Suggestions for 65 Fender Champ Tubes to try

[bmenary]

Hey all,

I have reached point in my quest for tone to start changing tubes in my amps and I am looking for some suggestions of tubes that sound great in old Fender Champs, mine is a 65

Sounds nice today but... looks like there are old RCA tubes

5Y3GT
6V6GT
12AX7

Please chime in if you have tubes to sell as well-

bmenary
Illinois

[Blue Strat]

A fresh set of NOS RCAs would be great. Anything NOS would be fine.

In new production, Tung Sol Reissue 12AX7 and 6V6. Any NOS 5Y3GT will do the job and probably last decades.

[Rick1114]

I have a 66 VC I've been playing around with the tubes recently, so I'll share my experience.

Like Mike says NOS 5Y3 - I'd probably just go with a RCA, they are still around, stay away from the new Sovtek 5Y3's. My favorite output tube right now is the Tung Sol 6V6 reissue, and I tried a bunch! I think it was even better than the original RCA 6V6 I had (it was old though), and definitly better than JJ6V6 - the Tung Sol really woke up the amp. As for the 12AX7, I'm using a Mullard, so maybe the new Mullard Reissue is worth a try? I'm getting a great Blues sound from the amp. The Tung Sol 12AX7's have a little extra brightness to them IMO, so for country/jazz you may like the Tung Sol in the preamp- it comes down to preference.

Rick

[Groovey Records]

What ever you do don't get rid of the RCA's
Odds are your tubes are ok.

I would have them tested and replaced if needed.

What some Tube dealers wont tell you is after f3 years you are over due for a capacitor change.

The Electrolytic Caps dry out and other components drift out of value

If you do like the way it sounds and want to keep the Amp have a Good Tech who really knows what they are doing give your amp and tubes a physical.

Shipping the Champ to a top Tech would cost little.

For Tubes I like Vintage Tube Services and for Tech I use TGP's own Wakarusa. Todd knows his stuff and will have your champ fit as a fiddle.