Members hardtdc Posted December 8, 2007 Members Share Posted December 8, 2007 I have a Vintage Club 30 (96') model that I acquired about 5-6months ago. I recently noticed that it wants to cut out some (fade in and out) on the clean channel. So I figured either a power or pre-amp tube is going out. It has the original tubes in it and I figured I might as well put a quad each of new pre-amp and power tubes. I've been researching the different brands and without spending high dollar for old stock ones, what do you guys recommend for each? It appears that EI and TAD are some of the nicer ones mentioned but I'm unsure about the TAD's. From what I read, they run "hot" and the VC30's have the tubes placed in a way that they tend to heat up a lot anyway. Any suggestions on which brand and tonally how the react/longevity would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vintage clubber Posted December 8, 2007 Members Share Posted December 8, 2007 I've got Mesa tubes in mine... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members inkblot Posted December 8, 2007 Members Share Posted December 8, 2007 Doug at Dougstubes is very knowledgeable and helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members VanR Posted December 8, 2007 Members Share Posted December 8, 2007 JJ EL84's are some of the best EL84's going. Sound great and robust. I hear the TAD's are good too, but they cost quite a bit more. I'll stick with JJ's.As far as 12AX7's go I prefer the Chinese ones. Just my personal taste though. I hear good things about the Tung Sol reissues, but lately I hear of them failing on people. I just avoid anything made by Sovtek myself.Of course I ran into some old RCA 12AX7's in an old tube organ and grabbed those. Great sounding tubes. You may want to go the NOS route for 12AX7's. Cost more, but 12AX7's should last decades so you'll get your money's worth in the long run. You will go through EL84's in 6-9 months or so, so I wouldn't spend the money for NOS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jdjonsson Posted December 8, 2007 Members Share Posted December 8, 2007 JJs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bluelegacy Posted December 8, 2007 Members Share Posted December 8, 2007 Another vote for JJ's. I've got 'em in my C30 and have no complaints. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members xStonr Posted December 8, 2007 Members Share Posted December 8, 2007 There really is no one tube for everyone. I've been experimenting with tubes in my Classic 30. I've run jj's in the pre amp, i've run eh in the preamp, i've used mixtures of nos tubes with current production types. So tubes are something that can tweak your sound. But not as much as a new speaker can. Right now I'm trying to increase the clean headroom somewhat in my amp and smooth out the gain channel some. I'm using a GE NOS 5751 in V1 with a Tung Sol in V2 (dirty channel), and a NOS RCA in v3. For some tube suggestions it has been written earlier to try dougstubes.com or if you want some NOS tubes try kcanostubes.com. I've dealt with both and have been more than satisfied with both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Marc G Posted December 8, 2007 Members Share Posted December 8, 2007 I have normal EH 12AX7s and JJ EL84s..... the JJs sound GREAT..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Alchemist Posted December 8, 2007 Members Share Posted December 8, 2007 Mesa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikeSF Posted December 8, 2007 Members Share Posted December 8, 2007 JJ's from Bob Pletka at Eurotubes - he is fast and reliable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members curseoftruth Posted December 8, 2007 Members Share Posted December 8, 2007 JJs. +1 in my Marshall DSL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burningleaves Posted December 8, 2007 Members Share Posted December 8, 2007 I recently snagged a used C30 that came with JJ's in the power section and EH in the pre-amp section. Sounds pretty cool. I A-B'd it with my buddies C30 that runs GT's in the power section and The JJ's give the C30 a lot of "chime" in comparison. I am sticking with the JJ's for the power section of this amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pekelnik Posted December 8, 2007 Members Share Posted December 8, 2007 I use Tung-Sol RI 12ax7 in V1, Ei long plate RI (Telefunken clone) in V2 and again Tung-Sol in V3. TAD EL84's in poweramp (because i couldn't get anything besides TAD and Sovtek/EH locally). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jfaaz Posted December 8, 2007 Members Share Posted December 8, 2007 JJs. JJs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted December 8, 2007 Members Share Posted December 8, 2007 I really like Ei's, if you can still get ahold of suitable ones. JJ's, ok. EH, a little better. I'd like to try some TADs sometime. As for 12ax7's, EH, Tungsol, and 9th gen Chinese are all ok to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SUV Steve Posted December 9, 2007 Members Share Posted December 9, 2007 Like many others, JJ EL-84's and 12AX7EH's in my VC3112. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hardtdc Posted December 9, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 9, 2007 I really like Ei's, if you can still get ahold of suitable ones. JJ's, ok. EH, a little better. I'd like to try some TADs sometime. As for 12ax7's, EH, Tungsol, and 9th gen Chinese are all ok to me. What do you mean by "finding suitable ones" concerning the EI's? I see them advertised as being available from a couple of suppliers, but is there a certain stock type to look for that is better than others? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Crappymonkey Posted December 9, 2007 Members Share Posted December 9, 2007 I have JJ's in my VHT. Love 'em Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members VanR Posted December 9, 2007 Members Share Posted December 9, 2007 What do you mean by "finding suitable ones" concerning the EI's? I see them advertised as being available from a couple of suppliers, but is there a certain stock type to look for that is better than others? Ei had some quality control problems I hear. Their tubes were great if you found some good ones that actually worked. Which is probably why they are out of business now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Fury Posted December 9, 2007 Members Share Posted December 9, 2007 How do Ruby Tubes, stand up to some of the perviously mentioned brands?Theyre in my amp and I'm just curious, not trying ot thread jack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Fury Posted December 9, 2007 Members Share Posted December 9, 2007 damn, I killed this poor thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted December 9, 2007 Members Share Posted December 9, 2007 What do you mean by "finding suitable ones" concerning the EI's? I see them advertised as being available from a couple of suppliers, but is there a certain stock type to look for that is better than others?Well, you want them to fall within and area that your amp is designed for. And I believe that the Ei stuff that is out there is all there is going to ever be. I got my last set from Doug. He evidently bought a whole pile of them, in good values. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted December 9, 2007 Members Share Posted December 9, 2007 Ei had some quality control problems I hear. Their tubes were great if you found some good ones that actually worked. Which is probably why they are out of business now. Didn't the factory get torn up by the fighting in that area? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members telecaster911 Posted December 9, 2007 Members Share Posted December 9, 2007 I just retubed... TAD6L6WGC-STR (I know, you're looking for El84s) Tung-sol reissue 12ax7s and an EH12ay7. Sounds incredible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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