6L6C
Well-known member
Nomad said:
Nomad
If you feel that strong about JJ’s EL34’s I’m willing to give them a shot!
tubes
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Nomad
If you feel that strong about JJ’s EL34’s I’m willing to give them a shot!
212Mavguy
Well-known member
Hi,
Nice posts. Charlie Kittleson sells great tubes no doubt, and if you have had the good fortune to read his VTV mag's 12ax7 shootout from a few years ago you will find some great descriptions for a lot of interesting vintage 12ax7's, and the tube that came in first place was not a Mullard, it was a Raytheon long blackplate with rectangular getter wire. I also have some long plate Mullard, Amperex, and Siemens. In one amp the Siemens sounds best, in another the Mullard sounds best, and in yet another the Amperex gets the nod. What makes things really interesting is how changes in bias for a 12ax7 affect it's sound. One of my amps has a bias knob for the V1 position, and the difference in sound from just one tube varying the bias knob is illuminating to say the least, in my Siegmund Midnight Blues Breaker head.
It is great to have a variety of vintage old stock tubes, and in many cases the vintage tube with a few hundred hours use sounds better than the brand new one of it's type. I have heard the modern production 12ax7 tubes from JJ, Reflektor, Shuguang, and Svetlana, to each his own, I much prefer the sounds of the vintage stuff, and I think it's fair to say that most of those who have seriously delved into vintage tubes share my opinion. There is no right or wrong here, however, it's what your ears prefer that counts, right? :wink:
It is interesting to occasionally see Mesa labeled Sylvania short gray plate 12ax7's and Siemens short plate 12ax7's, so it's important to remember that in the oldest days of Mesa, their tubes used at that time would be considered vintage old stock now. They sound different from the new stuff, but for large production runs the new stuff is all that can be found to put all new owners on a level playing field...IMO Mesa has tried to do their customers right as well as they can under present circumstances and deserves kudos for their efforts...
Regarding your words on cold bias and mesa sound, please do not forget the Blue Angel and Maverick, they are biased much hotter than the typical bias Mesa uses in most of their amps, they are called class A amps even though in the Maverick's case at least they probably don't get quite into full on class A operation due to the high plate voltage, like the Vox ac30. There is an interesting article in the Aiken amp website dealing thoroughly with the so called class A Vox AC 30 topic. Maverick and Blue Angel have their version of the classic Mesa sound as well. So in those amps as well as the simulclass amps you might very well see 70% bias settings on the Class A power tube sockets.
Nice posts. Charlie Kittleson sells great tubes no doubt, and if you have had the good fortune to read his VTV mag's 12ax7 shootout from a few years ago you will find some great descriptions for a lot of interesting vintage 12ax7's, and the tube that came in first place was not a Mullard, it was a Raytheon long blackplate with rectangular getter wire. I also have some long plate Mullard, Amperex, and Siemens. In one amp the Siemens sounds best, in another the Mullard sounds best, and in yet another the Amperex gets the nod. What makes things really interesting is how changes in bias for a 12ax7 affect it's sound. One of my amps has a bias knob for the V1 position, and the difference in sound from just one tube varying the bias knob is illuminating to say the least, in my Siegmund Midnight Blues Breaker head.
It is great to have a variety of vintage old stock tubes, and in many cases the vintage tube with a few hundred hours use sounds better than the brand new one of it's type. I have heard the modern production 12ax7 tubes from JJ, Reflektor, Shuguang, and Svetlana, to each his own, I much prefer the sounds of the vintage stuff, and I think it's fair to say that most of those who have seriously delved into vintage tubes share my opinion. There is no right or wrong here, however, it's what your ears prefer that counts, right? :wink:
It is interesting to occasionally see Mesa labeled Sylvania short gray plate 12ax7's and Siemens short plate 12ax7's, so it's important to remember that in the oldest days of Mesa, their tubes used at that time would be considered vintage old stock now. They sound different from the new stuff, but for large production runs the new stuff is all that can be found to put all new owners on a level playing field...IMO Mesa has tried to do their customers right as well as they can under present circumstances and deserves kudos for their efforts...
Regarding your words on cold bias and mesa sound, please do not forget the Blue Angel and Maverick, they are biased much hotter than the typical bias Mesa uses in most of their amps, they are called class A amps even though in the Maverick's case at least they probably don't get quite into full on class A operation due to the high plate voltage, like the Vox ac30. There is an interesting article in the Aiken amp website dealing thoroughly with the so called class A Vox AC 30 topic. Maverick and Blue Angel have their version of the classic Mesa sound as well. So in those amps as well as the simulclass amps you might very well see 70% bias settings on the Class A power tube sockets.
Yes I have read the Aiken article. A good read.
Thanks for the informative post MG.
Yes not all Mesa.
I do love the old tubes. Some of the stuff made today isnt that bad though.
Setting here trying to think of all the stuff I have. Sylvania, RCA, GE, Mullard, Raytheon, Tung Sol, and lots more. I was very fortunate a few years ago, a good friend of mine bought a company out and geuss what they had setting in a big box on a shelf in the back of their wharehouse? It was full of brand new Old Stock Tubes. Some of which were not for guitar amps but a good many of them were. They were all mostly Military Grade stuff that dated way back. Some of my favorites are the 12AU7's (I forget the Military number on them) but I love those tubes. I use them in my Andrews A-50 in V1. There is a place for all of em.
You wouldnt want to put a set of Sylvania 6L6's in the latest issue of the Hot Rod Deluxe or maybe you would.
