Having massive love affair with Amperex 12AX7s

[Guiary]

After trying out a couple that I've had lying around for about a year or so I've fallen in love with them again! Great sounding tube! Kind of reminds me of everything the TungSol RI wishes it could be.

 

Whether it has a large halo getter or a small halo getter they both sound great! Small getter offers very punchy bass in a V1 position. The 3D mids

 

Why can't someone try and make reissue of these? I've begun stock piling as fast as I can and hope they last for a very very long time.

 

 

That is all, just want to express my new love for Amperex

[Oblivion DC]

Yeah they are nice! I've got one in the V2 slot on my Cobra (got a smooth plate Telefunkin in V1) and it is nice and thick without being bass heavy and the highs don't blister your ears.

 

I might have to grab a drawer-full of both myself...

[Guiary]

Yeah they are nice! I've got one in the V2 slot on my Cobra (got a smooth plate Telefunkin in V1) and it is nice and thick without being bass heavy and the highs don't blister your ears. I might have to grab a drawer-full of both myself...

 

Just curious what are you running in your phase inverter? and have you tried your smooth plate in the PI?

 

I have a Telefunken 12AT7 that has just been shipped which I wanna try. Also just noticed that the 2 telefunken ribbed plates I have are long plates, so I wanna give those a try too. I have no idea whether all telefunken ribbed plates are long plates (or all Telefunken's in general), so it might not be as special as I thought it was.

 

Currently there's a Sovtek LPS in my PI slot.

[Guiary]

I might have to grab a drawer-full of both myself...

 

I know what you mean! Just scored 12 Philips 12AX7 (Elecrohome branded made in Canada to Amperex/Philips specs) which all had the I65 etched code for about $150 on Ebay. Now I just need to stock up on Mullard 12AX7 etched with I63.

[Oblivion DC]

I know what you mean! Just scored 12 Philips 12AX7 (Elecrohome branded made in Canada to Amperex/Philips specs) which all had the I65 etched code for about $150 on Ebay. Now I just need to stock up on Mullard 12AX7 etched with I63.

 

 

 

Sex!!

[Guiary]

 

I use Amperex, Telefunkin, Valvo, and Mullard.

 

 

Have I been spelling Telefunken wrong?!? oops.

 

Those Valvo ones, aren't they either made by Mullard or Telefunk_n? Or were they their own manufacturing company?

 

I'm just starting to understand that one easiest ways to know what tube is what is by the etching code... But how would you know other wise if no code exists? Do you just try and compare visually to one of the known designs?

[treedroppings]

I got my Amperex ax7's and 3 l84s from an estate sale for $35

 

and I still got the '65 packard bell stereo they came with

[sonofabias]

After trying out a couple that I've had lying around for about a year or so I've fallen in love with them again! Great sounding tube! Kind of reminds me of everything the TungSol RI wishes it could be. Whether it has a large halo getter or a small halo getter they both sound great! Small getter offers very punchy bass in a V1 position. The 3D mids Why can't someone try and make reissue of these? I've begun stock piling as fast as I can and hope they last for a very very long time. That is all, just want to express my new love for Amperex

 

:love:My tech loves Amperex 12ax's , he talks about them whenever we get into a discussion.

[mcr23]

I might have to grab a drawer-full of both myself...

 

aren't they expensive????

[glip22]

After trying out a couple that I've had lying around for about a year or so I've fallen in love with them again! Great sounding tube! Kind of reminds me of everything the TungSol RI wishes it could be. Whether it has a large halo getter or a small halo getter they both sound great! Small getter offers very punchy bass in a V1 position. The 3D mids Why can't someone try and make reissue of these? I've begun stock piling as fast as I can and hope they last for a very very long time. That is all, just want to express my new love for Amperex

 

Hi Gary, You should give the old Tesla e83cc Silver,not gold pins a try. Make sure they are frame grids and not relabled RFT. The Siemens triple mica is also a great tube, and the Mazda french grey plate. These are the best nos for guitar imo. I have tried them all except the Tele ecc803s. I tried the regular Amperex and the Bugle boys. I found them to be very nice but more for audio. The Tesla and Siemens sound great in my Hydra or any amp I put them in. I actually don't love nos Mullard. The Teslas are the most consistent nos tube I have seen. They have very high transconductance(fast rise)

[charveldan]

Hi Gary, You should give the old Tesla e83cc Silver,not gold pins a try. Make sure they are frame grids and not relabled RFT. The Siemens triple mica is also a great tube, and the Mazda french grey plate. These are the best nos for guitar imo. I have tried them all except the Tele ecc803s. I tried the regular Amperex and the Bugle boys. I found them to be very nice but more for audio. The Tesla and Siemens sound great in my Hydra or any amp I put them in. I actually don't love nos Mullard. The Teslas are the most consistent nos tube I have seen. They have very high transconductance(fast rise)

Bugle boi's "more for audio"? i should flame you for liking Tesla tubes more than Mullards, which tells me you either got some bad tubes or you wouldn't know good tone if it sat in your lap.

