Tubes... Where and what?

[the_rocker]

Hi guys, Firstly I'll start by saying im in the UK, so no US links please.

Both of my VM's are sounding great so theres no need to retube them just yet.

However I do want to get some spares just incase a tube should go right when I need the amps.

I have read up on the Gold Lion KT66's and like what I hear so I will probably want a quad of them which will set me back £100 after a quick google search.

But what do I get for preamp valves, I know they are ECC83's, but do I get 4 matching? Or 3 plus a different one for the P.I? Also, I notice that different ECC83's provide more and less amounts of gain etc...

I play hard rock / metal so a tad more gain than the stock tubes would be a nice bonus.

So help me out guys, where in the UK/EU do I go online to get tubes and what am I looking for?

Cheers

[Doc Holliday]

Tungsol and EHX are my fav current tubes for pre amp.

I would stick 2x tungsol in V1 AND 2 and EHX in 3 and 4.

The tungsol are a little more money than the EHX here in the UK from most stores.

[the_rocker]

Tungsol and EHX are my fav current tubes for pre amp.

I would stick 2x tungsol in V1 AND 2 and EHX in 3 and 4.

The tungsol are a little more money than the EHX here in the UK from most stores.

Would that give me any extra gain at all?

And where would you reccomend getting them from?

[juzi]

Get some NOS 12AX7's. There are many great sounding brands available much cheaper than Mullards. I just got a pair of mil spec Sylvanias under 40€ shipped. They sound great and have lots of gain. Some say RFT's are good in Marshalls, and re-branded Mullards are not priced sky high. Some feel that 20-40€ is too much for a tube. But is it really? Think about how much you spent on other things, a pedal for example. A good tube in V1 can really make your amp sound sweet, while a bad sounding one can ruin it.

We did some tube swapping on a slightly modded JCM800 just recently. It had a JJECC83S in V1 and Tung Sol reissues in V2 and V3. We only swapped the V1 this time. The "original" JJ sounded like shit, it was the worst sounding of all we tried. It was harsh, mushy and one-dimensional. We tried a JJECC803S (Notice there's a 0 in there... Very even and balanced sound with a hint of NOS-vibe, I like it very much. Can get microphonic under high gain, though.), a TAD premium ECC83, a GT 12AX7/7025, a Mesa-branded chinese 12AX7, a Sovtek 12AX7 LPS (balanced and modern sound with bite) and Sovtek 5751 (lower gain and dark sound).

And then some NOS/old ones. A Brimar CV4004 (fat and bluesy, I like it), a Brimar ECC83 (nothing special, just a good 12AX7), a Telefunken ECC83 (balanced, but flat sounding at the same time. Sounds good in a Fender amp, but not in Marshalls V1. A hi-fi tube.), a Siemens ECC83 (Like the JJECC803S, but many times better, the 3-D effect and all that NOS-yada yada...) and finally the Sylvania 12AX7 (sweet vintage sound and high gain). The guy who owns the amp settled for a Sovtek 12AX7 LPS in V1. He was after that 80's thrashmetal tone. That tube sounded suprisingly good to my ears too when he was playing.

All this is IMHO, ofcourse. You may hear and feel things differently. Get some NOS-tubes while you still can. When they are gone, they are gone.

[MartyStrat54]

Here in the US when you order your preamp tubes, you can pay extra for high gain. If you can do that with your UK provider, select this option. Also, Shuguang's are usually high gain, but most are a little noisy. If you get a quiet one, they are pretty nice for your style of playing. Just remember, "any" tube can be high gain. It all depends on how the tube was constructed. Generally, Sylvania's tend to be stout, even if they are organ pulls with a thousand hours on them.

RFT's are a dark sounding, premium tube. If you want to tame some brightness, this is a good tube to use.

I have sold thousands of tubes and the favorite set up is a stout Philips brand tube in V1 with a Raytheon Black Plate in V2. In a DSL/TSL, V2 is a gain stage tube. In a three tube Marshall like a JCM 800 2203, V2 is the Tone Stack/Cathode Follower. The Black Plate works great in either of these settings.

When it comes to premium NOS tubes, I like a stout DARIO MiniWatt in my V1 in my JCM and JMP amps.

Philips was the largest tube manufacturer. They are easy to find in the UK. Brands such as Amperex, BEL, MiniWatt and Mullard to name a few. Mullards are all over the UK for a pretty decent price.