Tubes and Terrors

[woodddj]

I'm just curious to know, what different type pre/power tubes everyone uses in their terror amps or is everyone content with the stock tubes that come with it. Both my DKT and #4 came stock with JJ's and so far I'm pretty happy with the tone that I am getting. But I would like some input about other tubes like tung sol's , EH's or other types

[jason41224]

JJs are good. i'm surprised yours shipped with those. in terms of powertubes, i think I have a slight preference for EHX EL84s, but it's close. preamp tubes affect the sound more. JJs are on the darker end of the spectrum, with a bit more midrange. going to EHX or Tungsol will get brighter.

[woodddj]

Yea, I've seen a few comments about people mentioning that their amps came shipped with cheap Chinese tubes. I was shocked to see the JJ's. I have a few EHX 12ax7's, but i haven't tested them in my terrors yet. I had to change out some 84's that were flashing in my Dual terror that i use to have, and it was a bit of a pain putting those little screws back in. So I been a little lazy about swapping tubes. Lol

[Thinline_slim]

In the Terror I like JJ el84s. I think their gain is better with the Terror voicing.

As for preamp I'm using an RFT 12ax7 (replaced a JJ with it) and a Jan Phillips 5751. I remember exactly which is V1 and V2 but I think I ended up with the 5751 in V1 and RFT in V2.

[woodddj]

In the Terror I like JJ el84s. I think their gain is better with the Terror voicing.

As for preamp I'm using an RFT 12ax7 (replaced a JJ with it) and a Jan Phillips 5751. I remember exactly which is V1 and V2 but I think I ended up with the 5751 in V1 and RFT in V2.

im probably leaning torwards the tungsol, but the RFT and the jan philips have me wondering. ive got some EHX and some JJ"s. i think i will probably try to snag me a couple of diffent outher tubes and try some tube rolling, just to see what kind of sounds i can get. i hear a lot of talk about other types of NOS tubes, but i dont want to spend a small fortune on glass

[OrangeJuicer]

IMO the TungSol 12AX7 is the best bang for the buck !
The whole tone sprectrum is pretty "cleaned up", very linear but not HI-FI.
Basses are tight, mids are mellow and creamy and the highs are shiny with a bit of "glass" but no shrillness.

JJ's are a bit more midrangey , thats what the most of the people call "the warm tube sound".
I like them in V1 in very very bright amps or in V2 for cremier distortion.

I have no opinion on EHX and the Chinese Shuguang have good gain and a good amount of highs, sometimes ear-piercing and a P-I-T-A for classic amps like Orange, Fender, Vox but they do a good job in modern high-gain amps in the drivestage my amp-tech says (i do not own an amp with broootal gain on tap so I can't confirm this statement ....).
From Sovtek, I only use a 12AX7LPS as phase inverter. Works great for me


Mostly I use a TungSol 12AX7 in V1 position and a JJ ECC83S or a ECC803S (the bass with this tube is a bit more voluminous and tighter) in V2. V3 = Sovtek 12AX7LPS