 

Anyway more tOObs for me, and your entitled to your opinion........oh and STFU nOOb.:love::love::love:

[Oblivion DC]

aren't they expensive????

 

 

They aren't cheap but they don't cost as much as NOS Mullards do and they will probably go up in price as the supply runs out. The best way to go about buying a bunch of them is just picking up one or two every paycheck, and by the end of a year you'll have somewhere in the neighborhood of 26-52, which is not a bad stash o' tubes.

 

[glip22]

Bugle boi's "more for audio"? i should flame you for liking Tesla tubes more than Mullards, which tells me you either got some bad tubes or you wouldn't know good tone if it sat in your lap. Anyway more tOObs for me, and your entitled to your opinion........oh and STFU nOOb. :love: :love: :love:

 

Dear Eric Johnson , I very much apologize for offending you. Had I realized it was you himself, I never would have posted MY opinion. You are truly an inspiration to all of us. I am going out right now to buy as many Mullards as I can find. Thank you so much for giving the world "GREAT TONE" You are

my HERO!!!:

[charveldan]

Dear Eric Johnson , I very much apologize for offending you. Had I realized it was you himself, I never would have posted MY opinion. You are truly an inspiration to all of us. I am going out right now to buy as many Mullards as I can find. Thank you so much for giving the world "GREAT TONE" You are my HERO!!!:

It's all good, don't take it personal, tubes are tubes, maybe when you get out of High school and you've been paying into your 401K for a couple of decades you can appreciate a 60 year old tube FWIW.........and for the record if i could play like EJ, i wouldn't have time for pissing off school kids on teH computer.:cop::cop::cop:

[Guiary]

Hi Gary, You should give the old Tesla e83cc Silver,not gold pins a try. Make sure they are frame grids and not relabled RFT. The Siemens triple mica is also a great tube, and the Mazda french grey plate. These are the best nos for guitar imo. I have tried them all except the Tele ecc803s. I tried the regular Amperex and the Bugle boys. I found them to be very nice but more for audio. The Tesla and Siemens sound great in my Hydra or any amp I put them in. I actually don't love nos Mullard. The Teslas are the most consistent nos tube I have seen. They have very high transconductance(fast rise)

 

I'll keep an eye open for those Telsa silver ones. Those Triple mica ones have caught my attention a couple of times but never at a price I'm willing to spend (I'm cheap ). Mazda french grey plate? How would those stand out more than others? I mean how would I be able to tell it was the one you're suggesting and not say a Mullard, which I hear are often Mazda rebranded... mind you I may be wrong on that. I've been cramping in so much information in regards to some of these tubes it's getting a little overwhelming, example: what tube was rebranded what manufacture are all kind of merging into one.

 

But no love for the Amperex hey? Which getters did you try? D, large halo, small halo?

 

 

Edit: Nevermind, I found a Mazda french grey plate and holy {censored} are they expensive!!! sadly I don't think I'll be trying that one out any time soon.

[glip22]

It's all good, don't take it personal, tubes are tubes, maybe when you get out of High school and you've been paying into your 401K for a couple of decades you can appreciate a 60 year old tube FWIW.........and for the record if i could play like EJ, i wouldn't have time for pissing off school kids on teH computer. :cop: :cop: :cop:

 

No sweat!! I wish I was still in high school. I'm 42.

[Guiary]

glip22,

 

Speaking of the other tubes you recommended what kind of sounds should I expect from them? Especially that Mazda french grey plate, they look pretty cool!

[glip22]

 

glip22, Speaking of the other tubes you recommended what kind of sounds should I expect from them? Especially that Mazda french grey plate, they look pretty cool!

 

 

The Teslas do not add much tonal coloration. They are evenly balanced across the spectrum. They have a very nice breakup and they allow the amp's character to shine through.They also last for years. All of the ones I had tested higher than any other tube for transconductance.I have had approximately 100 of them(mostly gold pins I purchased to sell) I just sold four actual Tesla Ecc803s long plates. I didn't really like them for guitar either. They are very rare and mostly found as fakes. Mine had the bar across the top plate which the getter was supported on and the small glass dimples at the top of the pins in the base. The Siemens has a nice percussiveness to it, more so in the highs. The Mazda has a higher gain structure and has a really nice bass and top end. It drives hard. I find all three of these to be very clear sounding also. For me, in the amps I have tried them in, the Mullards were always too dark and added alot of coloration in the mids.Some people prefer this. I tried all of the Mullard types(M8137,CV492,Ecc83 long plate and short and both white and yellow labels. They do have a nice drive but I personally did not like how they affected my mids in the five amps I tried them in. I do hear they compliment the old Marshalls well. I also found the Telefunkens,smooth and ribbed plate, to be too bright. The Amperex sort of sat in between the Mullard and Telefunken for brightness. I liked the standard Amperex for guitar, but not the foil strip getter Bugle Boys. Not that they were bad, I just preferred the top three I mentioned. You can find all of these not horribly expensive on ebay if you are patient. Again, I am no expert. I have bought and sold many 12ax7 types and el34 types on ebay, but that's my extent of it. My favorite el34 is the Amperex dd getters. I just sold five quads of them. Great el34. The Mullards are also super nice, but only the single large o getter XF2 codes for guitar. The double o's were too hifi for my taste. The XF3 and 4 codes(stapled plates) are nice but do not have the harmonic content of the Amperex. I am running the new Gold Lion KT88's in my Hydra now. Nice tubes for new production. Again, this is all my opinion and experience with these tube types in the amps I have tried them in.

