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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2008 12:41:19 GMT -7
Ok friends,
here's my question.
I've got 2 MAZ 18Jr's and on Z-28 that get a lot of use at my studio. I know I haven't swapped the power tubes in any of them for a while. Most of the pre-amp and recto tubes are the ones that came with the amps. All of the amps are from the Doc's JJ period (no Dario Miniwatts in there)
I know it is all subjective but which tubes would be the ones to spend the money for the NOS tubes?
EF86
12Ax7
Power EL 84 (I have several new matched pairs of GT's) 6V6
Recto
Any ideas for me would be good.
Thanks much
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Post by gregg on Mar 20, 2008 13:51:40 GMT -7
I find it supremely ironic that I would answer this question - especially given who's asking but ... here goes.
From everything I've ever experienced, read from reputable persons (Myles, etc), and heard from reputable builders the places to spend the coin and get your biggest bang for the buck are:
1) NOS Rectos - they'll probably last the life of the amp 2) EF86's - new one's are very prone to microphonics 3) 12Ax7's - less prone to microphonics than the EF86's but they don't last like the NOS ones
While I'm not saying NOS tubes for everything wouldn't be an improvement, those are what I see as being good bang for your buck.
Let's hope I haven't shot my mouth off and look like an idiot.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2008 14:13:45 GMT -7
Thanks Gregg. That all makes sense. I have to hold up my hand and ask when I don't know. I had a fantastic guy in NYC that worked on all my stuff for years. Never thought about it much. I'd just drop the stuff off with him and it would come back sparkling. He defected to Los Angeles around the time I got the gig w Earle. My stuff was getting repaired in Nashville on Steve's nickel till I got the Z's then the worst thing that ever happen to the Z's in all these years was a recto tube died on me a couple days before we hit Cleveland. That was rectified toot sweet by the good Dr. No problems since. So I'm not really hooked up w an amp tech these days. I'll start browsing the NOS tube ghettos.
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Post by gregg on Mar 20, 2008 14:34:01 GMT -7
Thanks Gregg. That all makes sense. I have to hold up my hand and ask when I don't know. I had a fantastic guy in NYC that worked on all my stuff for years. Never thought about it much. I'd just drop the stuff off with him and it would come back sparkling. He defected to Los Angeles around the time I got the gig w Earle. My stuff was getting repaired in Nashville on Steve's nickel till I got the Z's then the worst thing that ever happen to the Z's in all these years was a recto tube died on me a couple days before we hit Cleveland. That was rectified toot sweet by the good Dr. No problems since. So I'm not really hooked up w an amp tech these days. I'll start browsing the NOS tube ghettos. Absolutely my pleasure. As for NOS ghettos, there's only one in my mind. Mike Kropotkin at KCA NOS tubes - www.kcanostubes.com. He frequents this board and is an all around great guy.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2008 14:34:52 GMT -7
KCA.... browsing now!
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Post by myles on Mar 20, 2008 19:01:18 GMT -7
Ok friends, here's my question. I've got 2 MAZ 18Jr's and on Z-28 that get a lot of use at my studio. I know I haven't swapped the power tubes in any of them for a while. Most of the pre-amp and recto tubes are the ones that came with the amps. All of the amps are from the Doc's JJ period (no Dario Miniwatts in there) I know it is all subjective but which tubes would be the ones to spend the money for the NOS tubes? EF86 12Ax7 Power EL 84 (I have several new matched pairs of GT's) 6V6 Recto Any ideas for me would be good. Thanks much The route I would take is .... 1. Get a good EF86 for the Z-28 and keep the original as a spare if it is working decently. 2. Look into an RFT or Brimar from Mike at KCA for V1 of the MAZ Jrs. He might have some other ideas as there are a lot of great 12AX7s around but I love these two in the MAZ. 3. If you travel with the amps, ANY NOS rectifier over the stock ones. They will last much longer and yield better performance. 4. Unless the Z-28 has a lot of hours on the tubes they are probably fine. The Z-28 is very easy on tubes. 5. Since you already have some EL84S GTs this would be the last thing to think about. The JJ tube is strong, long lived compared to many others, and sound great even when compared to NOS. I also change EL84s so often that going NOS would be really costly. So ... that is probably what I would do if I knew what my phase inverters in all the amps were doing and they were doing what I expected them to do. I go through more phase inverters than anything else... not because of wear but because this is the biggest bang for the buck in changing how an output stage breaks up. If you talk to Chad Weaver (Brad Paisley) you'd find out he has a pile of spec'd phase inverters from me that get swapped in and out as the needs change. I have at least a dozen players out there with sets of 3-5 different phase inverters for their amps. In fact .... Chad and I will be together next week to spec some more phase inverters for the tour when they go back out on the road.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2008 5:34:28 GMT -7
Thanks very much Myles.
Pardon my questions.....
1. when you say "V1 on the MAZ Jr" you mean the first pre-amp tube right?
2. would the phase inverter be the last pre-amp tube?
thanks, E/Roscoe
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Post by myles on Mar 21, 2008 16:22:24 GMT -7
Thanks very much Myles. Pardon my questions..... 1. when you say "V1 on the MAZ Jr" you mean the first pre-amp tube right? 2. would the phase inverter be the last pre-amp tube? thanks, E/Roscoe Yes and Yes. Bu the way .... using a 5751 in the phase inverter or V1 or BOTH will yield more clean headroom.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2008 17:00:32 GMT -7
ah, thank you friends. your info should help me spend some money!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2008 9:05:31 GMT -7
spoke w Mike at KCA NOS Tubes. Have a whole bunch of stuff on the way. Thanks again for all the help.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2008 9:21:19 GMT -7
Thanks very much Myles. Pardon my questions..... 1. when you say "V1 on the MAZ Jr" you mean the first pre-amp tube right? 2. would the phase inverter be the last pre-amp tube? thanks, E/Roscoe Yes and Yes. Bu the way .... using a 5751 in the phase inverter or V1 or BOTH will yield more clean headroom. Sorry for the hijack and the possibly stupid question. What is a 5751? I have already ordered and NOS recto from KCA and now am thinking about my preamp tubes. My aim is for more clean head room. Would it benefit me to change all my preamp tubes to NOS or just the first one or 2?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2008 9:50:27 GMT -7
I'm just learning about tubes but it seems that the first and last preamp tubes would be the spot for more clean headroom. Excited about getting this stuff!
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Post by Buzz Fretwear (Ignatius) on Mar 28, 2008 17:41:52 GMT -7
So ... that is probably what I would do if I knew what my phase inverters in all the amps were doing and they were doing what I expected them to do. I go through more phase inverters than anything else... not because of wear but because this is the biggest bang for the buck in changing how an output stage breaks up. If you talk to Chad Weaver (Brad Paisley) you'd find out he has a pile of spec'd phase inverters from me that get swapped in and out as the needs change. I have at least a dozen players out there with sets of 3-5 different phase inverters for their amps. In fact .... Chad and I will be together next week to spec some more phase inverters for the tour when they go back out on the road. Myles, can you elaborate on what different spec'd PI's do in a Maz JR? In other words, what specs yield what kind of result, generally? Or, can you point me to a reference that describes this? Thanks!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2008 12:45:02 GMT -7
oh my goodness (got the tubes installed)
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2008 13:42:59 GMT -7
After having the NOS tubes for a while. I think the fancy Recto tubes made for the most satisfying change.
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