Tube Talk - Tung Sol 12ax7 and a JJ ecc803s
Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 5:47 pm
I picked up a few current production preamp tubes for my Vox AC15c1 yesterday. I got two of the Tung Sol 12ax7 and a JJ ecc803s long plate. I put a Tung Sol in V1, the JJ long plate in V2, and the other Tung Sol in the V3 phase inverter spot.
Well, they are an improvement over the stock China B 12ax7 but I'm not sure how I feel about them. The amp lost some low end it seems, and the overdrive sounds really boring now. It's clearer sounding now, but there is something I don't like about it. It has no character. It's like kind of buzzsaw-ish. It's smoother, but has no dynamic range. I'm getting a lot of upper mids and not much else. The Chinese tubes were muddy as hell, but they seemed to have a more complex overdrive sound. I haven't put the back panel back on yet though, so that might be the problem as it's nearly a closed back. I think I might switch the long plate JJ to V1 later today.
Also, I still have the stock Chinese el84s in there so that's part of the issue.
Anyone used the Tung Sol reissues before? Any comparisons you can offer? One of the techs working at Schroeder Guitar and Amp repair said they load the Tung Sol into their custom amps, and Tim Schroeder had chose them over all other current production tubes because they feel they are the most musical.
How about the JJ ecc803s? I'm not quite sure how it's supposed to compare to a 12ax7. I kind of bought the long plate on a whim and the guy at Schroeder recommended I try one. I've always stuck to regular 12ax7 in my amps.
Well, they are an improvement over the stock China B 12ax7 but I'm not sure how I feel about them. The amp lost some low end it seems, and the overdrive sounds really boring now. It's clearer sounding now, but there is something I don't like about it. It has no character. It's like kind of buzzsaw-ish. It's smoother, but has no dynamic range. I'm getting a lot of upper mids and not much else. The Chinese tubes were muddy as hell, but they seemed to have a more complex overdrive sound. I haven't put the back panel back on yet though, so that might be the problem as it's nearly a closed back. I think I might switch the long plate JJ to V1 later today.
Also, I still have the stock Chinese el84s in there so that's part of the issue.
Anyone used the Tung Sol reissues before? Any comparisons you can offer? One of the techs working at Schroeder Guitar and Amp repair said they load the Tung Sol into their custom amps, and Tim Schroeder had chose them over all other current production tubes because they feel they are the most musical.
How about the JJ ecc803s? I'm not quite sure how it's supposed to compare to a 12ax7. I kind of bought the long plate on a whim and the guy at Schroeder recommended I try one. I've always stuck to regular 12ax7 in my amps.