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Post by steamroller on Jun 3, 2023 21:09:43 GMT -7
I am purchasing extra tubes for my Z-Plus. To have on hand, to replace tubes when they go bad. Like now for instance! The second reason is, I have some concern about future availability of favorite tubes, due to embargoes. I know my Tung Sol 12AX7's are Russian made, their availability could be questionable in the near future. How many tubes should a person have on hand? Which tubes do I need more of? So far, after 3 years of use, I have gone through, (1-)-matched set 6V6, (1) 5AR4 rectifier, and my amp. is getting noisy again, sounding like it did when it needed the power tubes replaced 18 months ago. I don't want to be alarmist about this, I just want to have the correct tubes for my amp. when I need them. Now and In the future.
So...what do you think?
-steamroller- .
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Post by scottyc13 on Jun 4, 2023 5:06:21 GMT -7
Power Tubes generally take the most stress in a tube amp. The JJ 6V6 are made in Slovakia so the source is pretty secure. Since the Z Plus is single ended, keeping one on hand may be enough if it’s in a similar rating. The rectifier tube is also one I would keep on hand as it is a single. The Z-Plus is a single ended, parallel circuit, so there is no phase inverter tube. So keeping a couple of JJECC83 on hand should cover V2, V4 and V5. BTW, ECC83 and 12AX7 are basically the same tube. The Reverb driver ECC81 (12AT7) is also a JJ and readily available. If you gig a lot, keeping one on hand would be a good idea. Dr Z specs the Tung Sol for V1 and V4, but I’ve never really warmed to them. In my amps, the sounded brittle in V1. V1 contributes a good amount to the amps sound as it is the first gain stage. I haven’t heard a Z Plus other than on video, so there must be a reason for Dr Z specifically Tung Sol. However, I would recommend trying other manufacturers tubes in V1 if you are concerned about the source of Tung Sol drying up. Again, V1 is a good place to start trying other tubes. The other gain stages count too, but not a much. JJECC83 tubes come in three different grades, 803, 83s and 83MG. The 803 are better for heads than combos. They are sweet sounding to me, not harsh, but the vibration in a combo can cause them to go micophonic. I have them in a Bassman head. The 83s is the highest gain and sounds nice, but has a sharper high end to my ears. My favorite for V1 is the 83MG. I have it in the amp that’s in my avatar photo. I’ve compared the 83MG to other NOS tubes and I liked it better. It has a smoother top end. I get my JJ tubes at Eurotubes out of Oregon. Their customer service is excellent. The link below shows the descriptions of the preamp tubes. Email them with questions and they respond right away. they do a lot of QA testing on their tubes too. www.eurotubes.com/store/pc/preamp%20tube%20descriptions.htm
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Post by steamroller on Jun 4, 2023 9:31:38 GMT -7
Thanks scotty13, As of today, I have (3) extra shuguang rectifiers, (3) extra tung sol 12AX7, (1) matched pair JJ 6V6, (1) extra JJ 12AX7 (forget which one). My Z-Plus is currently noisey, so my little stash of tubes is going to get tapped! Glad to hear that a JJ 12AX7 might work fine. I only intend to replace tubes as they go bad, I don' t gig or anything.
-steamroller-
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