i would like to know where i should put which to get optimum performance.

again, i am aware that many of thses threads pop up but i dont have alot of options over here. and i would prefer not to have to order from overseas.

thanks

 

[fluff191]

I would put the Tun-Sol in V1 and the EH's in V2 and/or V3.

I am not a huge fan of the JJ preamp tubes. They sound a little muddy and 'general' to me, but that's just my personal opinion.

As for the gold plated tubes, they make better contact due to the gold, but I have never heard any sound difference at all.

You should be happy with the tubes you have picked out.

 

[mikey383]

Be aware that a 12AT7 in the phase inverter position will lower the overall gain of the amp. Because this tube regulates how hard the power tubes are hit with the preamp signal, using a low gain tube is a bad idea if you're wanting high gain from the amp. If you want the overall tone to be cleaner, by all means, go ahead. Just don't expect channel 2 and 3 to sound the same. Kinda like going from Modern to Raw.

 

[Triple Cheeseburger]

definately something to think about. will i benefit from changing it at all?

 

[Triple Cheeseburger]

sorry to bump this again. the manual mentioned something about leaving the amp on standby when replacing pre-amp tubes - is this safe? it would be handy trying them out in a few different spots.

 

[Heritage Softail]

To me it seem like off and unplugged would be nice and safe. How much work is it to unplug and flip a switch?

 

[mikey383]

It's safe to change tubes with the amp in standby. It removes all high voltage from the tubes, but leaves the tube heaters active. You won't harm anything by changing tubes with the amp on standby, except for maybe your hand if you decide to swap power tubes (they'll be hot!).