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Post by carrjimi on Sept 4, 2010 20:42:50 GMT -7
Just put in a Mullard el84 and a RCA 12ax7 NOS in V1 and V2. It really smooths out the amp. Thinking about getting some NOS power tubes. Any ideas out there?
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Post by ctmarsha on Oct 15, 2010 9:34:57 GMT -7
I have the same question. Just bought a used Stang Ray and I am interested in trying some new tubes out... not sure when they were replaced if at all. It currently has all Sovtek minus the JJ rectifier. Anyone know what sounds best in the Stang Ray? Where to find them?
Thanks
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Post by Hohn on Oct 17, 2010 5:50:16 GMT -7
I dunno about "best"- but I think JJs for power tubes are the way to go (widely available, pretty consistent, not too expensive).
I don't know of any EF86s that have the sparkle of the Dario, so I went back to it after an ill-advised GT experiment. The GT EF86 lost all the high end mojo-- really a tone-killing tube, imo.
I don't know what I'm using for a PI these days-- could be a JJ as well, but it is matched (real important for PIs).
I'm using the NOS JAN/Phillips 5AR4 from KCANOSTUBES. Great tube, and will probably never need to be change (based on Myles' assessment of it).
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Post by Phil (aka Phil) on Oct 20, 2010 4:21:00 GMT -7
I always spend more money on NOS preamp tubes and use all new production power tubes these days. The power tubes wear out too quickly to justify the expense and Z's are tuned to sound the best they can with the new production power tubes.
I confirmed this a few years ago when I tried my $400 a pair NOS RCA blackplate 6L6's in my (then new) EZG-50 and found that the stock Winged "C" tubes sounded MUCH better in that amp. YMMV.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2010 7:19:57 GMT -7
I always spend more money on NOS preamp tubes and use all new production power tubes these days. The power tubes wear out too quickly to justify the expense and Z's are tuned to sound the best they can with the new production power tubes. I confirmed this a few years ago when I tried my $400 a pair NOS RCA blackplate 6L6's in my (then new) EZG-50 and found that the stock Winged "C" tubes sounded MUCH better in that amp. YMMV. Another set of those and you could buy a Ghia!
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Post by teleray on Dec 21, 2010 11:56:36 GMT -7
I always use the aforementioned NOS JAN/Phillips mislabeled 5AR4 from kcanostubes, a dario miniwatt EF86 (wish I had more of these, they're getting harder to find), and a moderately priced ($50 or so) 12AX7, I think it's a JAN Raytheon. New production JJ EL84s all the way. I get tons of compliments from sound guys and audience when loaded like this.
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Post by paul1904 on Jan 2, 2011 4:50:50 GMT -7
I just bought a used Stang Ray a few months ago, and retubed it with all JJ's and it sounds GREAT.
You can't go wrong with JJ's.
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Post by robb on Jan 6, 2011 7:10:55 GMT -7
I've always gone with NOS preamp tubes and rectifiers in most of my amps, but stick with production power tubes - for me, power tubes wear out too fast and just get too expensive to use NOS if you're gigging regularly. My amp is usually on for more than a few hours a day and I simply cant afford to be replacing a $400 set of power tubes that frequently when, as stated, JJ's sound good and are cheap and reliable. It also has to do with me not wanting to come to rely on something which will be unavailable in a decade.
If you have the financial means, go for it. I really care about my tone, but there needs to be a balance IMHO. If you're mainly a casual/weekend player (which probably means you also have a day gig to be able to pay for NOS power tubes), then by all means do it. But as a working musician, NOS power tubes don't really make sense to me.
In many cases, there's also something to be said about using the tubes the amp was designed for. The Doc designed the Stang Ray to sound good with JJ's. My Bogner Duende came loaded with JJ's and unbranded chinese preamp tubes. But it sounds incredible - so why fiddle with it?
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