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Post by Abandoned on Feb 23, 2015 14:15:23 GMT -7
Hey yall. It's time to retube my M12 with all tubes but would like to primarily focus on power tubes and Rectifer tube. I currently have EH power tubes and a Bendix ($75) Rectifer tube. But am ready and open to experiment.
I have an interest in JJ and Mullard power tubes, maybe Gold Lion too but just would like to know how their sounds differ and reliability.
And I'm thinking of sticking with another Bendix Rectifer tube but an open to suggestions.
I'm running a Fender 60th Anniversary USA Telebration Cabronita Telecaster (tele w/ TV Jones classic filtertrons) and a Z-Best 2x12 cab.
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Post by smolder on Feb 23, 2015 15:01:43 GMT -7
If the rectifier is still working, leave it there and/or buy a back up. They tend to either work, or they don't.
For the power tubes, go with the Russian tubes Dr Z ships with. They are bright and clean... and very strong typically., and not that expensive. If you want to try and find some ampere other premium power tubes fine, but that's not where I'd spend my money.
For the preamp tubes, find a good NOS or ANOS GE or Sylvania for the PI. An NOS ought to last 8-12 years and sound great. For the EF86, the Tesla's sound fine, but if you step up to an Amperex, a Philips Miniwatt, or a Telefunken, you'll hear a difference in clarity on the mid to upper end. (if you have a combo be gentle... EF86's are notoriously fragile and will go microphonic if you band them around).
All in all, if you plan on keeping the amp, or having a similar amp around for some years, NOS would be a smart investment. They last way longer and sound better.
I don't know much about newer manufactured tubes because I can't afford to keep replacing them.
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Post by Abandoned on Feb 23, 2015 15:20:10 GMT -7
Well my M12 shipped with EH power tubes but on Z's website it appears his amps (including M12) come with JJ power tubes.
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Post by Mark (Basement Enthusiast) on Feb 23, 2015 15:20:58 GMT -7
^ I pretty much concur with smolder. I also wouldn't go spending crazy $ on EL84's... they need to be replaced fairly often (compared to other types of tubes). I've heard from several sources that the JJ's are great sounding, anyway. (Doc now uses EH's I think.. maybe due to cost and/or reliability out-of-the-box.) But buy from a trusted vendor and they should replace/refund anything that fails immediately (I had this happen on a preamp tube recently).
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Post by boudro57 on Feb 24, 2015 15:15:13 GMT -7
I agree with smolder too. I bought NOS EL84 for my M12 and they sounded really close to the EH's that came with it. In fact the EH sound stronger. I use the NOS only because I play in church and don't need the headroom. Also bought an NOS Amperex EF 86 and it sounds really close to the stock NOS tube the Doc uses. I did find that using JJ's EL84 in my Vox sounded better than the EH's but that may be a case of them not being tested like the good Doctor test them. Good Luck however you land!
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Post by Jefferson on Feb 25, 2015 20:36:33 GMT -7
EL 84's of late have been notoriously difficult. I agree that you don't need high dollar power tubes, but I think is worth the effort to find a source for tubes that properly burns in the tubes to test them. I have had great luck over the last few tube changes with NBS electronics in Denver...
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Post by jlowder23 on Mar 5, 2015 19:54:54 GMT -7
Just put a new set of TAD's in my M12 tonight. Mine had the stock EH tubes. WOW what an improvement. The TAD's seemed to warm the amp up more.
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Post by Abandoned on Mar 9, 2015 16:42:38 GMT -7
Thanks for the help so far guys.
Any more info?
Not quite ready to buy NOS.
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Post by jesslm02 on Apr 2, 2015 13:22:21 GMT -7
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