Members mrbrown49 Posted November 28, 2006 Members Share Posted November 28, 2006 I play out of an ampeg superocket 100 watt combo. I am interested in swapping preamp tubes to try and get a sweeter sound with a litte more sparkle. Right now it is stock with 12ax7 pres and 6L6 power tubes. Suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members molsen Posted November 28, 2006 Members Share Posted November 28, 2006 these 12ax7 tubes get great reviews:http://www.tubedepot.com/ts-12ax7.html or http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Tungsol-12AX7-Tube?sku=212231 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Beck Posted November 29, 2006 Members Share Posted November 29, 2006 If you have the Sovtek or Chinese made 12AX7, try the Ei ECC83. It Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrbrown49 Posted November 29, 2006 Author Members Share Posted November 29, 2006 Groovy. Thanks guys. i will give a couple a try. How do the ECC83 compare to 12ax7 in terms of gain? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members molsen Posted November 29, 2006 Members Share Posted November 29, 2006 ecc83 is the same as 12ax7, just the european designation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted December 1, 2006 Members Share Posted December 1, 2006 lower gain preamp tube have less sparkle to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TimmyP Posted December 2, 2006 Members Share Posted December 2, 2006 The Tung-Sol was highly recommended to be by a vendor who's known for his testing and sonic evaluations of tubes. (He wasn't trying to sell me anything, as we buy from the same supplier that he does.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members synthetronic Posted December 4, 2006 Members Share Posted December 4, 2006 Can anyone tell me what difference substituting a 12AX7 with a 12AT7 makes? We just got a semibroken Fender Showman with the 12AT7 inverter tube (the one that splits the signal for push-pull use) replaced with a 12AX7. Seems to work but distorts a bit early, which would go with the increased gain on a 12AX7. Has anyone tried both? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrbrown49 Posted December 5, 2006 Author Members Share Posted December 5, 2006 Originally posted by synthetronic Can anyone tell me what difference substituting a 12AX7 with a 12AT7 makes? We just got a semibroken Fender Showman with the 12AT7 inverter tube (the one that splits the signal for push-pull use) replaced with a 12AX7. Seems to work but distorts a bit early, which would go with the increased gain on a 12AX7. Has anyone tried both? I have only tried both in the first preamp slot of my ampeg superocket. The 12AT7 was a bit smoother, cleaner, and sweeter sounding. I loved that sound but I couldn't push the amp as hard for OD. The 12AX7 had a more bite and grit with a punchier overdrive. The tonal characteristics were a bit different too but not sure if that is a direct result of the tubes or the tubes interaction with the other circuitry. How does it sound with the 12AX7 in the inverter slot? Is it beneficial to you have it break up early. I read alot on here about people really having push their fenders to get them to breakup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members synthetronic Posted December 6, 2006 Members Share Posted December 6, 2006 Originally posted by mrbrown49 I have only tried both in the first preamp slot of my ampeg superocket. The 12AT7 was a bit smoother, cleaner, and sweeter sounding. I loved that sound but I couldn't push the amp as hard for OD. The 12AX7 had a more bite and grit with a punchier overdrive. The tonal characteristics were a bit different too but not sure if that is a direct result of the tubes or the tubes interaction with the other circuitry. How does it sound with the 12AX7 in the inverter slot? Is it beneficial to you have it break up early. I read alot on here about people really having push their fenders to get them to breakup. Thanks, that's really useful to know. Essentially the sound was breaking up at lower volumes than we were expecting, and looking at the spec made me think it could be the 12AX7 doing that; your experience would seem to confirm this suspicion. The amp also seemed a little quieter than we expected though this looks to be down to an intermittent short to ground in the choke (at least, I assume that's what it is--the fault makes the power lamp flicker, but only with the standby switch closed--and furthermore, the choke (we think) makes noises like a kettle boiling--so probably something in there is drawing a lot of current). It might be that we want to keep it that way (distorted, not shorted) but it depends how we use it. Currently we're planning to build a cabinet for a 15" JBL driver using JBL specs and run the Fender through that--we think it might make a sweet bass amp to replace my current Gallien-Krueger, in which case the clean headroom would probably be a good idea. Currently it sounds a little crunchy when played with a bass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted December 6, 2006 Moderators Share Posted December 6, 2006 Originally posted by mrbrown49 I play out of an ampeg superocket 100 watt combo. I am interested in swapping preamp tubes to try and get a sweeter sound with a litte more sparkle. Right now it is stock with 12ax7 pres and 6L6 power tubes. Suggestions? Preamp tubes aren't expensive. I suggest you buy several, and try them out. See which ones you like in your amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrbrown49 Posted December 7, 2006 Author Members Share Posted December 7, 2006 Originally posted by isaac42 Preamp tubes aren't expensive. I suggest you buy several, and try them out. See which ones you like in your amp. I'm going this weekend to my amp guy to get a bunch. Thanks for your suggestions guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members John S. Shinal Posted December 7, 2006 Members Share Posted December 7, 2006 Originally posted by synthetronic Can anyone tell me what difference substituting a 12AX7 with a 12AT7 makes? We just got a semibroken Fender Showman with the 12AT7 inverter tube (the one that splits the signal for push-pull use) replaced with a 12AX7. Seems to work but distorts a bit early, which would go with the increased gain on a 12AX7. Has anyone tried both? Some people use 12AX7s in the phase splitter position like you mention, but sometimes the little bit of distortion it adds there is not really all that pleasant. A 12AT7 has less gain and will preserve the signal (distorted or otherwise) from the preamp, allowing it to be mangled instead by the power stage. For the original poster, I happen to like 12AY7s in the first preamp position of lower gain amps. They have less gain than a 12AX7, but tend to distort more readily than a 12AX7 if you hit them with a fat signal, like from a hot pickup or a clean boost pedal. The 12AY7 sounds pretty nice when it breaks up, too - not fizzy, more of a growl. I like the 5751 also, it was a mil-spec 12AX7 that was made to tighter specifications, so true 5751s are "NOS only." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members synthetronic Posted December 7, 2006 Members Share Posted December 7, 2006 I'll suggest the 12AY7 to Andy, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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