Thanks for the informative post MG.
Yes not all Mesa.
I do love the old tubes. Some of the stuff made today isnt that bad though.
Setting here trying to think of all the stuff I have. Sylvania, RCA, GE, Mullard, Raytheon, Tung Sol, and lots more. I was very fortunate a few years ago, a good friend of mine bought a company out and geuss what they had setting in a big box on a shelf in the back of their wharehouse? It was full of brand new Old Stock Tubes. Some of which were not for guitar amps but a good many of them were. They were all mostly Military Grade stuff that dated way back. Some of my favorites are the 12AU7's (I forget the Military number on them) but I love those tubes. I use them in my Andrews A-50 in V1. There is a place for all of em.
You wouldnt want to put a set of Sylvania 6L6's in the latest issue of the Hot Rod Deluxe or maybe you would.
212Mavguy
Well-known member
Nomad,
we think alike in a lot of ways. Putting a set of Sylvania 6l6gc in a Hot Rod Deluxe seems sorta like putting a diamond ring in a pig's snout if I get your drift right... However, I might consider assembling a set of socket adaptors and sticking a pair of secret weapon Sylvania 6bg6ga in there, :wink: they are basically the same tube with a different pinout, they go for maybe 20-ish bucks a pair on ebay and have the same guts, wonderful tone.
As far as 12au7/5814a go, you will be absolutely thrilled by e80cc/6085. Spendy, but worth every penny. Same pinout, similar gain, nicer sound to my ears. The hifi weenie's demand for them have caused that tube to go for 35-65 bucks apiece on ebay. Very non-microphonic, gold pins, thick glass, etc. They are rated 10,000 hours. Saweet!
we think alike in a lot of ways. Putting a set of Sylvania 6l6gc in a Hot Rod Deluxe seems sorta like putting a diamond ring in a pig's snout if I get your drift right... However, I might consider assembling a set of socket adaptors and sticking a pair of secret weapon Sylvania 6bg6ga in there, :wink: they are basically the same tube with a different pinout, they go for maybe 20-ish bucks a pair on ebay and have the same guts, wonderful tone.
As far as 12au7/5814a go, you will be absolutely thrilled by e80cc/6085. Spendy, but worth every penny. Same pinout, similar gain, nicer sound to my ears. The hifi weenie's demand for them have caused that tube to go for 35-65 bucks apiece on ebay. Very non-microphonic, gold pins, thick glass, etc. They are rated 10,000 hours. Saweet!
Yeah thats what I ment about the HRDL. :lol:
Yeah I like thos 5814A's. Havent tried the others you mentioned. If there is high demand for that preamp tube doubt I fiddle with it. I pretty much have my Lifetime Tube Stash and thats about it on the money spending. I keep my buddy looking out for good finds and when he runs across them he lets me know. I usually end up with a box full of stuff from him for free. :lol:
For some reason the 12AU7 works well in front of the Andrews Amps. Its something Jeff Andrews cooked up. His Amp with a 12AU7 dimed is an "at the edge of breakup" sound that can easily be rolled back for gorgeous cleans or pushed with a Pedal for unruly Solo Tones. Stick a 12AX7 in it and it's a High Gain Monster.
With a failed Contstruction Company and the Economy in the ******* my Gear buying days have tapered off. I went from being on top of the world to being dead broke in about 8 months. Oh well I dont owe anyone any money and I'm paying my bills so we're getting by.
Yeah I like thos 5814A's. Havent tried the others you mentioned. If there is high demand for that preamp tube doubt I fiddle with it. I pretty much have my Lifetime Tube Stash and thats about it on the money spending. I keep my buddy looking out for good finds and when he runs across them he lets me know. I usually end up with a box full of stuff from him for free. :lol:
For some reason the 12AU7 works well in front of the Andrews Amps. Its something Jeff Andrews cooked up. His Amp with a 12AU7 dimed is an "at the edge of breakup" sound that can easily be rolled back for gorgeous cleans or pushed with a Pedal for unruly Solo Tones. Stick a 12AX7 in it and it's a High Gain Monster.
With a failed Contstruction Company and the Economy in the ******* my Gear buying days have tapered off. I went from being on top of the world to being dead broke in about 8 months. Oh well I dont owe anyone any money and I'm paying my bills so we're getting by.
212Mavguy
Well-known member
hey Trem, did those RCA's show up yet? Let us know what you think!
Hey Mavguy, not yet. Will update you when they come.
Currently in my Mark IV I have Tungsrams in V1 and V3, New Sensor Tung-Sols in V2 and V5, and real Mullard ECC81 in V4 (reverb). Can't say I'm not happy the way it is right now. KCA Mike says that the RCAs should be similar to the Tungsrams. We'll see.
Currently in my Mark IV I have Tungsrams in V1 and V3, New Sensor Tung-Sols in V2 and V5, and real Mullard ECC81 in V4 (reverb). Can't say I'm not happy the way it is right now. KCA Mike says that the RCAs should be similar to the Tungsrams. We'll see.
Killtone
Well-known member
I have been following this thread and it has inspired me to get into the NOS club. I noticed that there a tons of GE NOS tubes on E-Bay. Does anyone have an opinion on those?
I am looking for a good V1 tube for my Mark IV, but I don't want to spend a fortune.
Thanks
I am looking for a good V1 tube for my Mark IV, but I don't want to spend a fortune.
Thanks
Keep in mind that most of the old tubes on ebay are used, not NOS... chances are they have a lot of life left in 'em, but very few can be classified as NOS.Killtone said:
