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Post by ampaholic on Jan 31, 2006 5:32:31 GMT -7
I ordered a bunch of new tubes for my Ghia and installed them last night. For the rectifier I bought a JAN 5Y3, a matched pair of JJ EL84's and a new GE JAN 5751. For the 12 AX7 I have tried a bunch of tubes that I have laying around. I have a couple of strong Telefunkens, and I know they get rave reviews, but they had a very muddy bottom end. The no-name 12ax7 that came in the amp had very brittle highs. I tried NOS RCA's, Phillips, Westinghouse, etc and the best sounding tube of them all (IMHO)? A brand new Electro Harmonix 12ax7! The amp sounds great! Nice smooth high end and tight bottom. Who'd a thunk it?
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Post by zdogma on Jan 31, 2006 7:00:00 GMT -7
I have used a bunch of nos tubes in V1, and my favorite is a NOS tung sol, and for lower gain/headroom a 5751.
I also like Siemens, they are bright and percussive like the telefunkens, but a little tighter in the bottom.
Oddly, I didn't like NOS mullards or amperex as much, and they have been my favorites in most other amps.
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Post by G'OlPeachPhan on Jan 31, 2006 7:07:14 GMT -7
ampaholic - you're not the only one who feels this way! I've long felt like the EH 12ax7 was THE V1 tube for the Ghia... EQ curve fits the amp's single tone control sweep perfectly (smooth but present highs and upper mids, focused and punch lower mids and bass), the level of gain is perfect for the volume control sweep from clean to mean, the cleans are sweet, edge of breakup tones are as touch sensitive as it gets, and the overdrive tones are creamy and smooth, with just the right amount of cut. What's more, Dr. Z has told me himself on more than one occasion that more often than not, the EH is his tube of choice for V1 for really creamy tones from a Ghia. I also dig a GOOD older grey plate Ei, but this is a very differnet tone, and I'd say it makes the Ghia less versatile than when the amp is a equipped with an EH. Bottom-line: the Ghia is designed and voiced to sound not only fantastic, but at it's BEST with modern production tubes in V1 and the power section... Pop a balanced/matched NOS JAN 5751 in the V2 PI spot, a NOS 5Y3 in the rectifier, a set of JJ's EL84's in the power section, and an EH in V1, and you've got a Ghia tube compliment that you'll never have to re-think... Just swap them out with fresh tubes every once in a while (aside from the rectifier - those either are working or dead), and you're THERE! Set it, and FORGET it! Wish I could say the same for other modern boutique tube amps... My Lightning clone is FAR more fussy about tubes all the way accross the board!
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Post by bluzsteel on Jan 31, 2006 8:30:27 GMT -7
Mine came with a JJ ECC83 in V1 and some NOS 5771 in V2, RCA 5Y3 GT Rect,
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Post by steveinnashville on Feb 1, 2006 14:44:59 GMT -7
Working from an early post asking about my Ghia's tubes:
"-5AR4, weird symbol/logo, "Electron Tube MADE IN CHINA", rectifier, right?" is what was in it when I received the Ghia. I sought out some kind of tube on the net that had been recommended by Dr. Z and on some forums, I can't remember for the life of me and all of the paint on the tubes has disappeared completely. I am 99% sure that it is some upgrade I had made from the Chinese 5AR4... somebody drop some names of replacements for this tube that might have been popular in boutique circles in say, the year 2000. I might remember the name, then.
"The Carmen Ghia, from right to Left, is running an Ei 12AX7, an unreadable 5751 that used to have a green script now faded to nothing, a matched pair of JJ EL84s and then the large (rectifier?) tube has no readable label at all... it does bear a lot of resemblance to the 5AR4, but it doesn't appear to be of identical manufacture, the base and components look a "little" off from the 5AR4, so I have no idea."
So, any help as to figuring out what might be what in here would be appreciated. I did make it sound way better than it did originally by adding a 5751, the Ei tube and whatever rectifier change I made (swapping out the Chinese 5AR4 for a now-unreadable tube)... oh, well. Maybe a tube-autopsy could tell what it is after it dies, or it might be fun experimenting with new tubes again...
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Post by ampaholic on Feb 1, 2006 17:05:24 GMT -7
Thanks G'OlPeachPhan. Glad to hear someone else came to the same conclusion! I think that I'm going to stick to modern production tubes. I spend a lot of time and money on the NOS stuff and seem to always end up putting New Stock (NS?) tubes in to achieve the tone I like. I've had a lot of noise problems with the NOS tubes as well. And you're right, when it comes time to swap tubes it is pretty much a no-brainer!
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Post by G'OlPeachPhan on Feb 6, 2006 10:24:19 GMT -7
Thanks G'OlPeachPhan. Glad to hear someone else came to the same conclusion! I think that I'm going to stick to modern production tubes. I spend a lot of time and money on the NOS stuff and seem to always end up putting New Stock (NS?) tubes in to achieve the tone I like. I've had a lot of noise problems with the NOS tubes as well. And you're right, when it comes time to swap tubes it is pretty much a no-brainer! Don't you wish everything was that easy?!!!
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