Post by mazmaster on Jan 6, 2006 8:27:02 GMT -7
Ran some quick comparisons last night with almost all the preamps tubes I had laying around. I tested the following in various combinations.
Ei ECC83 (now labeled Ei Elite12AX7E)
Sovtek 12AX7LPS
JJ ECC803S
JJ ECC83S
Tung Sol 12AX7
Shuguang 12AX7C (9th gen Ruby)
They all sounded fairly similar with clean amp settings (although some produced that slight upper mid harshness talked about here), but when dialing in for distortion and/or overdriving the amp with pedals, there were *enormous* differences.
By a very large margin, I felt the combination of two Ei-ECC83s with a 12AX7LPS in the PI produced the absolute best-sounding distortion tones and the most pleasing clean tones allowing the widest range of EQ settings without ever getting harsh. We're talking rich, smooth, blooming, non-harsh tones that sustained forever both clean and dirty. Really amazing, IMO. In fact, some of the other tubes were so much less inspiring that they would have discouraged me from even buying the amp if I had heard it that way in some store! The JJ ECC803S was like that. It produced distortion tones (with and without pedals) that sounded thin and raspy and there was a lack of sustain and bloom. It sounded like a completely different amp with these tubes! I couldn't believe it.
The Tung Sols were my 2nd favorite, but still almost bordered on some raspiness and fizz when overdriven with pedals. But, I'll have to revisit this tube because of it's really nice "air", complexity, chime and lack of harshness, perhaps in combination with the Ei-ECC83 and/or 12AX7LPS.
So, my overall impression is that the Ei-ECC83/12AX7LPS combination was clearly the best-sounding set by a huge margin, completely transforming the amp for the better, compared to the other tubes.
Now, I'm gonna' order some Svet 12AX7s to see how they stack up to reigning champs.
Ei ECC83 (now labeled Ei Elite12AX7E)
Sovtek 12AX7LPS
JJ ECC803S
JJ ECC83S
Tung Sol 12AX7
Shuguang 12AX7C (9th gen Ruby)
They all sounded fairly similar with clean amp settings (although some produced that slight upper mid harshness talked about here), but when dialing in for distortion and/or overdriving the amp with pedals, there were *enormous* differences.
By a very large margin, I felt the combination of two Ei-ECC83s with a 12AX7LPS in the PI produced the absolute best-sounding distortion tones and the most pleasing clean tones allowing the widest range of EQ settings without ever getting harsh. We're talking rich, smooth, blooming, non-harsh tones that sustained forever both clean and dirty. Really amazing, IMO. In fact, some of the other tubes were so much less inspiring that they would have discouraged me from even buying the amp if I had heard it that way in some store! The JJ ECC803S was like that. It produced distortion tones (with and without pedals) that sounded thin and raspy and there was a lack of sustain and bloom. It sounded like a completely different amp with these tubes! I couldn't believe it.
The Tung Sols were my 2nd favorite, but still almost bordered on some raspiness and fizz when overdriven with pedals. But, I'll have to revisit this tube because of it's really nice "air", complexity, chime and lack of harshness, perhaps in combination with the Ei-ECC83 and/or 12AX7LPS.
So, my overall impression is that the Ei-ECC83/12AX7LPS combination was clearly the best-sounding set by a huge margin, completely transforming the amp for the better, compared to the other tubes.
Now, I'm gonna' order some Svet 12AX7s to see how they stack up to reigning champs.