Svetlana 12AX7 for V1 and V2?

[chukka09]

Has anyone tried these Svetlana preamp tubes in V1 and V2?

http://thetubestore.com/svetlana12ax7.html

My 2266 is a bit too bitey/grainy in HDR with the stock tubes and The Tube Store's description of the Svetlana reads like it might warm/smooth things up a bit.

Thoughts or other suggestions are greatly welcomed.

[slowpokerhino]

Surf wont agree, but a JJ in V2 will warm & smoothen it out.

[auss81]

Same about JJs, I love their ECC83S......

I also like a lot the Tung-Sol 12AX7, it has a sweet glassy tone even if a bit trebly.....

[chukka09]

Last night I discovered that the tubes in V1 and V2 weren't stock after all, but were MESA tubes. Everything else was stock. Can anyone compare the inherent tonal qualities of these tubes compared to the stock ones for V1 and V2 positions?

[juzi]

My guess would be that those Mesas are re-labeled Sovteks, and therefore grainy, bitey and harsh-sounding. I recommend trying a JJ ECC803S in V1. Notice there is a "0" between 8 and 3. It really is a different sounding tube than a regular ECC83S. It's hard to discribe exatly how it's different, though. More vintage styled and gives me more focused, smooth tone, if that makes any sense. I like it very, very much.

Don't forget to experiment with the phase inverter tube (V4). To my ears it has pretty much effet on tone also.

[MartyStrat54]

The JJ803 is a nice V1 tube. When they first came out, they had a bad failure rate. I think they have gotten this worked out. I prefer the 803 over the ECC83.