[mcr23]

They aren't cheap but they don't cost as much as NOS Mullards do and they will probably go up in price as the supply runs out. The best way to go about buying a bunch of them is just picking up one or two every paycheck, and by the end of a year you'll have somewhere in the neighborhood of 26-52, which is not a bad stash o' tubes.

 

How long do they last in v1 generally?

[glip22]

 

How long do they last in v1 generally?

 

 

I have had a Tesla e83cc in my V1 position for four years. I have only been playing for about 6-8 hours a week. That tube still tests 1500+ micromhos on both triodes and shows very minimal flashing degradation. They are are rated for 10,000 hours. The Siemens and Mazda I have found in the last year. I havn't used them for any lenghth of time. I also like the new production Tung Sols. The only problem was the four of them I tried didn't last barely six months. I often pull the pres out to test them. If you are so inclined you can check my ebay account Gbopp22. I am nothing more than a hobbyist. Most of the feedback is tube related. I sold a fair amount outside of ebay. I just liquidated most of what I had left. In need of cash.

[mcr23]

If you are so inclined you can check my ebay account Gbopp22. I am nothing more than a hobbyist. Most of the feedback is tube related. I sold a fair amount outside of ebay. I just liquidated most of what I had left. In need of cash.

 

you don't have any for sale right now

[Guiary]

 

I am running the new Gold Lion KT88's in my Hydra now. Nice tubes for new production. Again, this is all my opinion and experience with these tube types in the amps I have tried them in.

 

 

Nice bit of information there! Those Siemens have me very interested for the V2 position in the Hydra (currently running V1: Amperex/Philips/Electrohome [whatever you wanna call it] V2: Mullard IEC (really like it but may be a little too smooth and dark) V3: see V1 and V4 Sovtek LPS), as I mentioned in my parentheses I think the Mullard might be a little too dark.

 

I would really like to know how those gold lions are. I currently have Penta Labs KT88SC in mine.

 

Oh and what tube are you using for your phase inverter? I'm just waiting for a Telefunken 12AT7 to arrive which I'm planning on trying, but I'd like to hear your suggestions/ opinion.

 

Thanks

[Oblivion DC]

 

I have had a Tesla e83cc in my V1 position for four years. I have only been playing for about 6-8 hours a week. That tube still tests 1500+ micromhos on both triodes and shows very minimal flashing degradation. They are are rated for 10,000 hours. The Siemens and Mazda I have found in the last year. I havn't used them for any lenghth of time. I also like the new production Tung Sols. The only problem was the four of them I tried didn't last barely six months. I often pull the pres out to test them. If you are so inclined you can check my ebay account Gbopp22. I am nothing more than a hobbyist. Most of the feedback is tube related. I sold a fair amount outside of ebay. I just liquidated most of what I had left. In need of cash.

 

 

 

Like the man says, they can last a really long time especially if you're not running them in a hot club and then loading out right away and bouncing them around in the back of a truck. Those old tubes were used for lots of things back in the day and they were made to be reliable so they not only sound better but they last longer than most modern tubes.

[Guiary]

Those Siemens triple mica, were they E83CC?

[Oblivion DC]

I have had a Tesla e83cc in my V1 position for four years. I have only been playing for about 6-8 hours a week . That tube still tests 1500+ micromhos on both triodes and shows very minimal flashing degradation. They are are rated for 10,000 hours. The Siemens and Mazda I have found in the last year. I havn't used them for any lenghth of time. I also like the new production Tung Sols. The only problem was the four of them I tried didn't last barely six months. I often pull the pres out to test them. If you are so inclined you can check my ebay account Gbopp22. I am nothing more than a hobbyist. Most of the feedback is tube related. I sold a fair amount outside of ebay. I just liquidated most of what I had left. In need of cash.

 

 

I like how you say only 6-8 hours a week. I started thinking about it and for me it would be about the normal amount for a musician playing in an "originals" band. Three band practices lasting two hours each and then a one hour set on Friday and Saturday nights add up to 8 hours of use a week. That you've had it in for four years speaks volumes about the reliability of these old tubes.